Phra Rarhu啦壺神簡介

天狗抱月之神，泰語稱為(啦壺~Lahu)

啦壺天神佛像外型全身黑色,頭戴華蓋,豹眼獠牙,身軀高大,口中咬著太陽或月亮,神情十分兇惡,使人望而生畏。

一般人也會奇怪，為何神像只有上半身~根據泰國民間記載並轉貼如下﹕

約於一萬年前，啦壺的父親「他屈神運」，是掌管地獄眾生的夜叉王。啦壺少年時很頑皮，性格好動。他不但武藝高強，還會凌空飛行，時常飛上天宮玩耍。

有一天，天宮舉行大法會，由天帝「拍意實運」主持，保護神「拍啦啦」擔當總護法，日神與月神及眾天神擔任守衛。這次大法會是集合眾天神的法力，製造威力強大的甘露聖水。

製造甘露聖水大功告成，眾神正在慶祝。啦壺喜愛熱鬧，好奇地潛入法會窺看，卻被日神和月神發覺，將他驅逐出外，態度十分橫蠻。啦壺不甘受辱，便與日月兩神打鬥起來。他有飛行之術，躍高竄低，非常迅速，轉眼間已失去了蹤跡。

啦壺亂打亂撞的闖進一個密室，飛翔了一會，感到口乾舌燥，拿起供案上的水壺，便喝得一滴不剩。水壺中的竟然是眾天神合力製成的聖水。啦壺喝後，功力大增，日月兩神趕到時，已不是他的對手。

日月兩神發覺啦壺偷喝了聖水，連忙稟報天帝。天帝大怒，召集諸天神圍攻啦壺。惟是啦壺喝了聖水之後，武功突然增強，眾神亦奈何他不得。後來總護法拍啦啦祭起了無堅不摧的鋸齒金輪，把啦壺橫腰斬斷。

啦壺喝了聖水，身體雖被斬斷，仍能生存不死，飛返家中。夜叉王得知情由，親自綁起愛子帶到天宮向天帝請罪。天帝看見啦壺的下身已被斬去，仍能不死，又愛他武藝高強，便赦免了他的罪行，還把他封為護法，從此改邪歸正。

由於啦壺的半截身體被斬去，所以佛像是沒有下身的。他被封為天神之後，嫉惡如仇，尤其是最憎恨小人。所以泰國人要剋制小人，便會配戴啦壺天神的佛像。

由於啦壺當日闖入天宮時被日月兩神驅趕，害得他被斬斷身體，所以他對日月兩神，仍是懷恨於心，發誓要將天地間所有小人，告密者一一消滅及和吞噬。佛像口咬太陽或月亮，也是這個緣故。泰國人還把日蝕和月蝕，當作是啦壺天神對日月兩神的懲罰。每逢日蝕或月蝕，泰國人認為這是向啦壺天神請求庇佑和許願的最好時機。

配戴啦壺天神的佛像，不但可以剋制小人，還可以把衰運轉為好運.

Rarhu is mentioned explicitly in a pair of scriptures from the Samyutta Nakaya of the Pali Canon. In the Candima Sutta and the Suriya Sutta, Rarhu attacks Canda, the moon deity and Suriya, the sun deity, before being compelled to release them by their recitation of a brief stanza conveying their reverence for the Buddha. The Buddha responds by enjoining Rarhu to release them, which Rarhu does rather than have his "head split into seven pieces". The verses recited by the two celestial deities and the Buddha have since been incorporated into Buddhist liturgy as protective verses (paritta) recited by monks as prayers of protection.

In Buddha Rarhu is one of the krodhadevatas (terror-inspiring gods)

Rarhu is the ascending lunar node. In Hindu mythology, Rarhu is a snake that swallows the sun or the moon causing eclipses. He is depicted in art as a dragon with no body riding a chariot drawn by eight black horses.

According to legend, during the Samudra manthan, the asura Rarhu drank some of the divine nectar. But before the nectar could pass his throat, Mohini (the female avatar of Vishnu) cut off his head. The head, however, remained immortal. It is believed that this immortal head occasionally swallows the sun or the moon, causing eclipes. Then, the sun or moon passes through the opening at the neck, ending the eclipse.

There is another lila of Shiva and Rarhu probably taken from Sivapuranam which is paraphrased by Joseph Campbell in his book. The Power of Myth Ganna Chakra also paraphrases the myth:

In the myth of the Daitya king Jalandhara, Jalandhara sends Rarhu with a message to Shiva, demanding that he surrender Parvati to Jalandhara. Shiva was angry at this message, and this anger took the form of a terrible creature which sprang from his brow. It had the face of a lion, flaming eyes, body which was dry and rough to the touch, long arms and a tongue which lolled with anger. The creature rushed at Rarhu, ready to devour him. Shiva apparently said something along the lines of "we don't shoot the messenger" whereon the gana pleaded to Shiva that it was tortured by hunger. Shiva told the gana that if it was so hungry, it should eat its own flesh. This the gana did, until only its head was left. Shiva, pleased with such devotion, appointed the gana as his door keeper, ordering that it create terror for all wicked people. Shiva also ordained that the gana be worshipped along with his worship, and gave it the name Kirtimukha.

In Thai legend, Rarhu appears as the younger brother of two men who are reincarnated as the sun and moon. Unhappy at being overshadowed, Rarhu is constantly striving to dim their brilliance by swalling them; and occasionally he is successful. In Thialand, devotees normally burn black joss sticks and present eight black offerings, including black-feathered chickens and coffee, to appease the dark angel in the run-up to the eclipse.

The legend of Rarhu (the eclipse): as it appears in the encyclopedia of Vedic history, the Srimad Bhagavata Maha-puranam: Canto VIII Chapters 5-9 (circa 3,000 BC).

First a brief background of this ancient history. Cast of characters: At the beginning of creation, Lord Vishnu, the eternal Supreme Being, entered his own unmanifested material nature (Prakrity); from his navels was born the first being, Brahma (the four-faced), who is the empowered material creator; from Brahma's third eye, in anger, appeared the great Lord Shiva (destroyer of the cosmos), along with the demigods (devas) and the demon (asuras).

At this time there was a great attempt by the demigods and demons to churn the ocean to milk (primordial soup) to obtain the nectar of immortality. Lord Vishnu incarnated himself as Kurma-avatar (center of the Universe); and the celestial serpent, Vasuki, was to be the churning rope. The demigods, being humble by nature, took hold of the tail of Vasuka, while the demons, who are alway proud, took the fiery head; and thus the churning began.

During the churning provess many wonderful things were produced, until finally the "amrita" or immortal nectar appeared. Immediately there was a fierce struggle and the demons forcefully took possession of the nectar. At that time, to help the demigods, Lord Vishnu, expanded himself into Mohini_murti, the most enchanting of all beautiful goddesses. The demons, who were completely love-struck, allowed the Goddess to have the nectar, which she began to distribute among the demigods.

Astrological Influences: Rarhu is by nature a malevolent planetary influence which can cause personal frustration, sacrileges habits, abuse of alcohol and drugs, possession of ghosts and demons, and infectious diseases. However, when located in a powerful spot in one's horoscope. Rarhu can elevate one to positions of great wealth and power and confer public influence over the masses. Rarhu is associated with serpents, fear, karmic, retribution, and un-virtuous characters.

Person with Rarhu exalted are wealthy and fortunate. But those who have a weak or afflicted Rarhu in their horoscope have a tendency to suffer from fear of supernatural phenomena and suicidal impulses. ULTRA-VIOLET is the cosmic color transmitted by Rarhu through hessonite and other orange gems. Ultra-violet colorwaves are the coldest of all the cosmic rays and should only be used for ailments caused by extreme over heating, i.e., high fever, hyper-acidity, indigestion, hyper-sexualty, insomnia, and during child birth. Rarhu astral talismans may also help divert disasters, prevent insanity, counteract poisons, and protect one from demoniac of lower status, such as servants, employees, and underworld characters.

啦胡（Rahu） katha

Namo Tassa Bagawato Arahato Samma Sam Buddha Sa (3x)

sak kit sak bit suk rit yan dit prak they wa prak lahu raksa pak sit tit (X9)