Scientific Knowledge in Vedas Text

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Editorial BoardKireet JoshiR.K. Sharma

Madhusudan MishraSC N. Vijayindra Kartha

(Note :- This Exploratory paper represents theviews of the author and does not necessarily

represent the views of the Centre orEditorial Board)


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Exploratory Papers - 2

SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGEINTHE VEDAS

Padmakar Vishnu Vartak

Published byDharam Hinduja International Centre

of Indie Research, Delhi

Sole DistributorsNAG PUBLISHERS11A AJA, Jawahar Nagar,Delhi-110007 (INDIA)


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Editorial NoteThe Dharam Hinduja International Centre of

Indie Research was set up in Delhi by the HindujaFoundation on 10th April 1993- The main objectiveof this Centre is to conduct and promote researchin the Indian tradition of knowledge and to relateit to the contemporary situation. Soon after itsinception, an effort was made to identify scholarsin the country who would have the necessarybackground to participate in its programme ofresearch. This was a difficult task, but more than 25scholars have been identified, and we are fortunatethat they are all collaborating with the Centre in itsvarious programmes.

It is noteworthy that the setting up of the Centreof Research in the memory of the late DharamHinduja is an integral part of a larger programmeof global co-operation, and two more centres havebeen set up in the USA and the UK. On 19th May1994, Columbia Dharam Hinduja Indie ResearchCentre came to be set up in the Columbia Universityof New York city. Similarly, on 23rd June 1994, aMemorandum of Agreement was signed betweenHinduja Foundation and University of Cambridgefor the establishment of the Cambridge DharamHinduja Institute of Indie Research at the CambridgeUniversity. The ultimate aim is to establish centresof Indie Research in all the leading universities ofthe different parts of the world, so that treasures ofIndian tradition of knowledge could be exploredvigorously and expeditiously by the joint labour ofscholars of the East and the West. In due course, itis proposed to bring out an International Newsletterso as to keep everybody interested well informed ofthe progress of the research work initiated by theHinduja Foundations of India, USA and UK.


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Mr. S.P. Hinduja, Chairman of the HindujaFoundation, has pointed out in his Indie Researchand Contemporary Crisis that there is a vaststorehouse of theoretical and practical wisdom inthe cultures and traditions of many countries aridthese traditions of knowledge need to be applied tocontemporary times to help us solve present dayproblems... The Indian tradition of knowledgebeginning with the Vedas and other texts is justsuch a storehouse of wisdom and contains a messageof proven scientific knowledge, which is of relevanceto all mankind regardless of race or creed/7 OurCentre in Delhi has, therefore, initiated the task ofexploring the Indian treasure of knowledge, andduring the course of this year, the Centre hasreceived several learned papers from the scholarswhose co-operation we have enlisted. It was felt thatif some of these papers could be published anddistributed among a wider circle of scholars andreaders, a new impetus could be given to theexploration of the Indian tradition of knowledge.For this reason, our Centre has decided to bring outa series of exploratory papers. The second of thisseries is a paper written by Dr. P.V. Vartak, who isan eminent surgeon in Pune. Well equipped withthe modern scientific knowledge. He has devotedhimself deeply to the scientific study of the Vedas,Upanisads and Gita. It is hoped that this paper willstimulate fresh thinking on the contents of the Vedaand related literature. We shall be happy to receivecomments and suggestions from scholars and otherreaders.

Kireet Joshi


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PREFACEThe Veda in its real and original meaning is

knowledge . All the kowledge collected by theancient Indian sages was compiled in the four booksand that is why they are called the Vedas. Thesefour Vedas, Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda andAtharva Veda are very ancient. Their dates cannotbe easily fixed. As the time flew by, exact meaningsof the texts became unintelligible. Hence, Brahmanaswere written to explain the original Vedas. Still later,Aranyakas were written and then the Upanisads.All these with many other compositions are calledthe Vedic literature.

As we have seen above, Veda meansknowledge. It is, therefore, reasonable to expect thatthe Vedic litrature must be full of knowledge. It isalso quite likely that Science, being a part ofknowledge, would be present in the Vedas. But, sofar, very few people have attempted to reveal thescientific knowledge hidden in the Vedic literature.

In 1956, I passed my M.B.B.S examination andbegan my studies for the Master of Surgerydegree. At that time, we were operating on a patientto give him a new nose because his nose was cut.For this plastic surgery, we used the skin of hisabdomen. We had to operate on him many times tobring the skin-tube from his abdomen to his cheekand then only, we could repair his nose. At thattime, I happend to read the Susruta Samhita - a texton Ayurvedic Surgery. There Susruta had advisedthe use of a skin flap from the forehead so that onlyin one operation the nose could be repaired. Thismethod is now used the world all our but it


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IV

originated in India, in ancient era of about 2000 yearsbefore Christ.

This experience led me to work on thehypothesis that a treasure of scientific knowledge ispresent in the ancient Indian books and I resolvedto discover this science by studying the Vedicliterature.

It is mentioned in the Rigveda, that the QueenVispala got her lower limb severed in a battle, butat night Asvins fitted an artificial iron limb to theQueen of Khela, who then fought the battle the verynext day. (1-116-15). The ancient reference showsthat artificial limbs were fitted then and thetechnique was better than the present one; becauseat present the patient whose limb is amputatedneeds at least six months to walk with the artificiallimb. This is but one relevant example. But thereare many other indications also. I feel that there isample justification to undertake an impartial studyof the Vedic literature with the purpose of exploringtherein evidence of knowledge, even scientificknowledge. In the following pages, I have presentedsome of my explorations in a summary form with aview to stimulate among readers a fruitful exchangeand a detailed study.

P.V. Vartak


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Chapter IChapter II

Chapter IIIChapter IVChapter VChapter VIChapter VIIChapter VIII

Chapter IXChapter XChapter XIChapter XIIChapter XIIIChapter XIVChapter XVChapter XVIChapter XVIIChapter XVIII

CONTENTSEditorial Note iPreface iiiThe Vedas are Born in India 1A Critical Study of 'The Arctic 4Home in the Vedas .Sciences In Vedas 22Script was used 23Astronomy and the Time- 25Reckoning ScienceAncient Indian Scientific Calendar 44Stars Named Scientifically 59Names of Stars went from 63India AbroadWeek Days Originated in India 67The Birth of the Universe, 71the Rigveda and the Modern ScienceForce of Gravitation 91Space Travel and Elongation of Life 93Velocity of Light 95Other Physical Sciences 97Medicine and Surgery 102Test Tube Baby 105Mundaka Upanisad 106Death 126


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CHAPTER - ITHE VEDAS ARE BORN IN INDIAWhy. do I speak of India while considering the

Vedas ? Many scholars think that Rigveda was notborn in India. But my work proves beyond doubtthat Rigveda was born in India and India alone.The reasons for my opinion are these :-

(1) Rigveda mentions rainy season as a separateseason. Only in India the rainy season is a distinctphenomenon. There are three main seasons in India,namely the Summer, the Winter and the Rainyseason. In all other countries the rains come eitherduring summer or in Winter.

(2) Rigveda mentions tigers, lions, elephants,rhinoceroes, buffalos1 and cows with a hump ontheir back. 2 All these animals are present togetherin only one country named India. If you go outsideIndia towards the West you will find lions but notigers. In the East you will find tigers but no lions.Cows are without hump outside India. Rhinos areseen only in India and Africa.

(3) The method of burning a dead body asmentioned in Rigveda is preudent only in India andnowhere else.

(4) The language of Rigveda, Sanskrit, belongsonly to India.

1. Buffalos in Rigveda 6-17-11, 8-77-10, 5-29-7, 8-12-8, 9-33-1, 9-69-3, 9-92-6, 9-95-4, 8-35-7, 10-106-2

2. Hump of a cow, Kakud, Atharva 9-7-5


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2 Scientific Knowledge in the Vedas(5) Vedas are highly esteemed and worshipped

as religious books only in India, not outside.(6) The proper pronunciation of many words inthe Vedas is possible only by the Indian people.

People from outside India find difficulty inpronouncing these words property.

(7) All the Vedic traditions are still present onlyin India, and nowhere outside India. The traditionsof the country are maintained and preserved inIndian literature. This proves that Vedas were bornonly in India.

(8) All the Vedic deities are still esteemed inIndia but nowhere outside India.

(9) All the Vedic seers are held as the originatorsof the Gotras or lineage of groups of people only inIndia and not outside. Thus all the Indians have alink with the Vedic seers.

(10) The Vedic tradition of beginning the newyear with Uttara Phalguril Nakatra and' Vasanta Rtu(The Spring) and ending the previous year withPurva Phalguni as seen quoted in TaittiriyaBrahmana (1-1-2), Taittiriya Samhita 7-4-83is foundpreserved by a particular sect of people inMaharastra, India, namely Chitpavan KonkanasthaBrahmin. This is found nowhere else in the world.

(11) The Vedic culture is found only in Indiaand the Indian culture is based purely on the Vedas.3. Taittiriya Sarrthita 7-4-8, T. Brahmana 1-1-2

qpr^pft 1 1 h^h tt^- Tra^TT^TTf^PTr^rr^r 1 1 8 1The same matter is present in S Br 6-2-2-18, Gopatha Br..6-19, Sankhya. Br. Pancavirrisa Br. 5-5/9


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The Vedas are Born in India 3(12) The three basic principles of the Hindu

religion are :(a) assumption of the one basic Supreme Energysubstance behind the Universe named as

Paramesvara or Parabrahma.(b) Karma - theory, and(c) the theory of rebirth.All these are found in the Rigveda.- Thus

Rigveda is the fountain head of the Hindu religion.Thus Vedas belong to India and the Indianculture belongs to the Vedas. So the Vedas must

have been born in India alone. All the theoriespropounding the composition of Vedas outside Indiaare seem to be wrong. Even the world - renownedtheory of 'The Arctic Home in the Vedas put forthby the late Shri Lokmanya B.G. Tilak appears to bewrong. Let us now examine that theory critically.


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A Critical Study of 'The Arctic Home in the Vedas' 5There were different estimates of the glacial

period, ranging from two lacs of years to 10,000years. Tilak selected 10,000 years and gave supportof astronomy. Here he rightly said that the orbit ofthe earth around the sun is an ellipse, but he heldthat the Sun is not at the centre of the ellipse, butthat it is in one of the focii. Moreover, he held thefocus to be very far away from the centre. Actuallythis assumption is wrong. Modern Astronomy hasshown that the eccentricity of the sun is of 0.01672and so we should scarcely be able to distinguish theellipse from a circle (Larousse Encyclopedia OfAstronomy). At perihelion, the earth is 147 millionkilometres or 91.5 million miles away from the sunwhile at Aphelion the earth is 152 million kms. or94.5 miles away from the sun. So the sun is only 15lacs of miles away from the centre. As the basicassumption of Tilak was wrong, he made furthermistake in holding that the difference between thelegth of summer and winter is of maximum 33 days.Actually the difference is of only 7 days. Hence hisopinion about post-glacial period as of 10,000 yearsis wrong. His further assumption that once upon atime there was spring at the Arctic region all theyear round is also wrong.

Tilak has relied on Dr. Warren and assumedthat the polar region was once inhabitable for humanbeings. Tilak gives the polar characteristics thus :-

(1) The sun rises in the South.(2) The stars do not rise and set, but revolve orspin round and round in horizontal planes

completing one round in 24 hours.(3) The year consists of one long day and onelong night of six months each.


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6 Scientific Knowledge in the Vedas(4) There is only one morning and one evening.The twilight of both lasts for about two months - 60

days of 24 hours each. The ruddy light moves roundand round along the horizon like a potter's wheelcompleting one round in 24 hours.CIRCUM - POLAR CHARACTERISTICS

(1) The sun will always be to the South of theZenith of the observer (the same happens in atemperate zone).

(2) A large number of stars are circumpolar i.e.they are above the horizon during the entire periodof their revolution & hence are always visible. Theremaining stars rise and set as in the temperate zonebut revolve in more pblique circles.

(3) The year is made up of three parts: -(i) one long continuous night occurring at thewinter solstice, and lasting for a period greater than

24 hours but less than 6 months.(ii) Similar one long continuous day at summer

solstice and then,(iii) a succession of ordinary days & nights

during rest of the year. A nychthemeron or a dayand a night together never exceeds a period of 24hour.

(iv) The dawn, at the closure of the long night,lasts for several days.

Tilak writes: If a Vedic description or traditiondiscloses any of the characteristics mentioned above,we may safely infer that the tradition is polar orcircumpolar in origin and the phenomena if notactually witnessed by the poet, was at least known


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A Critical Study of The Arctic Home in the Vedas' 7to him by tradition faithfully handed down fromgeneration to generation/'

The spinning round of heavenly dome over thehead is a special characteristic of the north pole. Wemay find traces of it in the early traditions, if ourancestors ever lived near the north pole. Tilak feltthat they lived near the North pole and found itsevidence in some Vedic hymns. Thus, Rigveda10-89-4 is translated by him thus; Indra is said toseparately uphold by his power heaven and earthas the wheels of a chariot are held by the axle . Thistranslation does not show what Tilak meant.Rotation of the sky like a wheel of a chariot is seeneven in India, it is not specific to the North Pole.Rig. 2-15-2 says: The sky is supported without apole . This is true everywhere, not only at the NorthPole. In Rig 1-24-10, it is said that Ursa Major (Rksah)are placed high and it follows, said Tilak, that itmust be over the head of the observer. This meaningcannot be extracted from this verse. Moreover'Rksah' means stars and not only the Ursa Major orSeven Sages, Saptarsayah means the seven stars orUrsa Major. Only 'Rksah' means any star.

In chapter 163 and 164 of Vana Parva ofMahabharata it is said: At Meru the Sun and theMoon go round from left to right (Pradaksinam)every day and so do all the stars . Later on thewriter informs us The mountain, by its lustre, soovercomes the darkness of night that the night canhardly be distinguished from the day . A few versesfurther we find: The day and night are equal to ayear to the residents of the place . These quotationsare quite sufficient to convince anyone that at thetime of the great epic, Indian writers had accurateknowledge of the North Pole and this cannot be


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8 Scientific Knowledge in the Vedassupposed to have been acquired by meremathematical calculations. The reference to thelustre of the mountain is the description of thesplendours of the Arora Borealis visible at the NorthPole. I fully agree .with Tilak that the author ofMahabharata had the knowledge of the North Polebut I disagree with the conclusion that it might bean ancient tradition whose origin must be traced toa time when these phenomena were daily observedby the people. It is quite possible that someadventurers from India might have travelled to theNorth Pole and observed the facts there and onreturn reported all the facts to the sages here inIndia.

Tilak has taken support of Pars Scriptures. Hehas quoted thus - Ahura Mazda warns Yima, thefirst king of men, of the approach of a dire winter,which is to destroy every living creature by coveringthe land with a thick sheet of ice, and advises Yimato build a Vara or an enclosure to preserve the seedsof every kind of animals and plants. This meetingof Ahura Mazda and Yima took place in AiryanaVaejo, or the paradise of Iranians. The Vara wasaccordingly prepared and Yima asked Ahura Mazda:What lights are there? Mazda answered, 'Thereare uncreated lights and created lights. There thestars, the moon and the sun are only once (a year)seen to rise and set, and a year seems as a day/7From this passage Tilak concluded that AiryanaVaejo or the original home of the Iranians wasrendered uninhabitable by glaciation and in thisoriginal home the sun rose and set only once a yearand the year was like a day. This conclusion is wrongbecause the Vara must have been prepared awayfrom the original home as is seen by the question


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A Critical Study of The Arctic Home in the Vedas' 9What lights are there? The questioner Yima wasnot acquainted with the place where Vara was built,so he asked this question. Mazda also tells aboutthe conditions there, i.e. at the distant place whereVara was to be prepared. These conditions are thoseof the North Pole; so the original home was not onthe north pole or nearby in the Arctic region.

Moreover, to say that the year is like a daythere, one must know what a day is and what ayear is ? To a man residing permanently at the Arctichome day and year are the same. There is nodifference. Then why should a man of the Arcticregion say that the year is like a day ? A personwatching 12 hours' day must have said like that. Sothe original home was not in the Arctic region.

In his support Tilak cites Rigveda 7-76-2 andtranslates it: The Devayana path has become visibleto me. The banner of the Dawn has appeared in theeast. From this verse he infers that the Devayanastarted at the rise of the Dawn. This inferenceappears correct apparently, but is not true, becauseTilak himself has told that in the Polar and Arcticregions the sun rises in the south. Then how is itthat the banner of the Dawn was seen in the east?

Tilak has taken support of Pitryana also. Hestates that the Hindus consider Pitryana asunauspicious for a man to die. This tradition is easilyand rationally explained if the Pitryana representeda period of continuous darkness. The funeralceremonies of any one dying during the long nightwere deferred till the break of the dawn. Now thequestion arises that if there was a continuous springat the Arctic region in the ancient era when Aryaslived there, as Tilak says, then is it possible to keepthe dead body at home for six months? or at least


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10 Scientific Knowledge in the Vedasfor more than three nights? Would it not decay atthe temperature of the spring ? If the temperaturewas near or below zero degrees celsius then thebody would not putrify; but Tilak has said that inthose days the temperature at the north pole wasnot so low.

Tilak gives the same tradition of Parsls. InVendidad, Fargards a question is raised: how theworshipper of Mazda should act when death takesplace during winter ? Mazda answers, In such casesa Kata (ditch) be made in the house and there thelifeless body should be allowed to lie for two orthree nights or for a month, until the birds beginto fly, the plants to grow, the flood to flow and thewind to dry up the water from off the earth/'Apparently Tilak appears to be correct here, but thesame question arises. How is it that the bodies didnot decompose at the temperatures which were notzero degrees Celsius, during the ancient times asshown by Tilak ? Due to decomposition it wouldhave been impossible to stay at home.

Moreover, there is a measurement like two orthree nights or a month. Is it possible to count twoor three nights or a month for a person residing atthe Arctic region ? For him there is only one night.He canot say that it is a long night, because it is hisusual night.Now let us see what Tilak says about the VedicDawns. He says that the first hint regarding thelong duration of the Vedic Dawn is in AitereyaBrahmana 4-17. Before commencing theGavamayana sacrifice there is a long recitation ofnot less than one thousand verses. The time forreciting this is dawn. The same time is referred toby Rigveda 7-67-2,3. This tradition suggests long


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A Critical Study of 'The Arctic Home in the Vedas' 11duration of dawn. In Taittiriya Samhita (2-1-10-3) weare told that if the recitation ended before sunrise,other hymns should be recited (Asvalayana 6-5-8)Apastamba directs that all the ten Mandalas ofRigveda should be recited. If this is true then wehave to accept that there was a prolonged dawn andtherefore those Aryas were residents of the Arcticregion; but then at the same time we have to admitthat all the ten Mandalas of Rigveda were composedor at least were in existence then. But Tilak himselfdoes not admit this.

Tilak gives seven names of the Dawn and sevenoblations to each. He takes it as seven parts of along dawn of the Arctic region. He says that forseven oblations long time of the dawn is spent. Butmay I question how much time is taken for oneoblation ? In a few minutes seven oblations can bemade. Tilak himself has quoted Dr. Warren and hassaid that from 29th January to 16th of March thereis dawn. So the dawn is 47 days long. Do we agreethat for only seven oblations 47 days are required 9For an oblation 2 to 5 minutes are sufficient and so7 oblations can be given in half an hour. Indiandawn is definitely that long.

Tilak quotes Rigveda 5-79-9, where the Dawn isasked not to delay, or tarry long, lest it might bescorched by the sun. Tilak infers from this that itwas a long dawn. On the contrary, I say that thishymn suggests that if some time is spent, the sunwill rise and scorch the dawn and therefore in turnit suggests early and quick sun-rise and not late,sluggish sunrise.

Rig. 1-118-11 applies an adjective Sasvattama tothe dawn. Tilak translates Sasvattama as the mostlasting. But it means perpetual. . Any dawn is


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A Critical Study of 'The Arctic Home in the Vedas' 13Tilak gives many quotations of the long

darkness but they do not show that the bards werepermanently residing at the Arctic region. They mayhave gone from India in search of knowledge, tothe north pole.LONG NIGHTS

Tilak lias selected the following verses to provethe existence of a long night - a night of severaldays' duration.

Rig Veda 2-27-14 : May not, the long darknesscome over us/7Rig. 1-46-6 : Here Asvins are asked to

vouchsafe such strength as may carry him throughthe darkness/'

Rig. 7-67-2 : the ends of darkness have beenseen and the banner of Dawn has appeared in theeast/7

Rig. 10-124-1 : Agni has stayed too long in thelong darkness/7

Rig. 2-2-2 : Agni is said to shine duringcontinuous nights.

In these verses long and continuous nights aredescribed, so it shows that the poets knew theordinary nights and they have compared the longnights with the ordinary 12 houred nights. So theseverses do riot prove the Arctic Home. The residentsof the Arctic home cannot say that their nights arelong, because the long nights are their natural nightsand they were seeing those nights since theirchildhood.

Rigveda 10-127 is addressed to the Goddess ofNight. In its Parisista, which is known as Ratri Sukta


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14 Scientific Knowledge in the Vedasor Durga Stava, the worshipper exclaims, May wereach the other side in safety. This exclamation willnot come from a man who is residing in the Arcticregion since childhood, because he knows that thenight extends over a long period. This will becertainly an exclamation from a person who is usedto 12 houred nights when he sees such a long nightof six months duration.

Atharva Veda 19-47-2 says: Each moving thingfinds its rest in her (night), whose yonder boundaryis not seen, nor that which keeps her separate. Ospacious, darksome night, may we, uninjured, reachthe end of thee, reach, O thou blessed one, thineend? Tilak has quoted this verse to show the Arctichome. But I raise a question here. Can we say aboutthe Polar night of six months duration, that itsyonder boundary is not seen ? A new-comer in thatregion may say so, but a person born in that regioncan never say so, because since his childhood he isseeing the end of that night. Hence it seems thatan Indian Sage or a traveller must have gone to thenorth pole and when he first saw that extendednight he might have exclaimed like this.

Atharva Veda 19-50-3 : Here the worshippersask: they may pass uninjured in their body througheach succeeding night.

From all these verses Tilak concluded that it wasthe long Arctic night. He gives one more supportof Taittirlya Samhita 1-5-5-4 which is addressed tonight, O Citravasu, Let me safely reach thy end.A little further at 1-5-7-5, the Samhita itself explainsthis Mantra thus :- Citravasu means the night; inold times (pura) the Brahmins were afraid that it(night) would not dawn. Tilak says: here we havean express Vedic statement that in old times the


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A Critical Study of 'The Arctic Home in the Vedas' 15people had apprehensions regarding the time whenthe night would end. What does it signify ? Tilakconcludes that it was a long night of the Arcticregion, and it was a story of former ages whichVedic bards knew by tradition. In turn Tilak showsthat in old times the people were residing at theArctic region. Again I take the same objection. Thepeople residing at the Arctic region for generationscan never be afraid of those nights and can neverpray like that, because they had experience of thelong nights since birth. People of the Arctic regionwill never be afraid that the night would not dawn.But if a person from India goes to the Arctic regionand experiences a long night for the first time in hislife, he will be afraid that the night would not dawn,and then he will pray to his deities to vouchsafestrength to carry him through that long night. Thusall the labour of Tilak does not prove the Arctichome for the Vedic Aryas, but shows that Vedicpeople must have gone from India to the Arcticregion -and the North Pole.

I appreciate- Tilak's quotation of Rig. 10-138-3,which says: 'The sun unyoked his car in the midstof heaven/7 It appears from this verse that the sunstayed in the middle of the sky for a long time. Thisis possible only at the poles or the Arctic region.This proves that the Vedic sage had seen that regionand had compared the sky there with that of India.It does not prove, as Tilak says, that the sage wasthere from his birth.

Tilak gives quotation of Rig. 3-58-1 where thesun is called as the son of daksina. Daksina meansthe south. Sun rises in the south at the north poleor Arctic region, so this name is given, says Tilak,and shows that those bards were the inhabitants of


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16 Scientific Knowledge in the Vedasthe Arctic region. May I question here, how theword 'Daksina' stands for south ? I think the sageswere calling 'UdicT' to the east, because the sun risesthere. While standing to give oblation to the risingsun their right hand pointed towards the south. Theright hand means Daksina. From this the nameDaksina is given to the south. The same positioncaused the west to be called as Pascima (back). Afternaming these three directions only one on the lefthand side remained; so it is called as Uttara i.e.later, latter or remaining. Now I question, Can thisword 'Daksina' be derived at the Arctic region wherethe sun rises in the south ? Thus this evidence gtfesto show that after the origin of the word 'Daksina'for south, some people from India went to the Arcticregion, there they saw that the sun rises in south'Daksina', and hence they called the sun'Daksina-Putra' i.e. son of south. People livingpermanently at the Arctic region cannot give thisname, because it is usual for them to see the sunrisein the south, which they must be calling as the'East'.

From the word 'Uttara' for North and the word'Adhara' for south Tilak says: 'Ut-tara' means upper.North is upper only for an observer standing at ornear the north pole. Hence this word is coined atthe north pole, says Tilak. If we accept this view wehave to accept that at the north pole there do notexist four directions or sides to a single plane like asheet of paper, or to a plot of ground. There mustbe at least four directions to an area of the land inaddition to above and below. Even at the north polea person has four directions around him, one infront, second at his back, third on the left and fourthat his right. In addition, there are two more - one


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A Critical Study of 'The Arctic Home in the Vedas' 17above his head and, second below his feet. So Tilakfails to prove that Aryas were residents of the northpole or the Arctic region, on this base.

By the words 'Uttara' and 'Adhara', I may saythat the words are coined and used later by thepeople who were conversant with the art of plottingand preparing a plan where the north is upper andthe south is lower.

Tilak shows that Yuga represented a cycle ofmonths during which the sun was above thehorizon. Then he refers to 1-158-6 of Rigveda, whereit is stated that DIrghatamas became quite old in thetenth Yuga. Taking DIrghatamas as the sun Tilakshows that the sun used to shine for ten monthsand then used to set down. But I object to this view,because how can 'DIrghatamas' - continuedprolonged darkness be taken as the sun ?DIrghatamas and sun are opposite to each other.Tilak refers to Prasnopaniad 1-1 1 , AtharvaVeda 9-9-12, and Rig Veda 1-164-12 and translatesthus : The five footed father of twelve forms, theysay, is full of watery vapours in the further half ofthe heaven. These others again say that he, thefar-seeing, is placed on the six-spoked andseven-wheeled (car) in the nearer half of theheaven/7 Tilak says that the verse is straightforward, but questions as to why should there betwo opinions about the nature of the year god ?Some say, it is five-footed i.e. having five seasons,while others say it is six-spoked or having sixseasons. Why is this difference ? Aitareya Brahmana1. Prasnop. and RV 1-164-12

3T2TR 3F*I 3 xft f^ET^TT UH^ ^ST ^m^^cfPTfcT II 1.11 1 I


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18 Scientific Knowledge in the Vedas1-1 and Taittirlya Samhita 1-6-2-3 take Hemanta andSisira together reducing the number of seasons fromsix to five. Satapatha Brahmana 13-6-1-10compounds Varsa and Sarad together. Both areunbelievable according to Tilak. So he givesexplanation, relying on the 13th and 14th hymns ofRigveda 1-164 as well as 9-63-9 that a real year offive seasons or ten months was intended. He furthersays that the arctic year of ten months is describedhere. My objection to this view is that the Arcticyear may be of ten months, but there cannot be fiveseasons. There are only three seasons. So Tilak'sview is not acceptable.

Here, I give a simple explanation. Theoreticallythere are six seasons but pratically it is difficult todifferentiate between the Hemanta and the Sisirabecause both are cold seasons. Similarlydiffenrentiation between Varsa and . Sarad is alsodifficult because there are rains in Sarad Rtu too.Hence there is difference of opinion. From it weneed not jump to the Arctic Home where suchdifferent seasons are never present.

For 'saptacakre' Tilak says it may be sevenmonths or seven suns or seven rays of the sun. Tilakrightly says that this appears rather inconsistent. Idare to give here a consistent, rational explanationand translation, thus: the father having five partsand twelve forms is full of water in the other halfof the sky, say some experts. But others say that heis far-seeing in the remaining half. The six spikedone is oblated in the wheel of the seven.

The five parts are five seasons, taking Hemantaand Sisira together. The twelve forms are twelvemonths. In his second half this father i.e. the yeargives waters. This means second half of the year


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A Critical Study of The Arctic Home in the Vedas' 19gives rains. This is quite true in India, where thereare rains during the southern course of the sun from21st June to 21st December. The sky during thisperiod is different from the sky in the northerncourse of the sun. When the sun resides in. one halfof the sky we cannot see that half, we are able tosee the remaining half at night. So it is said 'Theother half . In the second half of the year the skyis cloudy, full of water, so we cannot see the distantstars in the sky. But in the remaining half duringthe period from 21 December to 21 June when thesun goes to the north, the sky is quite clear andtherefore we are able to see far away in the sky.That is why it is called as Tar-seeing7 in ornamentallanguage.

The six-spiked thing is nothing else, but theyear having six seasons. It is oblated in the cycle ofseven. This means, the year consists of a cycle ofseven days of a week. The system of sevenweek-days was invented by the Indian sages at thetime of TaittirTya Samhita in about 8357 B.C. Thesource of this is the Yajna system. The Brahminsused to be 'Diksita' for six days and then they weretaking holiday on the seventh day. During thisholiday they used to give offerings only to the Sun,which was supposed to be the Atman. So this daygot the name of Aditya-Sunday. On the other sixdays of the consecration, they used to give oblationsto the planets, one on each day, taking alternatelyfrom the sun and from the earth. After Sunday theygave oblation to the Moon and called that day asMonday, the Soma's day. The moon was given thesecond place because the Moon represents the mind.After the Moon, they selected a planet nearer to theearth, namely the Mars. They oblated the Mars on


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20 Scientific Knowledge in the Vedasthe third day and hence called it by the name of theMars. Next day they oblated to the planet nearer tothe sun i.e. Mercury and labelled it as Budha 7s day.Next they selected the planet nearer to the earth i.e.Jupiter and called it the Brhaspati day. Next a planetnear the sun was selected, namely Venus, and calledit as Sukra or Bhargava day. Lastly a planet nearthe earth i.e. Saturn was selected to give theofferings and named the day as Sanaiscara day. Thisshows that they selected the planets alternately fromthe internal group and the external group of planets.The internal group is from the Sun to the Earth, theexternal group includes the planets from the spacebeyond the orbit of the earth. These week-days arementioned in Atharva Jyotisa Sloka 93, YajnavalkyaSmrti Acaradhyaya Sloka 295, Mahabharata AdiParva 160/7 and Katyayana Grhya Sutras, thirdKanda, fifth Kandika, second verse. A special name'Vara' is coined by Mahabharata and Katyayana forthe week days. Valmiki Ramayana also mentionsThursday as Brhaspati day (Ayodhya 26/9). I havefixed the date of expulsion of Rama to the forest as29th November 7306 BC and this was reallyThursday, as proved by mathematical calculations.

Tilak is wrong in translating that the far seeingis placed on a six-sp'oked (Sadare) andseven-wheeled car/7 There is no word for 'car 7 inthe text. The exact word is 'Sadara 7 and not 'Sadare 7 .Sadara is Prathama while Sadare is Saptanu. Tilakshould not have done this perversion of transferringa Karta to an adjective. Saptacakre SajaraAhurarpitam is a seperate sentence, not connectedwith 'Vicaksanam

7. Here a speciality of 'Sadara7 toldis that it is oblated in the wheel of seven. I request

the readers to note this wrong translation of Shri


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A Critical Study of 'The Arctic Home in the Vedas' 21Tilak. I further request them to read my versionwith an unbiased mind and I hope that every onewill accept my meaning.Here it is important to note one more fact thatthe days depend on the Sun and the six seasons(Six spokes) also depend on the Sun. Both the daysand the seasons have no relation with the Moon.Therefore *they are connected together and it isstated that the six-spiked year is oblated in the cycleof seven days.In a chapter named 'The Cow's Walk' no strongevidence is given by Tilak, so I need not criticise it.

Thus considering all the important evidences ofTilak, we come to the conclusion that he has totallyfailed to prove that the ancient home of the Aryaswas the Arctic region. I do not deny the importanceof his great work but I have to say that his conclusionis wrong. It is our duty to examine his work andcome to a correct conclusion. My conclusion is thatVedic Aryas were original residents of India, butthey travelled all over the world, up to the NorthPqle and they recorded in Vedas the facts theyexperienced there at the North Pole and the Arcticregion.


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CHAPTER - IIISCIENCES IN VEDAS

Let us now see how far science was advancedduring vedic times. Many branches of science werebeing developed during Rigveda period. Numbersin the decimal system were developed in theRigveda, because it mentions the numbers 10, 20,.30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 at 2-18. One

>fc2 l 7,z thousand is mentioned at 6-48-15, while one lac ismentioned at 8-38-13. Yajurveda 17/2 mentionsnumber up to Parardha i.e. 1018

Stitching is mentioned at 2-32, while weaving isdescribed at 4-9. Silk is mentioned at 10-8$-20,blasting of mountain is described at 1-116-20.Agriculture is well described at 4-57. A palace havingone thousand pillars is mentioned ai 5-62-6 whichshows advance in the civil engineering science.


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CHAPTER - IVSCRIPT WAS USED

Many people opine that there was no script andno knowledge of writing in Vedic era, but thisopinion is absolutely wrong. Rigveda 10-71-4 states:Illiterate man cannot see the language even thoughit is visible, and cannot understand it even thoughhe can hear it. But she (that language) exposes herbody to the literate person just like the lady exposesher body to her husband'7 . 1 What does Vak(language) mean which is visible ? Vak may be takenas speaking but uttered words are not visible.Rigveda says that Vak is visible even though itcannot be seen. This definitely means that the Vakwas being written. Written words are visible butcannot be or may not be readable. Just looking isnot sufficient, we must read it for which literacy isessential. Thus this is a clear reference to a script,to some written words which are visible butilliterates were unable to see them, i.e. to read them.Only a literate person could see them.

Rig 1-164-39 states that the words or letters ofthe verses of Rigveda are the homes of the Gods inthe sky. If one does not understand those letterswhat. will Rca do ? But those who understand, livehappily. 2 Here we have to concentrate on the word'Akara' which means the thing which is not

1. Rigveda 10-71-4

2. Rigveda 1-164-39^v^ft 3T^ft qT^ 4lH~MnrH-^cj| 3Tf** Pc*^ 1h^: I


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24 Scientific Knowledge in the Vedasperishable. A written word is really imperishable ascompared to the spoken word which immediatelyvanishes. The imperishable words of the Rigvedamust be the .written words. These might* have beenwritten on rock or palm leaves or skin of trees sothat they would become eternal, imperishable.


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26 Scientific Knowledge in Vedic LiteratureTfte above two statements together prove that

the sages knew that the rains begin with the summersolstice in India and, at the time of the summersolstice, the sun resided in Canis major and Canisminor i.e. the Mrgasiras Naksatra, in their life. Thusit is clear that the sages had linked astronomy withthe Meteorology or the science of climate.

One may question here as to why we shouldhold that the sun was near Canis ?

To assume this we have one evidence at Rig.1-101-13 which states: Who awakened Rbhus ? TheSun answered that the Dojg awakened, becausetoday is the end of the year . Here the Dog meansthe Mrga Naksatra. Rbhus means the clouds. Theclouds were awakened by it, that means the cloudsstarted showering the rains. The Sun was at Mrgawhen the rains began in that ancient era.

Thus it is clearly seen that oncoming of the rainyseason was linked with the summer solstice and theSun's place in Naksatras at that time. With the helpof the modern knowledge of astronomy that theEquinoxes precede backwards at the rate of 50.2seconds per year, or in other words the Naksatta ofthe Sun on the equinoctial day recedes back at therate of 960 years per Naksatra, we can calculate theperiod of the fact mentioned in the Rigveda. Atpresent the sun resides in the Mrga Naksatra at thetime of the beginning of the rainy season. The samefact is described by the Rigveda, but it is notcomposed during this modern age. We know thatthe Rigveda resided on the tongues of the Brahmins1. RV 1-161-13


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Astronomy and the Time-Reckoning Science 17for thousands of years. How many thousand yearsis the question which is solved astronomically. Therainy season started with the sun in the Mrga thenand also at present. Hence a cycle of 27 Naksatrasmust have been completed. The sun to recede back27 Nakshatras at the rate of 960 years per Naksatratakes 25920 years. Thus it is evident that the Rigvedais composed 25920 years ago. Or substracting 2000years of this Christian era we can tell the date ofRigveda as 23920 B.C.

27 Naksatras are mentioned here but did theVedic sages know these 27 Naksatras ? The answeris definitely 'yes'. Veda tells the name of all the 27or 28 Naksatras. The Indians were doing agricultureand were happily steady in life. Since evening theyhad no work left and therefore they took tostargazing. The first thing in the sky which attractsthe minds is the Moon. The sages also had theirminds attracted towards the Moon. So they linkedthe moon with the mind. The link of the moon andthe mind is seen in almost whole Sanskrit literature.By the daily observation they noticed themovements of the moon. They noticed that themoon changes its place among the stars every day.They found out the path of the Moon the starpath. They observed that the stars did not move atall. Hence they named the stars as Naksatras. Theword 'Naksatra' is the definition itself. As given inthe Mahabharata, the thing which does not move isNaksatra. They selected all the stars andconstellations at a certain interval on the star pathof the moon and named them because they observedthat the moon came near a particular star in oneday. They based their unit of time naming the dayafter the Naksatra, where the moon resided. The


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28 Scientific Knowledge in Vedic Literaturetradition is continued till today in India. We say thattoday is Citra Naksatra, tomorrow SwatT, a day aftertomorrow Visakha, and so on. Thus they couldcount the days.Five Planets Were Discovered :

While observing the movement of the Moonamong the fixed stars, they found out five planetswhich are mentioned in the Rigveda (1-105-10,10-55-3, 5-41-14, 4-50-4, 10-123). Thus distinctionbetween the moving planets and the non-movingstars was done. This was a marvellous feat. Itrequires a keen observation for years together. Themodern man also cannot find out the planets easily.Vedas named the five planets scientifically. Guru orBrhaspati means big and this name is given to theplanet Jupiter which is really the biggest among theplanets. Actually to a normal eye the Jupiter apearssmaller than the Venus, then how could the Vedicsages know that the Jupiter was the biggest ? Thevery name suggests that Vedic people had scientificknowledge. Sani means slow moving and in fact theSaturn is the slowest among the then known fiveplanets. Sukra means brightness and the Venus isreally the brightest among the planets and stars.Lunar Month :

While observing the moon everyday theynoticed that the moon increases in size for a fewdays and then decreases in size for a few days, andthen it vanishes totally. Again it appears the nextday. On this observation of waxing and waning ofthe moon they fixed a period of time from one fullmoon to the next full moon (or no moon day to the


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30 Scientific Knowledge in Vedic Literaturescience. On the other hand the ancient Vedic nameappears to be very scientific.

During the fifteen days of the increasing moon,the moon light increases, day by day, till Purnimaand hence these 15 days were called as Suddha orSukla Paksa. Paksa means a wing of a bird. A birdflies with its two wings. Similarly the time flies withthe two wings, the Sukla Paka and the Krsna Paksa.The second half is called as Krsna or dark becausethe moon light goes on diminishing and the size ofthe moon diminishes one Kala per day, adding tothe darkness of the night from Pratipada toCaturdasI and then Amavasya. Thus a Masa or amonth was divided in two Paksas.

The Tithi and the day were different. The daywas dependent on the Sun. 'Udayad Udayam Varahthis means: one Vara is the period from one sun-rise to the next sun-rise. Ahan was the period fromsun-rise to sun-set while Ratri was the period fromthe sunset to the sun-rise.

They observed that the place of the full moonchanged. If one full moon was at one star, the nextfull moon was at another star. Hence according tothe Naksatra where the full moon appeared theynamed their Masas. Thus if the full moon was nearCitra Naksatra they named that month as CaitraMasa (Taittiriya Samhita 7-4-8). Thus the names ofthe Masas were given as follows - Caitra from CitraNaksatra, Vaisakha from Visakha, Jyestha fromJyestha, Asadha, Sravana, Bhadrapada, Asvina,Karttika, Margaslrsa, Pausa, Magha, Phalguna.These twelve months composed their Candra Varsa.The development of lunar months and their namesfrom Naksatra of full moon is seen from TaittiriyaSamhita 7-4-8, T.Br. 1-1-2-8, Satapatha.


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Astronomy and the Time-Reckoning Science 316-2-2-18,4-11-1-1-7, Gopatha Brahmana 6-19,Kausitaki Br. 19-2-3.

Seasons and Sun :During this development they observed that a

specific type of weather appeared at a specificinterval and there was a cycle in this change of theclimate. They observed that the Moon was notresponsible for this climatic variations. They furtherobserved that the climate depended on the positionof the rising^ sun (Rig 1-95-3) 1 . They considered theSun as the Atman and therefore they offered waterwith two hands together to the rising sun just afterbathing in the river every day. The psychology ofthe human being is that once a person goes to oneplace today he will again select the same place nextday. That is why we sleep at one particular placeevery night. If we change the place we cannot getsound sleep. While travelling, once you go to a hoteland get satisfaction, next time when you go to thesame city you will try to get the same hotel and itssame room and you will select the same bed again.With this psychology the sages used to go to thesame spot of the river for bath and for givingoblations to the Sun. While offering to the Sun everyday from the same spot they noticed that the Sunnever rises at the same spot. Some days it moves tothe right while on other days it moves to the left.Further they observed that when the rising sun wentto the extreme right it was cold while when therising sun went to the extreme left it was hot. They1. RV 1-95-3


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32 Scientific Knowledge in Vedic Literaturefurther observed that when the sun turned from theextreme left and started going to the right thereapeared rains. When the rising sun .was in themiddle the climate was pleasant. On this observationthey based their Rtus, the seasons. The names ofthe seasons are Vasanta, Grisma, Varsa, Sarad,Hemanta and Sisira.

Depending upon the course of the rising sunthey composed the groups of these Rtus. When thesun went from extreme left i.e. North towards theright or South they called that period as Pitryana(Rig 10-88/15) or Daksinayana. Northward jo\urneyof the rising sun was named as Devayanal (Rig10-18-1) or Uttarayana. These two Ayanas composedtheir year. Varsa, Sarad and Hemanta composed theDaksinayana while Sisira, Vasanta and Grismacomposed the Uttarayana. (Yajus Patha 5, 1 SusrutaSamhita 6-7, Rig 6.32.5. 2 Valmiki RamayanaAyodhya 63-153 ).

1. Yajuh Patha 5-7

TTTTf


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Astronomy and the Time-Reckoning Science 33Year began with Rains :

They observed that every time the rising sunturned from the north towards the south, there wereshowers of rains (Rig 6-32-5). The rains could beexperienced by all the people. They noticed that ata particular interval the rains began. This intervalbetween the beginning of one Varsa to the nextVarsa Rtu was named as Varsa. Varsa means theshowers. Thus their year was formed and named asVarsa. India was agricultural land and therefore therainy season was important and was given the firstplace in the year.

Rigveda people began their new year with therainy season. This statement is based on thefollowing evidence. RV 2-24-5 states: The ancientverses of Brahmanaspati open the door of futurewaters after months or years. Therefore without,any effort the heaven and the earth enjoy eachothers waters. 1

Here it is important to note that the cycle ofwater was known to the Rigveda people. In supportof this there is one more Rca in Rigveda 1-64-51which states: this water is common ; it goes up andcomes down. The rains satisfy the Earth while theAgni satisfies the sky . 2 This verse shows clearlythat the sage knew that the water is common

RV 2-24-5 of Pandit Chitrava Shastri's Translation inMafathi^^Jui^Mpd ^fT ^cTT% ^TcTT eft SJTTrr H


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34 Scientific Knowledge in Vedic Literaturebetween the Earth and the Heavens. The rainssatisfy the Earth by showering water from theHeavens. On the other hand the Agni, that meansHeat, satisfies the heaven by supplying it water fromthe Earth.

Rig. 7-103-1 states: Like a Brahmin following aVrata or a religious act, the frogs, which were asleepfor a year, began croacking which fascinated theRains/71 Here it is shown that just like a Brahminwho recited the Varsika Mantras at the beginningof the new year, the frogs also woke up from theiryear-long sleep and started talking at the beginningof the new year. It is to be noted that at thebeginning of the rainy, season the frogs startcroacking. Thus it shows that the year began withthe rainy season.

Rig. 7-103-7 states: When the rainy seasonarrives, on that day of the year (which appears tomean on the first day of the new year) frogsgenerate everywhere . 2

Rig. 7-103-8 states: Frogs are croaking like aBrahmin who sings yearly Psalms, frogs soaked withsweat come out in the open ground as soon as therains began. The yearly Psalms were sung at thebeginning of the year and at that time the Brahminsused to sweat. All these facts together show that atthe end of the summer and beginning of the ra,inyseason or, in the words of the modern language, on1. RV 7-103-1

2. RV 7-103-7


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Astronomy and the Time-Reckoning Science 3522nd of June at the summer solstice, their new yearused to begin.

Rig. 7-103-9 states: All these frogs obey theorders of the gods and follow the rules of theseasons for twelve months. At the end of the year,harassed by the heat, the frogs, at the beginning ofthe Varsa Rtu, come out of their nests/7 This Reclearly shows that at the end of the year there wasextreme heat and with the beginning of the rainsthey used to celebrate their new year. 2

Rig. 7-101 and 102 praise the rainy season. Thereare no verses praising the summer or winter. Henceit shows that the rainy season was important andnaturally their year began with the rainy season.

All the above Res are composed by sage Vasisthawhose hundred sons were killed according to Rig7-1043 . The incident of the massacre of the hundredsons had taken place during the king Kalmasapadaaccording to Mahabharata Adi Parva 176.Kalmasapada was fifteen generations earlier thanRama. Hence this tradition of beginning the newyear at the beginning of Varsa Rtu continued tillRama and Ramayana of Valmiki.

RV 7-103-8

RV 7-103-9

Brh Dev 6-837-844Soudasa means the son of Sudasa who was named asKalmasapada. He was the husband of Madayanti.


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Astronomy and the Time-Reckoning Science 37to Rig. 1-161-11 and 12; 4-33-71 Dog means Canis orMrga Nakatra. Mrga Naksatra awakened the cloudsso that the rainy season began. This was the end ofthe year. Thus it is clear that the Rigvedic new yearstarted with the Rainy season on the summer solsticeor at the beginning of the Dakinayana with the Sunin Mrga Naksatra. The date of this fact is 23920 BC.

TaittirTya samhita 7-4-8 shows that UttaraPhalgunI was the first night of the new year, PurvaPhalguni was the last night of the previous year andVasanta Rtu was the mouth of the year. TaittirTyaBrahmana 1-1-2 states the same fact. TaittirTya is abranch of Yajurveda. So it appears that theYajurvedic tradition was to begin the new year fromthe Spring or Vastanta. Other evidences to supportthe fact are Satapatha. 6-2-2-18, Gopatha Brahmana6-19, Pancaviqisa Brahmana 5-9-9 and SarikhyayanaBrahmana. We cannot say if this custom was lateror earlier. On the contrary it appears to be aconcurrent custom. Let us see how.

If the Vasanta Rtu began with PhalgunI Purnimathe Sun must be diagonally opposite in UttaraBhadrapada at the Vernal Equinox on 21st March.At present this is the condition, but Vedas have notbeen composed in the present era. When weree theVedas composed then ? Of course one cycle of 27

1. RV 1-161-11 and 12

U'hIc-M


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38 Scientific Knowledge in Vedic LiteratureNaksatras must have ellapsed since the Vedas. Theprecession of Equinoxes has a rate of 960 years perNaksatra. Thus 960 x 27 = 25920 years ago, the Vedasmust have been composed. Same is the period wehave seen earlier calculating on the verse showingthe beginning of rainy season at Mrga Naksatra.

Thus it seems that both the methods were beingpractised simultaneously and that is why Taittirlya.6-5-3 questions who knows where is the mouth ofthe Rtu cycle ?Adhimasas :

Gradually the Vedic sages noticed that theseasons slided back on the Lunar months. Hencethey developed an ingenious system of taking twointercalary Masas after the fifth year. Why twomonths ? Because each Rtu was composed of twomonths. To adjust the Lunar months with the Rtuthey had to take these two intercalary months asAdhimasa. This system is described by MahabharataVirata parva 52/3. l From the study of seasons andthe Lunar months they noticed that the Lunar year,that is, a period from one Caitrl full Moon to thenext Caitrl full moon, did not correlate with theseasonal year, that is, a period from one summersolstice to the next. The seasonal or Artava yearconsists of 365.241666 days, while the Lunar yearconsists of 354.367 days. The difference is 10.88 dayseach year. Therefore after five years the differencecomes to 54.40 days or approximately two Masas,or one Rtu. Hence to adjust the lunar months withthe Rtu, they devised the system of Adhimasas. The

1. MBH : Virata. 52/3 wq wq ^ ^ nmi^Hd: 1


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Astronomy and the Time-Reckoning Science 39over-correction caused by the Adhimasas orSamsarpas was cut down by taking one Ksaya Masaor Amhaspati (T.S.) 1-4-14, 5-6-7, VajasaneyiSamhita 7-30, 22-30, 31, Taittirlya Brahmana 3-8-3.It is to be noted here that the year having one KsayaMasa did not consist of only eleven months. Itconsisted of twelve months because they used totake two Adhi masas in that year, one before theKsaya Masa and one after it. The two names of theAdhimasas were Sarpsarpa and Malimluca. 1

The custom of taking two Adhimasas at theintervals of five years continued from vedic age up tothe Mahabharata age, but thereafter, probablyduring Vedariga Jyotisa period, the Hindus startedtaking one Adhimasa in every third year.

Upto the Mahabharata era the Indians adjustedthe Adhimasa according to the Moon's position inthe Naksatras and they named the Lunar monthsaccording to the Lunar position, but in a latterperiod they established the month's relation withthe Sun's entry into the next Rasi (the sign ofZodiac). Thus if the Sun enters into the Mesa Rasi,

1. TS 1-4-14TfTrqt^T


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40 Scientific Knowledge in Vedic Literaturethe month will be Caitra and so on. This entry ofthe Sun into a Rasi is termed as Sankramana orSankranti. If there is no Sanskranti in one LunarMasa, that Masa was termed as Malimluca. If therewere two Sankrantis in one Lunar Masa it wastermed as Amhaspati.Seasonal Month :

Inspite of this system of Adhimasa they werenot satisfied and therefore, they developed monthsdepending on the seasons. Thus they dividedVasanta Rtu in two months namely Madhu andMadhava. Sukra and Suci composed the Grisma Rtu,Tsa and Urja the Sarad Rtu, Saha-Sahasya, Hemantaand Tapa-Tapasya constitued Sisira Rtu. (TaittiriyaSamhita 4-4-11, 2 Susruta Samhita 6-7)3

Their Artava masas were just like the modernseasonal months used in the Scientific Calendarnamely January, February etc. We have seen that

1. Narad3^ 9hlPr1 r&Usbl-cfl TTFRfFPTcft Tpff I IMaitreya sutra :-

2. TS 4-4-11

^tItrt crq3. Susruta 6-7

% P*in*K ^TTFcT Tfh^T cftf ^R^ %^FtH I W cm^lM^tl P


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Astronomy and the Time-Reckoning Science 41the Vedic sages knew that the rainy season Varsabegan at the Summer Soltice which falls on 22ndJune. The first month of Vara Rtu was Nabha andso it correlated with a period from 22nd June to 21stJuly. 22nd July to 21st August was the period knownas Nabhasya. From 22nd August Sarad Rtu began.Its first month Tsa extended from 22 August to 22ndSeptember. 23rd September is the' AutumnalEquinox. 23rd September to 22 October was theperiod named as Urja. 22 October to 22 Novemberwas the first month of Hemanta named as Saha. Thesecond month of Hemanta extended from 22November to 22 December, which is the WinterSolstice. From the Winter Solistice the Sisira began.The first month Tapa of Sisira began with the WinterSolstice at the beginning of Uttarayana. (Yajuh Patha5). Susruta Sarnhita states clearly that Uttarayanaconsisted of Sisira, Vasant and Grisma, whileDaksinayana consisted of Varsa, Sarad andHemanta.Preccession of Equinoxes :

From these records it becomes clear that thesages had discovered the four cardinal pointsnamely the Summer Solstice, Winter Solstice, VernalEquinox and Autumnal Equinox, which occuraccording to the scientific calendar on 22nd June,22nd December, 21st March and 23rd Septemberrespectively. It is important to note that these datesnever change, at least for some lacs of years. If theVernal Equinox changes in future by a day, that day


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42 Scientific Knowledge in Vedic Literaturev/iH be labelled as the 21st March and the remainingdates will be arranged accordingly.

\The modern science has proved that the Sun'sposition at the Vernal Equinox gradually shifts inan anticlockwise direction. It is called the Precessionof Equinoxes. If the Vernal Equinox changes, theother three cardinal points are bound to change.The rate of the Precession of Equinoxes is 50.2seconds per year. This rate is also told as one degreeper 72 years. Thus if the Vernal Equinox is at 360degree today, 72 years later it will be at 359 degrees.But if we go on changing the degrees it will causea trouble, so we do not change the degrees. But inthe ancient era, the sages were not using thedegrees. They used the stars and Naksatras to locatethe site of the Moon and the Sun. They observedthat the Sun at the Equinox moved backwards onthe star path. If today the Sun is at Asvirii on theVernal Equinox, 960 years later it will be at Revati.Each Naksatra has a span of 13 degrees and 20minutes. With the rate of 50.2 seconds per year orone degree per 72 years, it takes 960 years to shiftback by 13 20' or one Naksatra. We do not knowwhether the ancient Indians calculated this rate ofPrecession or not, but it is certain that they observedthe Precession and were careful enough to recordthe positions of the Sun on the cardinal points ofSolstices or Equinoxes. Even the Noble laureate Mr.Gamow, the world renouned scientist has expressedsurprise as to how the Indian sages could observethe Precession of Equinoxes. The ancient Indiansknew that the Precession of Equinoxes ' haveanticlockwise direction. It is evident from astatement in the Visnu Purana that the VernalEquinox was at the beginning of the Mesa Rasi and


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Astronomy and the Time-Reckoning Science 43at the first quarter of Krttika Naksatra. Similarly itstates that the Autumnal Equinox was at thebeginning of Tula Rasi and in the fourth part ofVisakha Naksatra. 1 In the case of Mesa Rasi 30degrees is termed as . the beginning and not onedegree which shows the knowledge of theanticlockwise direction of the Precession.

Visriu P. 2-8-76

?r^T cjc*R#ftnf chapel fcff^Rjq^: 1 1 76r^lM^tj^cf ^ d


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CHAPTER - VIANCIENT INDIAN SCIENTIFICCALENDAR

The ancient Brahmins were careful to record theNaksatra of the Sun at Equinoxes or Solsticesdirectly. Indirectly also they did the same job,because they had prepared a beautiful scientificcalendar. They recorded the Candra Masa and Tithias well as the Artava Masa, that is, the seasonalmonth and the Rtu. From the Tithi of the Lunarmonth we can calculate the Sun's position on thestar path. If it was Caitra Purnima the Sun wasdefinitely 180 degrees away at Asvini Naksatra. OneTithi means a 12 distance between the Moon andthe Sun. At Amavasya Sun and Moon are at oneplace. When the Moon goes ahead of the Sun by 12degrees we say that Pratipada is complete. Thus bythe Tithi and Paksa we can easily locate the Sun'sposition in the Naksatra cycle. With the help of theRtu and Ayana we can locate the relation of the Sunand the Earth. If it was the beginning of the rainyseason, Varsa, it was the Summer Solstice. Thebeginning of Sisira Rtu indicated Winter Solstice,and so on. Thus the ancient Indians had prepareda marvellous calendar which is eternal.

If we are thrown on some isolated uninhabitatedisland, we will forget in a few days the date andthe month of the modern scientific calendar and willnever be able to tell the date and month thereafter.But a man like me who knows the Indian system alittle, will look at the sky at night and will tell theNaksatra, Tithi, Paksa and the Lunar month. At themost he will have to wait till Purnima day when he


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Ancient Indian Scientific Calendar 45can definitely tell the Candra Masa. Looking at therising Sun he can tell the Ayana and Rtu. ThusNaksatra, Tirthi, Candra Masa, Rtu and Ayana arethe five important parts of the time-reckoningscience of India and are called as Pancanga. Yogaand Karana are added later. The Indian Pancangais useful in the daily life of an average man. If aman is residing at sea shore he should know thetime^of high tide and low tide. If it is Purnima orAmavasya there is surely a high tide, but if the dateis 15th or 30th nobody can tell about the high tideor low tide.

The Indian Pancanga is useful in calculatingthousands of years. If one writes that someimportant event happened on 22nd December 1993and if that piece of writing is found 5000 years infuture when the present system of counting theyears is lost, who can tell how many years ago theevent took place ? Nobody can tell it. But whenValmTki writes that Rama was born in Caitra Masaand in Hemanta we can calculate that Rama musthave been born about ten thousand years ago. I cantell this because at present Caitra occupies the monthof Madhava or April but at Rama's time Caitraoccupied Sahasya i.e. December. Five months arechanged due to the precession of equinoxes. At therate of 72 years for one degree the Sun recedes back30 in 2160 years. The Sun completes one rotationof 360 in 365 days, that means the Sun movesforwards about one degree per day. 30 forwardmovement of the Sun makes one month. Thereforeprecession of 30 during 2000 years makes theseasons shift by one Lunar month of 29.53058 days.The modern seasonal months January, February,etc. are fixed to the season, so we can find out the


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4b Scientific Knowledge in the Vedasshift of the Lunar months. If we use ancient seasonalmonths Madhu, Madhava etc. similar calculationscan be done. This is so precise a method that if weget the Lunar month and the Rtu we can easilycalculate the year or approximate period of theevent. For example, the rainy season begins in themonth of Jyestha at present but Kalidasa describesit in the Aadha. One month's shift shows thatKalidasa has written the fact 2000 years ago. Historyaccepts this date of Kalidasa around the beginningof the Christian era. Srlmad Bhagavata describes therainy season in Sravana which shows its date about2000 years BC.

Visnu Purana (2-8-76 to 79) precisely tells thatday and night were equal when the sun resided inthe first quarter of Krttika Naksatra or in the thirdquarter of Visakha. This clearly shows the positionsof the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes at 2640' and20640' respectively at the time of Visnu Purana. In1982 the Vernal equinox was at 33611 / , Hence itseems that the sun has receded back by 50.29. Atthe rate of one degree in 72 years, this shift musthave taken 3620 years. It gives the date of VisnuPurana as 1638 BC as the latest.

Visnu Purana has written in clear words thattwo Solar months constitute one Rtu. (2-8-70). 1 Thisis a clear proof that the solar months were in usealong with the Lunar months, at the time of VisnuPurana. Yajuh Patha also mentions that MaghaCandra Masa and Tapas (i.e. the first Masa of SisiraRtu) began with the Uttarayana. This verse clearly

1. Visnu. 2-8-70


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Ancient Indian Scientific Calendar 47indicates that the Lunar months and the solarseasonal months were used then.

Susruta Samhita 6/7 indicates that Magha Masaand Sisira Rtu began simultaneously, the date being1640 DC. But it also tells at 6/10 that Varsa Rtuoccupied Bhadrapada and.Asvina Masas. This factgives the date as 4000 BC. From this it appears thatthe first edition of Susruta Samhita was composedin 4000 BC while its second revised edition wascomposed in 1640 BC.

Maitrayani Upanisad 6-14 tells that Daksinayanaextended from Magha to middle of Sravistha(Dhanistha) and Uttarayana extended from themiddle of Sravistha to Aslesa. This shows the Sunat summer solstice at 120. In 1986 on 21st June theSun was at 6540'42 . The difference is 5419 / 18 // .For this precession, at the rate of 72 years perdegree, 3895 years are necessary. So the date is 1909BC.

KausTtaki or Sankhayana Brahmana (BaskalaSakha of Rigveda) advises: Give oblation duringthe middle of the rainy season, while looking atPunarvasu Naksatra. But in this period in the firstPaksa the moon does not conjugate with Punarvasu.Therefore give oblation on Amavasya which comesafter Asadha because on that Amavasya the Moonis near Punarvasu. The combination of Amavasya,Punarvasu and rainy season gives fulfilment of allthe desires. (Adhyaya 1> Khand 3) .

Here we have to omit the Masas from Pausa toAsadha, because their first fortnight does not showPunarvasu. Sometimes Asadha Suddha Pratipadadoes show Punarvasu but not always. Therefore itis clear that Jyestha and Asadha were not the monthsof Rainy season. It means that from Sravana the


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48 Scientific Knowledge in the VedasVarsa Rtu began. At present Varsa begins fromJyestha Masa. This two months' shift indicates that4320 years have elapsed. Therefore the date ofKausTtaki Brahmana is 2320 BC.

Matsya Purana 204/5 asks to offer oblation inVarsa Rtu on Magha Naksatra and Trayodasi Tithi.Magha and Trayodasi can combine only in Sravanaand Bhadrapada. Thus Sravana and Bhadrapadawere the two Masas of Vara Rtu. So its date is 2000BC.

Vedanga Jyotisa - Yajuh Patha 6 clearly statesUttarayana begins when the sun is at Sravistha andDaksinyana begins with th sun at mid-Aslesa . Sothe date of Vedanga cannot be pulled later than 1640BC.

Garga mentions Uttarayana with Dhanistha andDaksin^yana at Aslesa, the date being 1640 BC.Parasara mentions Uttarayana at Sravana whileDaksinayana at Aslesa. His date is 1159 BC.

Varahamihira mentions Summer Solstice atKarkadya or 90 and Winter Solstice at Makaradyaor 270, 3 so his date comes to 520 AD.

Thus we can see a continuity of records of theGarga

Prasaraa^TTT^TTTT en RT^PTRT I IVarahamihira Brhatsarrihita


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Ancient Indian Scientific Calendar 49Sun's position at Solstices or Equinoxes from 2000BC onwards upto Varahamihira of 520 AD. Wheredid this tradition of recording the equinoxes comefrom ? The tradition came from the Vedas. We haveseen earlier that this tradition began around 23920years BC in Rigveda and Yajurveda. From thatantiquity we can trace the custom to the recent timeof Vedanga Jyotisa.We have seen that the Varsa Rtu according toRigveda began at the Mrga Naksatra around 23920BC. The solstices like the Equinoxes, recede backanticlockwise. Therefore there must be some timewhen the summer solstice was on any otherNaksatra. Its evidence is in the Rigvedic nameApabharani . Apa means water. Bharani meansfilling. How can a star in the sky fill water on theearth ? Of course by inducing the rains. Thus therewas a period in the past when the Varsa Rtu beganwith the sun on Bharani Naksatra. Its date comesto 20840 BC. This is a direct evidence. But how canthe summer solstice suddenly jump from the Mrgato Bharani. What about the intervening Krttika andRohinI ? There are evidences about these two also.

Krittika is a very small constellation havingseven stars in it. Even though it is inconspicuousall the minute seven stars are named by TaittiriyaBrahmana 3-1-4-1. All these seven names are relatedto the rains. (1) Amba means water. The one whogives water is Amba. (2) Dula is the name of thesecond star. Dula is to swing. All the planets andcreatures do swing in the rainy season. So the nameis related to Varsa. (3) Nitatni - In this name theroots may be; Nij = wash, shower water, Nid = tosound, Tan = to occupy cover, produce. All theseindicate Rains. (4) Abhrayanti (5) Meghayanti


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50 Scientific Knowledge in the Vedas

(6) VarsayantT. These three names clearly describethe rainy season, when, to begin with, there comethe white clouds Abhra , then come the blackclouds loaded with water, Megha , and thenVarsa the rain-showers begin.(7) Cupunika meansthe one who grows plants and makes the farmsgreen. Pun-Punya means Joy or satisfaction or a potof water for animals to drink. So this seventh namealso points indirectly to rains. Taittinya Brahmana3-1-4-5 states: The stars of Krttika are hairless butby producing plants they become hairy. 1 The plantsare called as hair of the Earth in Mundaka Upanisad1-1-7 and Aitereya Upanisad 1-2-4. SatapathaBrahmana 2-1-2 calls Krttikas as hairy. 3 AboutKrttika Taittirlya Brahmana states, in 3-5-7-1, thatAgni is the head, a hump of the sky, the supporterof the Earth; that is why it showers rains becausethat important location in the sky holds goodrains . 4

Here Agni means Krttika Naksatra becauseSatapatha 2-1-2 says; Agni means Krttika Naksatra. 5

The important place in the sky holding the rainsis nothing else but the Summer solstice, the 22nd1. TB 3-1-4-5

2. Ait up. 1-2-4

3. S Br ^rct o^r^ehi ^t% TTefm4. T Br. 3-5-7-1

5. S Br. 2-1-2 Q^n err 3rf^PT^ :qr^rfRTT: i


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Ancient Indian Scientific Calendar 51

June in the modern scientific calendar. These Resappear to show the position at that time. Let us seethe period of this position. The summer solstice wason Krttika then, but with anti-clockwise motion ithas come to Mrga Naksatra at present. Thus theprecession through 25 Naksatras has taken place.With the rate of 960 years per Naksatra this shiftmust have taken place in 24000 years ago thatmeans, its date is 22000 BC or to be exact 21800 BC.

Before Krttika the Summer solstice should be onRohinT. There is no direct statement about this inRigveda, at least I have not yet found it. But I gotits evidence in a fact recorded in Mahabharata Vana.230. Here a dialogue between Indra and Skanda isgiven where it is stated that Abhijit i.e. the star Vegaslipped down in the sky due to Krttika's competitionwith Vega. Here it shows that Krttikas were at theSummer Solstice when the sages observed thegradual fall of Vega. This means that the fall beganor was noticed at about 21000 BC. Here Indra tellsthat formerly RohinT was at the Summer Solsticebefore Krttika, the datee being about 22000 BC. Thefall of Vega was complete at 13000 BC when itbecame the Polar Star. (Popular Astronomy byPatrick Moore, Encyclopedia Astronomica,Newcomb's Popular Astronomy.)

Valmiki Ramayana tells that the Kula Naksatraof the Iksvakus was Visakha ^and that of Daitya'swas Mula. The Vernal equinox was at Mula at 17000BC, when Daitya dynasty began with Hiranyakasipuand Bali. Iksvaku dynasty began with Manu's sonIksvaku who ruled the kingdom when Visakha wasat the Vasanta or Vernal equinox at about 15080 BC.At the time of Manu the greatest deluge took place.


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52 ' Scientific Knowledge in the VedasGeologists state that the great flood really took placeat about 15000 BC, when the sea level rose by 200feet, causing havoc on the earth.

The famous Taittirlya Sarphiita gives the namesof all the 28 Naksatras and their Deities. From theseDeities we can find out the period of selecting theDeity. Before thinking about it we shall concentrateon the clear statement that Krttika to Visakha arethe Deva Naksatras, which turn the Sun from theSouth. Anuradha to Apabharani are the YamaNaksatras, which turn the Sun from the North/7(Taittirlya Brahmana 1-5-2-6, 7). 1 This verse clearlyindicates that the summer solstice was betweenVisakha and Anuradha at 21320 , / while the Wintersolstice was between Apabharani and Krttika, at3320\ This was the position at 8357 BC, accordingto the late Shri S.B. Dixit.

Let us calculate here. On 22nd December, 1993the Sun was at 24622', while at the time of TaittirlyaSamhita the Sun was between Krttika and Bharani,i.e. at 2640/ . Due to the precession, the Sun at theWinter Solstice receded back from 2640' to 24622\There is a shift of 14018' or 140.3 degrees. The rateof the precession of Equinoxes is 72 years for onedegree. Therefore the shift of 140.3 degrees musthave taken place 140.3 x 72 = 10101.6 years ago.

This period shows great antiquity, hence someexperts twisted the statement and said that theVasanta Equinox was at Krttika and Uttarayana

1. T. Br. 1-5-2-6-7


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Ancient Indian Scientific Calendar 53extended from it up to Autumnal equinox. They aretotally wrong because in that case Deva NaksatraniDaksinena Pariyanti holds no truth. In that casethe sage would have written Deva NaksatraniVisuvena Pariyanti/7 Even then the real sense ofPariyanti which means to turn does not showits effect. Deva Naksatras which control the sunduring Uttarayana turn or revert the sun from thesouth, because, till then, in the earlier half of theyear, the sun was going to the south and on theWinter solstice the sun had reached the limit ofDaksina. There was Krttika here who returned thesun from the south towards the north. Had Krttikabeen on the Vernal Equinox, there was no questionof turning the sun. There is a continuous movementof the sun from the Winter solstice to the north uptothe Summer solstice and in the centre of thisnorthern course lies the Vernal equinox. Thus takingthe Krttika at the Vernal Equinox is a sheerpervertion of the truth in an attempt to reduce theantjquity. We must observe the truth and stick upto the truth fearlessly and accept the antiquity ofTaittiriya samhita at 8357 BC.

In support of those experts one may questionas to how my meaning is correct ? In my supportstands the statement of Rigveda 6-32-5 and ValmlkiRamayana 2-63-15 which state the onset of Monsoonfrom th beginning of Daksinayana. That Monsoonin India begins on 22nd June, the Summer solstice,is a well proven scientific fact now. Hence byDaksinayana the Taittiriya Samhita meant thesouthward journey of the rising sun from Summersolstice to Winter solstice. 1

Valmiki Ramayana Kikindha. 28-2, 54, 55For detailed and full commentary on this subject pleasesee Vastava Ramayana 4th edition of Marathi book'


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54 Scientific Knowledge in the VedasIn my support is the statement of TaittirTya

Samhita itself that If one consecrates on PhalgunaPurnima, the Visuvanta, that is, mid-day falls onAsvina Shuddha 9th, when there is an obstacle(Niraya) by rains. To avoid this Niraya or theobstacle by rains one should consecrate on Caitrafull Moon when the Visuvanta comes on KarttikaShuddha NavamT. According to my version theantiquity with rains in Asvina tally. At present rainsstart in Jyestha. At that time rains started in Asvina.This reveals that the rainy season has shifted by fivemonths. We have seen that in 2160 years the seasonchanges by one month. Therefore the antiquity ofTaittirTya Samhita is ten thousand, years old. Thusthe date of 8000 BC is confirmed.

TaittirTya Samhita gives Mitra as the Deity ofAnuradha. Mitra and Varuna were the twin Godsof rains. Mitra means a friend who brought the rainyseason and produced crops. Varuna stopped therains at proper times. The Sun entered Anuradhain Karttika Masa and induced rains. It enteredVaruna's Naksatra, Satataraka, in Magha Masa andstopped rains. Thus the rainy season extended fromKarttika to Magha - full three months. Thus theDeities of Naksatras too indicate the same period of9400 BC.Vishakha has a joint Deity Indra-Agni. Indrastands for rains and Agni represents heat. Heat andrains together indicate premonsoon of early June inAsvina Masa and proves the antiquity of 8000 BC.

authored by Dr. P.V. Vartak - pages 228 to 233.3T^T ^T ^TeT-' TTJTR: UH-MlS ST ^cHHIH' I 2^rrirr Uiy m


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Ancient Indian Scientific Calendar 55Valmiki Ramayana indicates pre-monsoon inBhadrapada Masa proving its date one thousand

years later than Taittiriya.Rigveda 3-57-2 states: 1 Indra and Pusa milch

the clouds/7 This means that the rainy season beganwith Jyestha whose deity is Indra and ended withRevati whose deity is Pusa. This points to a periodof 9360 BC to 10280 BC when the Summer solsticewas on Jyestha.

This view is supported by Rigved. 1-164-19which states: O Indra and Soma, you two, rotatinglike a yoked horse, are supporting this world.These two were rotating, so they appear to be thesolstices. Indra is the deity of Jyestha while Somais the deity of Mrga Naksatra. Indra is the Masterof Monsoon, so the Summer solstice was at Jyesthawhile the Winter solstice was at Mrga, when thisverse was composed. Mathematically this positionseems to show 10230 years BC.

The metaphor of rotating yoked horse revealstheir knowledge of the earth orbiting around thesun with the production of the seasons. The Solsticesand Equinoxes do rotate like a yoked horse.When the Mula Naksatra was at the Summer1. RV 3-57-2

-fccft ^t sftrn: ~sm*f ^% ifai*3


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56 Scientific Knowledge in the Vedassolstice producing rains it was allotted Nirrtj as itsDeity, because it brought the Monsoon fromSouth-west. The direction Nairrtya (of Nirrti) meansthe south west. It is a well known fact that, in Indiathe south-west winds bring the rains. But wesuppose that this knowledge was brought to the foreby the British scientists, in the 20th century AD.Actually this knowledge was achieved by the Indiansages around 11240 BC when Nirrti was appointedas the Deity of Mula Naksatra which occupied theSummer solstice then.Earlier to Mula, Purvaadha had occupied theSummer solstice and was bringing the sky-waterdown to the earth. This was observed and the Deityof Purva was fixed as Udaka, the water, around12200 BC.

Thus the ancient Indian sages developedastronomical science and the time-reckoning sciencetogether. The first attempt was done in 23720 yearsBC as recorded in Rigveda as well as Yajurveda.Following this ancient tradition, the later sages alsorecorded the astronomical positions directly bynoting the Naksatra of the equinox or solstice orindirectly by telling the Lunar month and Rtu andAyana. From this well preserved data, we can tracethe civilization from 24000 BC to 520 AD with allthe steps of one thousand years. There is no otherscience than Astronomy which can reveal such stepsand details. This is because of the most perfect andingenious method of time measurement based onastronomical facts, propounded by ancient sages.

Those who disbelieved the efficiency andknowledge of the Rigvedic and Yajurvedic sages orthose who could not understand the magnanimityof the intellect of the ancient sages tried to impose


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Ancient Indian Scientific Calendar 57their ideas in the later literature. For example,Yajnavalkya composed Sukla Yajurveda andSatapatha Brahmana. There he mentioned thatVasanta, Grisma and Varsa composed theUttarayana, while Sarad, Hemanta and Sisiracomposed the Dakshinayana. (Satapatha 2-1-3). 2This may be a novel idea to hold Uttarayana as thesun's passage in the Northern half of the earth andDaksinayana as that in the Southern half of theearth. One is free to accept this new thought buthe should not impose this thought on older onewhile considering the ancient records. The ancientrecords clearly state that with the sun's southernpassage the rainy season begins. If we mix the twoideas of the different periods, we cannot reach thereal date of the work. Unfortunately th|s mistake isdone by many stalwarts including the' late B.G.Tilak.

Here one may question: why Satapatha be takenas later than Rigveda and Yajurveda. The evidenceis recorded in the Mahabharata Santi. 318 in a storythat Yajnavalkya was a disciple of his maternal uncleVaisampayana from whom he got the knowledge ofYajurveda. But then there was some disputebetween the two. For that reason Yajnavalkyavomitted out the Yajurveda and then composed anew Yajurveda named as Sukla Yajurveda.Afterwards he himself wrote a Brahmana on it andnamed it as Satapatha.

1. S Br. 2-1-3


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58 Scientific Knowledge in the VedasIn Satapatha Brahmana there is a verse whichmeans that Krttikas do not move from the exact east.The late Shri S.B. Dixit found that at the present

era Krttikas are not on the exact East. They havemoved towards the North. From this movement thelate Shri Dixit calculated the period of the Satapathaas 3000 BC. 1 Thus the Sukla Yajurveda andSatapatha Brahmana are much later than BlackYajurveda.

The famous Sayanacarya also did the samemistake when he stated madhu Caltro Masah etc.Madhu might have concurred with Caitra masa atSayana's time of 15th century AD, but he appliedthat to Taittirlya Samhita. It was a great mistake.Blindly following Sayana, later scholars fell in thesame pit. Actually Taittirlya Samhita prepared twoseparate streams for measuring time seasonal(solar) and lunar months. Both have to beconsidered and correlated for fixing the time of anyparticular event as is done by Yajuh Patha, SusrutaSamhita and Visnu Purana. But the later scholarsmixed the two streams. Even in the currentPancangas this mistake is being done. They talk ofsolar Rtu and lunar Rtu. It is a great folly. Rtu hasno relation with the Moon. Rtu entirely depends onthe sun. Rigvedic people knew this, (Rig 1-95-3) butthe modern scholars do not know. That is thetragedy.

1. Marathi book ''HKdV-i ^fti^ii^Mi tRt^ttt ' authored bythe Late Shri S.B. Dixit.


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CHAPTER - VIISTARS NAMED SCIENTIFICALLYWe have seen earlier that the Vedic Sages haddifferentiated the five planets from other luminaries

in the sky. There are innumerable stars in the sky,but Vedic people selected the important stars andconstellations on the path of the Moon. Collectivelythey named these luminar

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