Click here for the previous question
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.”
