दयितमस्त्रं तत्तेजसा दुर्विषहं मुहुः परिवर्तमानमभ्यवस्थितो मुहूर्तमुद्वि
जमानश्चकितहृदय आरादेव निवर्तते तदुपरागमिति वदन्ति लोकाः ॥३॥
tan niÅ›amyobhayatrÄpi bhagavatÄ raká¹£aṇÄya prayuktaá¹ sudarÅ›anaá¹ nÄma bhÄgavataá¹ dayitam astraá¹ tat tejasÄ durviá¹£ahaá¹ muhuḥ parivartamÄnam abhyavasthito muhÅ«rtam udvijamÄnaÅ› cakita-há¹›daya ÄrÄd eva nivartate tad uparÄgam iti vadanti lokÄḥ
tat - that situation; niÅ›amya - hearing; ubhayatra - around both the sun and moon; api - indeed; bhagavatÄ - by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; raká¹£aṇÄya - for their protection; prayuktam - engaged; sudarÅ›anam - the wheel of Kṛṣṇa; nÄma - named; bhÄgavatam - the most confidential devotee; dayitam - the most favorite; astram - weapon; tat - that; tejasÄ - by its effulgence; durviá¹£aham - unbearable heat; muhuḥ - repeatedly; parivartamÄnam - moving around the sun and moon; abhyavasthitaḥ - situated; muhÅ«rtam - for a muhÅ«rta (forty-eight minutes); udvijamÄnaḥ - whose mind was full of anxieties; cakita - frightened; há¹›dayaḥ - the core of whose heart; ÄrÄt - to a distant place; eva - certainly; nivartate - flees; tat - that situation; uparÄgam - an eclipse; iti - thus; vadanti - they say; lokÄḥ - the people.
After hearing from the sun and moon demigods about RÄhu’s attack, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, engages His disc, known as the SudarÅ›ana cakra, to protect them. The SudarÅ›ana cakra is the Lord’s most beloved devotee and is favored by the Lord. The intense heat of its effulgence, meant for killing non-Vaiṣṇavas, is unbearable to RÄhu, and he therefore flees in fear of it. During the time RÄhu disturbs the sun or moon, there occurs what people commonly know as an eclipse.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, is always the protector of His devotees, who are also known as demigods. The controlling demigods are most obedient to Lord Viṣṇu, although they also want material sense enjoyment, and that is why they are called demigods, or almost godly. Although RÄhu attempts to attack both the sun and the moon, they are protected by Lord Viṣṇu. Being very afraid of Lord Viṣṇu’s cakra, RÄhu cannot stay in front of the sun or moon for more than a muhÅ«rta (forty-eight minutes). The phenomenon that occurs when RÄhu blocks the light of the sun or moon is called an eclipse. The attempt of the scientists of this earth to go to the moon is as demoniac as RÄhu’s attack. Of course. their attempts will be failures because no one can enter the moon or sun so easily. Like the attack of RÄhu, such attempts will certainly be failures.
