Solar Eclipse Begins, Mahakumbh Comes to Standstill
As the longest solar eclipse of the millennium, and one which will take another millennium to take place has brought the otherwise bustling Maha Kumbh mela to a complete standstill, said reports.
Due to solar eclipse, doors of temples are shut, with no prayers, and many devouts taking meditation to ward off what they believe to be an inauspicious period, reported ‘The Times of India’.
The ghats, where lakhs of people gathered yesterday to take holy dips, are now playing host to people performing ‘havans’ or those meditating, report said.
Acharya Ganadish said that solar eclipse started at Haridwar at 11.58 am and will last till 3.12 pm.
Due to eclipse, the statues of gods and goddess’ are also covered up during this period. Acharya said that once the ‘grahan’ is over, the statues would be washed with water from the holy river.
He said that the eclipse created a lot of negative vibes which would be washed off once people wash themselves with Ganga water.
Solar Eclipse
The millennium’s longest solar eclipse unfolded on Friday in a narrow strip in peninsular India with enthusiasts flocking sites to observe the annular solar eclipse, said reports.
The scientific phenomenon began at 11:17 am at Dhanushkodi, reported ‘Indian Express’.
People at Dhanushkodi, touted as the best location to watch the longest eclipse in a century, were excited as the moon began to cover the sun, the report said.
It is from places like Dhanushkodi, Kanyakumari, Varkala that people would be able to see the ring of fire as the moon tries to block the Solar disc leaving the edges flaring.
“The moon has started covering the sun and by 1:30 PM people will be able to see the ‘ring of fire’,” SPACE Director C B Devgun was quoted as saying.
In Kanyakumari, the eclipse was watched by a team of six scientists from Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), said report.
“The eclipse is half-way. The annularity will be at about 1:06 PM which will be for 10.8 minutes,” R C Kapoor, a scientist at IIA, was quoted as saying.
