World Space Week: Applying Astronomical Dating Methods to Ancient Indian Epics Mahabharata and Ramayana

By Dr Aniket Sule and Prof. Mayank Vahia

3 days ago

TWC India

https://weather.com/en-IN/india/space/news/2020-10-07-world-space-week-astronomical-dating-methods-ancient-indian-epics

 Any discussion on early Sanskrit literature is not complete without mentioning Ramayana and Mahabharata. As archaeological evidence for these epics is hard to come by, in the last 50 years several Sanskrit and astronomy enthusiasts have tried dating these epics using astronomical events. Even by ignoring extravagant claims, we are still left with a very wide range, with Ramayana between 7600 years to 3000 years before present (BP) and Mahabharata between 8000 years to 3200 years BP.

Position of planets

In Ramayana, the most common claim is that Bal Kanda mentions the exact position of all planets at the time of the birth of Rama. Some also include mentions of eclipses during Rama’s exile and the position of planets at the time of other important events. When one feeds all this data in any reliable sky simulation software, you get a date of about 7600 years BP.

For Mahabharata, the most common starting point for enthusiasts is Aryabhata’s assertion that he was 23 years old in the 3600th year of Kaliyuga. This means Kaliyuga started around 5100 years BP, which was supposed to be just after the end of the Mahabharata war.

Another seductive reference is the lunar eclipse on the night before the first day of war and unexplained darkness (interpreted as the solar eclipse) on the 13th day of the war i.e. Jayadratha Vadha. A fortnight lasting just 13 days is very rare and based on it some people have pinned the date as about 3900 years BP.

But there are several issues with this approach. Firstly, positions of the Moon (to a large extent) and planets (to a smaller extent) cannot be modeled accurately beyond a couple of Millennia. The position calculations have some large terms and numerous smaller corrections. Most commercial sky simulators only incorporate major variables and ignore smaller corrections altogether. Few better ones use present values of minor variables and simply assume that those values remain unchanged even if you extrapolate 5000 years back.

In fact, several researchers, including one of us (MNV), use the discrepancies between the predicted path of the eclipse using NASA ephemeris—which is the best simulator publicly available—and real path as determined from written records of the last 1500 years to better model earth-moon interactions. Thus, if someone says they put in the data in software and got such and such date, it just reveals a limited understanding of positional calculations and eclipse paths and dates.

Secondly, astronomical events do have a margin of error and are repetitive in nature. When one says ‘Saturn in Kanyaa Raashi’, we should realize that Saturn spends an average of 2.5 years in each zodiac sign. In that period Mars, Venus, Mercury, and the Sun would have visited each of the Raashis, and the Moon would have done so more than 25 times. By rough estimate, a typical planetary combination is due for repetition once every few centuries. The 13-day pair of eclipses described above—even at the latitude of Kurukshetra—is not as rare as one imagines and it happens typically every few hundred years.

Zodiac signs

Next, as we said in the previous article, the zodiac signs (path of the Sun) and planets appear to be a greek import to Indian astronomy while Indians used Nakshatras (Lunar Mansions). Even the concept of making a birth chart is very recent in India and we do not find references to birth charts of the personalities in Mahabharata. If that is so, how can Valmiki, who supposedly predated Alexander, write about Rama’s birth chart? This contradiction is solved by realizing that both epics were passed down the generations orally for centuries and the descriptions of events kept evolving and getting added.

As per one estimate, the original ‘Jaya’ had just 8000 verses, but ‘Mahabharata’ as we know today has more than 100,000 verses. The same is the story with Ramayana. Thus, it is near impossible to know if the astronomical reference we are hinging our argument on is really from the original text or a later addition.

Deducing the dates of epics

Lastly, what we often forget is the fact astronomical references cannot stand in contradiction of established facts gleaned from other domains. Let us take an example. If you are told that a certain eclipse was video-graphed using a digital camera, then you can safely say that the said eclipse cannot be more than 30 years old. If you claim to have recorded it 50 years back, it will directly contradict the established history of digital videography. Similar cross-checking applies to astronomical dating too.

When did human beings invent the concept of a ‘king’? ~5500 years BP; When was iron—which is essential for swords—first used in India? ~4500 years BP; When were horses domesticated? ~5500 years BP. Ask these questions and those put severe constraints on plausible dates of epics.

In terms of archaeology, sociology, and linguistics, one can look at dates of oldest habitation at the places mentioned in the epics or social beliefs of the cultures described therein or specific words or grammar rules used in the verses and that will give even more confusing picture.

So where do we stand? The estimates which place Mahabharata around 3400 years BP (Iyengar, Sule, et al.) may be the most plausible from several perspectives of eclipses, Saptashi Calendar, geological data, etc., Ramayana may have similar age, give or take a couple of centuries. At the end of the day, if astronomical dating methods tell us more about the epics or add to the existing confusion, it depends entirely on the care and the skill of the researcher.

This article is a part of a series of eight articles on the World Space Week 2020, published each day from October 4 to 10. The previous three articles in the series can be found here:

1. How Study of Ancient World Can Shed Light on Beginning of Astronomy in India

2. Ancient Astronomy in Vedic and Post-Vedic Literature

3. Sneak Peek at Indian and Vedic Calendars and Astronomy Behind Them

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This series was produced in collaboration with the Astronomical Society of India, a society dedicated to Astronomy and related branches of science in India. Dr Aniket Sule and Prof. Mayank Vahia are from the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE-TIFR), Mumbai and the NMIMS School of Mathematical Sciences, Mumbai, respectively.