Mahabharata Quiz - 118

 

Question – 118

What kind of impact was felt in the atmospheric region as described in the Mahabharata of the comet-fall?

Answer:

In any cosmic impact, the sun will appear dim and surrounded by an aura due to the presence of particulate matter in the atmosphere. This was explained in Question 12 in another context.

The verse runs as follows:

"kṛttikāsu grahastīvro nakṣatreprathame jvalan

vapūṃṣy apaharan bhāsā dhūmaketur iva sthita" (6-3-26)

Krittikasu Graha is the Sun.

The meaning of the verse:

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

The colour of the sky, of the twilights, of clouds and the celestial sphere is how it would appear in an intense meteor shower.

The clouds showered dust and flesh (Heavy air currents triggered by the crashing meteors carry smaller animals and fish and pour them as rains. Dust storms too occur)

Even though the sky is cloudless, a terrible roar is heard there. (Sonic boom even if the crash has taken miles away)

 In both twilights, the cardinal quarters seemed to be ablaze. (Heat increases for several days in the immediate aftermath of comet-hit, before the earth cools down due to obstruction of the sun rays by the atmospheric haze kicked off by the crash. When that happened the Sun appeared like a comet, mentioned in the beginning of this answer.)