Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody — Mark Twain
What does Occultation mean?
An occultation, in astronomy, is a phenomenon when one celestial object passes through another blocking the light emitted from the former. A Lunar Occultation, in the same sense, occurs when the moon passes through another celestial object, say a star, for a brief period of time, blocking the light emitted by the star.
How did the ancient Hindus explain this phenomenon?
Chandradev (The Moon) was born to Maharishi Atri and Anasuya. He was married to the 27 daughters of Daksha, the son of Lord Brahma. Chandradev made a promise to Daksha that all his 27 daughters will be treated equally with respect. But, failing to keep up with his promise, Chandradev favored his fourth wife, Rohini, more than the others.
The other 26 wives, not happy with his actions, expressed their concerns to their father, Daksha. Furious upon the complaint received from his daughters, Daksha imprecated a curse on Chandradev that he would slowly perish and die. Out of fear, Chandradev landed up at Prabhas Patan, in Gujarat, and set up a Shivalinga, popularly known as Somnath Jyotirlinga, in hopes that the curse can be reversed with the help of Lord Shiva…
