SANATANA DHARMA PART 23 KR IRS 13524 12524
NIRUKTA
Ear of the Vedapurusa
Nirukta serves the purpose of a Vedic dictionary, or "kosa". A dictionary
is also called a "Nighantu", which term is used in Tamil also. Nirukta,
which deals with the origin of words, their roots, that is with etymology,
is the ear of the Vedapurusa. It explains the meaning of rare words in the
Vedas and how or why they are used in a particular context. Many have
contributed to Nirukta, the work of Yaksa being the most important.
Take the word "hrdaya" (heart). The Vedas themselves trace its origin.
"Hrdayam" is "hrdi ayam" : it means that the Lord dwells in the heart.
"Hrd" itself denotes the physical heart. But with the suffixing of "ayam" -
with the Lord residing in it - its Atmic importance is suggested. The
purpose of any sastra is to take you to the Supreme Being. "Hrdaya" is so
called because Paramesvara resides in "hrd". Thus each and every word has a
reason behind it. Nirukta makes an inquiry into words and reveals their
significance.
"Dhatu" means "root" in English. In that language one speaks of the root
only of verbs, not of nouns. In Sanskrit all words have dhatus. Such words,
transformed or modified, must have been adopted in other languages. That is
why we do not know the root of many words in these tongues. After all, such
an exercise would be possible only if the words in question belonged
naturally to them. Take the English work "hour". Phonetically it should be
pronounced "h o u r" ("h" being not silent) or "h o a r". At one time the
word indeed must have been pronounced "hoar". "Hora-sastra" is the name of
a science in Sanskrit, "hora" being from "ahoratram" (day and night).
"Hora" is two and half nadikas or one hour. The English "hour" is clearly
from this word. In the same way "heart" is from "hrd". There are so many
words like this which could be traced to Sanskrit. It must have taken a
long time for words in other languages to evolve into their present form.
That is why those who speak them find it difficult to discover their origin
[or root].
How does it help to listen to someone speaking a language without
understanding what he says? It is as good as not listening to him. In other
words it is like being deaf. Nirukta finds the meaning of words by going to
the root of each. That is why it is called the ear of the Vedapurusa: it is
the ear of Sruti which itself is heard by the ear.
Western scholars learned Vyakarna and Nirukta from pandits in Kasi and
acquainted themselves with the origin of words as described in the latter
sastra. From this they developed the new science of philology. It is
primarily from our Vyakarana and the Nirukta that the linguistic science
has developed.
>From their researches, Western scholars have arrived at the conclusion that
all languages have one source. People all over the world are the
descendants of the original inhabitants of the area where this primal
language was spoken. There are differences of opinion with regard to this
area, the home of this tongue. We need have no worry about it. After all,
we believe that all places on earth are our home. "Yadum mure!" is a famous
Tamil declaration. "Svadeso bhuvanatrayam" - the three worlds are our
motherland.
Hindu Dharma: Jyotisha
Eye of the Vedapurusa
Of the fourteen branches of learning basic to our Vedic religion, so far
dealt with siksha, Vyakarana, Chandas and Nirukta. These four-form part of
Sadanga (the six limbs of the Vedas). Now speak about Jyotisha, it being
the first of the remaining two of the Sadanga. Jyotisha, which is the science
of the celestial bodies and the eye of the Vedapurusa, consists of three
"skandhas" or sections. So it is called "Skandha-trayatmakam". Sages like
Garga, Narada and Parasara have written Samhitas (treatises) on this
subject. The sun god, in disguise, taught the science to Maya, the
carpenter of the Asuras. The work incorporating his teachings is called the
Suryasiddhanta. There are treatises on astronomy written by celestials and
sages and ordinary mortals. Of them some are by Varahamihira, Aryabhata and
Bhaskaracarya. In recent times we had Sundaresvara Srautin who wrote a work
called Siddhanta-Kausthubham.
Why is Jyotisha regarded as the eye of the Vedapurusa?
What purpose is served by the eye? Near objects may be perceived by the
sense of touch. With our eyes we learn about distant objects. Just as our
eyes help us to know objects that are distant in space (that is just as we
see distant object with our eyes), Jyotisa sastra help us to find out the
position of the heavenly bodies that are distant in time (their
configuration many years ago in the past or many years hence in future).
We can find out directly the positions of the sun and the moon and other
heavenly bodies. Just as we can know near objects, even if we are blind, by
feeling them with our hands, we can learn about the positions of the
heavenly bodies near in time even without the help of astronomy. What is 50
feet away is to be perceived by the eye. Similarly, if you want to know the
position of planets 50 years ago or 50 years hence, you have to have
recourse to Jyotisha.
We cannot, however, form a full picture of near objects only by feeling
them. For instance, we cannot know whether they are green or red. For this,
we must see them with our eyes. Again, even if we are able to see the
planet with our naked eye, we will need the help of astrology to find out
its effects on our life, how its positions in the heavens will influence
our destiny.
This is the reason why Jyotisha is called the eye of the Vedapurusa. Vedic
rituals are performed according to the position of the various planets [and
the sun and the moon]. There are rules to determine this. The right day and
hour [muhurta] for a function is fixed according to the position of the
celestial bodies. Here again, Jyotisha performs the function of the eye.
This Anga of the Vedas is indeed called "nayana" which word means "to
lead". A blind man needs to be led by another. So, it is the eye that
leads. Astronomy / Astrology is the eye that enables us to fix the hours
for Vedic rituals.
Astronomy and Astrology
Astronomy examines the position of the planets and other heavenly bodies.
It does not concern itself with how they affect the life of the world or
the individual. It is not its function to find out how far the celestial
bodies are beneficial to us or how they may be made favourable to us. Such
functions belong to astrology. Jyotisa includes both astronomy and
astrology.
Telling us about the results of performing a ritual at a given time,
keeping in mind the position of the planets, the sun and the moon and the
naksatras ( asterisms ), comes under the purview of astrology. The hours
favourable to the performance of Vedic rites are determined according to
calculations based on the movement of planets. All this entails
mathematical work.
The measurements of the place where a sacrifice is to be conducted
(yajnabhumi) are based on certain stipulations. These must be strictly
adhered to if the sacrifices is to yield the desired benefits. Mathematics
developed in this way as a handmaid to the Vedic dharma.
Ancient Mathematical Treatises
Jyotisha, as we have seen, consists of three sections. There was a
scholarly man in the Matha who was particularly learned in this science. We
wished to honour him with a title and decided upon "Triskandha-Bhaskara".
"Skandha" literally means a big branch springing from the trunk of a tree. The
three skandhas of Jyotisha are : siddhanta, hora and samhita.
The siddhanta-skandha deals with arithmetic, trigonometry, geometry and
algebra. The higher mathematics developed by the west in later centuries is
found in our ancient Jyotisha.
Arithmetic, called "vyakta-ganita" in sanskrit, includes addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division. "Avyakta-Ganita" is algebra.
"Jya" means the earth and "miti" is method of measurement. "Jyamiti"
evolved with the need to measure the sacrificial place :"geometry" is
derived from this word. The "geo" in geography is from "jya". There is a
mathematical exercise called "samikarana" which is the same as "equation".
The sixth Anga of the Vedas, Kalpa , has a great deal to do with the fifth,
that is Jyotisa. Kalpa has a section on "sulba-sutras". These sutras
mention the precise measurements of the "yajnavedi" (sacrificial altar).
The character of the yajnabhumi is called "cayana". The sulba- sutras deal
with a number of cayanas like, for instance, the one shaped like Garuda.
They tell us how to construct a brick-kiln ---the number of bricks required
for the cayana of such and such shapes. The siddhanta-skandha is used in
all this.
There is an equation in the Apastamba sulba sutras which could not be
proved until recently. Westerners had thought it to be faulty merely as
they could not solve it. Now they accepted it as right. That Indians had
taken such great strides in mathematics, thousands of years ago has caused
amazement in the West. There are a number of old equations still to be
solved.
Our sastras mention branches of mathematics like "rekhaganita, "kuttaka",
"angapaka", etc. "Avyakta-ganita" is also called "bijaganita".
Eight hundred years ago there lived a great mathematician called
Bhaskaracarya. An incident in his life illustrates how relentless destiny
is. Bhāskarāchārya had a daughter called Lilavati. The great astrologer
that he was, he found that she had "mangalya-dosa" in her horoscope, but he
felt confident that he could change his daughter's destiny, as foreshadowed
by the stars, with his ingenuity and resourcefulness, as an astrologer. He
decided to celebrate Lilavati's marriage during a lagna in which all the
planets would be in positions favourable to the bride. This should, he
thought, ensure that Lilavati would remain a "dirgha-sumangali".
In those days there were no clocks as we have today. A water-pot was used
to measure time. It consisted of an upper as well as a lower part. The
water in the upper receptacle would trickle down through a hole into the
lower container. The lower part was graduated according to the unit of time
then followed ---nazhikai (nadika), one sixtieth of a day or 24 minutes. So
the time of day was calculated by observing the level of the water in the
lower container. ("Water-clock" and "hour-glass" are English names for such
an apparatus. Since water evaporates quickly sand was used instead.)
According to the custom then prevailing, Lilavati's marriage was to be
celebrated when she was still a child. On the appointed day, she sat beside
the water--clock and bent over it fascinated by the apparatus. As she
fumbled around a pearl from her nose--stud got loosened and fell into the
apparatus lodging itself in its hole. The flow of water into the lower
receptacle was reduced. So what the clock indicated as the hour fixed for
the marriage was not the right one---the auspicious hour had passed. Nobody
including Lilavati, had noticed the pearl dropping into the water-clock.
When they came to know about it, it was too late. They realised that
destiny could not be overcome.
Later Bhāskarāchārya wrote a mathematical treatise and named it "Lilavati"
after his daughter. The father taught his widowed daughter mathematics and
she became highly proficient in the subject. Lilavati deals with
arithmetic, algebra, etc. It is a delightful book in which the problems are
stated in verse as stories. Bhāskarāchārya also wrote the Siddhanta-Siromani
which deals with how the positions and movement of the heavenly bodies are
determined.
We learn the text of an edict in the Pracinalekhamala that a Gurjara
(Gujarat) king had made an endowment to popularise the works of
Bhāskarāchārya.
*Parts 7, 8, 9 and 10 of Euclid's Geometry are believed to be lost*. *All
the 12 books on mathematics in Sanskrit are still available.* "Making
additions several times is multiplication; carrying out subtraction several
times is division. " We remain ignorant of such easy methods of
calculations dealt with in our mathematical texts.
Varahamihira lived several years before Bhāskarāchārya, that is about 1,
500 years ago. He wrote a number of treatises including the Brhat-Samhita
and the Brhajjatika. The first is a digest of many sciences, its contents
being a wonderful testimony to the variety of subjects in which our
forefathers have taken strides. Brhajjatika is all about astrology.
Aryabhata, famous for his Aryabhatiya-Siddhanta, also lived 1, 500 years
ago. The vakya--ganita now in use is said to be based on his Siddhanta.
Varahamihira and Aryabhata are much acclaimed by mathematicians today.
All these books on mathematics also deal with the movements of the
celestial bodies. There are seven "grahas" according to the ancient
reckoning--the five planets and the sun and the moon. Rahu and Ketu are
called "chaya -grahas" (shadow planets) and their orbits are opposite of
the sun's and the moon's.
Planets and Stars
How do the planets differ from the stars? The planets revolve round the
sun; the stars do not belong to the sun's "mandala" [they are not part of
the solar system]. If you hold a diamond in your hand and keep shaking it
about, it will glitter. The stars glitter in the same way and twinkle, but
the planets do not twinkle.
The sun and the stars are self-luminous. The stars dazzle like polished
diamonds. The planets Jupiter and Venus shine like the bigger stars but
they do not twinkle. The sun too has the brilliance of the stars[it is in
fact a star]. If you gaze intently at the sun for a moment the watery
haziness surrounding it will vanish. Then it will look like a luminous disc
of glass floating in water and it will not be still. The moon is not like
it. I will tell you how to prove the sun twinkles. Observe the sun sun's
light pouring down from an opening in the roof. Observe similarly moon's
light also coming into your room. You see the sun's rays showing some
movement but not the moons. The planets are also like the moon.
The Grahas and Human Life
The conditions of man corresponds to the changes in the position of the
nine grahas. A human being does not enjoy happiness all the time nor does
he always suffer hardships-- that is he experiences a mixture of happiness
and sorrow. While he may be pushed up to a high position today, he may be
thrust down to the depths tomorrow. It is not man alone that is subject to
changes of fortune. Establishments too have their ups and downs, so also
nations.
The sages saw a relationship between the position and movements of the
planets and the destiny of man, the sorrow and happiness experienced by
him. There is a branch of astrology called "hora--skandha". If we knew the
planetary position at the time of commencing a job or enterprise, with its
help we should be able to find out how it would take shape, how we would
fare in it. If our horoscope is cast on the basis of the configuration of
the planets at the time of our birth, our fortunes over the entire period
of our life can be predicted.
Different reasons are given for the ups and downs in a man's life for his
joys and sorrows. It is similar to finding out the different causes of the
ailment he suffers from. The physician will explain that the disease is due
to an imbalance in the "dhatus". The mantravadin will say that it is due to
the gods being displeased with the patient, while the astrologer will
observe that it is all in his (the patient's) stars. The pandit versed in
Dharmasastra will explain that the illness is the fruit of the man's past
actions, his karma. And the psychologist will express the view that the
bodily affliction is related to an emotional disturbance. What is the true
cause?
All these different causes may be valid. All of them together go to create
an experience. When it rains it becomes wet and the place is swarmed with
winged white ants. Frogs croak. All these are indicators of the rain. Many
outward signs manifest themselves as the fruits of our past karma. They are
all related to one another. The course of the planets governing our life is
in accordance with our karma. We come to know the consequences of our past
actions in previous births in various ways. Astrological calculations help
us to find out such consequences as indicated by the heavenly bodies.
If the star is a big one, we may be able to see its light refracted into
the seven colours(vibgyor), like the colours emanating from a brilliant
diamond.
The sun is called "Saptasva" (one with seven horses--the sun god's chariot
is drawn by seven horses). It is also said that there is only one horse
drawing the chariot but it has seven different names. "Asva" also means
"kirana" or ray. So "Saptasva" could mean that the sun emits seven types of
rays or colours. It is of course the same light that is split into seven
colours. In the Taittiriya Aranyaka it is clearly stated that the same
"asva" or ray has seven names: "Eko asvo vahati saptanama. "
The stars are self-luminous, while the planets shine by reflected light.
The light of the stars is not still. That is how we say, " Twinkle, twinkle
little star ". The stars rise in the east and set in the West. The planets
too travel westward but they keep moving a bit towards the east every day.
It is like a passenger walking westward on a train speeding eastward. The
seven planets thus keep moving eastward.
Omens. Signs
Where can you discover water? Where does ground water occur? Or where do
streams flow inside the earth? By what signs on the surface do you make out
the presence of water underground? How are perfumes manufactured? What are
the right measurements for a house? These questions are discussed in the
samhita-skandha of Jyotisa. Also omens and signs.
"Sakuna" is one thing, "nimitta" quite another. "Sakuna" literally means a
bird: only signs connected with birds come under the category of "Sakuna".
All things in this world are interrelated: all happenings are linked to one
another. If we know the precise scale and manner in which events are woven
together, we would be able to know everything. Everything in this world
occurs according to the will of the One Being and according to a precise
system. So with reference to one we can know all others. Palmistry,
"arudam" (a method of divination), astrology, all are interrelated.
What does a bird flying from right to left indicate? What is foretold by
the chirping of such and such a bird? Question like these belong to the
sakuna-sastra. "Nimitta" means omen. "Nimittani ca pasyami viparitani
Kesava" says Arjuna to Krsna before the start of the battle of Kuruksetra.
He uses the right word "nimitta" while we use the word "sakuna" carelessly.
When a cat crosses our path it is an omen; when an eagle flies above us it
is a sakuna.
To go back to Arjuna. The Lord tells Arjuna: "Nimittamatram bhava
Savyasacin". This is in answer to Arjuna telling Krsna, lamenting, that it
is sinful to kill one's enemies [or one's kin]. Says krsna: "I have already
resolved to slay them in this battle. So they are already as good as dead.
It is I who will kill them. You are a mere tool" (Nimittamatram bhava).
A nimitta does not produce any result on its own. It points to the result
that has already been ordained by some other factor--or, in other words, it
merely indicates the fruits of our past karma.
Modern Discoveries in Ancient Works
There are a few scientific discoveries that are not found mentioned in
Varahamihira’ s Brhat-Samhita.
How do heavenly bodies remain in the skies? How is it that they do not
fall? Everybody thinks that it was Newton who found the answer to such
questions. The very first stanza in the Suryasiddhanta, which is a very
ancient treatise, states that it is the force of attraction that keeps the
earth from falling.
In Sankara's commentary on the Upanisads there is a reference to the
earth's force of attraction. If we throw up an object it falls to the
ground. This is not due to the nature of object but due to the earth's
force of attraction. "Akarsana-sakti" is force of attraction, the power of
drawing or pulling something. The breath called "prana" goes up, "apana"
pulls it down. So, the force that pulls something downward is apana. The
Acarya says the earth has Apana Sakti. The Prasnopanishad (3. 8) states:
"The deity of the earth inspires the human body with apana". In his
commentary on this, Sankara observes that, just as an object thrown up is
attracted by the earth, so prana that goes up is pulled down by apana. This
means that our Upanisads contain a reference to the law of gravitation.
There are many such precious truths embedded in our ancient sastras.
Because of our ignorance of them we show inordinate respect for ideas
propounded by foreigners, ideas known to us many centuries before their
discovery by them. Our Jyotisa is also some thousands of years old. Even so
it foresaw the mathematical systems prevalent in the world today.
At the beginning of the kalpa, all grahas were in alignment. But over the
ages they have changed their courses. When another kalpa commences, they
will again remain in alignment.
The "samkalpa" we make before the performance of any ritual contains a
description of the cosmos, a reference to the time cycle, and so on. All
this is part of Jyotisa.
Centuries ago, we knew not only about the earth's force of attraction but
also about its revolution round the sun. Aryabhata, Varahamihira and others
spoke of the heliocentric system long before the Western astronomers or
scientists. Until the 16th century people in Europe believed that the earth
remained still at the centre of the universe and that the sun revolved
around it. They further believed that this was how day and night were
created. If anybody expressed a different view he was burned at the stake
by the religious leaders.
"It is the earth that revolves around the sun, not the sun round the
earth", declared Aryabhata. He used a beautiful term to describe the logic
behind his view: "laghava-gaurava nyaya". "Laghu" means light, small, etc
and "laghava" is derived from it. The opposite of "laghu" is "guru",
weighty, big, etc. "Guru" also denotes a weighty personality, a great man,
like an Acarya or teacher, one who has mastered a sastra. If the Acarya is
guru the disciple must be Laghu. The student is small and "light" compared
to his guru. So he goes round the latter. This is based on "laghava-gaurava
nyaya". By adducing this reason for the earth going round the sun,
Aryabhata combined science with a traditional sastric belief.
In the old days religious leaders in Europe were opposed to science and
even burned scientists as heretics. But today we join the descendants of
the very same people to make the preposterous charge that the Hindu
religion stood in the way of scientific advancement, that it ignored the
matters of this world because of its concern for the other world. As a
matter of fact our traditional sastras are a storehouse of science.
"The sun remains still and it is the earth that goes round it. It is only
because the earth revolves round the sun that it seems to us that the sun
rises every day in the east and sets in the west". This is mentioned in
Aitareya Brahmana of Rgveda. The text says clearly : "The sun neither rises
nor sets".
That all learned people in India knew about the earth's revolution is shown
by a passage in the Sivotkarsa-Manjari by Nilakantha Diksita who was
minister of Tirumala Nayaka. One stanza in this work begins like this :
"Bhumir bhramayati" and from it we must also gather that the author's
great-uncle, Appayya Diksita, also knew about this truth. What is the
content of this verse?
Siva is called "Astamurti". Earth, water, air, fire, space, the sun and the
moon, the yajamana or sacrificer--they are all the personification (murti)
of Isvara. Among them only the yajamana has no bhramana or motion. All the
rest have bhramana, says Appayya Diksita. That he has said so is mentioned
in the verse in question by his younger brother's grandson, Nilakantha
Diksita.
We see that air has movement, that fire does not remain still, that water
keeps flowing. When we look up into the sky, we notice that the sun and the
moon do not remain fixed to their spots. As for space, it is filled with
sound and it cannot be still. But the earth apparently stands still. Even
so, says Appayya Diksita, it has motion. "It revolves".
Let us now consider the shape of the earth. Europeans claim that they were
the first to discover that the earth is like a ball, that in the past it
had been thought to be flat like a plate. All right. What word do we use
for "geography"? "Bhugola sastra", not just "bhu-sastra". We have known
from early times that the earth is a "gola", a sphere
We call the universe with all its galaxies, "Brahmanda". It means the egg
created by Brahma (the cosmic egg). An egg is not exactly spherical in
shape, but oval. According to modern science the universe too is oval in
shape. The cosmos is always in motion, so observe modern astronomers.
"Jagat" is the word by which we have known it from Vedic times. What does
the word mean? That which does not stand still but is always in motion,
that which "is going".
In our country too there were people who refused to believe that the earth
rotates on its axis. I will tell you the view of one such school of
thought. The earth's circumference is about 25, 000 miles. So if it rotates
once in 24 hours then it means it rotates more than 1, 000 miles an hour or
16 or 17 miles in one minute. Those who did not accept the fact of the
earth's rotation tried to prove their point thus:"There is a tree in
Mylapore [in Madras]. Imagine there is a crow perched on one of its
branches. It leaves its perch this moment and soars high and, by the next
minute, it perches itself again on the branch of the same tree in Mylapore.
If the rotation of the earth were a fact how would this be possible? The
crow should have descended to a place 16 or 17 miles away from where it had
started.
But we know modern science said : "Surrounding the earth for some 200
miles is its atmosphere. Beyond that there are other spheres. When the
earth rotates these too rotate with it". I may have gone slightly wrong in
stating the view of modern science. However it be, there is no doubt that
when the earth rotates, its atmosphere also rotates with it.
What are called Arabic numerals actually belong to India. This fact was
discovered by Westerners themselves. The zero is also our contribution and
without it mathematics would not have made any advance. Bhāskarāchārya
established the subtle truth that any quantity divided by zero is infinity
("ananta"). He concludes one of his mathematical treatises with a
benedictory verse in which he relates zero to the Ultimate Reality.
When the divisor goes on decreasing the quotient keeps increasing, does it
not? If you divide 16 by 8 the quotient is 2; if the same quantity is
divided by 4 the result is 4. Divided by 2, the quotient is 8. Divided by
zero? The quotient will be infinity. Whatever the number divided, the
result will be infinity if the divisor is 0. Bhāskarāchārya gives it the
name of "khahara". "Kham" means zero, "haram" means division.
Bhāskarāchārya says : "I pay obeisance to the Paramatman that is Infinity".
Not Blind Belief
"Hindu sastras are all nonsensical, " exclaim critics of our religion.
"They say that north of the earth is the Meru Mountain, that our one year
is one day for the celestials residing there, and that the sun revolves
round it. They believe that, besides the ocean of salt, there are oceans of
sugarcane juice and milk, in fact several kinds of oceans. They describe
the earth with its five continents as consisting of seven islands. It is
all prattle. "
Why should the ocean be salty? Who put the salt in it? Why should not there
have been an ocean tasting sweet or of milk? Is the talk about the seven
islands and the seven oceans absurd? What to the sastras say about the
position of the earth, the same sastras that speak about the seven oceans,
and so on? "Meru is situated on the northern tip of the earth, " they
state. "Directly opposite to it is the Pole star(Dhruva). "
The northern tip of the earth is the North pole. Is the Pole star directly
opposite to it? No. "Eons ago, " scientists explain, "it was so. But later
big changes took place and the earth tilted a bit. " The sastras refer to a
time when the Pole star was directly opposite the North Pole and at that
time the seven islands and the seven oceans must have existed. When the
rotating earth tilted a bit the oceans must have got mixed and become salty
and in the process the seven islands must have become the five continents.
If there is a place above the North Pole it must be Meru where we have our
svarga or paradise. Let us imagine that this earth is a lemon. A spot on
its top is the Meru peak. In relation to that spot any other part of the
fruit is south. Where can you go from there, east or west? You can go only
south. You will learn this if you mark a point on the top of the lemon. For
all countries of the earth, for all "varsas", north is Meru. "Sarvesamapi
varsanam Meruruttaratahsthitah. "
On the North pole it is six months day and six months night. We must have
been taught this in our primary classes. It means our one year is one day
on the North pole. This is what is meant by saying that our one year is one
day for the celestials.
When the earth rotates, the northernmost and southernmost points are not
affected. In some places there will be sun for 18 hours and in other places
only for six hours. There are many differences in the durations of day and
night with regard to different places on earth. Only on some days does the
sun rise directly in the east and is overhead without departing even by one
degree. On other days it rises from other angles(from north-east to
south-east). Such is not the case on the North pole. There the sun shines
six months and the other six months it is darkness. And, again, during the
sunny months it would seem as if the sun were revolving round this
place(the North pole).
The six-month period when there is sun in the North Pole is called
uttarayana and the similar sunny period on the South Pole is daksinayana.
The North Pole is called " Sumeru" and the South Pole "Kumeru". ("Sumeria"
is from Sumeru. In that land, it is said, the Vedic gods were worshipped.)
Just as the North pole is the abode of the gods, the South pole is the
abode of the fathers (pitrs) and hell. To see the gods and the pitrs who
are in the form of spirits and the denizens of hell one must obtain divine
sight through yoga. Merely because we do not possess such sight we cannot
deny their existence. There was Blavatsky who was born in Russia, lived in
America and later came to India. She speaks about the worlds of the gods
and of the spirits. A great scientist of our times, Sir Oliver Lodge,
affirmed the existence of spirits and deities and stated that mankind could
benefit from them. If you ask why Jyotisa, after dealing with the science
of astronomy, should turn to spiritualism, the answer is that there is no
contradiction between the two as supported by the example of a scientist
like Sir Oliver who too turned to spiritualism.
Our sastras came into existence at a time when mortals mixed with the gods.
We would be able to appreciate this fact if we tried to understand the
samkalpa we make at the time of performing any religious function. The
samkalpa traces the present from the time of creation itself. From Jyotisa
we learn the position of the grahas at the commencement of the yuga: then
they were all in a line.
Some calculations with regard to heavenly bodies today are different from
those of the past. And, if the findings at present are not the same as seen
in the sastras, it does not mean that the latter are all false. The sastras
have existed from the time the grahas were in a line and the North pole was
directly opposite the Pole star. Since then vast changes have taken place
in nature. Valleys have become mountains, mountains have become oceans,
oceans have become deserts and so on. Geologists speak about such
cataclysmic changes, and astronomers tell us about the change in the
courses of the heavenly bodies. So what we see today of the earth and the
heavenly bodies is different from what is mentioned in the sastras.
The date of creation according to Jyotisa agrees more or less with the view
of modern science.
Kali yuga--the age of Kali--has a span of 432, 000 years. Dvapara yuga is
twice as long, 864, 000 years, Treta yuga is 1, 296, 000 years and Krta
yuga 1, 728, 000 years. The four yugas together, called maha yuga, are 4,
320, 000 years long. A thousand mahayugas add up to the period of 14 Manus.
The regnal period of a Manu is a manvantara. There are royal and republican
rulers on earth, but God has appointed Manu as ruler of all the worlds.
There are fourteen Manus ruling the world successively from the creation of
man. The word "manusya" and " manuja" are derived from Manu. So too the
English word "man". In the samkalpa for any ritual we perform we mention
the year of the seventh Manu, Vaivasvata. If we go back to the first Manu,
Svayambhuva, we arrive at a date for the origin of the human species which
agrees with the view of modern science.
The Sanskrit word, "man", means to think. Manu was the first of the human
race with its power of thinking. There is a saying in English :" Man is a
thinking animal. " "Since man's distinctive characteristic is his capacity
to think the descendants of Manu came to be called "manusyas. "
The life-span of the fourteen Manus put together make one day(daytime) of
Brahma, that is 4, 320, 000, 000 years. His night has the same length.
While one day of Brahma is thus 8, 640, 000, 000 years his one year is 365
such days and his life-span is 100 such years. The life of his cosmos is
the same. When Brahma's life comes to an end the Brahman alone will remain
and there will be no cosmos. Then another Brahma will start creation all
over again. It is believed that Hanuman will be the next Brahma.
Bhuloka, Bhuvarloka, Suvarloka, Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka and Satyaloka
comprise the seven worlds. The gods, mortals and so on live in these
worlds. Bhuloka, Bhuvarloka and Suvarloka form one group.
"Bhurbhuvassuvaha, " we pronounce this so often while performing rituals.
The remaining four belong to higher planes. When Brahma goes to sleep at
night the first three worlds will be dissolved in the pralaya (deluge).
This is called "avantara-pralaya"("intermediate deluge"). All other worlds
will perish when his life-span ends.
Scientists say that the heat of the sun is decreasing imperceptibly.
Without the warmth of the sun there will be no life on earth. Scientists
have calculated the time when the sun's heat will be reduced so much that
life on earth cannot be sustained. Then this world itself will perish. The
date on which this will occur agrees with that given by our sastras for the
next "avantara-pralaya".
Half of Brahma's allotted life-span is over. This life-span is divided into
seven "kalpas". Now we have come more than half way of the fourth kalpa,
"Svetavaraha". We mention in samkalpa how old Brahma is at the time we
perform a rite, which year we are in of the saka era, also the year
according to the 60-year cycle beginning with Prabhava--all details of the
almanac including the day, the asterism and the lagna. The date of Brahma's
appearance, according to this calculation is said to agree with the view of
modern science of when this cosmos came into being.
Brahma is called "Parardha-dvaya-jivin". It means he lives for two
"parardhas". A "paradha" is half the number meant by "para". When Brahma is
called "Paradha-dvaya-jivin" it means he lives as many years as is meant by
2*1/2 paras. Two half paras are the same as one para. Then why say
"parardha-dvaya" instead of just one "para". The reason for this is that
Brahma has already completed half of one para and is going on 51. So it is
meaningful to use the term "half of para"[two half-paras].
Fourteen Manus reign successively during one daytime of Brahma which lasts
a thousand caturyugas. So one manvantara is 71 caturyugas. Now running is
the 28th caturyuga, the Vaivasvata manvantara. And of it, it is Kali yuga
now. In our samkalpa we mention all this and, in addition, the day
according to the moon, the Lagna, etc. We also mention how we are situated
in the space, from the Brahmanda down to the locality where we are
performing the function (for which the samkalpa is made). It is all similar
to writing the date and address on a letter.
Empirical Proof
A ray of light pouring through an opening in the roof of a building falls
on a particular spot. Normally, we shall not be able to tell where the same
ray of light will fall next year. But a prediction can be made with the
help of Jyotisha. This is how it was done in the olden days. A pearl
attached to a thread was hung from the roof. If a man was able to indicate
correctly in advance where its shadow would fall on a particular day, he
received a reward from the king. One's competence in other sastras is
established through argument, but in Jyotisha it has to be proved by actual
demonstration. You cannot deceive anyone by employing the methods taught by
this science. The sun and the moon are witness to what you do. "Pratyaksha
Jyothisham sastram. "
KR IRS 13524
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