Eclipse offer a scope to rejeunate your inner strengths to combat bad times. This is the period when one must focus all his energy to get rid of obstacles.
Eclipse though unsuitable to begin new works or enterprise or auspicious events , it still is the best time to do austerities . Every small penace undertaken gives 1 Lakh times the fruits that you get in normal times , when done at the time of eclipse.
Eclipse had many parts to it
1. Vedha
2. sparsh
3. madhya
4. moksha
5.Shuddha Bimba darshan
Vedha is 12 hours or sunset and sunrise prior to actual start of eclipse whichever is earlier.
During vedha a temple is closed .
One does not partake any food during this period.
one does not sleep during this period
One does not go about daily chores of cleaning during this period.
Eating brings in diseases,Sleeping reduses longevity , and urinating etc brings mental disorders.
Children ,pregnant woman and old men and women ,patients and those who cannot control their hunger are all exempt from this rule.
Usually a bath gives a lot of punya everyday . Bath[Snana] is process of offering the lord within us a worship.It is also a way of expressing gratitude towards lord for having given us a body to carry out our sadhana .
There are many types of snana;
1.VAARUN SNAN 2. KATI SNAN 3. KANTH SNANA 4.GODHULI SNAN 5.MRITTIKA SNANA 6.AVBRUTHA SNANA 7 MANTRA SNAN 8 DHYAN SNANA.
SNAN is the one that gives internal and external purity . Only external cleansing is not the purpose of bath , bath should also give us a cleansing of mind .
Snana has a procedure.
vaarun snana is bathing with water , teertha snana is bathing in rivers oceans etc , here bathing such that only waist is wet is known as kati snana , bathing upto neck is kanth snana,Standing amidst returning cows in the evening and bathing by the dust of their hoofs is godhuli snana,applying soil from the tulasi pot or garden to the entire body is mrittika snan ,After the completion of Homa or yagnya , taking the fumes of the yagnya all over the body or a hot smoke is known as Avbruth snan, reciting the mantra ” Apo histha …….” is equla to taking a bath this mantra snana , this can be done when there is no water available and yet you have to finish your sandhyavandan or daily pooja .
Some people observe certain vrata where they dont take anything to eat or drink till they take bath in the morning , when faced with water shortage or during travel mantra snan has to be followed and daily pooja can be completed but should not be skipped on the excuse or pretext of absence of water body.
Snan is abhishek for the lord within us.
hence purushsukta should be recited after sankalpa while bathing. When there is no water , no place to sit and we are stuck in a dirty polluted environment or surrounding,one can resort to Dhyan snana.
Dhyana snana is making ganga yamuna nd saraswati flow thorugh IDA PINGALA AND SHUSHUMNA , it is yogic way of bringing various rivers into 72000 nadis and oozing 3 and half crores rivers thorugh our pores . This is the superiormost of all snans , this way one is unperturbed by the surrounding he is in [however apavithra or polluted that may be] and yet becomes eligible for all the karmas of vedas.
Dhyana snana gives 100 crores of times the more punya than normal ganga snan ,so says sanatkumar to Narad.
Such snan when taken at the time of sparsh of eclipse [ie when eclipse starts when sun or moon disc is affected] bears 10000 times the ususal punya. In the middle of eclipse it gives 100000 times the usual punya and while leaving [moksha] a snana is worth crores of time.
If simple bath can give you so much punya than what about other austerities like dana ,japa,tapa, homa ,shradha etc.They will be akin to performing them crores of time.
In the post of matra sidhdhi it was made known that a mantra can be potent only when they are recited with austerities a few lakhs times. IN general lifetime this is not possible as it takes years to achieve this even if one recites 1000 times daily. During eclipse even if reciting ten or hundred times makes it equvivalent to have recied crores of times and thus mantra becomes potent. So people desirous of potent mantras take upadesha during this period .
eclipse is divided into three parts, first part is for Devatas ,second portion is for Pitru , and last part is for Rakshasas, so a japa has to be conducted only till first part , shradhdha is performed during middle part , as cooking is not allowed shradhdha is done with floor paste. Dana is given in temples for nag dosha etc.
The last portion is used by tantriks and evil mantriks to increase or invoke devils. this should be avoided.
Thus after eclipse is over having a look at the clean and free sun or moon , one can take a bath again and have his daily pooja and meals.
Krishnarpana.
