People have various ideas about the cause of the eclipses of the sun and the moon. Some say that the sun and the moon are superior deities, and that the demons Ráhu and Ketu who belong to the caste of Mángs attempt to touch them and to devour them. Others believe that the planets Ráhu and Ketu stand in the path of the Sun and the Moon and thereby darkness is caused on the earth. It is believed that about 5 hours before the commencement of the obscuration, in the case of the Sun and about 4 hours in the case of the Moon, the Vedha or malign influence of the monsters begins and during the period till the whole eclipse is over a strict fast is observed. At the commencement of the eclipse, as well as at its close, people bathe. Some sit on a low wooden stool with a rosary in their hands repeating the names of the gods, or the gáyatri or some of the mantras. But those who want to acquire the art of magic or witch-craft or the power of removing the evil effects of snake-poison, or scorpion sting, go to a lonely place on the riverside, and there standing in water repeat the mantras taught to them by their guru or teacher. People give alms to Mahárs and Mángs on this occasion, and therefore persons of this class go about the streets saying loudly "Give us alms and the eclipse will be over." De dán suté girán. A strict fast is observed on an eclipse day, but children and pregnant women who cannot bear the privation are given something to eat under a sike. The eclipse time is so inauspicious that children and animals born at that time are considered unlucky. [86] Sometimes an eclipse cannot be observed owing to the intervention of clouds. On that occasion the people of the Konkan resort to the following expedient in order to ascertain whether the luminary is eclipsed or not. They take a potful of water and hold in it a musal. If it stands in the pot unsupported it is regarded as indicative of the existence of an eclipse. Mángs, Mahárs, etc., are supposed to be the descendants of Ráhu and Ketu; and for this reason gifts are made to them in charity on an eclipse day. [87] The people of the Thána District believe that corn grows abundantly in a year that witnesses many eclipses. [88]