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Question –
113
Mars positioned in
Scorpio along with the Sun was seen to have made retrograde movement which is impossible
to happen. Was that appearance also the result of the sway of the earth caused
by the comet-hit?
Answer:
Yes. Mars was
present in Scorpio in the month of Karthika says the text. This means the Sun
was in Scorpio. Mars, the outer planet, cannot retrograde while seen on the
side of the sun. It will regress only when it is on the opposite side of the
sun.
The exact verse
spoken by Karna can be translated as follows:
“The planet
Angaāraka (Mars), wheeling, O slayer of Madhu, towards the constellation Jyeṣṭha,
approacheth towards Anurādha, indicating a great slaughter of friends.” (MB:
5.141.8).
Scorpio appears as
follows. Venus and Mars were also present close to that constellation at that
time in Karthika.
After sunset, the
constellation was on the western horizon, about to disappear soon. Mars was
near Jyeshtha, but it appeared to move backwards towards Anuradha which cannot
happen in real terms in the month of Karthika with the Sun present close by.
But Karna
reporting this to Krishna before Krishna departed Hastinapur after the failed
peace mission shows that this was witnessed because of the sudden sway in the
earth.
Such sway was not
physically felt but palpable by the way the closely placed celestial entities appeared
tilted. Scorpio in the western sky must have been visible for more than a month
in a particular fashion. On that day it appeared tilted giving an impression
the Mars descended lower than normal by which it was said to have moved towards
Anuradha.
Indeed, these
observations are unique indicating how the sky with its stars and planets will
appear differently when the earth is rattled by a heavy impact.
Thus, all the
three changed appearances of stars and planets were abut closely placed ones –Arundhati
and Vasishtha, Dhruva aligned to the Saptarishi Mandala and Mars near Jyeshtha,
the red star which is quite bright to be visible clearly.
