Review of my book, “Mahabharata 3136 BCE” by Mr. Come Carpentier de Gourdon

 The review of my book “Mahabharata 3136 BCE: Validation of the Traditional Date” by Mr. Come Carpentier de Gourdon, published in India Foundation Chintan Blog can be read here:

https://chintan.indiafoundation.in/articles/mahabharata-3136-bce-validation-of-the-traditional-date/

Mr. Come’s subject knowledge in astronomy, cosmology and Hindu texts was palpable at every line of his review. I was simply elated reading his views on the three issues that are central to my book both for dumping the other works that have used astronomy simulator and for the right grasp of the not-so-hidden evidence of the meteor hit and the location of Krishna's Dwaraka.

Those three issues of critical importance articulated by him are listed below along with the chapter numbers:

1. The non-feasibility of the use of astronomy simulators for dating (Ch 1 and 2)

2. The meteor-hit (Ch 10 and 11)

3. Location of Krishna's Dwaraka and causes for its submergence (Ch. 18)

(For easy navigation of my book, I would suggest the readers  to read the 3^rdchapter to know about Yuga-s and the 4^th chapter, about epigraphic evidence. Introduction and Epilogue are must-reads. The rest are little technical)

However, I have a different pick on two points he raised in the last paragraph which I shared with him through email. They are about the Puranic list of kings and the drying up of the river Saraswati.

First, the Puranas are not treated on par with the Itihasa-s, for, the latter are exact accounts (“it happened thus”) while the Purana-s are NOT taken at face value completely, particularly for historical purposes. The Puranic list of kings is not primary evidence but  must be supported by other evidences such as epigraphy. With no clarity about methodology of dating, many Indic scholars have causally attempted to fit in Puranic list with the Mahabharata date. 

Second, none who have worked on the hydrology of Sarasvati thought about the etymological idea conveyed that the river had sprung from a 'saras' - a pond or a tank and not in the glacier of the Himalayas. The river had shifted its source three times which can be detected from the texts - a saras, near Kuruskshetra and far away beyond Prayagraj (Triveni Sangama). In my opinion, the origin at saras was already lost during the Mahabharata period. Perhaps that made Balarama curious to know from where else the river emerged. The annual return of Sibrian cranes at Shashayana in the Mahabharata - perhaps the former location of Bharatpur Sanctuary must have had a branch of Saraswati running over there and joining Yamuna whose path can be located at Prayagraj. Bharatpur is also an un-checked location. Like this many might have been there. But to use it for dating a specific historical year of the war cannot be primary evidence which I have explained under the caption "Other Evidences" in the 2^nd  chapter of the book.

For further  reference: The location of Shashayana on the river Saraswati where cranes annually returned even during the Mahabharata period: (DOC) Annual migration of Siberian cranes to River Sarasvatī | Dr. Jayasree Saranathan - Academia.edu

On the probable location of the Saras from which the river Saraswati descended: (DOC) Harappan was Vedic but Tamil was not Dravidian: A critical evaluation of Iravatham Mahadevan's works. | Dr. Jayasree Saranathan - Academia.edu (from p.27 to 30) 

 

 

My article about my book, "Mahabharata 3136 BCE" published in firstpost.com

 Deciphering the year of Mahabharata war and how it holds key to Harappan culture

by 

Jayasree Saranathan 

January 16, 2022 15:56:39 IST

The scientific evidence about a cosmic impact in 3136 BCE is supported by the historical evidence provided by the Mahabharata, making the text a true historical document. The Mahabharata can no longer be called a myth

The need to conclusively establish the year of the Mahabharata war is felt all the more today for two reasons: One, the archaeological findings of the Harappan culture are spread within the geographic extent of the Mahabharata events; and two, the date of the Mahabharata war falls at the beginning of the early Harappan, coinciding with the spread of population.

The chronology of the Harappan/Indus culture given in Harappa.com shows Early Phase/Ravi Phase between 3300 BCE and 2800 BCE. In this period, the Mahabharata war had taken place in 3136 BCE — the year derived from the Kali Yuga computation — a time scale that is followed uninterruptedly till date in India. The inter-connectivity between these two — the Mahabharata and the Harappan findings — needs to be understood to begin with.

 Link between Mahabharata and Harappa

The advanced city planning and material culture detected in Harappa could not have been sudden but a continuation of a pre-existing civilisation. The Mahabharata offers a link to that pre-history. For example, all the top three animal signs found in the “Harappan art” were the same as those owned as totems by the defeated Mahabharata characters — the unicorn by Jayadratha, the son-in-law of Dhritarashtra; the bull image by Kripa, the brother-in-law of Drona; and the elephant by Duryodhana and Shalva.

This raises a curious question of whether the losers had given up fighting and started engaging in Vaishya-hood as ordained by the Smriti texts. The transition in the successive phases of Harappa, showing rise in manufacturing and trade activities doesn’t seem to have a better explanation than this.

Interestingly enough, the absence of ‘horse’ in the Harappan seals is justifiable with the Mahabharata characters in the Harappan region. For, none in the Mahabharata and nobody anywhere in India sported horse as their emblem. Horses appeared in the coinage of the Indian rulers only in the 1^st millennium of the Common Era, inspired by the European model of coins inscribed with horses.

The expansion of population in the early Harappan phase matches with fresh settlement of the displaced people of Dwaraka by Arjuna after the loss of Krishna’s Dwaraka into the sea, with the Satyaki clan settling down all along the banks of the river Saraswati, the Kritavarma clan sent to Matrikavata — probably referring to Mehrgarh (Maa-ghar or mother’s house) — and the continuity of the Saindhavas (Jayadratha clan) in the Sindhu (Indus) region.

The early Harappan Indus region shows sparse growth of settlements, indicating lack of migration from mainland regions of the Mahabharata events. In fact, not many preferred to move to those regions even during the Mahabharata time, as known from Karna’s version that the people of that region lost the wisdom of the Vedas by having lived....Continue to read here

Review of my book, "Mahabharata 3136 BCE" by Dr. Narayanan Bhattathiri

Yaskacharya, while explaining the Nirukta (Etymology/Semantic etymology) of VRtra and Indra (using the story where in VRtra is killed by Indra), identifies two groups of students in this regard: Historians (Aitihaasikom: i.e. those who believe that VRtra is an actually the son of Asura Tvashtra (i.e they consider the Itihasas (Epics) as history)) and Nairuktas (those who don’t harbor the above belief but rather consider the Epics as allegories and try to derive what they actually represent and the associated meanings.

Dr. Jayasree Saranathan is a staunch Historian in the above sense; and her monumental work, Mahabharata 3136 BCE is the culmination of years of effort to identify when the actual War took place. Of course, it is easy to establish 3136 BCE as the date of the war considering the temporal relation between it and beginning of Kaliyuga at the time of death of Sri Krishna. But this will remain a legend unless and until a connection can be made between some internal event in Mahabharata with a well proven external event. Meticulous research by Dr. Jayasree reveals that certain unnatural events (which can be caused by a comet striking the earth) noticed just before the war finds a parallel with well recognized temperature drop (which can be due to a comet strike)in the Holocene Period, occurring in 3136 BCE. This is an evidential connection not easy to refute. Of course she has suggested further radio dating studies which I am sure will support her contentions.

The work by Dr. Jayasree is a treatise too covering various aspects of Astronomy as well as Jyothisha; one can learn a lot about these subjects by studying this easy to understand book. It will be an asset to any library and deserves translation to all other Indian languages.

Dr. Narayanan Bhattathiri, MBBS DMRT MD PhD

Former Senior Research Fellow, International School of Dravidian Linguistics,

Former Professor of Radiotherapy, Pariyaram Medical College, Kannur Kerala,

Former Assoc. Prof., Regional Cancer Center, Trivandrum, Kerala

Review of my book, "Mahabharata 3136 BCE" by Mr. Chittarvu Sasun

The book Mahabharata 3136 BCE is truly a masterpiece and a delight to all those who are with history-astrology-logic-scientific bent of mind and interest!

There were so many concepts and information provided in this book is alien to me! Some tiny part of logical deductions, I thought is known to me. But this book showed me how much hollow it is and helped me build a completely new insight about:

A) Time concepts and relevance to current day calendars

B) Astrological thinking and interpretation of Mahabharata texts.

C) Scientific evidences in support of the interpretations made like comets, eclipses.

D) Archaeological observations in different parts of the nation and ages are stitched to build a convincing logic.

E) Software for astrology - JHora: I am convinced to bury all my thoughts to own a software like Parashara lite or SriJyothi Star! Incidentally, the creator PVR was my school days buddy! I, like many of my friends, used to amaze at this prodigy!

And many more salient features and unique approach marks the hallmark of this masterpiece! I feel lucky to own this book! With warm regards and many congratulations.

 

Chittarvu Sasun, M.Tech (IIT, Chennai)

General Manager & Associate Operating Head,

Honda R&D (India) Pvt. Ltd, Gurgaon.