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The Total Solar Eclipse Posted by on Aug 23, 2017 in Hindi Language

The solar eclipse as seen from some parts of California on Aug. 21, 2017.

On Monday, August 21 2017, scores of people across North America momentarily held their breath as they put on viewing goggles to witness the total solar eclipse संपूर्ण सूर्यग्रहण (sampoorna surya grahan). Those who were not lucky enough to live near the path of the total solar eclipse, traveled from near and far to witness the solar flare that took shape of a diamond ring when the moon चंद्र/चाँद (chandra / chaand) fully covered the sun सूर्य/सूरज  (soorya / sooraj) for a few minutes. Such a phenomenon was last seen in North America in 1979!

In India, many beliefs धारणा (dhaarna) and practices exist in connection with a solar eclipse. According to Hindu mythology हिन्दू पौराणिक कथा (Hindu pauranik katha), a solar eclipse is considered inauspicious अशुभ (ashubh) since it briefly takes away the greatest life-force–The Sun. This brief disappearance of the sun is considered to be a harbinger of evil अमंगल (amangal).

Food is neither cooked nor eaten during a solar eclipse.. Food that was cooked before the eclipse, and stored during the eclipse is not eaten either. I remember the call of beggars भिखारी /भिक्षुक (bhikhaari / bhikshuk) asking for the food that would be discarded post-eclipse. They would come out in droves and shout “Sute grahan, dya dhan,” (“The eclipse has passed. Please give us your wealth/food.) in Marathi, the language spoken in Maharashtra.
At the school where I work, many students of Indian origin remained absent since tradition and beliefs also prohibit one from going out during an eclipse.

VOCABULARY

संपूर्ण सूर्यग्रहण
 sampoorna soorya grahan total solar eclipse
सूर्य / सूरज
 soorya / sooraj sun
ग्रहण
grahan eclipse
संपूर्ण
sampoorna total/complete
चंद्र / चाँद
chandra / chaand moon
धारणा
dhaarna belief
हिन्दू पौराणिक कथा
Hindu pauranik katha Hindu mythology
अशुभ
 ashubh inauspicious
अमंगल
 amangal evil/inauspicious
भिखारी /भिक्षुक
 bhikhaari / bhikshuk beggar
सितारा
सितारे

 sitara
sitaray		 star
stars
ग्रह
 graha planet
सौर मंडल
saur mandal solar system
अमावस्या
 amavasya new moon
पूर्णिमा
poornima full moon
सूर्यास्त
sooryaast sunset
सूर्योदय
sooryoday sunrise
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About the Author: Nitya

Namaste, friends. My name is Nitya. I was born and raised in Mumbai (formerly Bombay). I'm a native Hindi speaker. However, as life took me through school, college, work, and waves of friends from different parts of India, my repertoire of Hindi flavors and dialects grew and added dimension to my native fluency. Casual, formal, colloquial, and regional ... Hindi is a language with incredible variety and localization. Through this blog, I will help you learn Hindi through conversations, vocabulary, colloquialisms, and glimpses of Indian culture. आओ, मिलकर हिंदी सीखते हैं। (Aao, milkar Hindi seekhte hain!) Come, let's learn Hindi together.