Glossary · concept
Sutak
Also written eclipse observance period · Sutak Kaal
Sutak is the period of ritual pause around a grahan (eclipse). It opens twelve hours before a solar eclipse and nine hours before a lunar one, and runs until the eclipse ends.
During Sutak the tradition suspends new beginnings, cooking and feasting, and temple worship — the shrine is curtained. In their place it asks for inward work: japa (repetition of a mantra), snana (a cleansing bath), and dana (quiet charity).
It is observed where the eclipse is actually visible; an eclipse below the horizon is held not to bind. The spirit is contemplative, never fearful — a few hours cleared for stillness while the shadow crosses.
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