Prabhakar Phadnis - Mahabharat War - Year and Date 16th Oct. 5561 BCE ?: Critical Comments On The book of Mr. Nilesh Oak – When did the Mahabharat War Happen? The Mystery of Arundhati.

Mahabharata War Year and Date

th Oct. 5561 BCE?

Introduction

In this book I am going to write some comments on a book by Shri. Nilesh Oak. Timing of the Mahabharat war is the main topic of his book. My attention was drawn to Shri. Oak's book by one of the readers of my own Blog on Mahabharata, about 3 years back (or more). I immediately contacted Shri. Oak. Most generously he made his book and other material available to me on my computer in PDF format. We have had many discussions and exchange of e-mails on various topics from his book and despite a big age-difference, have developed a great relationship of mutual respect. We have great differences in our views on many points! His book has received well-deserved wide-spread attention. He has taken enormous pains for his research and presented his thesis very methodically.

The Title of his book is actually When did the Mahabharata War Happen. The sub-title is The Mystery of Arundhati The earlier part of the book is about Arundhati. Shri. Oak has written a large no. of pages to begin with, about astronomical concepts which I found very interesting. Although I had studied a little astronomy as a part of my Civil Engineering course my information had gone rusty. I had several dialogues with Shri. Oak, on some of the concepts. He was very patient! Slowly I started getting a grasp, at least sufficiently, to start understanding the arguments in the book. Any ordinary reader of his book will have to make quite some effort to grasp the concepts without which the subject matter of the book on Arundhati cannot be appreciated. I will assume that the readers have made that effort.

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Fall of Abhijit

After explaining the astronomical concepts etc., Shri. Oak has written a whole chapter on Abhijit (Vega) with reference to a small quotation from Mahabharat before going on to write about Arundhati. I found several things wrong about what he has written and had exchange of e-mails with him. The subject is interesting and Shri. Oaks comparison of the event with Roger Bacon writing to Pope asking for a calendar correction is novel and appropriate. My comments are as follows.

Abhijit and Nakshatras .-The Nakshatras identified by our ancestors, are all, more or less, strung along the Ecliptic, more or less equidistant. This is consistent with their purpose of serving as a reference frame for marking the position of Sun, Moon and Planets from time to time, as they move along the ecliptic. There are 27 of them because moon completes a round in 27 days. So they are called 27 houses of Moon. Now the question is, where does Abhijit come in? It is a very prominent bright star but is nowhere near the ecliptic . It is in fact almost 60 degrees away and has always been so. How could it ever have been counted as a nakshatra? It is definitely not a 28 th Nakshatra!

I conjecture that in the days when the Nakshatras were identified by our ancestors, the Celestial North pole was fairly close to Abhijit and hence, along with the Nakshatras, Abhijit was an excellent reference point in the sky for mapping. That is why, probably, it was counted by our ancestors along with 27 as a Merumani.

I add a schematic picture to explain what I mean by Relevance of Abhijit when it was near CNP, which it lost when it moved away .

3. Shri. Oak has framed a Problem faced by Indra based on a 4 shloka quotation from Mahabharat. . . etc. I quote the problem from his book, --

Abhijit (Vega), younger sister of Rohini (Aldebaran), desiring seniority (over Rohini ?) went to the forest to perform austerities.

Thus, Abhijit (Vega) slipped/moved from the sky. At that time (as a result) Indra approached Skandha and asked Skandha to discuss the matter with Brahma. Brahma ordained the beginning of time from Dhanishtha (Sualocin), while previous to this incident the beginning of time was from Rohini and the appropriate number of na kshatras existed (for time reckoning). Being told like this by Indra, Krittika (Pleiades), the nakshatra with Agni as its deity and with the shape of a cart (or with seven heads) became happy and went up in the sky.

This framing of a Problem is full of errors and does not follow the quotation at all.

The quotation is as under.

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The quotation says that Devi, daughter-like younger sister of Rohini, desirous of seniority and competing with Abhijit, went to tapastapta Vana. Shri. Oak says, Abhijit, younger sister of Rohini went to forest to perform austerities! He also calls this a fall of Abhijit. Quotation says Nakshatram Gaganat Chyutam

First three shlokas are clearly what Indra said to Skanda. Indra says in the third Shloka that Brahma had earlier set up system of time with Dhanishtha at number one. Rohini has also been number one. Shri. Oak interprets it as though Brahma set up time reckoning just then, on Indra asking Skanda to discuss with Brahma. Skanda was still listening and had not gone to Brahma yet!

With such free-lance framing of a problem, no wonder Shri. Oak has not found any worthwhile solution.

4. Dr. P. V. Vartak, whom Shri. Oak refers to, has in fact given a correct translation (i n ). Shri. Oak has quoted it but seems to differ from it.

has been explained by Shri. Oak and Dr. Vartak too as Abhijit moving towards North Pole. I strongly believe that Abhijit getting closer to North Pole or remaining close to North Pole cannot be interpreted as its FALL from the sky, by any stretch of imagination. In fact, when near the North Pole, it would be prominently visible and steady too. The picture shown below will clarify the point.

5.The reason for dropping Abhijit from list of nakshatras needs explanation based on a proper interpretation of . Krittika must have, necessarily, always been included in list of nakshatras because if you leave out Krittika, a big gaping gap along the ecliptic will remain between Bharani and Rohini. Why those wise men, who built the reference frame of Nakshatras, would leave such a gap? Abhijit is nowhere near this gap, by the way. To say, as Shri. Oak says, that Abhijit was dropped and Krittika was included in its place in list of Nakshatras is meaningless. Krittika always formed a part of 27 nakshatras.

6. The interpretation of the Mahabharat Shlokas by Shri. Oak is incorrect and the time frame for the event, proposed by him, therefore becomes baseless. Problem is how to interpret Krittika going to Vana for Tapa? (assuming Devi refers to krittika). Can it mean that Summer solstice had moved near Krittika? Shri. Oak says, correctly, that Summer Solstice was near Krittika long back in antiquity, in 22000BC. It would happen again in AD 4000. So Indra cannot say so, a long time after Brahma setting start of year from Dhanishtha.

7. Other observation noted by Indra and mentioned to Skanda as causing him worry is the fall of a nakshatra from the sky. Which one? The choice of Abhijit for this role seems unanimous. What is meant by fall from the sky? It should literally mean Disappearing from the Sky. This could not have happened to Abhijit for any observer in northern hemisphere, (in northern India in particular, with Latitudes around 25-30 degrees), anytime in those ancient days, when Abhijit was never too far from the North Pole. It would remain visible during its journey round the Pole. At best the words can mean Abhijit disappearing below the horizon during a part of its journey around the North Pole, every day- night. I therefore conjecture that Indra meant exactly that! He just means, The star Abhijit which was once close to north pole, was helpful in mapping the sky and was always above the horizon has now moved so far away from the pole that now, for a part of its path, it actually goes below the horizon. In other words, it has fallen from the sky! The picture below explains what I mean.