Note 267 — Chapter I

There is a shloka in the Jyotish-Shāstra to the effect that Rāhu would surely devour Chandra if the nakshatra, or constellation of the second day of the dark half of a preceding month, were to recur on the Purnima (full-moon day) of the succeeding month. Similarly, in solar eclipses, a similar catastrophe would occur if the constellation of the second day of the bright half of a month were to recur on the Amāvāsya (the last day) of that month.267 The year in which many eclipses occur is believed to prove a bad year for epidemic diseases.268