The demon that was cut in two
The story begins with a deception. During the churning of the cosmic ocean, the demon Svarbhanu disguised himself as a god and drank the amrita, the nectar of immortality. Vishnu saw through the disguise and severed his body with the Sudarshana Chakra, but too late. The demon had already swallowed. The head became Rahu. The tail became Ketu. Both were immortal now, cursed to exist without a complete body, condemned to chase the sun and moon across the sky and swallow them whole every time they caught up. That swallowing is what we call an eclipse.
