[So a rational mind may ask – despite having so many older chronologies, why the shortest of them, the Christian chronology has been given the status of an international calendar? Why the 21st birth centenary of a person is to be observed as the 21st century of the entire world? If a genuine thought is given to the matter, without any racial, regional, political, sectoral or religious prejudice, the Indian alone deserves the right to be treated as the calendar of the world, since it is the oldest and based entirely astronomical science. So, it carries much more scientific sense in saying that we have entered the 52nd century of Kalyabda in 1998, than in saying that we have entered the 21st century of the Christian calendar in 2001.]
Abstract: Dr Radhasyam. Brahmachari[1]
 |
| Image courtesy: India Zone Net |
The next higher unit in Indian chronology is the yuga, derived from the Sanskrit word yoga, or more perfectly from saṃyoga, which
stands for conjunction of two or more heavenly bodies. In the Hindu system of
time reckoning, starting from a mere 5 year Brāhaspatya yuga to a vastly large mahāyuga of
4,320,000 years are in vogue. The biggest unit of time conceived by the Hindu
astronomers is kalpa and 1000 mahāyugas or 4.32 billion years
make one kalpa. One kalpa. Is the day and the following kalpa.
is the night of the creator Brahmā and hence 2 kalpas, or 8.64 billion
years, make 1 day and night, or 1 Brāhma Divasa and 360 Brāhma
Divasas make 1 year, or a Brāhmavarşa of Brahmā. The life
span of Brahmā is 100 Brāhmavarşas or 1 parayuga. It is
believed that after the completion of a parayuga, this creation, along
with its entire matter, resolves into its ultimate source and a new creation
begins under the supervision of a new Brahmā.
According to the Indian tradition, the age of the
present Brahmā, or the age of
this Universe is 155 trilion, 521 billion, 971 million, 221 thousand and 111
years. Hence the era called Sŗşābda , which begins from the beginning of the
present creation, can accommodate events older than 155 trillion years. At the
same time, this chronology is based firmly on astronomical science and not on
mundane events like the birth of a person, or the coronation of a king, or the
military success of a race over another. From this viewpoint, it seems that
Hindu chronology alone deserves the right to play the role of an international
calendar.
According to the Indian Tradition time is Mahākāla the
lord of destruction and nothing can withstand the assault of time. At
the same time, time is eternal (nitya and śāśvata) and
without beginning and end (anādi and ananta). The Sanskrit word
for time is kāla which has been derived from kalana or motion and
it implies that, time manifests itself through motion.”Kālah
kalayater-gatirgamanah”, says Ācārya Yāska,[1] the most renowned commentator of the
Ŗgveda. Or, in other words, time started manifesting (mūrttah) itself
making its measurements possible, as soon as motion originated. Furthermore,
since motion is intimately related with matter, it implies that time started
manifesting itself from the very moment matter was created, or as soon as this
universe came into being. So, kālah began with the very beginning of the
movements of the basic elements of the cosmic creation, which, according to
Hindu tradition, occurred 155 trillion, 521 billion, 971 million, 221 thousand
and 106 years ago. Thus the Ŗgveda says, “The days and nights are
representing the eternal flow of creation in terms of time and they came into
being on the very first day of creation” (X/190/1-2).
According to Indian view,
time is an independent entity and hence should be studied as an
independent branch of knowledge. That is why the originator of the Vaiśeşika
school of Indian philosophy, ŗşi Kanāda says, “pŗhivyāpastejo
vāyurākāsam kāla digātmā mana iti dravyāņi”, or “Knowledge of the following
is a must for emancipation and these are earth (pŗthivī), hydrosphere
(apah), fire (tejah), atmosphere (vāyuh), ether (ākāśam),
time (kālah), space (dik) soul (ātman) and mind (manas)”
(VSu: XI/15). This reflects the importance the Indian wisdom has bestowed
upon the knowledge of time and hence they studied time as a separate
branch of knowledge. They studied time not with respect to other earthly events
but, on the contrary, they studied all earthly events with respect to eternal
flow of time.
There is
another concept regarding time as well. According to the seers of India
From the above discussions it becomes
evident that. Indian chronology or Hindu kālagaņanā does not depend on any mundane event like the birth of a
person, coronation of a king or the military success of an emperor. But it
depends only on the movements of various heavenly bodies in the cosmos, or in
other words, on astronomical science. Judging from this viewpoint, the Indian
chronology alone is scientific since all other current chronologies are based
on mundane event like the birth of a person, or the victory of a race over the
other, or the rule of a particular dynasty, or running away of a man from one
city to another to save his life and so on. It should be mentioned here that in
the year 1999 A.D. we have just entered the 52nd century of the
Indian chronology Kalyabda.
Indian Units of Time
It has been mentioned earlier that, according to the
Indian notion, time is without beginning and end and hence, any part of it we
undertake to survey is bound to be a mere fragment of the infinitely large time
scale. However, one has to define units of lime, from very small to quite
large, for measuring short as well as long intervals of time. The smallest
Indian unit of time is truţi and it is the time one needs to pierce a
lotus-leaf with a sharp needle. The next higher units are shown in Tables
below.
Table - I
100 Truţis
30 Tatparas
45 Nimeşas
6 Prāņas
60 Vinādīs
60 Nādīs
|
= 1 Tatpara
= 1 Nimeşa
= 1 Prāņa
= 1 Vinādī
= 1 Nadī
= 1 Ahorātra
|
(Source-Sūrya Siddhānta : I/11,12)
Table - II
100 Truţis
30
Tatparas
18
Nimeşas
30
Kāşthās
30
Kalās
2
Ghatis
30
Muhūrtas
|
= 1
Tatparas
= 1
Nimeşa
= 1
Kāşthā
= 1
Kalā
= 1
Ghati
= 1
Muhūrta
= 1
Ahorātra
|
(Source-Siddhānta Śiromaņī by Bhāskara : I/19, 20).
As, according to modern standards, 24
hours make 1 day and night, one finds that, 1 nādi or daņda is equal to 24 minutes, 1 vinādī is equal to 24 seconds, 1 asu or prāņa is equal to 4 seconds, 1 nimeşa is equal to 88.889 milliseconds, 1 tatpara is equal
to 2. 96296 milliseconds and finally 1 truţi is equal to 29.6296
microseconds or 33,750th part of second. It is really amazing that the Hindu
astronomers, at such a long lime ago, could conceive and obviously could
measure such a small interval of time like truţi. It should be mentioned
here that, 1 unit of prāņa is the time an average healthy man needs to
complete one respiration or to pronounce ten long syllables called guravakşara.
From the succeeding table one finds 1 muhūrta equal
to 48 minutes, 1 ghaţi equal to 24
minutes. 1 kalā equal to 48 seconds,
1 kāşţhā equal to 1.6 seconds and 1 nimeşa equal to 88.889
milliseconds as obtained above. In its daily motion, the earth rotates around its
axis at a speed of nearly 1660 Km per hour and its illuminated half is called ahh
(day) and the dark half is called rātri (night). From the system of
units of time given above, one finds that 60 ghaţis or nādīs make
1 day and night. Indian
astronomical texts divide the above units of time broadly into two categories;
(i) mūrttakālah and (ii) amūrtakālah. The units of the former
kind are manifested (mūrttah) by the nature while, those of the latter
kind are created by man. From this view point, ahorātra, prāņa or asu. nimeşa are mūrttakālah and
the rest are amūrttakālah.
From the Ŗgvedic verses (1/33/8 and
IV/53/3), scholars conclude that the Vedic ŗşis were aware of the fact that the
earth is spherical in shape (SS: Xll/321) and rests without support. Another
Ŗgvedic verse (1/52/11) says, “Viśva tatananta Kŗsţayah”, or the universe is infinite. But the Indian
astronomical texts including the Sūrya
Siddhānta say that the universe is finite and spherical in shape. According
to the Sūrya Siddhānta, this universe
is oval (aņdākŗti) having an average radius equal to 18, 712, 080, 864,
000, 000 yojanas (SS: XJI/90), with the earth at its centre. Our
astronomers further believed that all the planets are moving at an equal speed
of 11, 858,717 yojanas per day (SS: I/25) and their apparent speeds, as
observed from the earth, appear to be faster and slower according to their
remoteness from the earth (SS: I/26). With the help of these two basic
assumptions they estimated the distances of the planets from the earth as given
in Table-III below.
Regarding yojana, the Indian
unit of distance, the Paňca Siddhāntikā of Varāhamihira says
that, if anyone moves 800 yojanas towards the east from a place where
the sun is just rising, he will find the sun at his zenith (XIII/16). It
implies that, a 90 degrees difference of longitude produces an arc of 800 yojanas on the surface of the earth and hence one finds the diameter of the earth equal to 1018.18 yojanas. The present accepted value for the equatorial diameter of the earth is 7,928 miles or 12,684 Km, and hence one finds 1 yojana equal to 7.786 miles or 12.458 Km. According to Āryabhaţţa I, the diameter of the earth is 1050 yojanas [3] and hence one finds 1 yojana equal to 7.55 miles or 12.08 Km.
Table – III
Planets
|
Distance in yojanas
|
Distance in
million Km
|
Approx Minimum
Distance in Million Km (Modern Value)
|
Moon
Mercury
Venus
Sun
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
|
324,000
1,043,209
2,664,637
4,331,500
8,146,909
51,375,764
127,668,255
|
4.04
13.00
33.19
53.96
101.49
640,04
1,590,49
|
0.384
91.705
41.439
149.600
78.390
628.769
1,277.434
|
Source: (Sūrya
Siddhanta: XII/85-90)
Indian units of length
are. 12 angulis make 1 śanku, 2 śahkus make 1 hasta, 4000 hastas make 1 krośa and
finally 8 krośas make 1 yojana.
So one finds that, 32,000 hastas or
cubits make 1 yojana. Taking 1 hasta equal to 18 inches, one
obtains 1 yojana equal to 9.1 miles or 14.56 Km. On the other hand,
according to the descriptions of Hiuen Tsang, particularly where he has
compared Indian distances with the Chinese unit li, one finds that, 1 yojana varies from nearly 7.3 to 15.2
Km. Hence it appears that there are some anomalies regarding the actual measure
of a yojana. Scholars believe that in those days different units of
length were in vogue in various kingdoms of local Kings and hence the measure
of a yojana varied.
From the discussions made above regarding
the picture of the universe presented in Sūrya Siddhdānta, it may appear that Indian astronomers believed in a geocentric
universe. But in fact, Hindu seers were aware of the fact this planetary system
is heliocentric. Moreover, they believed in the existence of five rotating
systems or maņdalas, namely (1) the Candramaņdala or the moon
rotating round the earth, (2) Pŗthivī-maņdala or the earth moving round the sun, (3) Sūrya-maņdala or
a the plantes moving round the sun, (4) Parimeşţhī-maņdala or the sun
moving round the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy and finally (5) the Svayambhūva-maņdala
or the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy moving round the centre of the
universe.[4] They also believed that, all these maņdalas are
being sustained by their respective motions (YV: XXII/47). The said geocentric
picture presented above is according to a special branch of knowledge called
the Khagola śāstra or positional astronomy, where a celestial sphere (khagola)
is imagined for determining the positions of the heavenly bodies moving
with respect to the static celestial sphere, placing the earth at its
centre.
In Table-III, one observes that the planets are
arranged, according to their distances from the earth, in the sequence (Earth-Moon), Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn..... (1) and according to the heliocentric model, the sequence
is Sun, Mercury, Venus, (Earth-Moon), Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn..... (2)
One observes that the sequence (l) can readily be obtained from the sequence (2) by an interchange of the Sun and the Earth-Moon system.[4] Hindu scriptures provide 7 names for the atmospheres of these 7 planets, namely Bhūh. Bhūvah, Svah, Jana, Tapah and Satyam and furthermore, the ecliptics of these seven planets are described as seven paridhis : “Saptasyāsan paridhayah”, in the Yajurveda (III/1)
Seven Days of Week
Why seven days make a week? And wherefrom the names of
these seven days have come? Every Indian will be pleased to know that it is also
a gift of India
The sun or Ravi
From the above
discussions it becomes evident that the names of Sunday, Monday and Saturday
have been derived from Ravivāra, Somavāra and Śanivāra. In Rome Rome Rome Rome
Again, deleting the
leading letter ‘a’ and the trailing ‘tra’ from ‘ahorātra’, one is
left with the word horā, and
from this horā, another system of
measuring time, the ‘Horā System’, introduced the celebrated Indian astronomer
Varāha Mihira, by dividing a day and night into 24 horās. In fact, he conceived the idea that the time
taken for a Zodiacal sign to rise in horizon equal to two horās. Many
believe that from this Horā System the entire world has adopted the present
practice of dividing a day and night into 24 hours and moreover, from Sanskrit horā,
English hour, Latin hora and Greek ora (ωρα) have been derived. It is
interesting to note here that, one can derive the names of the seven days of a
week from this Horā System as well. One has to assume a lord for each horā of
the day and Ravivāra is to be accepted as the first day of the week, but
counting is to be made in the reverse or descending order and the fourth place
gives the name of the following day.
Some Western scholars believe that the
Horā System of reckoning time, by dividing a day and night into 24 equal parts
as described above, was originated, not in India but in Greece. It is also
important to note here that most of the Western scholars are inclined to
discover Western influence in every aspect of Indian astronomy, though in most
of the eases such a notion has been proved to be entirely baseless. The main
reason for such an allegation lies in the fact that Indian astronomers of later
period tried to determine the true positions of the planets by an approach very
similar to that used by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy. Like Ptolemy they also
took the help of epicycles to explain planetary movements.
The opinions of the Indian scholars in this regard is
that, the astronomers of this country independently discovered all the basic
laws of astronomy and particularly the astronomical facts discovered in Vedic
times were purely Indian discoveries, since in those days there was no scope of
being influenced by the so called Western ideas. So, many believe that the
process of determining the true positions of the planets by the use of
epicycles was independently discovered by the Indians as well as the Greek
astronomers. Or, if the Indian astronomers had borrowed anything from the West,
they took merely the idea and all other refinements and developments were
carried out independently by themselves.
In this regard, Professor
P.C. Sengupta, the renowned scholar of ancient Indian astronomy, writes, “In
regard to the methods of spherical astronomy, Indian astronomers were in no way
indebted to the Greeks. Thus, although scientific Indian astronomy is dated
much later than the time of Ptolemy, barring the mere idea of an epicyclic
theory coming from outside India, its constants and methods were all original”.[5]
The Romaka
Siddhānta is one of the five principal texts of Hindu astronomy and since
its
name has been derived
from the city of Rome
In the present context it would be relevant lo quote
Rev. E. Burgess, the translator of Sūrya
Siddhānta into English, in this regard. He writes, “As regards the resemblances
between the Greek and the Hindu methods of calculating the true places of
planets, I think that only hints could have passed from one people to the
other, and that at an early period; for on the supposition that the Hindus
borrowed from the Greeks at a later period, we find difficult to see
precisely what it was that
they borrowed.....And in regard to the more important of such data and results,
the Hindus are more nearly correct than the Greeks, and in regard to the times
of revolutions of the planets they are very nearly correct. There has evidently
been very little borrowing between the Hindus and the Greeks. ...I am inclined
to think that the course of derivation was opposite to that supposed by
Colebrooke — from East to the West rather than from West to the East. ...I should be disposed to
conclude that Indians were, in this instance, teachers than learners”.[7]
So it is quite reasonable
to admit that the system of counting a week consisting of seven days and the
method of naming these seven days were discovered in India and gradually it
spread over to the entire globe, and there is no doubt that, following Ravivāra
the West has named the first day of the week as Sunday and in a similar manner,
Monday from Moon-day or Somavāra and Saturday from Saturnday or Śanivāra.
In the present context it would be relevant to mention here that the
Western scholars, to designate the seven Julian days, use the symbols of planets and for Sunday they use the
symbol of the sun and for the succeeding days they use the symbols of Moon,
Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. Here one should also notice that the English word Venus has
been derived from the Sanskrit Vena,
the other name of the planet Śukra and the scholars believe that the
Greek word “Kupros” for Venus has been derived from Sanskrit Śukra. It
should also be mentioned
here that the Webster’s
dictionary says that, in the middle age, Friday was called Venus day.
One should also note here that the practice of naming
the seven days of a week originated at a much later period and, in fact, one
finds mentioning of vāra nowhere in the Vedas but only in the Mahābhārata
(Ādi : 160/7). Some critics also argue that, since the word horā is
not an original Sanskrit word but merely fabricated by Varāhamihira from
ahorātra, the Horā System cannot be an Indian invention and came
from outside India. For these reasons or other, some scholars, including
Professor S. B. Dixit, believe that the Chaldean astronomers of Babylon, nearly
6000 years ago, probably invented the practice of measuring a day and night by
dividing it into 24 smaller units. Many also believe that it is the Chaldeans
who named the 12 signs of the zodiac. It is important to note here that the
Chaldean astronomer Saros discovered the cycle of 18 years, 11 days and 8
hours, named after him, which is extensively used for predicting solar
eclipses. But it is interesting to note that, despite all such counter
arguments. Rev, E. Burgess is convinced that the practice of measuring a
day and night by dividing in into 24 parts originated in India.[8]
It may be recalled that
the Horā System is not essential for naming he seven days of a week and
primarily it was done by our astronomers dividing a day and night into 60 ghaţis
or 60 daņdas. Hence, we may conclude without doubt that, it is our
astronomers who named the seven days of a week using the original Indian system
of dividing a day and night into 60 ghaţis and hence it was
absolutely an Indian approach without the scope of having any foreign influence
whatsoever. And in their subsequent attempt they have shown that, one can
arrive at the same results using 24 horās as well. In a verse (1/296) of Yājňavalkya
Samhitā, the names of the planets are given exactly in the order of week
days and hence there is every reason to believe that the names of the planets
in that verse were mentioned particularly as the lords of the seven days of a
week. This makes Professor S. B. Dixit to believe that the names of the seven
days of a week were known in the times of Yājňavalkya Samhitā.[9]
Fortnight,
Month and Year
Units of time larger than day and week are fortnight
and month. The Ŗgveda says, “aruņo māsakdŗvikah’’ and Ācārya
Yāska in his commentary over the verse says. “aruņo arocano māsakŗņmāsānām
cārddhamāsānām ca kartā bhavati” or the moon is the creator of months and
fortnights. In Sanskrit the moon is called candramas and the word māsa
has been derived
from the parting syllable ‘mas’ of candramas. So it appears that,
during the Vedic period people counted months and fortnights according to the
phases of the moon. According to Professor S. B. Dixit, it was quite natural
since one has to ascertain the duration of a solar month by tedious
calculations, while lunar months arc visible to the naked eye and he writes,
“Therefore it is clear that solar months came into being afterwards”.[10]
In India
During the Ŗgvedic times, the year was called ‘samā’—“samānām māsa
ākŗtih” (RV: X/85/5). The verse (1/ 164/48) of Ŗgveda says, “dvādaśaprayodhaścakramekam
triņī nabhyāni”, and Ācārya Sāyana in his commentary over the verse
says that ‘dvādaśaprayodhah’ stands for 12 solar months and ‘triņī
nabhyāni’ for three principal seasons namely summer, rains and winter.
Another Ŗgvedic verse (I/164/11) says, “dvādaśāram na hi tajjarāya varvati cakram paridyāmŗtasya” or
a wheel of Āditya with twelve spokes is relentlessly rotating in the sky
that does not get tired of age.’ According
to the commentary of Ācārya Sāyana, twelve spokes in the verse stand for
twelve signs of the zodiac and the wheel stands for a solar year. Most of the
scholars agree that the verse tells how 12 solar months are generated due to
the sun’s annual journey through the 12 signs of the zodiac.
Some scholars, on the other hand, are of the view that
Vedic people were not aware of the existence of the 12 signs of the zodiac and
the origin of 12 solar months. The argument does not seem to be tenable since
without the knowledge of 12 zodiacal signs it would not have been possible for
them to count 12 solar months and in the absence of the knowledge of 12 solar
months they would not have been able to make an adjustment between the solar
and the lunar calendars with the invention of the process called Triennial
Intercalation. Most of the scholars therefore agree that, though counting of
lunar months and lunar days (tithis) were more common during the Vedic
times, the year was counted solar. In this regard Pundit S. B. Dixit is of the
view that the extensive use of the Sanskrit words samkramaņa and
nişkramaņa, the former for sun’s entry into a zodiacal sign and the latter
for sun’s exit from the same clearly indicates that the Vedic people were well
aware of the existence of 12 zodiacal signs as well as the origin of 12 solar
months.[11]
The earth in its annual journey around the sun moves
at an enormous speed of nearly 106,000 Km per hour and completes one revolution
in one solar year. But from the earth it seems that the sun moves round the
earth along a particular path called the ecliptic, which lies inclined to the
equator of the celestial sphere by nearly 23.5 degrees. In Indian astronomy the
ecliptic is called the Vaiśvānarapatha. The 12 signs of the zodiac
divide the ecliptic into 12 equal parts and hence each zodiacal sign covers a
distance of 30 degrees of the ecliptic. The names of these 12 signs of the
zodiac are Meşa (Aries), Vŗşa (Taurus), Mithuna (Gemini), Karkaţa
(Cancer), Simha (Leo), Kanyā (Virgo), Tulā (Libra), Vŗścika
(Scorpion), Dhanu (Sagittarius), Makara (Capricorn), Kumbha (Aquarius)
and Mīna (Pisces).
In Indian astronomy there is another practice of
dividing the ecliptic into 27 equal parts with the help of 27 asterisms and
each part covering 13 degrees and 20 minutes of the ecliptic. The names of
these 27 asterisms are Aśvinī (β and γ Arietis), Bharaņī (35, 39 and 41
Arietis), Kŗttikā (η Tauri). Rohiņī (α, ,, , Tauri),
Mŗgaśira (λ,φ, Orionis). Ārdrā (α Orionis), Punarvasu (
and Geminorum), Puşyā (,,Cancri), Aśleşā (ε, δ, η, σ Hydrae), Maghā (α,
η, γ, ζ, μ, ε Leonis), Pūrva-Fālgunī (δ, θ Leonis), Uttara-Fālgunī (93 Leonis), Hastā (δ,
γ, ε, α, β Corvi), Citrā
(Virginis), Svātī ( Bootis). Viśākhā,
( α Librae), Anurādhā(δ, β, π Scorpionis), Jyeşthā(α, σ, τ Scorpionis), Mūlā(λ,ν,χ,θ,η,ζ,μ,ε Scorpionis), Pūrvaşādhā(δ,ε
Sagittarii), Uttaraşādhā (σ,ζ Sagittarii), Abhijit (α,ε,ζ Lyrae), Śravaņā (Aquilae),
Śrāvişthā (β,α,γ,δ Delphini), a.k.a. Dhanişthā, Śatabhişā (Aquarii),
Pūrva-Bhādrapada (Pegasi) and Uttara-Bhādrapada (
Pegasi and Andromadae).
The sun takes 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes and
10.8 seconds in passing through all the 12 signs of the zodiac and, according
lo Indian astronomy, the duration for which it stays in a particular zodiacal
sign is called a solar month. So the Indian astronomical texts say that, a
solar month begins with a samkramaņa or sun’s entry into a zodiacal sign
and ends with a nişkramaņa or its exit from that zodiacal sign
(SS:I/13). The duration of such a solar month varies from 29.33 days to 31.5
days. But in naming these solar months the previous practice for the lunar
months as mentioned above continued. For example, as soon as the sun enters the
zodiacal sign Meşa (Aries) the month Vaiśākha
starts, but the full-moon in this month occurs when the moon enters the
house of Tulā
Another Ŗgvedic verse (I/25/8) says, “vedā māso
dhŗtavrata dvādaśa prajāvatah vedā yā upajāyate” -or, those who know the
secret of the origin of twelve months also know the secret of origin of the
thirteenth month. The scholars agree
that the verse mentions the process of Triennial Intercalation for making a
compromise between the solar and the lunar calendars. It has been pointed out
earlier that a solar year, comprising 12 solar months, contains nearly 365
days, while a lunar year comprising 12 lunar months contains nearly 355 days.
So three consecutive solar years contain 36 solar months but 37 lunar months
and a compromise was made by counting a lunar year of 13 lunar months in very
third solar year. This extra 13th month is called ‘in adhika māsa,
malimluca-māsa or simply
a mala-māsa (VS: X11/30). In English, it is called an intercalary month.
To skip this 13th month, Hindu scriptures forbid performance of any
religious rite in this month.
One should notice that in absence of a compromise
through intercalation all Hindu festivals, generally observed according to
lunar days (tithis), would have advanced every year by 10 days and there
would not have any link between a religious festival and the season in which it
is observed. In this context it may be pointed out here that, since the Hijri
calendar followed by the Muslims does not have any provision for intercalation,
their religious festivals advance by 10 days every year.
It is also important to note here that the adoption of
a solar or a lunar calendar has an intimate bearing with the culture of the
adopting society. An agricultural society has no other option but to follow
solar calendar since the seasons of sowing and reaping are determined, not by a
lunar but, by the solar cycle. So it becomes evident that quite a long ago,
during the days of Ŗgveda, Indian society had advanced into the
agricultural stage of human civilization and hence the need for a compromise between the lunar and
solar calendars was arisen. But in Arabia , due to semi-desert character of land and paucity of
rainfall, agriculture is an impossible task even today. Due to these two geographical
compulsions, it could not have been possible for the Arabian society to advance
itself from the pastoral into an agricultural stage of civilization and that is
the reason why the Arabs are being able to carry out their day to day life
following a completely lunar Hijri calendar. It is also important to note here
that if the Islamic Bangladeshi Government tries today to impose the lunar
Hijri calendar there it would not be acceptable for the people of Bangladesh
We should conclude this section with a few comments on
the durations of the lunar and the solar months. The moon completes one
revolution around the earth, or moves 360 degrees, in 27 days, 7 hours, 43
minutes and 11.5 seconds and it is called a sidereal lunar month. But within
this period the sun advances by nearly 28.5 degrees along the ecliptic. So,
between two successive full-moons, called a civil (sāvana)
lunar month, the moon has to travel 360+28.5 degrees. The earth moves round the
sun in an elliptic orbit with the sun at one or its foci. When the earth is at
perihelion or at the position nearest to the sun, its speed, according to
Kepler’s Laws of planetary motion, increases and hence from the earth the sun
is seen to move faster taking nearly 29 days to cover a zodiacal sign. At
present, this occurs in the winter season when the sun lies in the house of Dhanu (Sagittarius) and hence the solar
month Pauşa contains only 29 days.
On the contrary, when the earth is at aphelion or
farthest from the sun, it becomes slower and the sun takes nearly 32 days to
cover a 30 degree path along the ecliptic. This occurs in the rainy
season when the sun rests in the house of Mithuna (Gemini) and hence the
month Āşādha contains 32 days.
Furthermore, while the earth is at perihelion, the sun moves more than 28.5 degrees between two successive
full-moons and hence the duration of the lunar month increases and due to
opposite reason the duration of the lunar month decreases while the earth is at
aphelion. One lunar month is one ahorātra
in pitrloka, where the bright half of the moon is the day while the dark
half is the night (MS: I/66).
Yuga
The units of time larger than a year are called yugas.
The word yuga has been derived from yoga and yoga from
samyoga, or conjunction of heavenly bodies. So one finds the origin of
every unit of yuga to a specific conjunction of the heavenly bodies in
the sky. In Indian astronomy, starting from a mere 5 year yuga to a vast
Mahāyuga of 4,320,000 years are in vogue. Every 5 year, a conjunction of
the sun and the moon occurs at the asterism Dhanişthā
in the zodiacal sign Makara (Capricorn). The sun enters Makara, in
the month of Māgha. Hence the conjunction recurs every 5 year on the
new-moon day in the month of Māgha
and that is the basis of counting a 5 year yuga.
The Vedānga Jyotisa provides special names for these five years and they
are Samvatsara, Parivatsara, Idāvatsara. Anuvatsara and Idvatvatsara [VS:
26/45, 30/16; TB: 1/4/10 ;111/4/1-4).
The planet Vŗhaspati (Jupiter) takes 1 year to
cover a zodiacal sign and hence takes 12 years to complete its journey through
all the 12 signs of the zodiac. This is the basis for counting a 12 year yuga
and since it originates from the motion of Vŗhaspati, it is often
called the Vrāhaspatya-yuga. It would be relevant to mention here that
the Kumbha-Mela is held when Vŗhaspati
enters the house of Kumbha (Aquarious) and hence the festival recurs
every 12 years.
From the facts narrated above, one observes that a
conjunction of the sun and the moon at Dhanişthā, while the Vŗhaspati
(Jupiter) at makara (Capricorn),
occurs every 60 years and that is the basis for counting a 60 year yuga.
Hindu scriptures provide separate names for all the sixty years of a 60 year yuga.[4]
The rare occasion when the sun, the moon and Vŗhaspati (Jupiter) meet at
dhanişthā repeats at an
interval of 865 million years. Such a conjunction occurs five times in a Kalpa.
Divine
and Demoniacal Day and Year
From the Ŗgvedic verse (X/89/4) scholars believe that
the Vedic seers were aware of the fact that the axis of the earth’s diurnal
motion rests inclined to the plane of its annual motion around the sun. It is
really surprising that they also knew that due to this reason a day and a night
in the polar region continue for 6 months each. The Hindu scriptures mention
the north polar region as the abode of the goods or Devaloka, the south
polar region as the abode of the demons or Asuraloka and the equatorial
region as the dwelling place of human beings or Mānavaloka (SS:XII/35;
PS:XJH/2). So one day and night in Devaloka or one Deva-ahorātra is equal to 1 human year or Mānava-varşa.
Furthermore, 360 Deva-ahorātras make 1 divine year or Devavarşa and
hence one Deva-varşa is equal to 360 human years or Mānava-varşas (SS:
1/4).
Four
Yugas and Mahāyuga
According to the Hindu astronomical texts, 1200 divine
years or 1200 X 360 = 432,000 human years make 1 Kaliyuga. The basis for
this lies in the fact that nearly 1.97 billion years ago (at the beginning of
the present kalpa) a precise conjunction of all the planets occurred at
the asterism Aśvinī in the zodiacal sign Meşa (Aries) and it is believed that the phenomenon recurs every
4,320,000 years. In between two such major conjunctions, nine minor
conjunctions occur at a regular interval of 432,000 years. Since a single
conjunction occurs every 432,000 human years or 1200 divine years, the period
is called a Kali (one) yuga (conjunction). The time Interval for
two such conjunctions or 864,000 years (2400 divine years) is a Dvāparayuga,
the time interval for three such conjunctions or 1,296,000 years (3600
divine years) is a Tretāyuga and the same for four such conjunctions or
1,728,000 years (4800 divine years) is a Kŗtayuga or Satyayuga. Adding
up all the four yugas mentioned above, one obtains a Mahāyuga of
4,320,000 years or 12,000 divine years which is ten times as large as one Kaliyuga
(SS:I/15-17; MS:I/68-72), One may find mentioning of yugas elsewhere
(RV:I/158/6,V/52/4, V/73/3; VS: 30/15: AB:33/15; TB:III/4/1) and in Mahabharata
(Vana/3/23; Bhisma/100/37; Drona/73/22; Karna/37/ 8; Gada/27/10).
For every four yugas mentioned above, there are
periods called dawn (ūşā
The Manu Samhitā (Vl/92)
defines ten codes of dharma and these are dhŗti (contentment), kşamā
(forgiveness), dama(restraint), asteya (not to take anything
stealthily), śauca (cleanliness), indriya-nigraha (control of sensuality), dhīh(intelligence
to ascertain good and bad), vidyā (knowledge of the Self), satyam
(truthfulness) and akrodha
(un-wrathfulness). It is said
that, in Kŗtayuga people observe at least four codes of dharma
and in Tretā and Dvāpara it declines to three and two
codes respectively and finally in Kali people observe only one code of
dharma. It implies that people are most ethical in Kŗtayuga and they
become most unethical and dishonest in Kaliyuga. Hence it is said that, dharma
stands on four pillars in Kŗtayuga, three pillars in Tretāyuga, two
pillars in Dvāparayuga and finally on one pillar in Kaliyuga (MS:
1/ 81, 82). It is also believed that, due to this ethical degeneration the
expected human life span follows a downward trend. It is 400 years in Kŗtayuga
and decreases to 300
and 200 years in Tretā and Dvāpara and finally to 100 years in Kaliyuga
(MS:1/83). In other words, both physical and intellectual ability of humans
is highest in Kŗtayuga and
gradually degrades and becomes worst in Kaliyuga.
Precession
of Equinoxes
It
has been mentioned above that, from the Ŗgvedic verse (X/89/4) both Indian and
Western scholars, including the German scholar Professor Ludwig, agree that the
Vedic ŗşis were aware of the fact that the axis of the earth rests
inclined to its
plane of annual motion by an angle of 23.5 degrees. Due to this reason
when the earth is at perihelion, the sun shines normally on the tropic of
Capricorn. These days, it occurs on 23rd December and on that day night becomes
longest and the
Table - IV
Yugas
|
Division of
Yugas
|
Divine
years
|
Total
Divine Years
|
Human
years
|
Total
Human years
|
Kaliyuga
|
Dawn
Kali
Twilight
|
100
1000
100
|
1200
|
36000
360000
36000
|
432,000
|
Dvāparayuga
|
Dawn
Dvāpara
Twilight
|
200
2000
200
|
2400
|
72000
720000
72000
|
864,000
|
Tretayuga
|
Dawn
Treta
Twilight
|
300
3000
300
|
3600
|
108000
1080000
108000
|
1,296,000
|
Kŗtayuga
|
Dawn
Kŗta
Twilight
|
400
4000
400
|
4800
|
144000
1440000
144000
|
1,728,000
|
Mahāyuga
|
12,000
|
4,320,000
|
(Source: SS-I/15-17)
During Uttarāyaņa the sun shines normally on
the equator on 23rd March and the sun’s position on that day is called the
vernal equinox (Mahāvişuva) and similarly during Daksiņayana the
sun shines normally again on the equator on 22nd September and the
position of the sun on that day is called the autumnal equinox (Jalavişuva).
While die sun is on the equinoctial points, the day and night becomes of
equal duration in both northern and southern hemispheres. The sun at the vernal
equinox initiates the spring in the northern and autumn in the southern
hemisphere. Conversely, the sun at the autumnal equinox initiates spring in the
southern and autumn in the northern hemisphere:
In other words, the vernal equinox initiates the day
in the north polar region and night in the south polar region. Hence it is said
that the sun at Mahāvişuva is the dawn in Devaloka and twilight
in Asuraloka. On the contrary, when the sun is autumnal equinox, it is
twilight in Devaloka and the dawn in Asuraloka. The Paňca
Siddhāntika gives a more detailed description in this regard and says that,
while the sun is in zodiacal signs of Vŗścika, Dhanu. Makara and Kumbha
(or from the month
of Agrahāyaņa to the month of Fālguna), Devaloka experiences
night and Asuraloka experiences day. When the sun is in the zodiacal
signs of Vŗşa, Mithuna. Karkata and
Simha (or from the month of
Jyaiştha to the month of Bhādra),
day prevails in Devaloka and night in Asuraloka. While the sun is
in Kanyā and Tulā
The above descriptions reveal that during the time of Varāhamihira,
the vernal equinox was lying between Mīna
and Meşa, while the atumnal equinox
was lying in between Simha and Tulā
One should note here that,
due in this shifting of the equinoctial points, today Fālguna and Caitra
is the dawn in Devaloka and twilight in Asuraloka, while Bhādra
and Āśvina is the dawn in Asuraloka and twilight in Devaloka.
This aspect of ayana-calana deserves a fairly detailed discussion
since the phenomenon is extensively used for estimating the antiquity of the
older events of Indian History.
Manvantara
and Kalpa
The largest unit of time conceived by the Indian
astronomers is a kalpa
and 1000 Mahāyugas or 4.32 billion years make 1 kalpa. Hindu
scriptures provide names of 30 kalpas and first few of them are Svetavārāha,
Nīlalohita, Vāmadeva, Gāthāntara, Raurava, Prāņa, Vŗhatkalpa and so on.
Seventy-one Mahāyugas plus one Kŗtayuga or 308,448,000 years make
1 Manvantara (Manu+ antara) of which 71 Māhayugas is a Manu and
1 Kŗtayuga is its twilight (MS:I/79). It is believed that. within
1 manvantara the sun completes one revolution around the Parimeşţhī-maņdala,
or the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy, and after every manvantara a universal annihilation of
life takes place and the life-process begins again through procreation by a new
Manu (MS: I/79,80). Hindu scriptures provide names of 14 manvantaras and
they are Svāyambhūva, Svaraşica, Uttamaja, Tāmasa, Raivata,
Cākşusa, Vaivasvata, Sāvarņī, Daksasāvarņī, Brahmasavarņī, Dharmasavarņī,
Rudra-savarņī. Raucya and Bhautyaka (MS: 1/61, 62). One should
notice here that, 14 manvantaras plus 1 Kŗtayuga make 1 kalpa (SS:
I/79).
One kalpa is the day and the following kalpa is the night of creator Brahmā and hence 2 kalpas make 1 Brāhma-
divasa (MS: I/72,73). 360 Brāhmadivasas or 3110,400,000.000 human
years make 1 Brāhmavarşa and the life span of Brahmā is 1 para-yuga
or 100 Brāhmavarşas (MS: I/ 12) or 311,040,000,000,000 human years.
On the other hand, 1 parayuga is only a day of Visnu and a
twinkle of Kŗşņa or Śiva .[13] The 50 years life span of Brahmā is
called 1 parārddha (para + arddha),
while the first 50 years is called prathama parārddha and the rest 50 years is called dvitīya parārddha. At
the end of Brahmā’s life the entire creation containing all matter is
believed to be resolved into its ultimate source and creation begins afresh
under the supervision of a new Brahmā
(SS:1/20-22). Observing the vastness of Mahāyugas, manvantaras and kalpas,
one may apprehend that the entire concept is simply a mythological fantasy
and far from reality.[14] So, it would be relevant here to say a few
words in this regard. The usual practice in the West is to calculate the time
for one complete revolution or time period of revolution for the planets. But the Hindu astronomers followed a
completely different course. Since all the planets meet at Aśvinī at a
regular interval of 1 Mahāyuga, they calculated the number of complete
revolutions the planets make within a Mahāyuga, and hence one can easily
calculate the time period of revolution of a planet by dividing the Mahāyuga
by the integral number of complete revolutions it makes. The results are shown
in Table-V, along with modern accepted values for a comparative study.
The excellent agreement between the results of the
Indian astronomers and that of the modern Western astronomers, as shown in the
Table above, may not escape one’s notice. One should also notice that for
Mercury, agreement is up to the third place of decimal. The accuracy of
calculations of the Indian astronomers has also been well reflected on another
study. Astronomers throughout the world tried their best lo determine the duration
of the solar year and their results are presented in Table-VI, below.
Table V
Planets
|
No, of Revolutions
Within a Mahāyuga
|
Periods of Revolutions
Sūrya
Siddhanta Modern Values
(in civil
days) (in civil days)
|
Error
(In civil days*)
|
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
|
4,320, 000
17,973,060
7,022,376
2,296,832
364,220
146,568
|
365.258757 365.256375
87.969703 87.969258
224,698571 224,700787
686,997494 686,979645
4332.320652 4332,584821
10765.773074 10759.219817
|
0.00238
0.00044
-0.00221
0.01785
- 0.26417
6.55325
|
*Time from one sunrise to the next sunrise is one civil
(sāvana) day. (Source : Sūrya Siddhānta, op. cit., p-19)
Table - VI
Source
|
Solar Year (Sidereal*)
Days Hours Min
Sec
|
Error
Days Hours
Min Sec
|
Sūya Siddhanta
Pauliśa āiddhanta
Parāśara āiddhanta
Ārya āiddhanta
Laghu Ārya āiddhanta
Siddhanta Śiromaņī
Greek (Ptolemy)
Modern
|
365 06 12 36.56
365 06 12 36.00
365 06 12 31.50
365 06 12 30.84
365 06 12 30.00
365 06 12 09.00
366 12 09 48.60
365 06 09 10.80
|
0 0 3
25.76
0 0 3
25.20
0 0 3
20.70
0 0 3
20.04
0 0 3
19.20
0 0 2
58.20
1 6 0
37.80
0 0
0 00.00
|
*Time for sun’s one complete revolution w. r. to a fixed star.
(Source: Sūrya āiddhanta, op. cit., p-26)
The Table shows that the value calculated by the Greek
astronomer Ptolemy is horribly inaccurate in comparison to those calculated by
the Indians and this thoroughly rejects the notion that the Indian astronomers
had borrowed ideas and methods from the Greeks. Had Indians borrowed ideas from
the Greeks then their results would have been inferior to that calculated by
Ptolemy, As a matter of fact, it confirms Rev. Burgess’ apprehension that, if
there was any borrowing between the Greeks and the Indians, it was from the
Indians to the Greeks, rather than from Greeks to the Indians.[14]
The
Present Kaliyuga:
When did the present Kaliyuga begin?
Scrutinizing the information given in the Sūrya Siddhānta and
other Hindu texts, both Indian and Western scholars, including Mr. Le Verrier,
the discoverer of the planet Neptune, concluded that the present Kaliyuga commenced
at the midnight of 17th and 18th February, in 3102 B.C. The positions
of the planets on that moment of time as given in Sūrya Siddhānta, are
shown in Table-VII below, along with the results calculated by the astronomers
Bently and Bailly, for a comparative study.
Data shown in Table-VII are in European or Sāyana
(vernal equinox equal to 0° longitude) system. According to the Hindu Nirāyaņa
system, (the star Revatī or Zeta Pisciam in the asterism Aśvinī, just
at the beginning of Mesa (Aries) as 0° longitude), one can estimate the
position of the planets by considering that in 3102 B.C., the vernal equinox
was lying 50°22’29" in the west of Hindu zero. So, one obtains the
positions of the planets in Nirāyaņa by adding 50°22’29" to the
data given in Table-VII. Converting the data given in Sūrya Siddhānta
in this manner one obtains the figures as shown in Table-VIII below.
From the data shown in Table-VIII, one observes that
on that day the sun was at 22o 08’ inside the zodiacal sign Pisces (Mīna) and hence it was probably the 22nd
day of the month of Caitra. The data also show that, on that day the
moon had advanced the sun by 6°18' and hence it was the first day of the bright half or śukla pratipada. The Table also
shows that the moon’s ascending node or Rāhu was in Tulā Mesa
Time
Elapsed from Beginning of this Creation
How old is this universe? Or how old this creation is?
One can ascertain this from the Samkalpa mantra which every Hindu priest
utters at the beginning of any yajňa or religious performance. The
intention of this Samkalpa mantra is to specify the place and
time of the yajňa and to give a detailed description of the individual (yajmāna)
on whose behalf he is to perform the yajňa. But we shall pay our attention
only to that part of the mantra where time is being specified and in this year
(2006 A.D.) it reads “Adya Brahmaņo dvitīya parārddhe
Svetavārāhakalpe saptame Vaivasvate manvantare astāvimśatitame Kaliyuge
Kali-prathama-caraņe ekaśata-paňcādhika-paňcasahasra-varşa gatabde”.
Table – VII [Positions of Planets at the midnight of 17th & 18th February, 3102 B.C. ]
Planets
|
Sūrya Siddhanta
Degree Min Sec
|
Degree Min
Sec
|
Baily (Astronomy Indienne)
Degree Min
Sec
|
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Moon
Rahu*
|
301 45 43
268 34 05
334 36 30
289 48 05
318 16 07
281 36 18
308 03 50
148 02 16
|
301 01 01
267 35 26
333 44 37
288 55 19
318 03 54
280 01 58
306 53 42
144 38 32
|
301 05 57
261 14 21
334 22 18
288 55 56
310 22 10
293 08 21
300 51 16
144 37 41
|
*Moon’s ascending node. ( Source:
Sūrya Siddhanta, op. cit., p-20 )
Table-VIII
Planets
|
Positions in
Degrees Minutes Seconds
|
Positions in Hindu
Astrological Style*
|
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Moon
Rahu
|
352 08 12
318 56 34
024 58 59
340 10 34
008 38 36
331 58 47
358 26 19
198 24 45
|
11/22/08/12
10/18/56/34
00/24/58/59
11/10/10/34
00/08/38/36
11/01/58/47
11/28/26/19
06/18/24/4
|
*Raśi/degree/min/sec; {Meşa-0, Vŗşa-1, Mithuna-2, Karkaţa-3, Kumbha-10, Mīna-11}
The mantra says that the first 50 years (prathama-parārdha) of Brahmā’s life have gone and the first day (Svetavārāha Kalpa) of his 51st year is in currency. Out of this first day, 6 manvantaras have gone and the 7th Vaivasvata isin currency. Out of this Vaivasvata manvantara, 27 Mahāyugas have gone and out of the running 28th Mahāyuga, 1 Kŗtayuga, 1 Tretāyuga and 1 Dvāparayuga have gone and the Kaliyuga is in currency. Finally, out of this present Kaliyuga, 5105 years have passed and 5106th year (5107th year is to commence on
The
Christian Chronology
From the days of British colonial rule we have developed
a habit of following the Christian, or rather the Gregorian calendar. The main
difficulty of this chronology is that, it originated only nearly 2000 years ago
and hence incapable of accommodating events of long past as stated above. The
geological time-frame invented by the scientists can take care of events which
happened not earlier than 4 billion years ago. Most importantly, the origin and
the process of counting months and years in Gregorian calendar are in no way
linked to astronomical events. That is the reason why it was a matter of
dispute whether the month February in 2000 A.D. would contain 29 days or 30
days.
Some texts try to establish a link between the birth
of Jesus and the beginning of this Christian or Gregorian calendar and say that
a bright star then appeared in the sky. According to the famous German
astronomer Johannes Kepler, it was a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and
Saturn in the zodiacal sign Pisces and the incident look place in 7 B.C. Most
of the historians and researchers on Jesus believe that he was born somewhere
in between 6 B.C. and 4 B.C.[15] Moreover, the people who are
connected with the origin of this calendar, possess entirely childish and
amusing ideas about the creation of this universe and its antiquity. The Irish
prelate James Ussher in 17th century openly declared, without giving any
thought to the possible repercussions of his statement that this universe
originated on February 26, 4004 B.C. at 9 a.m. Even today most of them believe that
God created this earth and heaven within six days from nothingness and finished
His task on that day.[4]
In fact, the present Christian chronology originated
in 753 B.C., the year of foundation of the city of Rome India
In 1582, Pope Gregori XIII, in his endeavour to make it
in harmony with the solar cycle, introduced some vital revisions. He introduced
the practice of counting a year normally of 365 days and, a leap year of 366
days every fourth year. Furthermore, he made the rule that, a centesimal year
will be treated as a leap year only when it is divisible by 400. Despite all
such efforts it was seen that, a discrepancy of 11 days had crept in the year
1700 A.D. A compromise was made in that year by skipping those 11 days and in
fact, 4th September was counted as 15th September in that
year. In the Eastern
Europe the
said correction was done in 1917, when the discrepancy reached 13 days.
According to the old calendar the Bolshevik revolution in Russia Britain British
Empire , it
ultimately acquired the present status of an international calendar. So, one
should notice that the Gregorian calendar has achieved the status of an
international calendar not due to its superior scientific basis but due to
military success of its followers.
Epilogue:
According to Indian tradition or Hindu Kālagaņanā, three chronologies are in currency. Firstly, the Kali era or Kalyabda, which has begun from the present Kaliyuga and hence it is 5107 years old. Secondly, the Kalpābda which has begun with the present Svetavārāha Kalpa, and hence it is 1,971,221, 107 years old. And thirdly, the Sŗsţābda, which has begun with the creation of this universe and hence it is 155,521,971,221,107 years old. One should notice that. Kalyabda is fit for narrating historical events of recent past while Kalpābda and Sŗstābda are suitable for narrating much older cosmological, geological, geographical, biological and other events such as the creation of this earth, creation of the sun, beginning of life on earth and so on. So the scientists may find in them the most suitable alternative to the geological time frame which they are now extensively using for describing such older events. Today, there are many chronologies, much older than the Christian chronology, extant in the world, as shown in Table-IX.
Table-IX
Chronology
|
Antiquity
in years
|
Roman
Greek
Turkish (new)
Chinese (new)
Hindu (Kalyabda)
Jewish
Turkish (old)
Egyptian
Chinese (old)
Hindu (Kalpābda)
Hindu (Sŗşābda)
|
2,753
3,576
4,294
4,360
5,111
5,764
6,008
7,610
28,667
189,971
96,002,301
1,971,221,111
155,521,971,221,111
|
So a rational mind may ask – despite having so many older
chronologies, why the shortest of them, the Christian chronology has been given
the status of an international calendar? Why the 21st birth
centenary of a person is to be observed as the 21st century of the
entire world? If a genuine thought is given to the matter, without any racial,
regional, political, sectorial or religious prejudice, the Indian alone deserves
the right to be treated as the calendar of the world, since it is the oldest and based entirely astronomical
science. So, it carries much more scientific sense in saying that we have
entered the 52nd century of Kalyabda
in 1998, than in saying that we have entered the 21st century of the
Christian calendar in 2001.
References:
[1] . Nirukta
(II/25)
[2] . Preface by Mr. P. B. Mukherji: Bharate Jyotish Carccā O Koşţhī Vicārer
Sūtravalī (in Bengali) by Mr. N.N. Bagal, (1992). Sanskrita Pustak Bhandar, Calcutta
[3]. Sūrya Siddhanta,
Tr. By Rev. Ebenezer Burgess, Motilal Banarasidass
Publishers, Delhi
[4] . Ravi Prakash Arya, Itihas
Darpan, Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojana, New
[5] . Astronomy in Ancient India
of Culture, Calcutta
[6] . Bhāratiya Jyotiş
Śāstra, By Mr. Sankar Balakrishna Dixit, Tr. By R.V. Baidya,
Meteorological Department, Government of India
[7] . Bhāratiya Jyotiş Śāstra, op. cit.,
Part-II, p-390.
[8] . Sūrya Siddhanta, op. cit., p-293.
[9] . Bharatīya Jyotiş
Śāstra, op. cit., Part-I, p-105.
[10]. Bhāratīya Jyotiş
Śāstra, op. cit., Part-I, p-17.
[11]. Bhāratīya Jyotiş
Śāstra, op. cit., Part-I, p-156.
[12]. Sūrya Siddhanta,
op. cit., p-10.
[13]. Sūrya Siddhanta,
op. cit., p-12.
[14]. Regarding this Mahayuga, the Encyclopedia of Astrology, edited and
published by the New York based Astrological Research Society, says,
“This Mahayuga of the Hindus is a
period of approximately 4, 320, 000 years, in which , they say, that all the
planets recur at nearly the same position. The astronomer Stuart
showed that this
is correct and the period is 4,
319, 936.8663 years at the end of
which Mercury, Venus,
Earth, Mars, Jupiter
and Saturn return to a position
in the fixed Zodiac about 20O behind where they started. He found
this also Applies to new
planets Uranus and Neptune ; and that an increase in the period of Pluto by one
part in 100,000 or 0.001 per cent, will also bring it into recurrence” (p-231).
[15]. Holger Kersten, Jesus
Lived in India, Element Books Limited (1994), p-60.
SS – Sūrya Siddhānta
VSu - Vaiśeşika Sūtram
VS – Vajasaneyi Samhita
PS – Paňca āiddhantikā
YV – Yajurvada
TB – Taittirīya
Brāhmana
MS – Manu Samhita
TS – Taittirīya Samhita
AB – Aitareya Brāhmana
[1] Professor, Department of Applied Physics, University of Calcutta
92, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road
Calcutta-700 009, INDIA
