Rahu is mentioned in the
Puranic texts. The tales begin in the "remotest periods of the earliest of time, when the
devas and
asuras churned the
ocean of milk to extract from it the
amrita, the elixir of immortality."
Mohini, the female
avatar of
Vishnu, started distributing amrita to the devas. However, one of the asuras,
Svarbhanu, sat in the row of devas and drank the amrita. Surya and Chandra noticed him and they informed Mohini; however, by that time, Svarbhanu had already become immortal. Vishnu, as Mohini, cut off Svarbhanu's head with his discus, the
Sudarshana Chakra. Svarbhanu, henceforth referred to as Rahu and Ketu, could not die, but his head was separated from his body; his head came to be known as Rahu, while his body came to be known as Ketu. Following this event, Rahu and Ketu gained the status of planets, and could influence the lives of humans on
Earth. For this, Rahu pursues them and attempts to consume the Sun and Moon. Since Rahu is the head without the body, the Sun and Moon exit from his throat when he tries to swallow them. This recurring cycle creates the
grahana, an eclipse of the Sun and the Moon, which represents the temporary revenge of Rahu.
Jalandhara Following his ascent to power, the asura Jalandhara was advised by the great sage
Narada to seek out a consort. Narada hinted that the beautiful
Parvati, consort of
Shiva, would be an excellent choice. Infatuated with her beauty and impaired in his judgment, Jalandhara summoned his emissary Rahu, and sent him to the mountain
Kailasa, to demand that Shiva give up his wife to Jalandhara. Rahu delivered the message informing Shiva that being a humble
yogi who lived in the cremation grounds and the jungle as a naked ascetic, he was unworthy of the fairest goddess. Upon hearing these insults, Shiva produced a thunderous sound and a great lion-like monster from his brow named
Kirtimukha. The monster chased and seized Rahu with the intention of devouring him. Rahu pleaded with Shiva for his life and retracted his claims, instead praising Shiva and seeking protection and refuge with him. In response, Shiva called off Kirtimukha’s attack and set Rahu free to relay these events back to Jalandhara. Coincidentally, Rahu was meant to swallow the Sun and eclipse it that day. As Rahu approached the Sun, he saw Hanuman about to eat it. Hanuman saw Rahu and thought Rahu to be a fruit as well, so he attempted to eat him too. Rahu fled to the court of the king of the devas,
Indra, and complained that while he was meant to satisfy his hunger with the Sun, there was now a bigger Rahu who tried to consume the Sun and himself. Indra set out on
Airavata, his divine elephant, to investigate alongside Rahu, who retreated once more when he saw how enormous Hanuman had grown. Hanuman was playing with the Sun's chariot and reached for Rahu again. As Rahu cried out to Indra for help, Hanuman saw the Airavata and mistook it for yet another fruit. When he approached in his giant form, Indra struck his left jaw with a thunderbolt and injured him. Hanuman began falling back towards the Earth when he was caught by Vayu. Furious over his son's injury, Vayu withdrew all the air from the universe until all the devas, the asuras, and men began to suffer and suffocate. They appealed to
Brahma, who revealed the cause of their distress and accompanied them to the wind god in order to appease him. Brahma revived Hanuman, and the other deities took turns bestowing different blessings, boons, and powers upon him.
Reincarnation during Mahabharata During the events of Mahabharata, Rahu himself took incarnation as a king, Kratha. == Astrology ==