July 5 2020 Lunar Eclipse: What is a Penumbral Eclipse or Upachaya Grahan, check India timings

New Delhi, June 26: The Penumbral Eclipse will take place on July 05 2020. This year has seen two Chandra Grahan and one Surya Grahan and the fourth eclipse will take place on the night of July 5.

However, it will not be visible in all countries in the world. The grahan would be visible in parts of north and South America and Europe. It will also be visible in the Western parts of Africa.

Upachaya Chandra Grahan timings in India on July 5:

In India the people will not be able to view it, because it will take place during the day time. The first contact with the penumbra will be at 8.30 am and the maximum impact of the eclipse would be at 9.59 am. The last contact with the penumbra would be at 11.21 am.

The rituals:

According to the Hindu beliefs, a graham which cannot be seen with the naked eyes will not leave any adverse impact on the people and their natal charts also. On July 5, the moon will move through the outer part of the Earth's shadow or the regular umbra. The Upachaya Grahan takes place when the Sun, Earth and the Moon are imperfectly aligned.

During this the Earth blocks the sun rays from falling on the Moon and casts and impression on it with its outer shadow.

Significance of Chandra Grahan:

The significance of the Chandra Grahan is associated with Samudra Manthan episode that is related to Kurma Avatar of Lord Vishnu. The Devas and Asuras took part in the churning of the cosmic ocean to obtain Amrit.

Soon after this, Lord Dhanavantri appeared with a pot of elixir and then Svarbhanu snatched it and ran away. Following this Lord Vishnu appeared as Mohini to get the container back. Lord Vishnu cut the asura's head with his Sudarshan Chakra, which divided him into two parts. The head came to be called the Rahu, while the tail as Ketu.

It is said that to avenge this, Surya and Chandra, Rahu swallows them temporarily and Ketu releases them.