Today is Rasa Purnima. All deities are clad in white and decorated finely for the evening. Unlike usually, they will be staying up throughout the night today and on the purnima after Niyam Seva concludes, sporting their rasa-pastimes. The maidservants tend to the needs of the hero and heroine of the drama, providing various cooling, exciting and nourishing ingredients according to the time's need, accompanying the dance with diverse instruments.

The Rasa at the end of the Ashvina month is also known as the Sharadiya Rasa, or the autumnal Rasa. It takes place in Nidhuvan. The following Rasa at the end of the Kartika month is known as the Maha Rasa, located in Seva Kunja. The third famous Rasa, the Vasanti Rasa, takes place at Chand Sarovar near Govardhan in the month of Vaishakha, in the springtime.

Today was also a partial lunar eclipse. Archan was to be completed by around eight in the morning, after which Thakurji would go to sleep to awaken after the period of the eclipse is over, after six in the evening. No archan is done during the eclipse or the preceding nine hours, as it is a period of asauchya, impurity, as the demon Rahu gives grief to Chandra, the deity of the moon. We also fast during this period, as Chandra and Surya are the deities who nourish vegetation and so forth, and we do not wish to partake of their gifts at the time of their agony, lest asuric spirit enter into our hearts and minds.

Rahu evidently didn't read the posters the Panch committee had glued all around Radha-kund, as he was late by a good twenty minutes. I watched the eclipse waning on the roof of Gopinath Mandir with Sanatan Baba, Anath Bandhu Baba and a number of others. Anath Bandhu Baba asked if I could provide him another copy of a photo I had made for him from an old photo of his, of his kirtan guru. The man sitting next to him looked eeriely familiar, and as Baba spoke with him of the photo, I realized it was none else than the said kirtan guru himself.

After the eclipse we took bath in the kunda and headed back to our house to wake up Thakurji and to offer bhog. Our badly needed drink of water had to wait until seva-puja was complete with a full abhishek after the puja-paraphernalia was washed, and it must have been closer to nine until we finally had our meal.

The full moon nights in Vraja are amazing. The light permeates every corner of the land. You won't need a torch to find your way around. Hence Radha's need for white chandan and the rest, being discreet is of the essence while on abhisar!