Astronomical Proof from the Srimad Bhagavatam

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Mahabharat: An Astronomical Proof from the Bhagavat Puraan

By Dr. Satya Prakash Saraswat

 

Reproduced without permission.

 

Determination of the exact period of the Mahabharat, the greatest epic

of the Sanskrit language and treasure of Hindu tradition, has been one

of the most difficult and controversial problems of religious history

since the eighteenth century. Religious historians outside India have

consistently argued that the events described in the Mahabharat and

the Purans are completely mythical and have virtually no relationship

to history. On the other hand, Indian scholars have argued, equally

vehemently, that the stories of Hindu scriptures are irrefutable facts

of history. It has been pointed out that nothing comparable to the

genealogy of the Bible exists in the entire collection of Hindu sacred

literature. All the generations of mankind between Abraham and Jesus

Christ are clearly identified in the Bible while the purans merely

mention that 1115 years will pass between the reign of Nanda, the

first famous king of Kali-age (kaliyuga), and Parikshit, the last

Pandava king of the Dvapar age (Dvaparyuga). Detractors of ancient

Indian tradition have used this argument for centuries as the most

powerful weapon in their intellectual arsenal to attack the

foundations of the rich and varied tradition of Sanskrit epics and

Purans which represents a perfect socio-cosmic harmony of history and

mythology.

 

Fortunately, many works of the Vedic and Puranic tradition contain a

sufficient number of clues in the form of astronomical observations

which can be used to determine the approximate date of Mahabharata and

thus establish the historical authenticity of the events described in

this great epic. Notable among these works are the Parashar Sanghita,

the Bhagvat Puran, Shakalya Sanghita, and the Mahabharat itself.

Aryabhatta, one of the greatest mathematicians and astronomers of

India in the fifth century AD, examined the astronomical evidence

described in the Mahabharata in his great work known as the

"Aryabhattiya". According to the positions of the planets recorded in

the Mahabharata, its approximate date was calculated by Aryabhatta to

be 3100 BC implying that the great war described in the Mahabharata

was fought approximately 5000 years ago, as most Hindus have always

believed.

 

A number of British scholars of the 19th century, especially Friedrich

Max Muller, tried to interpret this astronomical evidence to prove

that the observations recorded in Hindu scriptures are imaginary. As

an amateur astronomer, I propose to examine the astronomical evidence

presented in the Bhagvat Puran and Max Muller's criticism of this

evidence in light of the advances made in astronomy in the past fifty

years. Max Muller, in the preface to his translation of the Rigveda,

examines the astronomical observations described in the Bhagvat Puran

and concludes that these observations are "imaginary", apparently

because they did not agree with the prevalent views of the European,

primarily British, Indologists of the nineteenth century about the

time of the Mahabharata. These astronomical observations about the

positions of the Saptarishis (Ursa Major) and some predictions based

on their movement are contained in the second chapter of the twelfth

Canto of the Bhagvat Puran. In relating the story of lord Krishna's

life to king Parikshat, the granson of Arjuna, Rishi Shukdeva explains:

 

saptarshinam tu yau purvau drshyete uditau divi |

tayostumadhye nakshatram drshyate yat samam nishi || 27 ||

 

tenaita rishayo yuktastishthantyabdashanta nranama |

tey tvadiye dwijaha kale adhuna charshita maghaha || 28 ||

 

"When the Saptarshis (the constellation of Ursa Major) rise in the

east, only two stars are visible at first. In the middle of two stars,

one of the lunar mansions (nakashatra) appears on the opposite side of

the sky. The seven rishis stay with this lunar mansion (asterism) for

hundred earth years. Parikshit! from the time of your birth to the

present time, they have been positioned with the 'Magha' lunar

mansion". According to a similar observation, recorded in the Shakalya

Sanghita, "their (Saptarshis') movement is eight minutes of the arc a

year .... and moving in the north into different positions, the rishis

employ 2700 years in revolving through the assemblage of twenty seven

lunar mansions (translated by Max Muller)". Max Muller accepts the

interpretation of the shlokas in the Bhagvat Puran, especially the

phrase "the lunar mansion in the middle of these two stars

(tayostumadhye Nakshatram)," as the extension of the line connecting

the two stars away from the pole star. With this interpretation, the

movement of the Saptarshis does indeed become imaginary, as noted by

Max Muller, "Now although this movement of the seven Rishis is but

imaginary, it was used for chronological purposes." Other

interpretations are, however, possible if the recorded positions of

the seven rishis are examined without the predictions made in the

Bhagvat Puran about the direction of their movement. This modified

interpretation can reinforce the conclusions drawn by Aryabhatta from

his calculations about the date of Mahabharata.

 

A more plausible interpretation of the observations described in the

Bhagvat puran, especially the phrase "the lunar mansion in the middle

of the two stars (tayostumadhye nakshatram)" is that "the

perpendicular line drawn from the midpoint of these two stars towards

the ecliptic" intersects at a certain lunar mansion (nakshatra), when

extended towards the ecliptic. It is entirely likely that ancient

Indian mathematicians deliberately avoided the use of the term

"perpendicular" in describing the astronomical observation, for the

simplicity of interpretation. A sky map in exhibit 1 depicts the

approximate position of the Saptarshis in relations to the zodiacal

constellations visible in the evening sky in the month of August 1990

from North America. The positions of the astronomical objects shown in

this exhibit are in general agreement with the positions of stars in

the sky maps published in the August 1990 issue of the "Astronomy"

magazine. These observations, made from Boston area which has a

latitude of approximately 43 degrees North, can be easily verified

without a telescope or binoculars since most of these stars and

constellations are clearly visible with naked eye in the evening

summer sky in the northern hemishere. As compared to northern India

from where the observations of the Bhagvat Puran were made, this

lattitude is too far north and from Boston the Saptarshis appear to be

circling the pole star during the night instead of rising in the

morning. On an early morning in the month of August, the two stars of

the Saptarshis highest over the horizon from Boston are the so called

pointers.

 

Exhibit 1

 

Approximate Positions of the Saptarshis (August 1990)

 

North

. .

. .

. .

. * Dubhe .

. . .

. Merak * . * .

. . . (Ursa Major) .

.Pisces . * . .

.. . * Saptarshis .

. . * * . .

. . Pole * . *Swati .

. . Star Vishakha .

Ecliptic---------->. * . * . .

. Aquarius * . .

. West

East . . Anuradha . .

. . * . .

. . . * Jyeshtha.

. Capricornus . Saturn . * * .

. * * Scorpius

. Sagittarius Mula * .

. * * .

. .

. .

. .

. .

 

South

 

The line connecting these stars intersects at the north pole when

extended northwards. In most parts of India, except the extreme

northern parts of Kashmir, these stars will appear to be rising in

early morning. Arabian astronomers, who transmitted most of the

knowledge of astronomy in the middle ages to Europe, named these stars

Merak and Dubhe. Arabian mathematicians and astronomers had, as a well

established fact of history, acquired most of their knowledge of

algebra, arithmatic and astronomy from India. In 1990, as shown in the

map in exhibit 1, this line intersects between the zodiacal

constellations of Libra and Scorpios, very close to the brightest star

in the constellation of Libra. The entire constellation of scorpios

has a clearly identifiable shape and the two bright stars of Libra are

also clearly visible with naked eye. According to the Indian system of

naming the twenty seven stations through which the moon passes each

night during its periodic movement, the brightest star of Libra is

known as the "Vishakha" nakshatra. The Saptarshis are thus positioned

in the "Vishakha" nakshatra in the present century.

 

Between the current location of the Saptarishis and the position

mentioned in the Bhagvat, i.e., the Magha nakshatra, twenty three

lunar mansions intervene, from Anuradha to Ashlesha, if the direction

of movement opposite to the commonly accepted interpretation of the

predictions made in the Bhagvat is followed (Exhibit 2). This

direction of movement is equally likely since no records are available

to establish the exact direction the saptarshis have historically

followed.

 

Exhibit 2: Direction of the movement of the Saptarishis

 

Position of the Saptarshis at the time of the Bhagvat Puran

 

Current position of the Saptarshis

 

 

1. Pushya

27 1 2 2. Punarvasu

26 3 3. Ardra

25 * . . 4 4. Mrigashisa

 

.. . 5 5. Rohni 24 . . 6 6. Krittika 23 . . 7 7. Bharni 22 . . 8 8. Ashvini

 

.. V 9. Revati 21 V Proposed 9 10. Uttara Bhadrapada

 

Max Mullers's direction 10 11. Purva Bhadrapada 20 Direction 11 12.

Shatabhisha 19 ** 12 13. Dhanishtha 18 13 14. Shravana

 

17 14 15. Uttara Ashadha

 

16 15 16. Purva Ashadha 17. Mula 18. Jyestha 19. Anuradha 20. Vishakha

21. Swati 22. Chitra 23. Hasta 24. Uttara Phalguni 25. Purva Phalguni

26. Magha 27. Ashlesha

 

The relative movement of Saptarshis through twenty three mansions

implies that the observations described in the Bhagvat Puran must have

been made either around 300 BC, or 3000 BC, since the positions of the

Saptrshis repeat every 2700 years. The possibility of these

observations in 300 BC can be completely ruled out because the period

around 300 BC is a matter of recorded history. The historical events

of the fourth century BC are recorded in sufficient detail by many

Indian as well as Greek historians. Alexander, the Great, invaded a

part of India during this period, when Chandragupta Morya was the

ruler of Pataliputra, and these events are described by Plutarch in

"Parallel Lives" with meticulous detail. The stories of Bhagvat were

as prevalent in India in the fourth century BC as they are now and

most of the Purans are considered older than 300 BC. For example,

according to the Encyclodepia Britannica, Sir William Jones, the most

famous Indologist of the 18th century, estimates the time of the

Bhavishya Puran to be 550 BC in his tranlation of an article

describing the game of chess in this Puran. Therefore, the most

logical conclusion that can be drawn from these descriptions is that

the astronomical observations described in the Bhagvat Puran were

probably made approximately 5000 years ago, an entire cycle of

Saptarshis before the reign of Chandragupta. The position of the

Saptarshis in Magha during the time of Mahabharata is thus in complete

agreement with the estimate of approximately 3000 BC given by

Aryabhatta. It is extremely likely that Max Muller's conclusions about

astronomy of the Bhagvat Puran being "imaginary" were based on a

questionable interpretation of the direction of movement of the

Saptarshis.

 

An unavoidable question that arises from this modified interpretation

is why have the conclusions of Max Muller remained so widely accepted

for more than a hundred years? There are two possible reasons for it.

First, most astronomers work with expensive telescopes in

sophisticated observatories located primarily in advanced

industrialized countries and are not familiar with the observations

recorded in the Purans or Upanishads. And second, most "pundits" and

religious scholars in India are more concerned with astrology rather

than the practical aspects of astronomy. The theoretical and

speculative inclination of Indian intellectual endeavor has been a

major stumbling block in the discovery and interpretation of many

mathematical, scientific and astronomical facts recorded in the sacred

books of India. A largely unnoticed story from the history of early

moslem incursions into India is extremely relevant to this argument.

Alberuni, a famous Arabic scholar who accompanied Mahmud Ghazanvi on

his seventh infamous compaigns across north India, once asked an

average Indian pundit, well versed in mathematics and metaphysics,

where the lunar mansion "Anuradha" was in the sky. The learned pundit

showed total inability to associate any names mentioned in his almanac

(Jantri) with the visible stars and constellations in the sky. There

is certainly no dearth of learned scholars and pundits in India, but

it appears that an average pundit does not have a great need or desire

to understand the cosmic connection behind the religious ritual.

 

A third inescapable reason, perhaps far more important than the

previous two, has also prevented a critical scrutiny of Max Muller's

arguments. Our knowledge of astronomy was extremely limited at the

time of Max Muller but in the past 100 years it has advanced by leaps

and bounds with the availability of large optical and radio telescopes

and dedicated scientists. There are now convincing answers available

to the question why the Saptarshis change their positions. According

to the New Atlas of the universe by Patrick Moore, five of the seven

stars of the Saptarshis (the Plough of Ursa Major) are travelling

through the space in the same direction while other two, Alkaid and

Dubhe, are moving in opposite direction. Consequently, after a

sufficiently long time the plough tends to lose its characterstic

shape and the perpendicular line drawn from the midpoint of Merak and

Dubhe crosses the ecliptic at different lunar mansions, changing 3.6

degress of arc in a century. There is still no scientific explanation

of why every 2700 years this movement should repeat but a clue can be

found in the work of Anthony Aveni, the noted author of a recent book

titled "The Empires of Time: Calendars, Clocks and Cultures".

According to this book, there is a widespread belief in many African

and American Indian cultures that the entire solar system revolves in

our galaxy (VV comment: also refer to Atharva. Kanda 14 and Yajurveda

Chap 3 and 33), the Milky Way, around the brightest star in the

Pleiades. The cluster of Pleiades, in the Taurus constellation, is

known as the Seven Sisters or "Krittikas" in Hindu astronomy. The

brightest star in the Pleiades is Alcyone and the sun completes one

revolution around this star in approximately 3000 years. There are no

astronomical maps available to verify this observation and no

scientific computations can prove or disprove this theory easily but

this widespread belief has made Pleiades one of the most sacred object

in the sky in practically every country and culture. This periodic

revolution could be the reason why the Saptarshis repeat the positions

described in the Bhagvat Puran, every 2700 years.

 

Carl Segan, a renowned astronomer at Cornell University, who hosted

the public television series "Cosmos" in 1985, pointed out that Hindus

were the only ones who came anywhere close to correctly estimating the

real age of the universe. Unlike many cultural traditions which treat

science and religion as antithetical to each other, the Hindu

tradition encourages the study of physics and metaphysics both for a

comparative understanding of the true nature of the cosmic mystery

surrounding and pervading the universe. The observations recorded in

the Bhagvat Puran thus present a challenge to the modern astronomer to

reestablish the connection betwen the diversity of what the scientists

call "Phenomenon" and the underlying spiritual unity of what the

renowned German philosopher Immanuel Kant called the "Noumenon".