Mahabharata Quiz - 25

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Question - 25

What is the basis for the Kali Dharma Yuga that started in 575 BCE? Isn't it confusing to have two different dates of Kali Yuga - one at the departure of Krishna on 3101 BCE and another at 575 BCE when Kali Dharma set in? 

Answer:

For all practical purposes we are using the Kali Maha Yuga that started in 3101 BCE. Vyasa repeatedly says that we must use that date only. That date is in use all these years for all purposes continuously without a break. The only difference is that now we use the sub period of it, namely Shalivahana Shaka. The official Indian Calendar also uses Shalivahana Shaka but without realizing that it is the 3rd sub period of Kali Yuga which started 5124 years ago. Due to this ignorance we have failed to claim our rightful place in the International Astronomical Calendar as having the longest surviving calendar in use. For example the date of Indian calendar found in this international record as on 2020 appears as follows: 

As per this calendar our computational time started only 1942 years ago! This must be corrected to Kali Yuga date that started 5124 years ago in 3101 BCE.

On the other hand, the yuga computation on the measure of Dharma is of shorter duration only. There is no fixed beginning or end date. In the past the sages decided this yuga by watching the deterioration in Dharma. The Dharma- Adharma proportion of the yugas was given as below:

Krita  -  1 part dharma - 0 adharma

Treta - 3/4 part dharma - 1/4 adharma

Dvapara - 1/2 dharma - 1/2 adharma

Kali - 1/4 dharma - 3/4 adharma

Towards the end of a Yuga, its Yuga Sandhi appears.

The Sandhyamsa comes up after the Sandhi period ends.

Then the next Yuga takes over.

The dharma of a Yuga dwindles by 3/4^th in the Sandhya of that Yuga. In other words, only 1/4of the Dharma of a Yuga prevails in the Sandhya period. The reduced Dharma of the Sandhya period gets further lessened by 3/4^th in the Sandhyamsa period. This remnant part of Dharma of the Sandhyamsa period becomes the Dharma of the next Yuga.

In this way, Vyasa referred to Dwapara Sandhya when the war took place. 

In Treta Sandhya, Parashurama killed the kshatriyas. 

Only perception of the nature of Dharma determined the Yuga, its sandhi and sandhaymsa. 

Only in this scale Rama was born in Treta Yuga sandhi - not lakhs of years ago as in computational Maha Yuga. 

With expected decline in Rishi-culture after Dwapara Sandhya, Veda Vyasa handed over a date for identifying the beginning of Kali Yuga in Dharma scale. He has written in Srimad Bhagavatham, that when Saptarishis pass through the star Magha, Kali yuga will set in. He further says that right from the time Nanda Dynasty started ruling, Kali Yuga will be in full swing. (12-2-31 and 32)

In the very next verse, he reiterates that Kali Maha Yuga started only from the time Krishna left this world. 

Thus he clearly makes a distinction between the two but proposes computational Kali Yuga that started on 3101 BCE.

For the onset of Kali (a)dharma with the Nanda dynasty, he gives a marker that the saptarishis will be crossing the Magha star. The same verse appears in Brihad Samhita by Varahamihira where a year number in Yudhishthira Shaka (first sub period of Kali Yuga) is mentioned. It was 2526 years, which is nothing but Kali year 2526. From this, the date is deduced as 575 BCE. That is when Nanda dynasty started ruling. 

That date was given by Vyasa to inform us when the Kali yuga dharma will begin. Unfortunately some scholars have taken this to mean the beginning of computational Kali yuga and messed up other dates such as Mahabharata. 

Let the readers be clear that 575 BCE is to convey the Kali adharma starting period. In the Tiruvalangadu inscriptions quoted earlier (Question 18 ) this date was mentioned after which Chola kings like Ko Chenganan and Karikala came into being.

Saptarishis take 100 years to cross 1 star in the 27 star zodiac. It takes 2,700 years for them to finish one round. They were in Magha 2597 years ago as on 2022. In 2025, they will once again enter Magha star. Only time will tell if Kali Adharma will increase further then or decline because in Kali Sandhya, only 1/4th of the Yuga dharma will prevail. It means that only one fourth of Kali Adharma will prevail which means reduction in adharma. Will it not be too much for the asking given the all round deterioration? 

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