On April 8, 2024, a solar eclipse will put a swath of Northeast Ohio into total darkness in the middle of the afternoon. Modern science allows us to predict and understand what’s happening. But that wasn’t always the case. Myths evolved over time in an effort by humans to make sense of the unknown and unexpected. Different cultures created stories to try to explain how the sun and the moon rose and fell and why eclipses occured.
Deepak Sarma, a professor of Indian religions and philosophy religious studies and bioethics at Case Western Reserve University said that there are many myths surrounding eclipses, including the story of Rahu. Rahu is a Hindu celestial deity who, according to Sarma, ate the sun in a fit of rage. With no body, Sarma said Rahu had to spit out the eclipse, making the world bright again.
“It’s really kind of wonderful when you think about this,” Sarma said “is that many of these myths then share this element of an animal or this mythological figure eating [the sun] and then of course, involving rituals that people have to engage in in order to get the sun to return.”
Sarma said that there are a variety of superstitions dealing with eclipses, such as pregnant women avoiding being outside during an eclipse and people not eating during one.
“We can say that early people were trying to understand the world,” Sarma said about why people believe in these myths. “They were familiar with animals and so on, so they projected this, or they anthropomorphized things. But in the kind of broader, more philosophical sense, I would say that people want certainty.”
Sarma said the myths are based on people wanting to understand why eclipses took place.
“I think that in my experience of teaching philosophy of religion, teaching any philosophy, teaching Hinduism and just teaching students here at Case is that I think most people and most students, most people want certainty otherwise they are feel kind of panicked in like an abyss of uncertainty,” Sarma said. “They embrace beliefs so that they can move forward in the and wake up in the morning and not worry about things.”
Sarma believes that eclipses have a way of bringing people together.
““Eclipses and the stories around them are great ways to bring people together, all humans together,” Sarma said. “Everybody cares about this because it's such a unique moment, right? And it's a great way to bring humans together despite all of our differences and diversity.”