The Eighth Colour of Rainbow: when Myths encounter Truth!Indranil SarkarMY heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began, So is it now I am a man, So be it when I shall grow old Or let me die!Thus sings the Romantic poet William Wordsworth while catching at the spectacular colour-odyssey of a Rainbow in the glimmering evening sky after day-long rain.The feeling is universal and timeless. Naturally, hundreds of Myths have been enrooted in this unique solar feature.A Rainbow is defined to be an optical and meteorological phenomenon that is caused by both reflection and refraction of light in water droplets in Earth's atmosphere, resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky.It takes the form of a multi-coloured arc. Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite to the sun.

According to Hinduism, Surya is the chief of the Navagrahas. Surya literally means the supreme light. He is an important element of both Hindu Astronomy and Astrology. He is a supreme deity of the Hindus. He is depicted as dynamic and usually imagined as a rider in a chariot harnessed by seven horses or one horse with seven heads. The seven horses represent the seven colours of the rainbow.The chariots horses are named after Gayatri and other Vedic meters. They are harnessed by Arunadeva. The names of the seven horses yoked to the sun-gods chariot are Gayatri, Brhati, Usnik, Jagati, Tristup, Anustup and Pankti. Arunadeva rides the chariot sitting in front of the sun-god looking backward. He is engaged in driving the chariot and controlling the horses.In Bhavisya Purana, the seven horses are named Jaya, Ajaya, Vijaya, Jitaprana, Jitakrama, Mano Japa and Jita Krodha.These Horses are metaphoric SEVEN rays of the sun.

Jaya is the first ray. It bestows firm conviction, mental and physical strength generosity domination of others and benevolence. Ajaya, the second gives Compassion, tranquility and intelligence as well as inward understanding.Vijaya is the third ray. It bestows voracious reading, high thinking and spiritual base. Jita prana is said to be the fourth which provides deep thinking, extreme kindness and mercifulness. Jita karma, the 5th ray grants high quality discipline. It is the giver of knowledge and acts as scientific evaluators. Manojapa is the sixth ray. It provides dedication, devotion, sincerity and helps pursuing the path of truth. Jita krodha is the seventh ray. It is the provider of in-depth evaluation, artistic taste in fine arts and adoration of beauty. It gives love for display.

According to another Myth the seven horses (colours) are Susumna, Suradana, Udanvasu, Visvakarma, Udavasu, Visvavyaca and Harikesa. Susumna is equivalent to the brightness of thousand rays. This ray has made the most beautiful Chandra (Moon).The Nectar given by the full moon bestows all mortal beings happiness and pleasure. Surandana has originated from this ray. Even the rays of Surandana are only the rays of Surya (Sun) alone. Udannvasu has created the Kuja graha (planet).This ray protects the living being from the defects of blood, and gives them health, brilliance and wealth. Visva karma is the constructor of the Budhagraha (planet). This ray removes the mental agitations of the people and grants all auspiciousness and peace.

Udavasus ray has constructed Brihaspati planet. This planet grants pleasures and liberation to all living beings. By worshipping this planet all hurdles, obstructions, opposition are got removed and success is achieved. Visva vyaca ray has created Sukra and Sani. Among them Sukra is responsible for Virya (sperm).Sukra is in charge of humans procreation and also his ray brings death. Hence by worshipping this ray one gets full longevity. Harikesa has given birth to all Stars (Nakshatras). These are called Nashatra because they protect the human bodies from the loss of strength, virya, and teja. In another Myth Surya is said to have seven service personnel namely Namshatras, Months, Fortnights, Seasons, Years, Days and nights.The seven colours of the horses of Suryas chariot are: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. We also see the same colours in the Rainbow in the order of ROYGBIV. But, surprisingly nowhere the name of the Chariot of Surya is mentioned

Truly speaking, our modern understanding of light and colour begins with Isaac Newton (1642-1726) and a series of experiments that he publishes in 1672. He is rightly the first to understand the rainbow colour spectrum. Newton understood that when white light passes through a transparent medium (like air) into another (like glass), its components are deflected the first time according to their colour, and once again when they reemerge (back into air, for example). This creates a spread of coloured light rays from red to violet, like the colours of the rainbow.This ordered separation of coloured rays is known as the spectrum. The spectrum of white light consists of six basic colours arranged in a specific order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. Scientists of the Randall Monroe University in West Virginia have identified an invisible eighth colour in the rainbow spectrum on 1st April, 2014.Newtons Prism experiment No, it was not an all fools day hoax. It was real. Though the new found colour is yet to be named, the scientists undertaking the research found that the shade may be best thought of in similar terms to grue and bleen; the portmanteau words used by linguists to convey the difficulty some languages have in differentiating between blue and green. It is the first addition to the traditional spectrum since Isaac Newton first successfully split white light using a triangular prism in 1671.The discovery may help materialize much speculated Invisibility Cloakand create new vistas in military camouflage activities. It may even help achieving the dexterity in war activities as narrated in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. However, it is to be remembered what the Science News had reported on a study of mantis shrimp vision on the 15th of August, 2012. As per the report, the full spectrum contains not less than 300 distinguishable colours. So, the eighth is not the last. In near future we will surely hear of many more colours in the Rainbow i,e there is every possibility of having many more horses of the Suryadevas Chariot. After all, the dictionary still defines rainbow as Noah did: a symbol of hope.References:- I .http://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/bhavish ...ii.http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/343056/description/Mantis_shrimp_flub_color_vision_test iii. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbowiv. https://www.google.co.in (images)v. www.ask.comvi.www.eisamay.com [Bengali epaper; dated 1-4-2014]vii.www. naturalmagickshop.com/.../The-Myth-Magic-and-Science-of-the-Rainbows.viii. www.artfire.com/.../mythology _of_rainbows_and_rainbow ix. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surya x. Surya Myth by Sri Vidya RajagopalanNB. Creative-Commons attributes were obliged.-i.s

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