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Question – 43
Bhishma’s waiting
period for 58 nights is almost close to two months. Any chance that a major
part of that period was an Adhika Maasa? Since Uttarayana was not about the exact
solar position but determined by the tithi, can’t we say that he waited for the
arrival of Nija Maasa?
Answer:
There is of course
a greater probability for an Adhika Maasa in the
58-night period. This is ascertained from the fact that after Duryodhana’s fall
on a solar eclipse day, the Pandava-s retired to the banks of the river Bhagirathi
and spent a month there. The presence of solar eclipse on the last day of
the war coinciding with the fall of Duryodhana shows that there was an Amavasya
on that day. The next day a new lunar month started.
The retirement of
the Pandava-s to a riverside for a full one month lends scope for the presence
of Adhika Maasa running then. Since Bhishma left his mortal coils in Magha
Shukla Ashtami, this month coming before that could in all probability be the Adhika
Magha month.
But there is a
hitch here. Adhika Maasa can never occur in Magha month. There is a pattern in
the way Adhika Maasa occurs. It can occur anytime from Phalguna to Ashvina
months but not in the part of the year from Kartika to Magha. In the months
Kartika, Margashira, Pushya and Magha only Kshaya Maasa will occur. Rarely an Adhika Maasa
can happen in Kartika but never in Magha.
The extended
duration of Bhishma’s stay and the recluse of the Pandava-s for one full lunar
month shows that there was an Adhika Maasa in Magha – but such an occurrence is
impossible to happen in Nature. A Ganesha moment is staring at us in
this issue.
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