MODERN SCIENCE IN HINDU SCRIPTURES--MOSTLY ACCURATE, MINIM WRONG

Modern Science in Hindu Scriptures—Mostly Accurate; Minim Wrong

(Compilation for a discourse by N. R. Srinivasan, Nashville, TN. USA, January 2015)

Hindu Scriptures visualized Modern Science often right but occasionally wrong too!  Has not   Science changed its postulations too often? Our Sages were bogged down by human sufferings and fear of death as could be conjectured from their cry and pleading to Supreme Spirit in the most ancient mantra: "Asato maa sad gamaya | Tamaso maa jyotir gamaya | mrityor maa amritam gamaya||   Their focus was therefore on alleviation of human sufferings and Liberation to merge with the source from which we all come from. In the process they missed focus on few things. They had the spiritual vision but not Hubble Telescope!

I have been talking about the Spiritual wisdom of Vedas all the time but never talked about certain wrong statements of Non-spiritual thoughts that I have found and also   brought to my notice by many learned readers.  With limited time and limited knowledge I have been focusing to know the Spiritual Truth (Para Vidya) and not the other information on Apara vidya(secular science, for example wrong statement contained in Vedas that Sun goes round the Earth. For all the people of the world except Indian Astrologers, our Sun never moves like all other stars in our milky way.  Only the planets and satellites move.

Deep in Vedas are   hidden the following facts: The precision of the movements of the heavenly bodies is something the ancients keenly observed: the spinning of the earth on its axis gives us a day; the spinning of the moon around the earth gives us a month (waning & waxing); the spinning of both around the sun gives us a year. Interestingly, the moon rotates on its axis at exactly the same rate it takes to rotate around the earth. The effect of this is to cause the moon to appear as if standing still with the same face always pointed towards the earth. Another interesting fact, during a total solar eclipse the size of the Moon is exactly in proportion to block out the Sun, despite the Sun having a diameter 400 times that of the Moon. This is due to the fact that the distance between the Earth and the Sun is 400 times that between the Earth and   Moon. The odds are truly astronomical.

Recently I communicated the following message from the Editor IndiaDivine.Org talking about Hanuman Chalisa: According to modern astronomy and science, we know that the earth’s orbit around the sun is not a circle and is slightly elliptical. Therefore, the distance between the earth and the sun varies throughout the year. At its nearest point on the ellipse that is the earth’s orbit around the sun, the earth is 91,445,000 miles (147,166,462 km) from the sun. This point in the earth’s orbit is known as Periapsis (perihelion) and it occurs around January 3.

The earth is farthest away from the sun around July 3 when it is 94,555,000 miles (152,171,522 km) from the sun. This point in the earth’s orbit is called Apophis (aphelion). The average distance from the earth to the sun is 92,955,807 miles (149,597,870.691 km).

According to records, for the first time in 1672, Jean Richer and Giovanni Domenico Cassini measured the distance between the Earth and Sun as 22,000 times of Earth Radii. (Earth’s Radius is 6,371 Km) i.e. 22,000 * 6,371 km = 140,162,000 km (140 million km).

Two lines of the Hindu prayer Hanuman Chalisa compute this distance with great simplicity.

 जुग सहस्त्र योजन पर भानु, लील्यो ताहिमधुर फल जानू

Yug Sahastra Yojan par bhaanu, leelyo taahimdhur phal jaanoo

This means that the Sun (Bhaanu) is at a distance of yuga sahastra yojanas – Distance Unit in Sanskrit/Hindi.

According to the following conversion practices that are in use as per Hindu Vedic literature:

1 yuga = 12000 celestial years

1 sahasra = 1000

1 yojana = 8 Miles

yuga x sahasra x yojana = para bhanu

12,000 x 1000 x 8 miles = 96,000,000 miles

1 mile = 1.6kms

96,000,000 x 1.6kms = 153,600,000 km to the Sun.

The earth moves in an elliptical orbit around the sun, so there will be slight variation depending on the season.

Hanuman Chaaleesaa was written by Goswami Tulasidas (born 15th century) in Awadhi language that belongs to 15th century.  To an inquiring mind the poetic composition reveals the distance between the Sun and earth had been calculated much more accurately than the 17th century scientists even two centuries before.

The question here is how Tulsidas calculated this distance or how he is able to know about this distance. We also have to observe that the people of that age had more knowledge, capabilities and much more advanced technology that is beyond the imagination of our present day technologies.

Here is another revelation in Rigveda as to the speed of light reported by the editor IndiaDivine.Org on Speed of Light in the Rig Veda:

“The first quantitative estimate of the speed of light is seen in Indian Vedic scholar Sayana’s commentary on the Rig Veda. It says that sun light travels 2,202 yojanas in the time span of a nimishardha (half a nimisha). The yojana is an ancient unit of length. Arthasastra defines it as being equal to 8,000 dhanus, which is equivalent to 9.09 miles. A nimisha is an ancient unit of time that is equal to 16/75 seconds. Thus 2,202 yojanas in half a nimisha is equal to 189,547 miles per second after conversion. The modern estimate of the speed of light is 186,281.7 miles per second.

This velocity of Light was calculated by Maxwell in the 19th century, but it was actually determined accurately thousands of years before in the Rig Veda. It was further elaborated by Sayana in the 14th century AD in his commentaries on Rig Veda. Indian Almanacs have always calculated accurately the motion of planets, sunset, sunrise, eclipses, etc. without using telescopes or any other machinery.

It is to be noted that Bhatta Bhaskara (probably from the 10th century) made the same statement in his commentary on Taittiriya Brahmana, another book of Hindu Veda. He says this to be an old tradition.

The fourth verse of the Rigvedic hymn 1:50 (50th hymn in book 1 of rigveda) is as follows:

 taranirviśvadarśato jyotishkridasi sūrya | viśvamā bhāsirochanam ||

This means “Swift and all beautiful art thou, O Surya (Sun), maker of the light, illuminating all the radiant realm.”

Explaining this verse in his Rig Veda commentary, Sayana, who was a minister in the court of Bukka of the great Vijayanagar Empire of Karnataka in South India (in early 14th century), says:

tatha cha smaryate yojanaanam sahasre dve dve sate dve cha yojane ekena nimishaa-rdhena kramamaan.

This means “It is remembered here that Sun (light) traverses 2,202 yojanas in half a nimisha.”

Note: Nimishardha = half of a nimisha
In the vedas Yojana is a unit of distance and Nimisha is a unit of time.

Unit of Vedic Time: Nimisha

The Moksha Dharma Parva of Shanti Parva in Mahabharata describes Nimisha as follows:
15 Nimisha = 1 Kastha
30 Kashta = 1 Kala
30.3 Kala = 1 Muhurta
30 Muhurtas = 1 Diva-Ratri (Day-Night)
We know Day-Night is 24 hours
So we get 24 hours = 30 x 30.3 x 30 x 15 nimisha
in other words 409050 nimisha
We know 1 hour = 60 x 60 = 3600 seconds
So 24 hours = 24 x 3600 seconds = 409,050 nimisha
409,050 nimisha = 86,400 seconds
1 nimisha = 0.2112 seconds (This is a recursive decimal. The wink of an eye is equal to 0.2112 seconds.)
1/2 nimisha = 0.1056 seconds

Unit of Vedic Distance: Yojana

Yojana is defined in Chapter 6 of Book 1 of the ancient Vedic text “Vishnu Purana” as follows:

10 ParamAnus = 1 Parasúkshma
10 Parasúkshmas = 1 Trasarenu
10 Trasarenus = 1 Mahírajas (particle of dust)
10 Mahírajas= 1 Bálágra (hair’s point)
10 Bálágra = 1 Likhsha
10 Likhsha= 1 Yuka
10 Yukas = 1 Yavodara (heart of barley)
10 Yavodaras = 1 Yava (barley grain of middle size)
10 Yava = 1 Angula (1.89 cm or approx 3/4 inch)
6 fingers = 1 Pada (the breadth of it)
2 Padas = 1 Vitasti (span)
2 Vitasti = 1 Hasta (cubit)
4 Hastas = a Dhanu, a Danda, or pauruSa (a man’s height), or 2 Nárikás = 6 feet
2,000 Dhanus = 1 Gavyuti (distance to which a cow’s call or lowing can be heard) = 12,000 feet
4 Gavyutis = 1 Yojana = 9.09 miles

Calculation of the Speed of Light from the Rig Veda:

So now we can calculate what is the value of the speed of light in modern units based on the value given as 2202 yojanas in 1/2 nimisha

= 2,202 x 9.09 miles per 0.1056 seconds
= 20,016.18 miles per 0.1056 seconds
= 189,547 miles per second

As per the Rig Veda the speed of light is 189,547 miles per second.
As per modern science the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second!”

History is not presented to us in scriptures the way it should be. There are still many elements and precious jewels of information that are being kept hidden from us. The ocean of history is before us to dive in and dig the jewels out. The gleaming beam of knowledge from these jewels will not only enrich our heritage but will also keep bestowing direction to our future generations. This is the way that Sant Tulsidas showed us as to the study of Vedas and Puranas to discover Truth.

One of our learned Professor of Physics has the following to say commenting upon Navagrahas : “The speed of our Earth is as follows:  Its radius is 6.37 million meters.  That means 6.37 times tenth power of six meters.  The circumference of our Earth is 2πR= 2(22/7)6.37(1000000) m.  When we divide this by 24 hours and 1609 m, we get 1036.876 miles per hour.  Because one mile equals 1609 m, we divided by 1609 m in order to get in miles.  THE SPEED OF OUR EARTH IS 1036.876 MILES PER HOUR.  It rotates by itself with this speed and moves on constantly on the elliptical orbit while our Sun is in one of the focal points of the ellipse.  Remember, no circular orbit, but elliptical orbit (egg shaped orbit).  Our Earth is also constantly wobbling from 0 to 23.5 degrees above Equator (middle line of our Earth) for six months and below Equator for six months.  When we sit on the Earth, while Earth is doing all these, we apparently feel as if Our Sun is moving north of Equator or south of Equator.  In reality, Our Sun never moves but our Earth moves.  When we sit near the window of our moving train, we see as if all the trees and mountains are moving.  In reality, they are not moving, but we are moving.  When we do circumambulation, we rotate our body and move around the Praakaaram (circumambulation space around the deity) at the same time.  Our Earth also does the same thing.

When we come shortest distance to our Sun, we have summer.  When we go longest distance from our Sun, we have winter.  Between summer and winter, we have Autumn.  Between winter and summer, we have spring. All these we studied in our high school.  

In the early days, people worshiped Sun as God.  They thought that the Earth was the center of the universe, and the Sun was moving around the Earth.  This was called as GEOCENTRIC THEORY by Ptolemy.  GEO means Earth.  Then Galileo proposed HELIOCENTRIC THEORY.  The Sun was the center of the universe while all the planets were moving around the Sun.  He also discovered many things, like the actual value of the gravity of the Earth, telescopes, and conducted many experiments.  He was charged by Catholic Churches that he was corrupting the minds of the people, and put him in prison until his death.  Then Copernicus discovered the ELLIPTICAL THEORY which is true even today.  All the planets are moving on elliptical orbit while the Sun is at one of the focal points of the ellipse.  All these are taught in all the high schools, colleges and universities in India and all the countries of the world. 

Only in India, the  astrologers prevail upon  the  Hindu blind believers  and  make their livelihood or fortune  by floating different techniques, such as the Earth is still the center of the universe, the planet Sun, planet Moon, planet Raahu, and planet Ketu,  planet Budha, planet Sukra, planet Kuja, planet Guru, and planet Sani are moving around the Earth.   Ignorant Hindus are cheated   generation after generation, who are foolish to believe in them and get cheated.

May I also draw your attention to the following references from Rigveda as well as Yajurveda.

1. He who fixed firm the earth that staggered, and set at rest the agitated mountains, who measured out the air's wide middle region and gave the heaven support, he men is Indra"

Rig Veda 2: 12: 2.

We all now know today that the earth rotates itself and orbits on the elliptical path with sun at one of the focal points of the ellipse.  The earth is not at all fixed and the sun is not at all going around the earth.

2.  "In the beginning rose Hiranyagarbha, born only Lord of all created beings.  He fixed and holds up the earth and the heaven".

Rig Veda 10: 121: 1

We all know now today that the earth rotates itself with a speed of 1037 miles per hour and moves on the elliptical path while the sun rests on one of the two focal points of the ellipse.  The earth moves and the sun rests and not the other way.

3.  "Firm is the sky and firm is the earth and steadfast are all these living worlds".

Rig Veda 10: 173: 4

4.  "The Bull has supported the sky"

Yajur Veda 4: 30 5

5.  "God has firmly fixed the earth with pegs around it".

Yajur Veda 5: 16 6

This is not at all true.  Where is the proof?  We are sitting on the earth which rotates by itself with a speed of 1037 miles per hour and orbits on the path of the ellipse with sun at one of the two focal points of the ellipse.

6.  "North West of the Heavens".

Yajur Veda 13: 56, 57 7

7.  "The Bull has supported the sky".

Yajur Veda 14: 5 8

Both Rig Veda and Yajur Veda are wrong today, while the earth rotates by itself with a speed of 1037 miles per hour and orbits on the elliptical path of the ellipse with sun rests on one of the two focal points of the ellipse”.

But we come across a mantra that surprises us also:

AN EXTRAORDINARY MANTRA OF THE RIG VEDA FOCUSED ON SCIENCE:


Scientist Vamadeva Gautama, who is called a Rishi, declared this eternal truth in Rigveda Listen to him, O human being!! This is true even now!



na pramiye savitur-devasya tadyathā viśvam bhuvanam dhārayișyati |
yat pŗthivyā varimannā svanguriḥ varșman divaḥ suvati satyam asya tat || Rig Veda 5.54.4 ||

Never doubt (na pramiye), capacities such as (tadyathā), of the glorious Sun (savitur-devasya), the celestial objects (viśvam), and the earth (bhuvanam) sustains (holds, protects, carries) (dhārayișyati). How, is because, (yat), of the earth (pŗthivyāh), though extremely huge (varimat), a ring for himself (svanguriḥ) (has made). And constantly (varșman) divah (in space) set in motion (suvati). What is mentioned here is the truth (satyam asya tat).

Never underestimate the capabilities of the glorious Savita (the Sun). He is holding objects in space as he is holding the Earth. How is the Sun holding the Earth? The Earth is huge!  Yet the  Sun has made a ring and has set the Earth in constant motion around him in space. This alone is the truth!

We generally go by the translation Navagrahas as Nine planets.   We call Planetarium which also includes movements of sun and stars. Probably my translation is wrong.  Graha means that which pulls together or attracts. Probably what our saastras mean by Navgraha is “Devatas  that are   the presiding deities over these astral bodies”.  

May be going through the history of origin of Vaaras (Days) may throw some light on the subject. Probably Hindu astrology was influenced by Greek astrology to call these as Planets. Between the 1st and 3rd centuries the Roman Empire gradually replaced the eight-day Roman Sundial Cycle with the seven-days’  week.   The days were named in the order Sun, Moon, Mars (Ares), Mercury (Hermes), Jupiter (Zeus), Venus (Aphrodite) and Saturn (Cronos). The seven-day week spread throughout the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity.   By the 4th century, it was in wide use throughout the Empire, and it had also reached India and China.

If you see ancient scriptures, usually the name of the day is not mentioned. Only Tithi, Nakshatra and Paksha are mentioned.  Mentioning of the name of the day of the week and also ascribing it to a deity (like Tuesday for Hanuman) seems to be a later trend. Krishna was born on Ashtami and Rohini Nakshatra, Puraanas say indicating Paksha and month.  Indian astrology adopted the concept of days under the regency of a planet under the term vaara, the days of the week being called Aaditya-, Soma-, Mangala-, Budha-, Guru-, Sukra-, and Sani-vaara. Sukrá is a name of Venus (regarded as a son of Bhṛigu); Guru is here a title of Bṛihaspati, and hence of Jupiter; Budha "Mercury" is regarded as a son of Soma, i.e. the Moon. Knowledge of Greek astrology existed since about the 2nd century BC, but references to the vaara occur somewhat later, during the Gupta period (Yaajnavalkya Smiṛti, c. 3rd to 5th century), i.e. at roughly the same period the system was introduced in the Roman Empire.

Greek astrology named week after seven planets considering Moon and Sun as planets. This disease crept into Hindu astrology which still thinks Moon Sun are    planets even to-day. Also Hindus always consider Grahas as minor deities presiding over five planets, the star Sun and  the satellite  Moon. Similarly Ketu Graha and Rahu Graha are deities presiding over the two nodal points. So it is wrong to translate Graha as Planets.  Grahas are demi-gods that influence human life. Soma Graha is not Soma Planet; it is the deity presiding over Soma satellite. Surya Graha does not mean Star; it is the solar deity or Surya Graha. We may best call them as such or as devatas or divines.

Vedas   mention   33 Divines supporting the Supreme principles. We wrongly conclude these are 33 Gods who in the long run have gone up to 330 million Gods and still growing.  Here our concept of Devata seems to be wrong.   By proper understanding Vedas world becomes the collection of 33 symbolic divinities called 33 devatas. They are 8 Vasus from the cosmos  (eight presiding divinities over 5 cosmic elements of earth, water, fire, ether and air plus sun, moon and constellation.) 11 Rudras of the inner world (Ten Pranas and the Atman, Soul) which means the 11  presiding divinities of the 5 sense organs and 5 motor organs and the eleventh  Atman.  Time is eternal and is differentiated with 12 Aadityas (Suns, the sons of Aditi, the Eternity), representing the 12 months of the year. The remaining two gods are Indra and Prajaapati.  Here Indra could mean Mind (Manas) and Prajaapati Intellect (Jnaana).  The former is all pervading electricity and sustains and the latter is creative energy.  So Hindus have these 33 divine aspects   termed as gods but the God of all gods is the Supreme God or Parabrahman.  The Hindus believe in one God, the Supreme God and this is the monism of Vedas, which is by inclusion and not that type of monism which lives by exclusion as is witnessed in case of many other religions by exclusion.

In Bhagavadgeeta Lord Krishna as Bhagawan is the teacher while Arjuna who listens is a student. We are not sure whether this whole philosophy contained   elaborately in 18 chapters of 700 slokas was instantly composed, discussed and digested while two opposing forces were focusing each other with tension, as Aurobindo says.  Yet as a true devotee of Krishna I do not fail to worship Gita on Gita Jayanti Day! That is the Hindu way of Life.  Lord Krishna   says: “Nakshatraanam  aham  sasee”  among constellations (nakshatras) I am  the Moon. Does Nakshatras here mean the stars in the sky? May be Nakshatra has many meanings in Sanskrit?  Nakshatra here is translated as star by many as I have also done.   Authors are more convinced to translate nakshatra here as star which leads to a wrong statement in science as it also applies to   Moon in the context which is not a star but a Satellite. According to astrology there are twenty seven nakshatras beginning from Asvini and ending with Rohini. The Moon moves around the Earth in an approximately circular orbit, going once around us in approximately 27.3 days, or one sidereal period of revolution. Hence the zodiacal belt is divided into 27 equal parts.  In astrology Nakshatra is one of the 27 segments of the Zodiacal belt whereas in astronomy stars are heavenly bodies twinkling in the sky. Moon shines because of the reflected light from Sun which is a star.   Aryabahtta was the earliest to announce this while moon is the only satellite of the earth and not a Nakshatra from the point of view of   astronomy. We do know Moon is neither among the 27 Nakshatras   nor   a star in the sky.  Viewed in both the contexts    Gita statement is wrong.

Puranas say Soma's (Sasi) twenty-seven wives were the star goddesses, the Nakshatras-- daughters of the cosmic progenitor Daksha.  Twenty-six of these daughters complained to   their father that he paid too much attention to just one of them, Rohini  Nakshatra.  Daksha subsequently cursed Soma to wither and die, but the wives intervened and the death became periodic and temporary, and is symbolized by the waxing and waning of the moon.   Even here Sasi is not included among twenty-seven (astrological) stars. Probably Soma (Sasi) being the husband of all twenty-seven stars, he was considered great among stars in Bhagavad Gita.

Why such outdated theories and postulations, though few and far between, are still found in Vedas and Bhagavad Gita? We find even references to undesired Charwaaka Philosophy of atheism in Hindu Scriptures. Sage Jaabaali is accused of atheist leanings in Ramayana by none other than Rama but at the same time respected as Raja Guru.  Nobody dared to do any house cleaning to remove such negative contributing materials from these Holy Scriptures like what happened in Holy Bible in Christianity.  In Brihadaranyaka Upanishad there are mantras for sacrificing young Bull and offering the beef to a pregnant woman to beget strong and intelligent son. We consider it holy, reading about Aswamedha yaga in holy-scriptures. We glorify killing of a horse. Hindu Scriptures have been deified and Ramayan (a historical Chronicle) Paath and Gita (philosophical discussions) Paraayana are considered as sacred   prayers for salvation.  As we all know early editions of Bible believed in Reincarnation. Early Christians were afraid of Roman, Hindu and Greek ideas of reincarnation taking over Christian doctrines. The teachings of Origen on reincarnation contained in early   editions of the Holy Bible were expunged from Church doctrine never to return in the second Council of Constantinople as anathema. No such revision ever took place on any of our scriptures. So you find Hindu scriptures retain their original contradicting statements though it does not support present day religious or scientific views. Holy Bible was revised as many times as possible till at last James version was officially authenticated. indu Scr

Various sages we come across in the Upanishads were great thinkers and mystics of their own thought, who have given independent views, based on their own logic, which may not agree with modern views, based on their own logic and experience to suit the time.  One can get a glimpse of the same like the six blind men touching the same elephant came to different conclusions though they were all focused in knowing the elephant. Their comprehension had limitations to know Brahman. Hence we come across different conflicting views and there is no single system of philosophy in Upanishads.     So Gita’s statement Moon is a Nakshatra confuses us and looks erroneous. There are such contradicting views in main body of   Veda too.   Sankara said “Brahma satyam   jaganmithyam” --Brahman alone is Truth; everything else is false. Later philosophers said the Brahman is real and visible world is also real as he has entered the world as its antaryamin   (inner Self). Both quote Vedas and Brahma sutras as authority. It is obvious Vedas too contain such contradicting statements. Probably our interpretations are different and have their limitations in understanding the language of Vedas.

The problem is we deify our scriptures as holy and sacred and want to believe in each word ignoring the time in which they came to human lime light.  They also include Phalasrutis, (benefits for simply reading with reverence) included in some later Upanishads though Vedas generally do not indulge in Phalasrutis. We have to take them with a pinch of salt.  We have to look to many good and real things they talk about and do not argue about few anomalies here and there which does not fit into the present day context or contradict Laws of Dharma.

It is also worth considering some Vedic concepts. Veda as I understand means know all things coming from the Sanskrit root vid to know.  In this sense it is reasonable to assume Vedas   want us to know both good and bad things; right and wrong things. Then only we can understand things well and make our understanding clear.  We can appreciate light only when we know darkness.  MNU prescribes while prescribing the homa mantras Dharmaaya swaaha, also prescribes Addharmaaya swaaha, manyave swaaha, kaamaaya swaaha etc. Why? It also mentions of Lakshmi as well as Alakshmi. Do we not worship Vighnaraja (Lord of Obstacles) for overcoming Vighna? Brahman is described as neti neti not this not that.  Discussing opposites is  deeply rooted in Hindu Philosophy as evidenced in Bhagavadgita.

Vedas stand for all the knowledge of Human beings.  They deal with General knowledge both para vidya and Apara Vidya; Cosmology, Astronomy, Materialistic, Spiritual and Divine knowledge. They include Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology and other sciences and Humanities. Atharva Veda deals with Brahman, Creation, Treatment of Diseases, Politics and Governance, Health and Long life, Peaceful and Healthy Deeds, Destructive Deeds, Compassion and Four objects of human pursuit-- Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha.  Vedokhilam Dharma Moolam— Vedas are ultimate authority on Dharma in particular. It did not say  that about other subjects it deals with as authoritative.

No doubt we come across   wrong statements such as the Sun’s movement round the earth and earth as fixed permanently to a fixed point.  Do we not come across wrong conclusion of scientific facts at times which later gets corrected? But  surprisingly a later Braahmana also makes the following statement as retold by  a reputed Vedic scholar and writer Anbil Ramaswamy quoting from  Ross Nancy Wilson ”Three Ways of Asian wisdoms”  Simon Schuster, NY 1960 which is reproduced below:

“Anachronistic as the Hindu labyrinthine mythology may appear to the foreign mind,  many of India’s ancient theories about the universe  are startlingly modern in scope and worthy of a people who are credited with the invention of the zero, as well as algebra and its application to astronomy and geometry; a people who so carefully observed the moon’s synodical revolution much more correctly than Greeks… many hundreds of years before those great European pioneers, Galileo and Copernicus, had to pay heavy prices in ridicule and excommunication for their daring theories, a section of the Vedas known as Braahmanas contained this astounding statement: ‘The Sun never sets or rises. When people think the Sun is setting, he only changes about after reaching the end of the day to what is on the other side. Then, when people think he rises in the morning, he only shifts himself about after reaching the end of the night, and makes day below and night to what is on the other side. In truth, he does not set at all”. 

I believe this revelation in Braahmanas should have made Aryabhatta to research further and come with his bold statement as to Sun being a star with no movement involved and earth going round it as a planet.  Here I would like reproduce relevant extract from my earlier discourse on “Ancient and Medieval Hindus Contribution to Science and Technology”

“Varaahamihira’s compendium was significantly entitled complete system of Natural Astrology, who drew considerable support from Greeks. The greatest Hindu astronomer Aryabhatta discussed in verse such poetic subjects that covered quadratic equations, sine and the value of pi (π ); he explained eclipses, solstices and equinoxes, announced spheroid of the earth and its diurnal revolution on its axis and wrote, in daring anticipation of Renaissance Science: “the sphere of the stars is stationary, and the earth, by its revolution produces the daily rising and setting of planets and stars”.

His most famous successor Brahmagupta, systematized astronomical knowledge of India, but obstructed its development by rejecting Aryabhatta’s theory of the revolution of the earth. These men and their followers adopted to Hindu usage the Babylonian division of the skies into zodiacal constellations; they made a calendar of twelve months, each of thirty days, each of thirty hours inserting an intercalary month every five years; they calculated with remarkable accuracy the diameter of the moon and the sun, the position of the poles, and the position of the major stars. They expounded the theory, though not the law, of gravity, when they wrote in Surya Siddhanta: “the earth, owing to its force of gravity draws all things to itself”. The Vedic sages were fully aware of the following astronomical facts and phenomena:

1)      The earth is round, rotates on its own axis and also around the sun.

2)      Sunlight has seven colors, allegorically described as seven horses.

3)      The twelve signs of the zodiac.

4)      There are 366 days in a year.

5)      The number of days per month is 29 11/16 or 29.762 days.

The precision of the movements of the heavenly bodies is something the ancients keenly observed: the spinning of the earth on its axis gives us a day; the spinning of the moon around the earth gives us a month (waning & waxing); the spinning of both around the sun gives us a year. Interestingly, the moon rotates on its axis at exactly the same rate it takes to rotate around the earth. The effect of this is to cause the moon to appear as if standing still with the same face always pointed towards the earth. Another interesting fact, during a total solar eclipse the size of the Moon is exactly in proportion to block out the Sun, despite the Sun having a diameter 400 times that of the Moon. This is due to the fact that the distance between the Earth and the Sun is 400 times that between the Earth and the Moon. The odds are truly astronomical.

Vedas mention Brunahatya (killing of the fetus), Veerahatya (killing of a soldier) and Brahmanahatya (killing of a Vedic scholar) as the Capital crimes which do not fit into the present day Criminal laws. In modern times killing anybody is a capital crime and abortion (killing of a fetus) is debated upon. That does not mean Vedas are wrong.  Such thoughts   go   with the times.  Vedic scholars with knowledge of were known as Braahmanas in those days but today based on caste system it is a birth right to be a Brahmin or Brahmana.

The Ancient Hindu Sages had no advanced astronomical instruments; They had yoga: It is true here and there in early Vedic literature we come across wrong scientific postulations and logic. Later by yoga and meditation these sages reached perfection and came with many amazing discoveries which are even true today. We would be benefited if we ignore few of these absurdities but focus on the large wisdom Vedas provided.  I am not a blind worshiper of Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita but I respect them and feel always benefited by the wisdom contained in them.  Whenever I am agitated and perturbed and in trouble needing a solution I always find in them the right answers.   Puraanas have made these scriptures icons of worship like various deities and try to seek salvation by mechanical and loud reading as mentioned in Ramayana in its concluding slokas in Yuddha Kaanda.

Today, kids in school learn that the sun is 93 million miles from the earth and that the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second.   Sayana, a fourteenth century Indian Vedic  scholar in his commentary  draws our attention to  a hymn in the Rig Veda, the oldest and perhaps most mystical text ever composed in India : "With deep respect, I bow to the sun, who travels 2,202 yojanas in half a nimesha." A yojana is about nine American miles; a nimesha is 16/75 of a second.  2,202 yojanas x 9 miles x 75/8 nimeshas = 185,794 mps. Basically, Sayana is saying that sunlight travels at 186,000 miles per second! How could a Vedic scholar who died in 1387 A. D. have known the correct figure for the speed of light? If this was just a wild guess it's the most amazing coincidence in the history of science! The yoga tradition is full of such coincidences.  Professor Kak of Louisiana University points out many such coincidences beside the one above.

Take for instance the maala (bead necklace) many yoga students wear around their neck. Since these rosaries are used to keep track of the number of mantras a person is repeating, students often ask why they have 108 beads instead of 100. Part of the reason is that the maala (necklace) represent the ecliptic, the path of the sun and moon across the sky. Yogis divide the ecliptic into 27 equal sections called Nakshatras, and each of these into four equal sectors called paadas, or "steps," marking the 108 steps that the sun and moon take through heaven.

Each is associated with a particular blessing force, with which you align yourself as you turn the beads. Traditionally, yoga students stop at the 109th "guru bead," flip the maala around in their hand, and continue reciting their mantra as they move backward through the beads. The guru bead represents the summer and winter solstices, when the sun appears to stop in its course and reverse directions talked about in Bhagavad Gita. In the yoga tradition we learn that we're deeply interconnected with all of nature. Using a Maala is a symbolic way of connecting ourselves with the cosmic cycles governing our universe.

The distance between the earth and the sun is approximately 108 times the sun's diameter. The diameter of the sun is about 108 times the earth's diameter. And the distance between the earth and the moon is 108 times the moon's diameter. Could this be the reason the ancient sages considered 108 such a sacred number? If the microcosm (us) mirrors the macrocosm (the solar system), then maybe we could say there are 108 steps between our ordinary human awareness and the divine light at the center of our being. Each time we chant another mantra as our mala beads slip through our fingers, we are taking another step toward our own inner sun.

 As we read through ancient Indian texts, we find so much the sages of antiquity could not possibly have known-but did. While our European and Middle Eastern ancestors claimed that the universe was created about 6,000 years ago, the yogis have always maintained that our present cosmos is billions of years old, and that it's just one of many such universes which have arisen and dissolved in the vastness of eternity.

We laughed and dismissed when our Panchnagams   said   Kaliyuga began around 5000 and odd years   after Dwapara Yuga calling, it is all myth.  Harappan excavations put an end to that laughter and disbelief.  Indians still continue to live with Aryan-Dravidian conflict as history taught to them in schools reveals.  You will be surprised to hear about the recent discovery which throws light as to the existence of Sindhus now wrongly called Hindus at least 70000 years ago. It also confirms that   Sindhus  mean People of the River and not Indus River in particular as people of Abrahamic Religions later thought  since  population existed all over India long back. Western Historians have been unfair to the South Indian History. We do not know what more excitement will be revealed when South Indian History and Archaeology would reveal when properly studied as you can conjecture from Kurnool findings described in the survey.

Christianity says world is 6000 years old. Previous archeological discoveries showed that humanity existed in Africa around 60000 years.  Newly discovered archaeological sites in Southern and Northern India have revealed how people lived before and after the colossal Toba volcanic eruption 74,000 years ago in India.

Over in India, the land was showered with 15 centimeters of volcanic Toba ash located now in Indonesia, which can be seen today, working as a distinct age marker in the earth’s historiography. And yet, contrary to all logic, archaeologists have unearthed assemblages of stone tools both above and below the ash deposit in India’s Jwalapuram Valley.

A team of archaeologists from the Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute is back from Haryana where they stumbled upon a record 70 Harappan graves at a site in Farmana, discovered the largest burial site of this civilization in India so far.  The archaeological team here uncovered an entire town plan. The skeletal remains belong to an era between2500 BC to 2000 B.C.  Newly discovered archaeological sites in Southern and Northern India have revealed how people lived before and after the colossal Toba volcanic eruption 74,000 years ago.

All these shows scientific facts which at one time proved wrong are constantly changing based on new discoveries.

In fact the Puranas, encyclopedias of yogic lore thousands of years old, describe the birth of our solar system out of a "milk ocean," the Milky Way. Through the will of the Creator, they tell us, a vortex shaped like a lotus arose from the navel of eternity. It was called Hiranya Garbha, the glittering womb. It gradually coalesced into our world, but will perish someday billions of years hence when the sun expands many times it present size, swallowing all life on earth. In the end, the Puranas say, the ashes of the earth will be blown into space by the cosmic wind. Today we know this is a scientifically accurate, though poetic, description of the fate of our planet.

Knowing the unknowable: To us today it seems impossible that the speed of light or the fate of our solar system could be determined without advanced astronomical instruments!  How could the writers of old Sanskrit texts have known the unknowable? In searching for an explanation we first need to understand that these ancient scientists were not just intellectuals, they were practicing yogis. The very first lines of the Surya Siddhanta, for of the Golden Age a great astronomer named Maya desired to learn the secrets of the heavens, so he first performed rigorous yogic practices. Then the answers to his questions appeared in his mind in an intuitive flash. Does this sound unlikely?

Yoga Sutra 3:26-28 states that through, samyama (concentration, meditation, and unbroken mental absorption) on the sun, moon, and pole star, we can gain knowledge of the planets and stars. Sutra 3:33 clarifies, saying: "Through keenly developed intuition, everything can be known." Highly developed intuition is called pratibha in yoga. It is accessible only to those who have completely stilled their mind, focusing their attention on one object with laser-like intensity. Those who have limited their mind are no longer limited to the fragments of knowledge supplied by the five senses. All knowledge becomes accessible to them.

"There are [those] who would say that consciousness, acting on itself, can find universal knowledge," Professor Kak admits. "In fact this is the traditional Indian view."

Perhaps the ancient sages didn't need advanced astronomical instruments; after all, they had Yoga!

 [Based on a personal discussion of my cousin Dr. Vatsala,    Professor of Mathematics in  Louisiana State  University with  another  Prof . Siddharta Kak]

Vivekananda Wrote a Letter to Tesla in the Late 1800’s stating: “Mr. Tesla thinks he can demonstrate mathematically that force and matter are reducible to potential energy. I am to go and see him next week to get this new mathematical demonstration. In that case the Vedanta cosmology will be placed on the surest of foundations. I am working a good deal now upon the cosmology and eschatology of the Vedanta. I clearly see their perfect union with modern science, and the elucidation of the one will be followed by that of the other.”

Tesla was aware of ancient concepts and the correlation it had with the science he was working on--using Sanskrit worlds like “Akasha,” and “Prana” to describe the force and matter that exists all around us. These words come from the Upanishads. Tesla began using the Sanskrit words after meeting with Swami, and after studying the Eastern view of the true nature of reality, about the mechanisms that drive the material world. Eventually, it led him to the basis for the wireless transmission of electrical power, what is known as the Tesla Coil Transformer.  Apparently, Tesla was unable to show the identity of energy and matter, this did not come until Albert Einstein published his paper on Relativity , which was known in the East for the last 5000 years.

The statement of the Vedas that Parabrahman desired to transform itself into many, and that Brahman is awareness, could have led to the discovery that matter is basically Energy (or rather awareness), by Einstein.  Energy may be considered as Saguna (active) Brahman while in the   Mahavakya “Prajnaanam Brahma” – Consciousness or Awareness is Brahman, Nirguna Brahman is mentioned as Brahman.

You should have gone through my discourse on Kundalinee Power.   Based on it we can explain   Quantum Physics connecting E = Mc(2) and Kundalini Power.  Energy and Matter (Mass) are one and same and they are transferable.  One does not exist without the other (Ardhanaareeswara).  Pure Consciousness (Matter) is Shiva and Energy is Kundalini.  Mass (Shiva) cannot move without Energy (Kundalini).  Energy (Kundalini) is useless or cannot be applied without Mass (Shiva).   In the same way, the seven (K,L,M,N,O,P,Q) energy levels in an atom can be explained with movements of four kinds (s,p,d,f) of electrons (Matter), and jumping from one energy level to another, and causing chemical reactions.  The whole concept is based on Sakta Philosophy in which Sankara believed. This has the base in Svetasvataara Upanishad and Siddha philosophy.

Scientific knowledge is not one time finding and final. Atoms are not divisible is not true today! Based on further research scientific facts have been continuously revised. Some Vedic statements have been refined or clarified in later Sastras and Puranas. Also Vedic Sanskrit comes out with different meanings based on interpretations from scholars.  You have an example in the Appendix how modern value of Precession in Bhaskaracharya’s work based on Suryasiddhanta was proved false by wrong translation of scriptural Sanskrit by another foreigner. I have pleasure in reproducing below some of the hot research subjects that are being investigated and debated upon as Appendices. I have earlier sent to you a detailed research and debate on the Date of Mahabharata War. Probably some of you may know more than me!

I do not say we should blindly believe all that is said in scriptures.   But it is equally wrong to deride all of them as outdated and obscurantist just because they could not be understood by moderns.  We have yet to discover the real Wonder that is India. Unless and until ancient texts are proven false, it is suicidal to reject them.

Science and spirituality have been two pillars of the human race since time immemorial. These two aspects of human thought have a lot in common but its equally important to respect their differences. Science and spirituality are like two sisters who share very similar genes yet are very different in their personality. In this webinar, we will try to understand various facets of the intricate and interesting relationship between science and spirituality from a very practical point of view.

REFERENCES:

1) Prabha Duneja,   The Legacy of Yoga in Bhagavsdgeetaa, Govindram Harshanand, Delhi, India.

2) Swami Harshananda, The Ten Cardinal Upanishads, Ramakrishna Math, Chennai India.

3) Kumar R., North American Panchangam 2015. The Council of Hindu Temples of North America, New York, USA.

4) Anbil Ramaswamy,   A Critical Study of Hinduism with Major World Religions, Sri Ranga Sri, GA. USA.

5) Ed Viswanathan, Am I a Hindu? Rupa & Co.,  New Delhi, India.

6) Dr. Michael Petraglia, Survey reveals Hindus are 74000 years old, IndiaDivine.Org,   E-Mail Communication

7) Professor G. Nagarajan, E-mail Communication. December 2015

APPENDIX I

Modern Value of Precession in Bhaskaracharya’s Work based on Suryasiddhanta

Posted by The Editor | Feb 17, 2012 | 

In the chapter “Direction, Place and Time” (Suryasiddhānta, Ch.iii), E Burgess writes:

“(bracketed words are mine) : The (Surya Siddhāntic) theory which the passage (verses 9-12), in its present form, is actually intended to put forth is as follows : the vernal equinox librates westward and eastward from the fixed point, war Piscium, assumed as the commencement of the sidereal sphere– the limits of the libratory movement being 27 degrees in either direction from that point, and the time of a complete revolution of libration being the six-hundredth part of the period called the Great Age (ie, Mahāyuga as defined by Burgess in chapter i,15-17, where he gave it a span of 4320000 years), or 7200 years; so that the annual rate of motion of the equinox is 54″.”

This is the interpretation of existing version of Surya Siddhānta ( त्रिंशत्कृत्यो युगे भानां चक्रे प्राक् परिलम्बते …, SS,iii.9) in own words of E. Burgess , “as it is actually intended to put forth” by all traditional commentators. This is exactly what I illustrated with example in the illustrated example of computation of ayanamsha.

The moot point is this : Burgess knew the traditional interpretation (भानां चक्रे.., ie pendulum like motion of nakshatra orbit itself) , but gave his own meaning based upon modern concept of precession of equinoxes , and tried to create doubts about the authenticity of these verses (iii, 9-12) by putting forth deliberately false arguments. Let us examine Burgess.

In verse-9 (Suryasiddhānta, Ch.iii), he translates “pari-lambate” as “falls back”, although he says lambate means “lag, hang back, fall behind” and ‘pari’ means “about, round about”. Therefore, pari-lambate should have been translated as “fall back roundabout” and not merely as “fall back” according to own logic of Burgess. If the circle of asterisms lags roundabout any fixed point (whether Revati or Chitrā), it is a to and fro motion as all traditional commentators accepted. Modern concept of precession is something different from the original concept of ayanāmsha. Theon in West had mentioned this oscillating motion, Arab astronomers also accepted it, and almost all Europeans accepted it upto Renaissance, after which Hipparchus was rediscovered and modern concept of precession became a well-established fact in astronomy. But this concept of equinoctial precession (as well as anomalistic precession) was also known to ancient Indians and Greeks.

Burgess wrongly quotes Bhāskara-II, because he relied upon a wrong translation of Bhāskara by Colebrooke (As. Res., xii 209 ; Essays, ii,374, etc) and did not try to examine Siddhānta Shiromani which was wrongly translated by Lancelot Wilkinson due to Colebrooke’s influence. Bhāskara-II did not give his own opinion at all, and merely quoted Surya Siddhānta and Mujjāl (elsewhere Munjāla and Manjula), saying Suryasiddhānta gives -30000 revolutions of sampāt or equinoctial point per Kalpa while ayana has a motion of +199669 revolutions per Kalpa (of 4320 million years). Bhāskara’s own opinion was that these should be followed, which means both Surya Siddhānta and Mujjāla were correct in Bhāskara’s opinion. Colebrooke, Burgess, Wilkinson, etc have misquoted Siddhānta Shiromani and created an impression that ancient Indians were inept in astronomical observations, as Whitney shamelessly declared in his prologue to Burgess, but the Hindi translation by Satyadeva Sharmā is correct, although he could not get the real meaning.

The startling fact is that Siddhānta Shiromani clearly says that “the point of intersection of equatorial plane and ecliptic” (which is the very definition of equinox) has a negative motion of 30000 revolutions per Kalpa according to Suryasiddhānta, while Mujjala’s value of ayana’s motion is +199669, and both (Suryasiddhānta and Mujjala ) must be added to get the final motion (of the equinox ). Hence, we get +169669 revolutions per Kalpa, which gives (4320000000 / 169669 =) 25461 years per revolution or 50.9″ per year, which is very near to modern value of about 50.3″ per year for precession of equinoxes.

We must not forget that Hipparchus had given a period of 36000 years for precession, which was not corrected by Europeans till the onset of modern age. It is unfortunate that Siddhānta Shiromani is still being misinterpreted by foreigners, and if a true rendering is offered by Indian scholars, they are abused, esp by those who do not care to consult the originals and declare the forign missionaries to reliable. Bhāskara-II neither excluded Suryasiddhānta, nor Mujjāla, but mentioned the both must be used, which is clear from verse-19, where he clearly asks to add Mujjāla’s ayana-chalam to Suryasiddhāntic sampāt-chalanam (this sampāt-chalanam is anomalistic precession with a period of 144000 years per cycle, against modern value of 136000 years).

Another startling fact is that Bhāskara-ii differentiates sampāt-chalanam of Suryasiddhānta from ayana-chalanam of Mujjāla, and says both must be added before computing phenomena like declension, ascensional differences, etc. But modern commentators like Colebrooke misinterpret Bhāskara-II deliberately, and imply that sampāt-chalanam of Suryasiddhānta quoted by Bhāskara-ii was an erroneous thing which must be forgotten, while ayana-chalanam of Mujjāla was a crude approximation of modern precession. But this interpretation is falsified by Bhāskara’s original verses as shown above. The root of this problem lies in the fact that sampāt-chalanam of Suryasiddhānta is a distinct phenomenon from ayana-chalanam of Mujjāla according to Siddhānta Shiromani, but readers are not informed of the real meaning of Siddhānta Shiromani and false quotation from Siddhānta Shiromani was quoted by Colebrooke and Burgess (12th verse, chap.iii). This is a sign of intellectual incompetence and dishonesty of Western “experts” who are blindly followed by brown sāhibs of India. Those who do not consult the original texts cited above will not believe me.

Siddhānta-tattva-viveka by Kamlākara Bhatt is a medieval text, which clearly states that Saurpaksha is distinct from Drikpaksha. Saurpaksha (astronomy of bhuvaloka) is Suryasiddhānta as it exists. Drikpaksha (astronomy of Bhooloka or physical/material/sensory world) is that version of Suryasiddhānta which was not preserved because it was useless in astrology. Siddhānta Shiromani uses many concepts of Drikpakshiya astronomy, as the instance cited above proves. Saurpakshiya Suryasiddhānta does not contain any refence to 30000 cylces per Kalpa mentioned by Bhāskara-II. He was quoting from Drikpakshiya Suryasiddhānta which as a text had been lost ; Bhāskara-II said in his own Vāsanābhāshya commentary of Siddhānta-shiromani that Suryasiddhānta is not available (“anupalabdha”) and he was quoting it on the basis of “āgama”. Only its fragments are left, scattered here and there. Modern commentators confuse both variants of Suryasiddhānta. Siddhāntatattvaviveka is prescribed in post-graduate (Ganitāchārya) syllabus of Sanskrit universities, but no modern commentator has ever tried to translate it or comment on it.

According to Bhāskara-ii , negative sampāt-chalanam of Drikpakshiya Suryasiddhānta should be added to positive ayana-chalanam of Mujjāla to get final Drikpakshiya precession, which is very close to modern value. Ayana-chalanam of Mujjāla is also Drikpakshiya, because Saurpakshiya entities are not used in Drikpakshiya astronomy, and vice versa. I have put some of the most important extant theorems of Drikpakshiya Suryasiddhānta at a website. I had put parts of it at one of most popular websites, where a German “Indologist” deleted it and abused me profusely ; later I found those deleted materials at an Australian website, without any name of author!!. But I am here divulging one important secret of ancient science of India which has been neglected by wrongheaded commentators.

Mujjāla’s ayana-chalanam, as mentioned in Siddhānta Shiromani, gives a period of (4320 million / 199669 = ) 21636 years per cycle. Siddhānta Shiromani says that it is ayanachalanam and not precession, precession is obtained after substracting (Saurpakshiya) Suryasiddhāntic sampātchalanam. If this 21636 year cycle is not precession, what is it ?

Readers should read a Wikipedian article Milankovitch cycles  (http://en.wikipedia….lankovic_cycles ) which informs : ”Earth’s axis completes one full cycle of precession approximately every 26,000 years (25771.5 precisely at present, 25789.5 years is long term mean). At the same time, the elliptical orbit rotates, more slowly, leading to a 21,000-year cycle between the seasons and the orbit… This orbital precession is in the opposite sense to the gyroscopic motion of the axis of rotation (cf. anomalistic precession as distinct from equinoctial precession), shortening the period of the precession of the equinoxes with respect to the perihelion from 26,000 to 21,000 years.” (at some sites of NOAA of USA, 22000 is mentioned instead of 21000)

Ayana-chalanam of Mujjāla is not orbital precession, it is the most important of all components of Milankovitch cycles as this Wikipedian definition shown. If we take cue from Siddhānta Shiromani, the aforementioned Wikipedian clause can be rewritten thus : This orbital precession of equinoxes is in the opposite sense to the gyroscopic motion of the axis of rotation, shortening the period of the precession of the equinoxes with respect to the perihelion from 25771 to 21,636 years.

Siddhānta Shiromani also says that Mujjāla’s ayana-chalanam (21,636 years per cycle) is opposite to sampāta-chalanam. Bhāskara-ii clearly defines sampāta-chalanam as “the point of intersection of equatorial plane and ecliptic” (which is the very definition of equinox). Hence, what Siddhānta Shiromani says is exactly what Wikipedia informs us, the only difference is that Siddhānta Shiromani is misinterpreted and declared to be obscurantist, and the great cycles mentioned in Siddhānta Shiromani is “discovered” by 20th century scientists. But we must remember Bhāskara-ii did not discover these things, he acknowledged Suryasiddhānta and Munjāla.

Bhāskara-ii knew Drikpakshiya Suryasiddhānta, which has not survived because it was not useful in astrology. In his formula of precession, Bhāskara-II used a figure 30000 cycles per Kalpa. Bhaskara-II got an approximate value of 50.9″ per year, which was the most precise value before modern astronomy developed in the West. Here I quote a Puranic verse which proves

उत्तानपादपुत्रोऽसौ मेढीभूतो ध्रुवो दिवि ।
स हि भ्रमन् भ्रामयते नित्यं चन्द्रादित्यौ ग्रहैः सह ।।

It means : “Uttanpāda’s son Dhruva is the fixed point in the Heavens , round which all planets including Sun and Moon, but Dhruva himself also moves round” . Round what ? Mt Meru, which is the only fixed point in Cosmos according to Purānic-epic stories. Hence, the bhachakra also librates with respect to this fixed point Meru.

According to Bhāskara-II, orbital precession is derived by substracting anomalistic precession (sampāt-chalanam) from the first component of Milankovitch cycles (Munjāla’s ayana-chalanam). Bhāskara-II acknowledged earlier authors. Hence, we must conclude that modern values and concepts of orbital precession, anomalistic precession, Milankovitch cycles, etc were known to ancient Indians well before Bhāskara-ii.

But two things about confusing terminology must be borne in mind : this sampāt-chalanam he finally gets by combining the two quantities mentioned above. According to Bhāskara-II, Suryasiddhāntic sampāt-chalanam is 30000 per Kalpa. He does not give a name for the term which is finally obtained by combining this sampāt-chalanam with Munjāla’s ayana-chalanam, but the definition he provides for Suryasiddhāntic sampāt-chalanam is exactly the definition of the final quantity whose name he does not provide. Hence, there were many types of sampāt-chalanams !! This is not a case of confusion of terms. It is a result of Saurpakshiya term with Drikpakshiya terms bearing same names but having different magnitudes and sometimes even having difference in basic properties!

Second confusion is due to use of the term ayana-chalanam for Munjāla’s precession. It is quite distinct from Saurpakshiya Suryasiddhāntic ayana-chalanam (trepidation) as mentioned in existing text. Burgess could not digest this theory of libration (oscillation or trepidation, ie, ayanāamsha – motion) and tried to distort the meaning of terms to fit modern view of orbital precession with this Saurpakshiya precession. Bhāskara-ii knew and respected Suryasiddhānta which he cited and used in his computations as shown above, and gave exact value of Drikpakshiya precession. Therefore, it is foolish to impose Drikpakshiya precession (50.9″ per year according to Bhāskara-II, 50.3″ really) upon Saurpakshiya ayanamsha (54″ per year, oscillating within a range of ± 27 degrees). (There are further corrections on Drikpakshiya precession which give a final value of one revolution in 25771.4 years, exactly equal to the value deduced by NASA – JPL , but these corrections requires some long theorems to prove).

I do not want to say that all ancient texts are true and should be blindly followed. But it is equally wrong to deride them as outdated and obscurantist just because they could not be understood by moderns. We have yet to discover the real Wonder that Is India. Unless and until ancient texts are proven false, it is suicidal to reject them.

APPPENDIX II

New finds take archaeologists closer to Krishna

Posted by Bhama Devi Ravi | Mar 14, 2014 | IndiaDivine.Org

The conch and the Sudarshana Chakra are unmistakable. Although the figures do not match popular images of Krishna sporting a peacock feather, archaeologists are convinced that the coins are of Krishna, revered as an avatar of Vishnu.

“These square coins, dating back to 180 BC, with Krishna on one side and Balram on the other, were unearthed recently in Al Khanoun in Afghanistan and are the earliest proof that Krishna was venerated as a god, and that the worship had spread beyond the Mathura region,” says T K V Rajan, archaeologist and founder-director, Indian Science Monitor, who is holding a five-day exhibition, In search of Lord Krishna,’ in the city from Saturday.

Having done extensive research in Brindavan, Rajan is convinced that a lot of the spiritual history of ancient India lies buried. “Close to 10,000 Greeks, who came in the wake of Alexander the Great, were Krishna’s devotees. There is an inscription by Heliodorus, the Greek ambassador at Takshila , which reads Deva, deva, Vasudeva. Krishna is my god and I have installed this Garuda Pillar at Bes Nagar (now in Bihar),'” says Rajan.

According to him the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has unearthed many sites that throw fresh light on the era of Krishna. “ASI is expected to release the full findings next year. Many of the unearthed artifacts have a close resemblance to materials of what is believed to be the Harappan civilization. The findings may show that Krishna’s life was the dividing line between India’s spiritual history and the society’s gradual shift towards a materialistic one,” says Rajan.

Interestingly, a lot of what has been uncovered closely resemble the narration in the texts of Mahabharatha and the Bhagavatham,” he adds. Both the spiritual works are revered by the Hindus as their holy books.

It has been over five years since the discoveries were made at Tholavira near Dwaraka, close to Kutch. Much progress has been made due to the application of thermos-luminous study (TL) in ascertaining the age of artifact. “It is possible to get the diffusion of atomic particles in the clay pottery unearthed and arrive at an accurate date,” points out Rajan.  Tholavira itself is believed to be the capital city as detailed in the opening chapters of Bhagavatham.  Rajan points to an image of a plough  made of wood, which is mentioned in the Bhagavatham.

The findings could lay a trail to understanding Krishna’s life (said to be 5,000 years ago) and times, as a historical fact, says Rajan. The exhibition will be open till December 31 at Sri Parvathy Gallery, Eldams Road.

APPPENDIX III

The Date of the Mahabharata War

(compiled By N.R.Srinivasan)

Please recall my E-mail sending the detailed report on the Date of Mahabharata War as published in IndiaDivine.Org. Pradip Bhattacharya  says Aiyer from Kerala after an elaborate investigation of Mahabharata and historic evidences though some are erroneous,  and making some approximations as to the rule of  various dynasties concluded that the Kaliyuga began with the winter solstice immediately preceding the commencement of the Kollam Aandu, or at the end of 1177 B.C. The Mahabharata War, he proposes, was fought a few years before the beginning of the Kaliyuga.

Aiyer had published a previous paper in the same journal fixing the date of the beginning of the Kaliyuga from four different sources:

1) Vedanga Jyotisha – 1173 B.C., 2) Gargacharya – a few years prior to 1165 B.C., 3) Classical historians – 851 years before Alexander’s stay in India, viz. 1177-76 B. C., and 4) which is confirmed by the Malabar Kollam Andu commencing in August/September 1176 B.C.

At present the winter solstice falls on the 21st of December. The Gregorian system, which is the basis of the calendars of all Europe except Russia, Greece and Turkey, involves an error of less than a day in 3524 years. As the war took place in 1194 B.C., or 3094 years ago or 2776 years before the calendar was last corrected by Pope Gregory XIII, we may be certain that the winter solstice which occurred on the fifty-first day after the close of the war, would have happened, as now on the 21st of December (New Style). We may, therefore, conclude that the War commenced on the 14th of October, and was brought to a close on the night of the 31st of October, 1194 B.C. Whether or not this precise date, based as it is on data furnished by the Mahabharata alone, proves to be acceptable to the critical eye of a historian, we may at least be sure that the war took place in the latter part of the year 1194 B.C.

Aiyer also quotes Aryabhatta. “Aryabhatta – whose fame spread to Arabia as Arjabahr and Constantinople’s vast empire as Andubarius or Ardubarius – was born in 476 A.D. and the first to promulgate the theory that the earth revolved round the sun, calculate the circumference of the earth and explain the eclipses. According to him “the line of the Saptarshis intersected the middle of Magha Nakshatra in the year of Kaliyuga 1910”, i.e. 1192 B.C. According to Vishnu Purana, the Sapatarshis were in that very same position at the birth of Parikshit who was, therefore, born about 1192 B.C. Since the war occurred at the most a few months earlier than his birth, it might have taken place about 1193 B.C.”

There is however strong objection to this view as to the date of Kaliyuga. All our Panchangas say Dwapara ended after Mahabharata war and Kaliyuga started in 3102 B.C.  Currently attempts are made to study astronomical evidences from Puraanas and scriptures with the help of modern tools like Planetarium software. Dr. Narahari of Memphis, Professor of Physics has come to the conclusion that Mahabharata War should have occurred either in 3139 B.C.E. or 3067 B.C.E. taking into consideration both historic views as well as puraanic narrations and investigating the time between those two views after elaborate research using  Planetarium  software.  Aryabhatta mentions this date as 3137 B.C.E. as found in the inscriptions of Aihole of Karnataka of 1634 A.D.

I believe at present Government of India is seriously engaged in investigating all these things and keen to prove Mahabharata War was an historic event and not a myth and Krishna was a historic period. Krishna lived for 128 years while Rama is exaggerated to have lived for 10000 years in Puranas.  Krishna’s age seem to be possible for humans.

APPENDIX IV

Ancient wisdom and modern science

The statement of the Vedas that Parabrahman desired to transform itself into many, and that Brahman is awareness, could have let to the discovery that matter is basically energy (or rather awareness), long before Einstein. Coming from a Western Author this article attracts more attention than what I have described about Brahman in many of my discourses. Anyhow go through the interesting and thought provoking article below sent through courtesy IndiaDivine.Org.

“Modern science has come to the conclusion that all is One Energy. Long ago, India’s wisdom came to the conclusion that all is one awareness/consciousness, i.e. the one energy of science ‘knows itself’. It is not inert, not dead. So far, science either does not know about the claim of the Indian rishis or fights shy to investigate it.

Suppose there is a scientist whose theories have always turned out to be right. Other scientists have validated his theories, sometimes after a long time gap and after they had to discard their own theories. Now, this scientist comes up with yet another theory that is different from the theory that the scientific community holds. So far, the scientists have tried, but could not prove their own theory. Would it not be worthwhile to test the theory of that scientist who so far has had an amazing success rate?

Well, this scientist refers to the rishis of ancient India. Most western scientists have never heard of those rishis. They don’t know what they had postulated and it may also not interest them as science has made amazing progress in the last century and theories that are several thousand years old have no role to play today. Or have they? Most scientists are engaged in tedious work in their labs. Their field of research is highly specialized and path breaking technology has come out of it. Yet there are also scientists who look at the big picture, who, like Einstein or Hawking, want to find the explanation for everything in this universe, a unified theory. They try to push the frontiers of knowledge to reach the absolute. It has eluded them so far.

Maybe they should turn for inspiration to the Indian rishis whose track record is amazing. Thousands of years ago they had claimed that the age of our present (according to them it is not the first) universe is mind boggling, whereas the west maintained till a few hundred  years ago, that it was created only around 4000 BC. They knew that the earth orbits the sun and not the other way round – a fact that also only a few hundred years ago came to be known in the west. The Rishis knew that there are many suns, that atoms make up matter and at the same time, that the whole universe is one, that this world is Maya, an appearance or superimposition on that what is really true, like a pot on mud or a bangle on gold – not really true, only relatively true. They even knew that the best symbol for the Whole is a lingam. Does it surprise that the ‘big picture of the entire universe’ which was released by the Max Planck Institute has an oval shape?

All this and much more has turned out to be correct, even though some insights, for example ‘the world is Maya’ had actually been ridiculed in the west, till modern science, too, came to the conclusion that nothing is as it appears to be. Science has reached a point where ultimately nothing can be said with certainty, where, so to speak, matter contains no matter. On the relative realm and in our perception, an apple is still an apple and still falls to the ground. Yet if one inquiries into what the apple truly is one ends up with nothing in one’s hand, as it were. Not even the hand is there as a hand. In short: The senses deceive. Truth is something else.

Now, here is the point where ancient India could help science to make a decisive step or rather, a decisive turnaround towards finding the truth. Nuclear physics has come to the conclusion that all is one energy. This insight was hailed as coming together of ‘ancient wisdom and modern science’ at international conferences already over 30 years ago. India’s wisdom says: all is one and modern science says: all is one. Yet there is still a big difference and it may be frustrating for some individual scientists who are ready to bridge this gap, yet the scientific community as a whole is opposed to it.

The difference is this: Rishis claim that this one energy is aware or conscious of itself. Awareness means knowing, being alive. Whatever seems to exist comes out of one Absolute Awareness. It follows that the universe is alive. There is a presence present in it and this one presence appears as many and expresses itself for example through the human brains. The brain can be seen as the adequate instrument to manifest pure, thought free awareness as thoughts, feelings, memory, imagination, etc., like a light bulb manifests electricity as light. The bulb does not generate electricity, nor does the brain generate awareness.

Here mainstream science refuses to go along. It holds that the energy that is making up our universe is ‘dead’. It does not know itself. Yet there is also the obvious fact that humans on earth are aware and science declares this awareness as being produced by the brain. According to modern science, it developed sort of accidentally as a by-product of chemical activity in inert brain cells. If one manipulates the brain cells, the human mind undergoes changes. This fact is considered as vindication of their theory. Yet, does not the light look red, if one paints the light bulb red? The output changes if the equipment is manipulated but the input, the electricity, is the same.

Science further holds that conditions have to be agreeable for this awareness by-product to happen and these favorable conditions are extremely rare, but on our earth these conditions were just right and life and awareness had a chance to develop from matter. These conditions may also be there in some other planets among the billions of planets in space. Otherwise, the universe is inert, dead, and chance and time are ruling it. There is no knowledge of what is happening in the cosmos apart from those few exceptions, like on our earth. As a natural consequence of this theory, human awareness dies when the brain dies – like a flicker of light that dies with the firefly. Awareness does not find a place in equations that try to explain cosmic laws.

There may be two reasons why Western scientists avoid giving a place to awareness. One, in the west, the Church had been the sole keeper of the ‘truth’ and had severely crippled scientific ventures for over thousand years. Only a few hundred years ago and with great difficulty, men of great courage had overcome the oppressive hold of the Church. Ever since, science not only ignores religion, but is opposed to it because, in the west ‘religion’ promotes as the ‘Highest Truth’ a personal god, who watches over all humans and loves some and hates others. This of course is anathema to scientists. Almost with a vengeance, they are out to prove that there is no god and terms like awareness or intelligence might bring in god through the back door.

There is another reason why scientists overlook awareness, even though, if they only would look, it stares at them into the face or rather, out of the face. Awareness cannot be objectified, because it is the subject. Traditionally, science was focused on objects, i.e. on the observed. Only lately it had to include the observer after it became evident that the observer influences the observed. Yet it treats the observer basically as just another object. The scientist does not dive into his own living awareness to find out about the observer, but places the ‘observing system’ in one line with the objects under observation. He does not realize that his subjective, living awareness is a completely different category and requires an inner exploration.

For anyone who is interested in finding out the truth, and scientists certainly are, the most obvious and crucial factor in any research, the living intelligence that can be felt by anyone and without which there would be no scientific research at all, surely cannot be done away with the improvable assumption that it is a sort of secretion of the inert brain. That would be unscientific, more so, since there is vast literature regarding awareness/consciousness in India.

This literature gives valuable clues. For example the scriptures have two major terms – Atman and Brahman. Atman refers to the seemingly individualized awareness (often translated as ‘Self’) and Brahman to the infinite, absolute awareness. Brahman cannot be spoken or thought of, the scriptures claim. Brahman is that by which thoughts and speech are made possible. It is the independent, absolute truth that eludes objectification, as it is the one subject. Brahman alone is the truth, is stated.

Now if we look at Atman, we are on more familiar ground. It shows up as the capacity to know and feel and this capacity is right within us. It is what makes us feel  live right now. The scriptures have analysed our inner make up in great detail. There are efforts on to compile this knowledge into textbooks and teach it in psychology courses at university level.

Coming back to the big picture, there are intriguing statements in the Vedas. They are called Mahavakyas, the great utterances. Those claim that “This Atman is Brahman” or “You are That”. It means that our own, individual awareness or self is basically the great, all pervading Brahman. Atman and Brahman are one. It means further, the great one Brahman is right here. How can that be? Is our human awareness not rather ordinary? It is my direct experience that I am Maria, and certainly not Brahman, isn’t it? On the other hand, it is also my direct experience that the world is real and it has been proven to be illusory. Could this feeling that I am Maria also be illusionary? It would need an enquiry.

“Who am I?” is the big and ultimate question in Indian philosophy. Its answer may throw up the unified theory and more worthwhile, fulfilment. Yet the answer cannot be put into research papers. The scientist needs to turn around and dive deep within, beyond the thoughts and feelings right down to the pure, thoughtless awareness.

The Indian scriptures offer another approach: Everything in the universe according to them has five ‘components’. The first two, i.e. name and form, are changing. They belong to the world of maya. Yet beneath those two, there is Sat-chit-aananda: sat = being, Chit = awareness, Ananda = bliss. Those three are basically one and unchanging. Science takes note only of name and form and of sat (being). Something is there. Yet chit, the awareness aspect and Ananda, the bliss that comes with awareness, are missing.

Modern science presents us with a rather bleak scenario, where there is basically no meaning in living, all is chance and with the death of the body everything is finished. It is still the in-thing to believe among the so called intellectual elite in the west. The bleakness is not so much due to the fact that science considers the human mind as just a temporary flicker. Even the Indian rishis consider the mind as just thoughts, modifications in pure awareness that are ultimately as unreal as the solidity in matter. The bleakness is rather due to the fact that scientists don’t figure in the big (the word Brahman comes from big, expanding) living, blissful Presence, Intelligence, Awareness, Absolute or whatever name we want to give to the Unnamed.

The rishis claim that it is here, right beneath the individual awareness full of thoughts and feelings that prevent the experience of the underlying pure awareness. They encourage stilling thoughts with the help of meditation. When thoughts are stilled, it will become obvious that there is no separate individual awareness. Brahman is all there is.

In all likelihood, the rishis have the deeper insights. The Chandogya Upanishad describes how the sage Uddalaka prodded his son Svetaketu to know “That by knowing which everything is known” and how he helped him along with valuable questions and metaphors. Today, scientists like Hawking, also search for ‘That by knowing which everything is known’ but they still have a blind spot. They don’t search where it is to be found: Within their own awareness. Eventually, they may realize that the rishis were right, but before this happens, they will have to learn to ‘look’ or rather ‘sink’ inside. Then, sacredness and wonder might overwhelm them”

APPENDIX V

13 THINGS THAT PROVE INDIAN MYTHOLOGICAL LITERATURE IS FUll OF SCIENTIFIC   iNNOVATIONS. (Reshmanat, india dIVINE oRG)

1. THEY KNEW THE EXISTENCE OF SOLAR SYSTEM LONG BEFORE---RIGVEDA

2.  THEY THEORIZED GRAVITY WAY BEFORE THE WESTERN WORLD—rIGVEDA

3. THEY KNEW THE SPEED OF LIGHT WAY BEFORE THE REST OF THE WORLD KNEW IT—sAAYANA, cOMMENTATOR ON uPANISHADS

4. THEY KNEW THE SCIENCE BEHIND ECLIPSES WHEN THE REST OF   THE WORLD WAS SCARED THINKING ECLIPSES ARE CAUSED BY SOME SORT OF BLACK MAGIC—rIGVEDA

5. THEY ACCURATELY PREDICTED THE DISTANCE BETWEEN SUN AND EARTH--sANT tULSIDAS

6. THEY MEASURED THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE EARTH--bRAHMA GUPTA

7. THEY ESTIMATED THE LENGTH OF A YEAR—sURYA sIDDHANTA, kONARAK SUN tEMPLE

8. THEY DEDUCED PI VALUe—aRYA bHATTA

9. THEY THEORIZED THAT THE eARTH IS A SPHERE—ARYA BHATTIYA

10. THEY BUILD THE WORLDS FIRST UNDERGROUND DRAINAGE SYSTEM—iNDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

11. THEY THEORIZED AND ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTED THE CONCEPT OF SURGICAL PROCEDURES USING SURGICAL TOOLS CENTURIES BEFORE THE REST OF THE WORLD—sUSHRUTA

12.  THEY THEORIZED THE CONCEPT OF CLONING, TEST TUBE BABIES AND SURROGATe MOTHERS--Mahabharata

13.  NIKOLA TESLA TOOK INSPIRATION FROM SWAMY VIVENAKANDA AND INDIAN VEDAS FOR HIS WORLD ACCLAIMED WORK—mAHABHARATA

Apppendix VI

When did  Kaliyuga Begin?

Posted by Prakashanand Saraswati | Jun 11, 2014 

Lord Krishna ascended to His Divine abode at the end of dwapara yuga and immediately kali yuga started in 3102 BC. Krishna lived for over 125 years. He descended on the earth planet in 3228 BC. The Pandavas, after winning the Mahabharata war, ruled for 36 years and 8 months. Accordingly, the date of Mahabharata war comes to 3139 BC.

The dynasty of Surya Vansha of Kaushala (Ayodhya) ends with Sumitra (Bhag. 9/12/16); the dynasty of Chandra Vansha of Hastinapur ends with Chemak (Bhag. 9/22/44, 45); and the dynasties of the kingdom of Magadha flourished up to the Gupta dynasty (80’s BC).

History of Hastinapur

The kingdom of Hastinapur, after Chemak, was constantly ruled by the people who took over the throne. An ancient book describing the date-wise chronology of all the kings of Hastinapur (Indraprastha or Delhi) from Yudhishthir up to Vikramaditya and was found by the proprietors of the fortnightly magazine of Nathdwara (Rajasthan) called “Harishchandra Chandrika and Mohan Chandrika” in about 1872 AD. Luckily this book was saved from going into the hands of the British, otherwise it would have been instantly destroyed. The proprietor of the magazine printed the entire description in two of its issues (called kiran) 19 and 20 of 1882.=

The description is detailed to year-month-days of each and every king who ruled. By adding the total number of years of the four dynasties from Yudhishthir to Vikramaditya, it comes to 3,178 years which is 3141 Kali era or 39 AD, which represents the date when Vikramaditya left this earth planet.
According to the Bhavishya Purana and Rajtarangini, Vikramaditya lived between 102 BC and 15 AD; and according to the above details his period ends by 39 AD. There is only a difference of 24 years in the date-wise record of 70 kings who ruled Hastinapur for 3,085 years. A discrepancy of 24 years in 3,000 years of record could be a copying or printing mistake, and is thus negligible when we are dealing with a longer span of years. In this way the predicted period of the dynasties of Magadha and the historic records of the dynasties of Hastinapur correspond with each other and justify their correctness, and vice versa.

This is only a section of the magazine. It gives full date-wise detail of each and every king who ruled Hastinapur from Yudhishthir up to Vikramaditya. This is one of the rarest records that survived through this magazine.

The beginning of Kaliyuga, 3102 BC

We have taken the beginning ofKali yuga as the fixed point to determine the chronological dates of the events, kings, Divine dignitaries and the important personalities of our history. It is a common understanding that Kali yuga started about 5,000 years ago (in round figures) and we never had any problems in the past in accepting this fact. But only after the arrival of the English people in India, all sorts of baseless criticisms started regarding our history and religion that were promoted and fostered by them. We had hundreds of such evidences regarding the date of Mahabharata war and the beginning of Kali yuga in our history books that were destroyed by the British, still we have more than enough material to fully establish this fact.

(1) Astrological.

(a) We still follow the ancient astrological tradition. There is a most prestigious, 48 page detailed date-wise journal (panchang) with all the astrological facts and figures called “Vishva Panchangam,” established in 1925 and published by Kashi Hindu Vishvavidyalaya (Benares Hindu University), Varanasi. It gives all the three eras: Kali era, Vikram era and (Shalivahan) Shaka era. It is as thus:

It says on page 3 that 5,100 years have already elapsed before 2056 Vikram year which is 1999 AD. It means that the existing Kali era is 5101 in 1999 AD, which comes to (5101 – 1999) 3102 BC.
(b) Another panchang of India called “Shree Saraswati Panchangam” published from Navalgarh, Rajasthan, also gives all the calculations and says that 5,100 years of Kaliyuga had already elapsed

© The “Vishva Vijay Panchangam” of Solan, Himachal Pradesh, says,

It means that 5,100 years of Kaliyuga had already elapsed before 1999 and 426,900 years of Kaliyuga are still left. Kaliyuga is of 432,000 years (so, Kaliyuga started in 3102 BC).

Thus, the best team of the scholars of astrology all over India give the same figures of 3102 BC and publish it in the panchang (journal) every year.

These astrological journals are run by a group of the most learned astrologers of India, and thus it is mindlessness if any astrologer or scholar unnecessarily tries to argue about their accuracy.

(2) Others.
“Alberuni’s India,”  first Indian print 1964 (S. Chand & Co., New Delhi) Volume I.  

In the second part of this book on page 4 Alberuni writes, “…the time which has elapsed since the beginning of Kaliyuga before our gauge-year, 4132 years, and between the wars of Bharat and our gauge-year there have elapsed 3479 years.” In the Annotations (p. 358) of the same book Alberuni tells about his gauge-year, which is: “A.D. 1031, 25th February, a Thursday.”

There is a difference of 968 years between 1031 AD and 1999 AD. Thus, adding 968 years to 4,132 years comes to 5,100 years, the period that has already elapsed since the beginning of Kaliyuga and up till today (1999), and this is exactly what is mentioned in the astrological journals of India.

Alberuni also mentions about Vikram era (57 BC) and also the Shalivahan Shaka era which starts 135 years after the Vikram era.

Aryabhatta. The greatest astronomer and mathematician, Aryabhatta, was born in 476 AD. His work in astronomy is an asset to the scholars. He gave an accurate figure for pi as 3.1416. He finished his book “Aryabhattiya” in 499 AD in which he gives the exact year of the beginning of Kaliyuga. He writes:

Posted Image

“When the three yugas (satya yuga, treta yuga and dwapara yuga) have elapsed and 60 x 60 (3,600) years of Kaliyuga have already passed, I am now 23 years old.” It means that in the 3,601st year of Kali era he was 23 years old.  Aryabhatt was born in 476 AD. Thus, the beginning of kaliyuga comes to 3,601 – (476 + 23) = 3102 BC.

There is also the dynastic chronology of Nepal that goes up to the Mahabharata war.
Kali yuga started in 3102 BC., Yudhishthir reigned Hastinapur for 36 years and 8 months, the Mahabharata war happened in 3139 BC. When Bhagwan Krishna left the earth planet and ascended to His Divine abode, immediately Kaliyuga started and a catastrophic rain, storm and sea deluge that lasted for seven days, totally drowned and destroyed Dwaraka town. This catastrophe was also recorded. The dates of both are the same.

The unbroken chronology of the exact dates of all the Hindu kings of the 4 dynasties that ruled Hastinapur (up to Vikramaditya) since the reign of Yudhishthir is the most potent evidence and it could be easily understood by anyone, wise or dull, so as to believe that Mahabharata war had happened about 5,000 years ago in 3139 BC.

Comment: Kaliyuga has already elapsed 5522 years; Aadi Shankracharya was born In 508 BC when kaliyug was already elapsed 3000 yearsTotal Kaliyuga elapsed in 2014 = 3000+508+2014= 5522 Years; Source Book = Jyotirmay Jyotirmath ; Published by;- Akhil Bhartiya Aadhyatmik Utthan Mandal.

  APPENDIX VII

VEDAS SOLVE BERMUDA TRIANGLE MYSTERY 

Hindus often talk of Chidambara Rahasyam   and Westerners talk about Bermuda Triangle when they have no convincing reasons  to explain a mystery that puzzles  them.  They both  believe in sea monsters and devils.
Bermuda Triangle or the Devil’s Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean, where a number of aircrafts and ships are said to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances.  The area referred to as the Bermuda Triangle, or Devil’s Triangle, covers about 500,000 square miles of ocean off the southeastern tip of Florida.  When Columbus sailed through the area on his first voyage to the New World, he reported that a great flame of fire (probably a meteor) crashed into the sea one night and that a strange light appeared in the distance a few weeks later. He also wrote about erratic compass readings, perhaps because at that time a sliver of the Bermuda Triangle was one of the few places on Earth where true north and magnetic north lined up. William Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest,” which some scholars claim was based on a real-life Bermuda shipwreck, may have enhanced the area’s aura of mystery.   An especially infamous tragedy occurred in March 1918 when the USS Cyclops, a 542-foot-long Navy cargo ship with over 300 men and 10,000 tons of manganese ore onboard, sank somewhere between Barbados and the Chesapeake Bay. The Cyclops never sent out an SOS distress call despite being equipped to do so, and an extensive search found no wreckage. “Only God and the sea know what happened to the great ship,” U.S. President  Woodrow  Wilson later said.    In 1941 two of the Cyclops’ sister ships similarly vanished without a trace along nearly the same route.

Many myths and beliefs surround Bermuda mystery. There is no single theory that solves the mystery.   Although storms, reefs and the Gulf Stream can cause navigational challenges there, maritime insurance leader Lloyd’s of London does not recognize the Bermuda Triangle as an especially hazardous place. Neither does the U.S. Coast Guard, which says: “In a review of many aircraft and vessel losses in the area over the years, there has been nothing discovered that would indicate that casualties were the result of anything other than physical causes. No extraordinary factors have ever been identified.”

While you find no  logical reasoning or proper explanation  in science for the existence and the calamities associated with it, Rigveda seems to have the answer.  Asya Vamasya Sukta in Rig Veda states :”When Earth gave birth to Mars, and Mars separated from his mother, her thigh got injured and she became imbalanced (Earth rotated in its axis) and to stop it Godly doctors, Aswini Kumars poured iron into the triangular shaped injury and Earth got fixed in her current position. That is why Earth’s axis is bent at a particular angle. That  triangular shaped injury on our planet which was filled with iron went onto become Bermuda Triangle. Iron stored inside earth for years becomes natural magnet and Bermuda disappearances, fog, high and low temperature water streams colliding are a result of this.  Simhika, the gigantic demon had the power to attract object's  shadow flying over ocean and pull it into the waters and devour them.  Many Westerners also have   a belief that calamity in Bermuda Traiangle zone   is a devilish act.   However,  Ramayana speaks of the Sea  on the way to Lanka.    The devil Simhika in  Ramayana is not linked to Bermuda Triangle Mystery  though Hindus exaggerate it  saying over millions of years these positions of changed. They also say world was all one piece  at one  time and America was Aindra kanda.  Sankaracharya refers to California as Kapilaaranya (apabrahmsa-distorted word) citing nearby Ash island  and  Horse Island linking it to Sagara and Bhagirata story.  Brahmanda Purana (composed more than 5000 years ago) and Rig Veda (written more than 23000 years ago) clearly state that the planet Mars was born out of Earth. That is why he is called as Bhauma (‘son of Bhumi’) or Kuja (Ku = Earth + Ja = Born out of) in Sanskrit. 

Astonishingly in Tantric practices Mars  Yantra (Amulet)   for Kuja-dosha Parihara (bad effects due to planet Mars) prescribed by astrologers is triangle (tilted) shaped. In that logic, inhabitants in  Mars are siblings  of all humans born on planet Earth. Mars also controls all land related issues in human lives like Real Estate Business, Agriculture, Sibling etc. according to astrologers.

APPENDIX VIII

The Value of Pi up to 32 Decimals, Vedas v can but not omputers!

Sankaracharya wrote about his discovery of California being Kapilaaranya once citing the nearby Horse island and Ash Island connected to the story of Sagara and Gangavatarana  in his Book Dharma.  This   has encouraged American Hindu priests to substitute Bharatakanda and Bharatavarsha with Aindrakanda and America Desa in the   regular Sankalpa while guiding   Pujas by a devotee  (religious resolution). But the discovery given  below out-beats all similar to  the one I sent on  Hanuman Chalisa!

I do not know whether this is factual or accidental discovery?  The genius behind it deserves our appreciation after Ramanujam.  I have sent similar articles on Vedic Mathematics before. I have also talked a lot about how Science and Hindu Scriptures often conflate.

You may add this to my discourse if you are convinced:

http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2016/01/modern-science-in-hindu-scriptures.html

The Value of Pi upto 32 Decimals from the Vedas

Posted by The Editor | May 07, 2016  | IndiaDivine.Org

Men of older generation used to say that all knowledge is there in the Vedas. Anyone who hears such words will have the first reaction that it is an exaggeration. We should remember here that any sloka in the ancient Hindu manuscripts has more than one meaning.

A Sloka in the 10th book of Rig Veda appears to be written for praising Lord Indra. The technical translation of that Sloka gives the value of Pi up to 28 digits accurately. It is not until the invention of the computers that the western mathematicians could get this value up to 16 digits accurately. Here is a test for those who think that a computer can do any calculation. Use the fastest computer available to you and write a program to calculate the value of Pi up to 28 digits accurately. You will know how difficult it is.

Vedic Numerical Code in the Vedas

In Sanskrit, the following Vedic Numerical code was used in many slokas

कादि नव
टादि नव
पादि पञ्चक
यद्यश्टक
क्ष शुन्यम्

“Kaadi nava
Taadi nava
Paadi panchaka
Yadyashtaka
Kshah sunyam”

Meaning:

Kaadi Nava Starting from ka, the sequence of 9 letters represent 1,2,..9
Similarly Taadi Nava , starting from ta
Paadi panchaka (1-5), starting from pa
Yadyashtaka (1-8) starting from ya
And ksha represents 0

In detail it is as follows:

ka (क) – 1, kha (ख) – 2, ga (ग) – 3, gha (घ) – 4,gna (ङ) – 5, cha (च) – 6, cha (छ) – 7, ja (ज) – 8, jha (झ) – 9
ta (ट) – 1, tha (ठ) – 2, da (ड) – 3, dha (ढ) – 4,~na (ण) – 5, Ta (त) – 6, Tha (थ) – 7, Da (द) – 8, Dha (ध) – 9
pa (प) – 1, pha (फ) – 2, ba (ब) – 3, bha (भ) – 4,ma (म) – 5
ya (य) – 1, ra (र) – 2, la (ल) – 3, va (व) – 4, Sa (श) – 5, sha (ष) – 6, sa (स) – 7, ha (ह) – 8
kshah (क्ष) – 0.

Based on this code there are many slokas in mathematics., e.g., the following is a sloka for Pi value:

गोपीभाग्य मधुव्रातः श्रुंगशोदधि संधिगः |
खलजीवितखाताव गलहाला रसंधरः ||

gopeebhaagya maDhuvraathaH shruMgashodhaDhi saMDhigaH
khalajeevithakhaathaava galahaalaa rasaMDharaH

ga-3, pa-1, bha-4, ya -1, ma-5, Dhu-9, ra-2, tha-6, shru-5, ga-3, sho-5, dha-8, Dhi -9, sa-7, Dha- 9, ga-3, kha-2, la-3, jee-8, vi-4, tha-6, kha-2, tha-6, va-4, ga-3, la-3, ha-8, la-3, ra-2, sa-7, Dha-9, ra-2

3.1415926535897932384626433832792…

The above sloka has actually 3 meanings
1. In favor of Lord Shiva;
2. In favor of Lord Krishna; 
3. The value of Pi up to 32 decimals.

There were many inventions in the field of science and technology in ancient India, we just have to sift through the sands of time to find them.

Source: vedic-dharma.blogspot.in