Mahabharata Quiz - 93

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Question – 93

Generally, following an asteroid-hit or a comet-hit, the sun will be blurred by the disturbance to the atmosphere. Was any such event reported in the Mahabharata?

Answer:

Certainly yes. The appearance of the sun in the days following the comet-hit is described by Vyasa to king Dhritarashtra.  In the event of a comet-hit, the particulate matter thrown into the atmosphere blocks the sunlight and makes it appear smoky and dull. On the 7th day after the comet-hit, the sun entered Jyeṣṭha, the tīvro star. By then the atmospheric aberrations obstructed the sun’s rays reaching the earth. It made the sun appear hazy and dusty like a comet with a tail. This is told by him in this verse:

kṛttikāsu grahastīvro nakṣatreprathame jvalan

vapūṃṣy apaharan bhāsā dhūmaketur iva sthita (MB: 6.3.26).

A word for word meaning of this verse is given, since this is one of the mis-interpreted verses.

Meaning:

kṛttikāsu graha = the graha belonging to Kṛttikā (feminine, locative, plural, stem: kṛttika).

tīvro = fierce (SB 10.27.12), sharp (SB 10.47.19) (masculine, vocative, singular, stem: tīvra)

nakṣatre = in the star (locative, singular)

prathame = at first

jvalan =  blazing (masculine, nominative, singular, stem: jvalat)

vapūṃṣy = √vap = to shear, cut, shave, mow. (Second person, singular, present imperative class 1 parasmaipada)

apaharan = taking away by cheating (SB 5.14.26)

bhāsā = to appear ("as" or "like" Nominal verb or instrumental case of an abstract noun) stem: bhās.

dhūmaketur = comet

iva = like

sthitaḥ = standing, staying,     there remaining (SB 11.1.10) (masculine, nominative, singular, past passive participle, stem: sthita)

Interpretation of kṛttikāsu graha: The sun is the “Kṛttikāsu graha”. Each planet is assigned 3 stars which become its dispositors. Kṛttikā is the dispositor of the Sun and therefore the Sun is called as Kṛttikā’s graha.

Tīvro nakṣatra : Among the star categories, Moola, Jyeṣṭha, Ārudra and Āśleṣā are regarded as ‘sharp’ stars.  Among these the Sun entered Jyeṣṭha a week after the comet-hit. Therefore, Jyeṣṭha is indicated here as “tīvro nakṣatra”.

Overall meaning:

“Krittikā’s graha, the sun at first blazing in Jyeṣṭha, the tīvro star, got sheared off and stayed appearing like a Dhūmaketu, a comet.”