Adhika Masa had started now following Mahalaya Amavasya, in the month of Purattasi (Kanya masa). Those who believe in the scientific acumen of "Nilesh Oak's astronomy", are expected to look up at the sky to match visual observation with Adhika Masa. If you want to know how to do it you may refer to his book on Mahabharata dating or read the following excerpted from my book critiquing his book on date of Mahabharata reproducing his version.
From my book:
Funny concept of “Insertion” of Adhika Masa.
Nilesh Oak does not seem to have the basic
idea of how the lunar year is adjusted to make it align with the solar year every
two and a half years. The 2nd reference in his list of Mahabharata
references addresses this issue of how two months get increased due to the
spinning of the luminaries with one of them spinning with delayed speed.[1] Despite the clear explanation by Bhishma in the verses referenced
in his book, Nilesh Oak is always found to refer to “insertion” of an Adhika
masa. He thinks that a lunar month is added periodically,[2] while the fact remains that it is expunged! Time goes intact, only
we choose to ignore certain months and call such months as Adhika masa.
His confused understanding of Adhika Masa
is once again revealed when he tried to locate winter solstice coinciding with
‘Magha Shuddha Ashtami’ – the start of Uttarayana when Bhishma shed his
mortal coil. As usual he ran the Voyager simulator to find out the time
interval between the two and pick out a median value – which by itself is
unscientific in a research aimed at fixing the accurate date of an historical
event. And now comes an unbelievable explanation that “The actual time
interval would stretch for at least 2000 years, and if one adds the spice of
‘Adhika masa’ (extra lunar month inserted periodically to align lunar and solar
calendars), the time interval would stretch up to 3000 – 4000 years.”[3]
He thinks that adhika masa for the 2000 year duration will be calculated and added to the time interval he is seeing in the simulator! When I searched through his blog to know whether he really thinks that an adhika masa is added, I was astounded on reading this response by him.[4]
(Lean
Jedi is Nilesh Oak’s pen-name for his blog)
In this blog entry, Nilesh Oak is giving us
additional information on adhika masa that by inserting the Adhika masa, the visual
observation of the sky matches with the recognition of the (adjusted) lunar
months!This gives an impression that Adhika masa is added much like an extra
day in February in the leap year in the Gregorian calendar. This also shows
that Nilesh Nilkanth Oak does not know how the adhika masa is computed and why
it is expunged (not inserted).
Why Adhika masa is calculated?
Adhika masa is the basis for the 5-year Yuga
system of the Mahabharata period. It continues to be valid today even though
the 5-year Yuga system is no longer in vogue. It is based on the astronomy fact
that the sun and the moon crossing the same point in space in the back drop of
a particular star cross the same point simultaneously only after 5 years. But
by that time, the sun makes 5 revolutions (5 solar years) around the zodiac
while the moon makes 5 revolutions (5 lunar years) plus 2 months.
Sun in 5 years = 12 months x 5 = 60 months
Moon in 5 years = 12 months x 5 = 60 months
+ 2 months = 62 months
The reason for this is the difference in
the speed of the sun and the moon. The sun takes 365.25 days to complete one
round with reference to a star (sidereal year), which is covered by the moon in
354 days. The difference between these two is 11.25 days and this is
accumulated to the extent of 28.125 days for every two and a half years and 56.30
days in 5 years.
As a thumb rule, this can be re-phrased
that the moon goes faster by 1 day every month. In 12 solar months (= 1 solar
year) it completes 12 extra lunar days. It becomes 24 lunar days in 2 solar
years and 30 lunar days (= 1 lunar month) in two and a half solar years. Since
the accumulated days had reached 1 month duration, it is considered as Adhika
masa and not counted in the lunar year. Since it is not counted as a month, no
auspicious and religious activities are done in that month.
This record keeping can never be tampered
with. What Nilesh Oak sees in the simulator is the span of the sky covered by both
the sun and the moon in different speeds as explained above. The simulators
made by westerners show the record of solar years (in Gregorian or Julian
calendar). But within the duration of each solar year, the moon completes 1 lunar
year plus 11.25 days. So there is no way to say that the adhika masa is
‘inserted’ to match with the visual observation of the sky. There is no way to
add adhika masa in the years picked out in the simulator. What one can do is to
calculate the adhika masa within the time interval and expunge them. But this
is not a scientific way to arrive at the precise month of adhika masa. The
Mahabharata calendar gives hints on how to locate the adhika masa within the
duration of 5 years, which will be discussed in the 12th chapter.
This issue does not arise if one is
following only the solar months. Nilesh Oak’s idea that visual observation does
not match unless an Adhika masa is inserted only reveals his lack of knowledge
of how the system works in traditional time-keeping which is being followed
even today.
[1]Mahabharata: 2- 4 http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/mbs/mbs04047.htm
evaṃ
kālavibhāgena kālacakraṃ pravartate
3 teṣāṃ kālātirekeṇa jyotiṣāṃ ca vyatikramāt
pañcame pañcame varṣe dvau māsāv upajāyataḥ
[2]“When Did The Mahabharata War Happen?” Page 46
[3]“When Did The Mahabharata War Happen?” Page 138
