# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Astro*Dictionary by Michael Erlewine

 

 

 

 

2 articles for "Rahu"

Rahu [Astro*Index]

The Sanskrit name for the "Dragon's head", i.e., the Moon's North Node. Legend says Rahu was a demon who stole some of the god's Amrita, or nectar of eternal life, and made himself immortal. In revenge, the gods exiled him, and made him into the constellation Draco. His tail is Ketu, the Moon's South Node.

See also:
♦ Lunar Node
Radius Vector [DeVore]

The Sanskrit name for the Dragon's Head – the Moon's North node. In Hindu mythology Rahu is a Daitya (demon) who possessed an appendage like a dragon's tail, and made himself immortal by stealing from the gods some Amrita – elixir of divine life – which they obtained by churning an ocean of milk. Unable to deprive him of his immortality, Vishnu exiled him from Earth and made of him the constellation Draco: his head called Rahu, and tail Ketu – astronomically speaking, the Moon's ascending and descending nodes. Using his appendage as a weapon, he has ever since waged a destructive war on the denouncers of his robbery, the Sun and the Moon, which he swallows during the eclipse. The fable is presumed to have a mystic or occult meaning. (v. Moon, Nodes.)

See also:
♦ Moon's Nodes ♦ Lunar Node

 

Astro*Index Copyright © 1997 Michael Erlewine