Indian calendar is more scientific than what scientists think!
An article published in Front Line in 2008 titled as “Medieval Mistake – The story of India’s faulty calendars” written by an astronomer, criticizing the existing system of calendar followed in Vedic astrology as being out of sync with the findings of modern science was brought to my notice. (This article is posted at the end of this post). I understand that articles such as this have the potential to cause confusion and doubts in the minds of scores of followers of Hindu ways and Vedic astrology. The current post is to set right the mis-information promoted by such articles on astrology.
At the outset I wish to state that though astronomy and astrology deal with planets and stars, the scope and utility of astrology are totally different from astronomy such that the rules and parameters are exclusive and unique for astrology which is of less or no consequence to the goals of astronomy. In this age of fast movement of knowledge dissemination, the common man / reader who is not well informed of how astrology works is likely to get carried away by such articles on astronomy which are written with no idea of how astrology uses astronomy.
The first part of that article deals with Makar Sankaranthi.
Makar sankaranthi means entry into Makar rasi (Caprocorn) This starts at zero degree of the sign, Capricorn. When the Sun enters Capricorn,,that marks Makar Sankaranthi. But the article talks about the position of the Sun on the Tropic of Capricorn, which is the southernmost point in the movement of the Sun.
That point is known as Utttarayana. Those who find fault with Makar sankaranthi not being observed on the day the Sun touches the Tropic of Capricorn, must think about why no one talks about Dakshinayana In olden times, people have done both Uttarayana homas and Dakhsinayana homas. They have also done Rithu homas (homas at the start of the seasons). And there were sankaranthi vrathas too. The uttarayana and Rithu homas are no longer in vogue. They are not done nowadays. If some one wants to do them, they will do them on the exact points of Uttarayana and dakshinayana and not on Makar Sankaranthi day.
In fact from the now available few verses of Rig Jyothisha given by Sage Lagadha, Uttarayana started at Danishta star in Lagadha’s time – at the junction of Capricorn and Aquarius and not at the start of Capricorn.
(Verse 6 of Rig Jyothisha :-
“Prapadyete sravishtadou soorya chandramasa vuduk sarpardhe
Dakshinarkarkastu magha sravanayoh sada”)
At the current rate of precession at 72 years per degree, this means that it happened so in the 18th century BC. Without knowing this date, the astronomer-writer glorifies the Greek astronomers of 2nd century BC!!
Our astrological texts keep a continuous track of the movement of sun. If Uttarayana started at Dhanishta star in Lagadha’s time, it started at 2ndpada of Uttarashada in Varahamihira’s time. This puts the time at BC 130.
This also shows that Uttarayana did not coincide with Makar sankaranthi in Varahamihira’s time also. They coincided for some time in the beginning of the common era. Today Uttarayana starts at 2nd pada of Moola (6 degrees Sagittarius). Our elders did not confuse Uttarayana with Makar sankaranthi. Even today those who want do Uttarayana – dakshinayana homas would do them on the exact points of those ayanas only.
Today we follow only the sankaranthi vrathas which are about the exact entry points of the Sun in various rasis. Sankaranthi means entry – derived from the word sankramana. This entry or sankramana is NOTsynonymous with uttarayana or dakshinayana. Hence there is no merit in what the astronomer-writer says.
Before going into the other issues in that article, let the readers know the relevance of Makar sankranthi.
Makar sankaranthi is noted in astrology for the ‘Karana’ at the time of entry of the sun into Capricorn to know whether activities undertaken in the ensuing year starting from Chithrai would bear fruit or not.
(Karana is half of thithi. A thithi is 12 degrees long as counted from the sun to the moon once after the moon leaves the conjunction / amavasya or opposition / pournami with the Sun. Half of the thithi is 6 degrees long which is known by a name in karana. In marriage invitations we used to see a phrase ‘shubha yoga, shubha karana’ It is this karana which determines whether a particular act will bear fruit if done in that duration of karana. Makar sankaranthi is noted for the karana running at that time to predict the success of undertakings in the ensuing year)
Astrology talks about many sankaranthis and not just Makar sanakaranthi. But somehow people think that sankaranthi means only Makar sankaranthi.
The astronomer- writer and others (who are not connected with astrology) are obsessed with Makar sanakaranthi and deliver their sermons on tropic of Capricorn. They must also take a look at Tropic of Cancer – karkataka sankaranthi. This point is Dakshinayana, a time for vratha and homas. No one does them today but the relevance of sankaranthi remains for ever.
There are many vrathas connected with all sankaranthis.
For example, Dhanya sankaranthi vratha is observed on Mesha sankaranthi (entry into Aries) and Thula sankaranthi (entry into Libra). Those who observe these are said to attain the results equivalent to Agnishtoma homa.
The Lavana sankaranthi vratha is observed on the day before the Mesha sankaranthi. The result of this is attainment of Surya loka.
Bhoga sankaranthi is same as above but in addition gift of cows to Vediks is done.
Rupa sankaranthi vratha is done on any sankaranthi day with Homa to Sun God and gift of ghee in golden pots to Vediks.
Teja sankaranthi vratha is done on Year beginning, that is, Mesha sankaranthi with kalash puja.
Sowbhagya sankaranthi vratha is also done on any sankaranthi with specific homas and daanam.
Thaamboola sankaranthi and Manoratha sankaranthi are done on Mesha sankaranthi day.
Ashoka sankaranthi vratha is perhaps the only of its kind done on uttarayana, dakshinayana and Vishus and not exactly on sankramana days. Here the entry into the sign is not stipulated. Thus we see the utility of the vratha and homas vary for the sankaranthis and ayana kalam.
On predictive side, each sankaranthi day comes with a prediction related to specific people. These sankaranthis are noted for the vaaradhipathi (lord of the day when sun enters the sign, eg, moon is the lord of monday if the sankaranthi falls on a Monday) to make specific predictions. The Nava nayaks which one can find in any Panchanga are about various sankaranthis.
• For instance Mesha sankaranthi (zero degree Aries) is noted for making predictions for the entire land. In other words, Mesha sankaranthi shows “Sarvadesa- udhyogadhipathi”.
• Vrushabha sankaranthi is noted to identify the lord of elephants.Whether the elephants in the land would suffer and would be healthy in that year is known from the planet ruling the day of vrushabha sankaranthi. It also signifies the welfare of Purohits in that year.
• Mithuna sankaranthi (Gemini) tells about the welfare of cattle) while Karka sankaranthi tells about whether the government gets backs its dues.
• Simha sankaranthi (Leo) tells about the welfare of the army while Kanya sankarati (Virgo) tells about the villages.
• Thula sankaranthi (Libra) tells about the garments produced in the year while Vrischika sankaranthi (Scorpio) tells about gems produced in the country.
• Dhanus sankaranthi (Sagittarius) tells about the nature of trees and forests while Makar sankaranthi (Capricorn) tells about the welfare of animals.
• Kumbha sankaranthi (Aquarius) tells about the threat from snakes / poisonous substance while Meena sankaranti (Pisces) tells about welfare of daivagyas (astrologers).
I have just noted one issue for each of these sankaranthis. There are more than one issue related to them. But what I want to make out is that while we have 12 sankaranthis connected with the entry of the Sun into each of the 12 signs, it looks absurd to see comments from people accusing our astrology as not being in tune with astronomy. It is their lack of acquaintance with what astrology considers as sankaranthi and uttarayana and how and where they are fitted in the system of predictions and austerities – the two important issues with which Vedic astrology is associated.
The next issue in that article is about the starting of the year. It sounded like reading an explanation from Karunanidhi! The year starts from Chaithra – at the entry of Sun for Solar calendar and on the first day after No moon just before sun enters Aries for the Lunar calendar. Both these signify the most important of the Nava nayaks namely, Minister and the King. These two are part of the same system and in vogue throughout India in accordance with local customs and traditions. It must be noted that the start of seasons or ayanas are not taken into consideration for this.
The reason for this is traced to the start of the present era, namely Kali Maha yuga. At the start of this yuga which began soon after Krishna exited this world, Sun was at entering Aries. This is taken as year beginning for the entire Era of kali! This is told in Surya Siddhnatha also which the writer seems to rely on. Whatever be the background precession, the time Sun enters Aries will the time of the beginning of the year.
In this context, the article talks about Vedangha Jyothisha. One must understand that Vedangha Jyothisha and Vedic Jyothisha existed side by side in our country. Vedangha Jyothisha is like the present day Panchanga (almanac) which shows the daily movement of sun and the moon in addition to the 5 factors of Vara, thithi, nakshathra, yoga and karana which are dependent on sun and moon only. Using the Panchanga one can find out the time for doing various activities. This was exactly the purpose of Vedangha Jyoithisha also.
But one must understand that the utility of Panchanga and predictive astrology (Vedic astrology – it is so called because it was given by Vedic sages. 18 sages have given them) is not the same. In the above quoted Rig Jyothisha we will find only those information such as thithi, parvas, muhurthas etc that are relevant for doing homas based on Rig veda.
Similarly Yajusha Jyiothisha has relevant factors needed to see for doing homas for yajur Vedins. Though we have today a few verses from them, it is wrong to say that they only constituted the entire Vedangha Jyothisha. Like the Panchanga made every year, these books also would have been updated periodically.
It is also wrong to say that Rig Vedas came into existence only in the 18thcentury BC, based on the position of Uttarayana as told in Rig Jyosthisha. The fact is that we have got only this book which was used in 18th century BC. There could have existed Vedangha Jyothishas in periods prior to Lagadha.
Before going to the next issue, I want to emphasize again that Vedangha Jyothisha is not the only source of astrological knowledge for Hindus. It was actually a Panchnaga kind of computation of current times whereas the Body of astrology is very vast, having in itself, Siddhanthas (principles), predictive astrology and samhithas that speak about everything under the sun.
With vast knowledge of astrology of our sages, it is absurd to attribute our astrology to the Greeks!! The 12 sign zodiac was not an invention of the Greeks. Those who have read by previous post on movement of people from India to Europe would know that knowledge travelled from India to those places including Greece and not in the reverse (1)
Vedic astrology revolves on 4 basic factors, namely Stars, planets, signs and houses (bhavas). From the sankaranthi explanations given in the beginning, the reader would have understood how vast and detailed our system of 12 signs is and this is completely absent in Greek systems.
Infact the birth of astrology can be traced to 1000s of years ago, in the times of Daksha prajapathi. The first concept of identifying 27 stars came in his time as it was explained that he had 27 stars as daughters. The movement of Moon around the zodiac through the 27 stars is also related to his times. The story of moon’s special affection for Rohini is nothing but cosmological as moon passes close to Rohni than any other stars. Moon’s crossing through Rohini is watched every month for predictions.
The starting of the zodiac at Aries must have started at Daksha’s time itself as there is a story related to Daksha getting the head of a ram. Today we donot know the time period related to daksha, but what is sure is that it was in a much older time - before the start of end of the Ice age. Daksha’s time coincides with the shifting of Sanjna, Sun’s wife to Uttar Kuru (Siberia) and Sun following her. This is a symbolism of end of Ice age in northern latitudes and warm days coming up there. This happened 13,000 years ago.
Now coming to the last issue of the article, there is a confusion on equinox.
There are 2 equinoxes, one applicable on the earth and the other celestial.
The celestial one is the point of intersection of earth’s plane and celestial equator. This keeps wobbling and it is estimated to move at the rate of 72 years per degree. This is the equinox that astronomers are concerned about. But lest they know that Vedic astrology does not speak about this but about another kind of equinox.
What affects human life is the equinox of day and night and of seasons. This is formed by the tilt of the axis of the earth. This is the actual ayana chalanam or movement of the equinox which can be felt / known by people on earth. This also influences human life. Varahamihira and sages before him have talked about this ayana chalanam which is also known as “Vishnu Chalanam”! It is regrettable that the article takes a dig at the renowned sages.
Today this tilt has been gauged by science in a concept known as “Milakovitch cycle”. The tilt of the earth varies from 22 degrees to 25 degrees as a result of which the equinox day and tropics of Cancer and Capricorn will keep moving upward and downward gradually. In direct observation, the sun will be seen to be moving in the backdrop of the stars. This has been mentioned as equinox falling in Kritthika some time and on Ashwini sometime and in Revathy some time in our scriptures. Accordingly, the ayanas also shift. What we read about uttarayana falling dhanishta, then Uttrashada and currently in Moola are the result of this sway.
Our sages had a clear idea of how far this sway can happen. The sway can not happen on one direction perpetually, because once the tilt changes in the opposite direction, the sway will start moving in the reverse.
That is, from the present Moola, it will go back through Poorvashada, uttarashada etc. This is an oscillatory motion having zero degree Aries as the central point and moving 27 degrees forward and backward.
This shows that equinox shifts from the beginning of Kritthika to Poorva bhadrapada 4th pada. This is expressed as Veedhis or streets in astrology. They are Uttara Veedhi, Madhya Veedhi and Dakshina Veedhi. The Madhya Veedhi consists of Pisces and Aries on the one side and Virgo and Libra on the other because the equinox will move within these signs only.
It must be noted that an old Tamil sangam song from paripadal mentioned the location of planets on the basis of Veedhis only. Sage Valmiki also recalls the Veedhi when he describes the Ram Sethu after it was built that it resembled the Madhya Veedhi – also called as Swathi Padam as Equinox was in Swathi star in Libra in his times.
This movement is palpable and was recorded so that the ayana homas and vrathas can be done on exact timings. Beyond that it does not have utility in the life of people of Vedic system.
One must know that our calendar is scientific with the division of the zodiac in equal parts with Surya sankramana, based on which the months have been allotted days. The number of days of the months varies depending on the law of orbital mechanics very much before Kepler or Newton told about them. In contrast the Greek astrology is not at all scientific. There is no specific cosmological relevance for the start of the year or month or even the duration of a month.
There are lot more one can speak on the relevance and reason behind Vedic astrology. People can rest assured that our system of astrology and calendar works perfectly well for the current times.
An article published in Front Line in 2008 titled as “Medieval Mistake – The story of India’s faulty calendars” written by an astronomer, criticizing the existing system of calendar followed in Vedic astrology as being out of sync with the findings of modern science was brought to my notice. (This article is posted at the end of this post). I understand that articles such as this have the potential to cause confusion and doubts in the minds of scores of followers of Hindu ways and Vedic astrology. The current post is to set right the mis-information promoted by such articles on astrology.
At the outset I wish to state that though astronomy and astrology deal with planets and stars, the scope and utility of astrology are totally different from astronomy such that the rules and parameters are exclusive and unique for astrology which is of less or no consequence to the goals of astronomy. In this age of fast movement of knowledge dissemination, the common man / reader who is not well informed of how astrology works is likely to get carried away by such articles on astronomy which are written with no idea of how astrology uses astronomy.
The first part of that article deals with Makar Sankaranthi.
Makar sankaranthi means entry into Makar rasi (Caprocorn) This starts at zero degree of the sign, Capricorn. When the Sun enters Capricorn,,that marks Makar Sankaranthi. But the article talks about the position of the Sun on the Tropic of Capricorn, which is the southernmost point in the movement of the Sun.
That point is known as Utttarayana. Those who find fault with Makar sankaranthi not being observed on the day the Sun touches the Tropic of Capricorn, must think about why no one talks about Dakshinayana In olden times, people have done both Uttarayana homas and Dakhsinayana homas. They have also done Rithu homas (homas at the start of the seasons). And there were sankaranthi vrathas too. The uttarayana and Rithu homas are no longer in vogue. They are not done nowadays. If some one wants to do them, they will do them on the exact points of Uttarayana and dakshinayana and not on Makar Sankaranthi day.
In fact from the now available few verses of Rig Jyothisha given by Sage Lagadha, Uttarayana started at Danishta star in Lagadha’s time – at the junction of Capricorn and Aquarius and not at the start of Capricorn.
(Verse 6 of Rig Jyothisha :-
“Prapadyete sravishtadou soorya chandramasa vuduk sarpardhe
Dakshinarkarkastu magha sravanayoh sada”)
At the current rate of precession at 72 years per degree, this means that it happened so in the 18th century BC. Without knowing this date, the astronomer-writer glorifies the Greek astronomers of 2nd century BC!!
Our astrological texts keep a continuous track of the movement of sun. If Uttarayana started at Dhanishta star in Lagadha’s time, it started at 2ndpada of Uttarashada in Varahamihira’s time. This puts the time at BC 130.
This also shows that Uttarayana did not coincide with Makar sankaranthi in Varahamihira’s time also. They coincided for some time in the beginning of the common era. Today Uttarayana starts at 2nd pada of Moola (6 degrees Sagittarius). Our elders did not confuse Uttarayana with Makar sankaranthi. Even today those who want do Uttarayana – dakshinayana homas would do them on the exact points of those ayanas only.
Today we follow only the sankaranthi vrathas which are about the exact entry points of the Sun in various rasis. Sankaranthi means entry – derived from the word sankramana. This entry or sankramana is NOTsynonymous with uttarayana or dakshinayana. Hence there is no merit in what the astronomer-writer says.
Before going into the other issues in that article, let the readers know the relevance of Makar sankranthi.
Makar sankaranthi is noted in astrology for the ‘Karana’ at the time of entry of the sun into Capricorn to know whether activities undertaken in the ensuing year starting from Chithrai would bear fruit or not.
(Karana is half of thithi. A thithi is 12 degrees long as counted from the sun to the moon once after the moon leaves the conjunction / amavasya or opposition / pournami with the Sun. Half of the thithi is 6 degrees long which is known by a name in karana. In marriage invitations we used to see a phrase ‘shubha yoga, shubha karana’ It is this karana which determines whether a particular act will bear fruit if done in that duration of karana. Makar sankaranthi is noted for the karana running at that time to predict the success of undertakings in the ensuing year)
Astrology talks about many sankaranthis and not just Makar sanakaranthi. But somehow people think that sankaranthi means only Makar sankaranthi.
The astronomer- writer and others (who are not connected with astrology) are obsessed with Makar sanakaranthi and deliver their sermons on tropic of Capricorn. They must also take a look at Tropic of Cancer – karkataka sankaranthi. This point is Dakshinayana, a time for vratha and homas. No one does them today but the relevance of sankaranthi remains for ever.
There are many vrathas connected with all sankaranthis.
For example, Dhanya sankaranthi vratha is observed on Mesha sankaranthi (entry into Aries) and Thula sankaranthi (entry into Libra). Those who observe these are said to attain the results equivalent to Agnishtoma homa.
The Lavana sankaranthi vratha is observed on the day before the Mesha sankaranthi. The result of this is attainment of Surya loka.
Bhoga sankaranthi is same as above but in addition gift of cows to Vediks is done.
Rupa sankaranthi vratha is done on any sankaranthi day with Homa to Sun God and gift of ghee in golden pots to Vediks.
Teja sankaranthi vratha is done on Year beginning, that is, Mesha sankaranthi with kalash puja.
Sowbhagya sankaranthi vratha is also done on any sankaranthi with specific homas and daanam.
Thaamboola sankaranthi and Manoratha sankaranthi are done on Mesha sankaranthi day.
Ashoka sankaranthi vratha is perhaps the only of its kind done on uttarayana, dakshinayana and Vishus and not exactly on sankramana days. Here the entry into the sign is not stipulated. Thus we see the utility of the vratha and homas vary for the sankaranthis and ayana kalam.
On predictive side, each sankaranthi day comes with a prediction related to specific people. These sankaranthis are noted for the vaaradhipathi (lord of the day when sun enters the sign, eg, moon is the lord of monday if the sankaranthi falls on a Monday) to make specific predictions. The Nava nayaks which one can find in any Panchanga are about various sankaranthis.
• For instance Mesha sankaranthi (zero degree Aries) is noted for making predictions for the entire land. In other words, Mesha sankaranthi shows “Sarvadesa- udhyogadhipathi”.
• Vrushabha sankaranthi is noted to identify the lord of elephants.Whether the elephants in the land would suffer and would be healthy in that year is known from the planet ruling the day of vrushabha sankaranthi. It also signifies the welfare of Purohits in that year.
• Mithuna sankaranthi (Gemini) tells about the welfare of cattle) while Karka sankaranthi tells about whether the government gets backs its dues.
• Simha sankaranthi (Leo) tells about the welfare of the army while Kanya sankarati (Virgo) tells about the villages.
• Thula sankaranthi (Libra) tells about the garments produced in the year while Vrischika sankaranthi (Scorpio) tells about gems produced in the country.
• Dhanus sankaranthi (Sagittarius) tells about the nature of trees and forests while Makar sankaranthi (Capricorn) tells about the welfare of animals.
• Kumbha sankaranthi (Aquarius) tells about the threat from snakes / poisonous substance while Meena sankaranti (Pisces) tells about welfare of daivagyas (astrologers).
I have just noted one issue for each of these sankaranthis. There are more than one issue related to them. But what I want to make out is that while we have 12 sankaranthis connected with the entry of the Sun into each of the 12 signs, it looks absurd to see comments from people accusing our astrology as not being in tune with astronomy. It is their lack of acquaintance with what astrology considers as sankaranthi and uttarayana and how and where they are fitted in the system of predictions and austerities – the two important issues with which Vedic astrology is associated.
The next issue in that article is about the starting of the year. It sounded like reading an explanation from Karunanidhi! The year starts from Chaithra – at the entry of Sun for Solar calendar and on the first day after No moon just before sun enters Aries for the Lunar calendar. Both these signify the most important of the Nava nayaks namely, Minister and the King. These two are part of the same system and in vogue throughout India in accordance with local customs and traditions. It must be noted that the start of seasons or ayanas are not taken into consideration for this.
The reason for this is traced to the start of the present era, namely Kali Maha yuga. At the start of this yuga which began soon after Krishna exited this world, Sun was at entering Aries. This is taken as year beginning for the entire Era of kali! This is told in Surya Siddhnatha also which the writer seems to rely on. Whatever be the background precession, the time Sun enters Aries will the time of the beginning of the year.
In this context, the article talks about Vedangha Jyothisha. One must understand that Vedangha Jyothisha and Vedic Jyothisha existed side by side in our country. Vedangha Jyothisha is like the present day Panchanga (almanac) which shows the daily movement of sun and the moon in addition to the 5 factors of Vara, thithi, nakshathra, yoga and karana which are dependent on sun and moon only. Using the Panchanga one can find out the time for doing various activities. This was exactly the purpose of Vedangha Jyoithisha also.
But one must understand that the utility of Panchanga and predictive astrology (Vedic astrology – it is so called because it was given by Vedic sages. 18 sages have given them) is not the same. In the above quoted Rig Jyothisha we will find only those information such as thithi, parvas, muhurthas etc that are relevant for doing homas based on Rig veda.
Similarly Yajusha Jyiothisha has relevant factors needed to see for doing homas for yajur Vedins. Though we have today a few verses from them, it is wrong to say that they only constituted the entire Vedangha Jyothisha. Like the Panchanga made every year, these books also would have been updated periodically.
It is also wrong to say that Rig Vedas came into existence only in the 18thcentury BC, based on the position of Uttarayana as told in Rig Jyosthisha. The fact is that we have got only this book which was used in 18th century BC. There could have existed Vedangha Jyothishas in periods prior to Lagadha.
Before going to the next issue, I want to emphasize again that Vedangha Jyothisha is not the only source of astrological knowledge for Hindus. It was actually a Panchnaga kind of computation of current times whereas the Body of astrology is very vast, having in itself, Siddhanthas (principles), predictive astrology and samhithas that speak about everything under the sun.
With vast knowledge of astrology of our sages, it is absurd to attribute our astrology to the Greeks!! The 12 sign zodiac was not an invention of the Greeks. Those who have read by previous post on movement of people from India to Europe would know that knowledge travelled from India to those places including Greece and not in the reverse (1)
Vedic astrology revolves on 4 basic factors, namely Stars, planets, signs and houses (bhavas). From the sankaranthi explanations given in the beginning, the reader would have understood how vast and detailed our system of 12 signs is and this is completely absent in Greek systems.
Infact the birth of astrology can be traced to 1000s of years ago, in the times of Daksha prajapathi. The first concept of identifying 27 stars came in his time as it was explained that he had 27 stars as daughters. The movement of Moon around the zodiac through the 27 stars is also related to his times. The story of moon’s special affection for Rohini is nothing but cosmological as moon passes close to Rohni than any other stars. Moon’s crossing through Rohini is watched every month for predictions.
The starting of the zodiac at Aries must have started at Daksha’s time itself as there is a story related to Daksha getting the head of a ram. Today we donot know the time period related to daksha, but what is sure is that it was in a much older time - before the start of end of the Ice age. Daksha’s time coincides with the shifting of Sanjna, Sun’s wife to Uttar Kuru (Siberia) and Sun following her. This is a symbolism of end of Ice age in northern latitudes and warm days coming up there. This happened 13,000 years ago.
Now coming to the last issue of the article, there is a confusion on equinox.
There are 2 equinoxes, one applicable on the earth and the other celestial.
The celestial one is the point of intersection of earth’s plane and celestial equator. This keeps wobbling and it is estimated to move at the rate of 72 years per degree. This is the equinox that astronomers are concerned about. But lest they know that Vedic astrology does not speak about this but about another kind of equinox.
What affects human life is the equinox of day and night and of seasons. This is formed by the tilt of the axis of the earth. This is the actual ayana chalanam or movement of the equinox which can be felt / known by people on earth. This also influences human life. Varahamihira and sages before him have talked about this ayana chalanam which is also known as “Vishnu Chalanam”! It is regrettable that the article takes a dig at the renowned sages.
Today this tilt has been gauged by science in a concept known as “Milakovitch cycle”. The tilt of the earth varies from 22 degrees to 25 degrees as a result of which the equinox day and tropics of Cancer and Capricorn will keep moving upward and downward gradually. In direct observation, the sun will be seen to be moving in the backdrop of the stars. This has been mentioned as equinox falling in Kritthika some time and on Ashwini sometime and in Revathy some time in our scriptures. Accordingly, the ayanas also shift. What we read about uttarayana falling dhanishta, then Uttrashada and currently in Moola are the result of this sway.
Our sages had a clear idea of how far this sway can happen. The sway can not happen on one direction perpetually, because once the tilt changes in the opposite direction, the sway will start moving in the reverse.
That is, from the present Moola, it will go back through Poorvashada, uttarashada etc. This is an oscillatory motion having zero degree Aries as the central point and moving 27 degrees forward and backward.
This shows that equinox shifts from the beginning of Kritthika to Poorva bhadrapada 4th pada. This is expressed as Veedhis or streets in astrology. They are Uttara Veedhi, Madhya Veedhi and Dakshina Veedhi. The Madhya Veedhi consists of Pisces and Aries on the one side and Virgo and Libra on the other because the equinox will move within these signs only.
It must be noted that an old Tamil sangam song from paripadal mentioned the location of planets on the basis of Veedhis only. Sage Valmiki also recalls the Veedhi when he describes the Ram Sethu after it was built that it resembled the Madhya Veedhi – also called as Swathi Padam as Equinox was in Swathi star in Libra in his times.
This movement is palpable and was recorded so that the ayana homas and vrathas can be done on exact timings. Beyond that it does not have utility in the life of people of Vedic system.
One must know that our calendar is scientific with the division of the zodiac in equal parts with Surya sankramana, based on which the months have been allotted days. The number of days of the months varies depending on the law of orbital mechanics very much before Kepler or Newton told about them. In contrast the Greek astrology is not at all scientific. There is no specific cosmological relevance for the start of the year or month or even the duration of a month.
There are lot more one can speak on the relevance and reason behind Vedic astrology. People can rest assured that our system of astrology and calendar works perfectly well for the current times.
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