Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Mahabharata Quiz -58

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Question – 58

How can a falling meteorite or an asteroid cause the waters of seven rivers including Sindhu to flow in the opposite direction?

Answer:

Vyasa did make an observation that there was a change of direction of seven rivers including the Sindhu from east to west. The mention of the south westerly wind in the context offers a clue to what could have happened. In the event of the fall of an asteroid or a meteorite entering the atmosphere, its trajectory and its velocity combined with the speed of the earth influence the speed of the asteroid falling on the ground. In a recent event of a meteor fall in July 2021, it was found to travel at 43,200 miles per hour, causing a pressure wave which created a strong gush of wind on its path, besides causing sonic boom (Check here)

The jet of air dragged by a falling object, while crossing the east flowing river, would obstruct the flow by which the water is pushed in the opposite (western) direction. Vyasa has indeed made a very meticulous observation of the changes in wind and water-flow.

The above figure shows the south westerly winds caused by the falling object blocking the water flow, by which the east-flowing water started flowing in the opposite (west) direction.

This impact felt across a vast region from the river Sindhu to Ganga where Hastinapura is located, could not have been caused by a single piece falling on the earth. Several pieces must have fallen from the direction of Southwest over a larger area. Several people living near different rivers must have heard the sonic boom and the gush of air pushing the water in the opposite direction. This kind of odd observation was collected by Vyasa and compiled as a single observation that seven rivers with east flowing limbs started flowing west by the force of air. 

If several asteroids are falling on the earth, it could be the case of broken parts of a larger asteroid or a comet. The dust thrown into the air blurs the directions. The asteroids hitting the ocean would cause an increase in water vapor in the air that pours down as rains following the path of the falling fragments, which is expressed as rains at the rear.

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2 comments:

  1. Or the asteroid, after falling in the sea, created a big water wave which pushed the river water to flow backword. Few years back, when the water was let out from dams in Kerala, the tide had pushed the water backwords, as some commented.

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  2. The fragments have fallen in the sea also. While dealing with those verses, I will discuss about it. So far the events noticed on the day of Krishna's travel to Hastinapur are covered.

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