Aside from the sun and moon, there is an invisible planet called Rāhu. The movements of Rāhu cause both solar and lunar eclipses. We suggest that the modern expeditions attempting to reach the moon are mistakenly going to Rāhu.
Just north of Ilāvṛta-varṣa—and going further northward, one after another—are three mountains named Nīla, Śveta and Śṛṅgavān. These mark the borders of the three varṣas named Ramyaka, Hiraṇmaya and Kuru and separate them from one another. The width of these mountains is 2,000 yojanas [16,000 miles]. Lengthwise, they extend east and west to the beaches of the ocean of salt water. Going from south to north, the length of each mountain is one tenth that of the previous mountain, but the height of them all is the same.
In this regard, Madhvācārya quotes the following verses from the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa:
- yathā bhāgavate tūktaṁ
- bhauvanaṁ kośa-lakṣaṇam
- tasyāvirodhato yojyam
- anya-granthāntare sthitam
- maṇḍode puraṇaṁ caiva
- vyatyāsaṁ kṣīra-sāgare
- rāhu-soma-ravīṇāṁ ca
- maṇḍalād dvi-guṇoktitām
- vinaiva sarvam unneyaṁ
- yojanābhedato 'tra tu
It appears from these verses that aside from the sun and moon, there is an invisible planet called Rāhu. The movements of Rāhu cause both solar and lunar eclipses. We suggest that the modern expeditions attempting to reach the moon are mistakenly going to Rāhu.
