At a time more and more people start developing
interest in Vedic knowledge we are also seeing similar growth in spurious
interpretation of the wisdom of the seers. One such topic is about the start of
Uttarayana or winter solstice. This blog is aimed at putting at rest the
confusions about Uttarayana created by western educated minds and confused
desi people.
Sun is the basis of Time
First of all one must know that the Vedic seers had
seen the play of the Divine in everything of Creation. The Sun being the
Pratyaksha Brahman is the source of all life. It is known as Ravi because it
illuminates and protects the all the three worlds. Brahmanda Purana (21-4)
traces the root word of Ravi to 'av' which means illumination and protection. It
is also known as Kāla or Time from whom every other computation of time
flows. The Brahmanda Purana (Ch 23) verse is reproduced below.
Devas, Humans, animal and plant life are the four
types of beings made to function or not function by the power of the Sun. The
measurement of Time done on the basis of the Sun has the basic unit of 5 years
only, which was in vogue until c.1500 BCE, as known from Lagadha Jyothisha.
Almost every other day was important for worship of some divinity in that system.
With decline of worship attributable to many reasons, we are no longer using
the worship related 5-year Yuga system but retained the same years in the large
cycle of 60 years (12 rounds).
Four-fold calculation of time.
The basis of this system is 4-fold in which one
without the other meaningless. Quoting from Vayu Purana (Ch 50),
The four types of calculations are (Vayu Purana Ch
50)
Today people tend to treat all the four differently
but the verse from Vayu Puarana (which was older than Mahabharata) and also
from Brahmanda Purana and Siddhantas (Ganita / astronomy) state that all the
four are collectively taken into account to determine time. In this backdrop we
should reject the name ‘Luni-solar’ as suggested
by western understanding but proudly call it as Vedic-māna or Chatur māna. The moment one starts
understanding the interplay of all the four, most confusions disappear.
We are indeed following this Chatur-māna
without realising it. The exclusion of Adhika Māsa from the calendar or time
scale is to align the Saumya or Chandra-māna with time determined by the Sun.
All the four, i.e. the sun, the moon, the star and the Sāvana (checking from
sunrise) are reckoned together to know whether the time is fruitful for a religious
activity and an auspicious activity.
Today the perfect alignment of the four is being
followed only in the Tamil regions which people tend to think as the solar calendar.
Functionally it is Chatur māna calendar. Confusion often arises when the calendars
based only on lunar movement fail to align the time with the Sun. For example a
few years ago Maha
Shivaratri occurred in lunar Pushya month. The basic feature for
identifying Maha Shivaratri was to have Phalguna as the following month. In
this case the following month was Magha. That gave the valuable insight as to
what our ancient seers had meant when they specified Phalguna as the following
month. It must invariably be the solar month of Phalguna. This implies that
Maha Shivaratri occurs at a time the Sun would be in Kumbha (Aquarius).
The insight gained from this is that any specific
time identified by a lunar Tithi comes along with a relation to the position of
the Sun, for, Time doesn’t exist without the Sun. Based on this we can deduce
the exact time of Gitopadesa too.
Time of Gitopadesa.
The complete disconnect with the Chatur-māna scale
of time of the Vedic society had resulted in the complete absence of thought
about the solar month of Gitopadesa. Gitopadesa was rendered on Margashira Shukla Ekadasi.
People tend to treat Margashira as the lunar Margashira. If it was lunar
Margashira, where was the Sun at that time? As per lunar reckoning the Sun must
have been at Kartika. The identification of time as “Margashira Shukla Ekadasi”
with Sun in Kartika is not the proper way of identification of the Chatur- māna.
The Sun being the major reckoner of Time, Margashira Shukla Ekadasi must have
the Sun at Margashira and the Shukla Paksha must be of lunar Pushya month. (The
time gap of one solar month between Kartika and Margashira makes huge impact on
arriving at the correct date of Mahabharata war).
Margashira Shukla Ekadasi is the most the celebrated
Vaikuntha Ekadasi that conceptually matches with
Krishna rendering the knowledge of the means to Moksha. With the decline in knowledge
of the 4-fold Time, Gitopadesa is assigned the day in lunar calendar which
always falls in the solar Kartika. The month-wise analysis of the Mahabharata events
done by me based on the internal evidences shows the date of Gitopadesa with
the Sun still confined within the sign of Margashira.
Date
of Gitopadesa.
The solar, lunar and savana (sun rise timing) match
well, with the star (though not mentioned) that goes well with the war preparation
(offerings to Vampire / Pishacha, an olden practice known from the “Bharani”
literature in Tamil such as Kalingatthu Bharani, Daksha Yaaga Bharani) done on
the previous day, in the star Bharani.
The
planetary chart at the time of Gitopadesa
The above details must warm up the reader to the reality
that the Sun was the major reckoner of time for any event. The Sun only carries
along with it the Devas, the sages and other entities by whom the world and its
beings are protected and are made to undergo the karma due to them. In this
context we come across the dates of Uttarayana, Dakshinayana and Vishuva as ‘Punya kala’ – auspicious times
for worshiping Pitrus and deities. Such times cannot occur at some point in
space (of intersection the ecliptic and the celestial equator) but only when the four-fold time factors combine.
Equinox identified by the Sun
and the Moon.
A specific verse on the date of equinox is found in
both Vayu Purana and Brahmanda Purana. It
tells about the time when the vernal equinox was at 27 degree Aries – the
maximum limit that the vernal equinox can travel – a gem of wisdom passed on by
the Vedic society from its long past of having observed the celestial entities.
From Vayu Purana Ch 50:
The day of vernal equinox was identified by the
location of the Sun in the 1st Pada of Krittika when the Moon was in
the 4th Pada of Vishakha. We have to carefully look into the time
denoted by this verse.
When the Sun is in Krittika 1st Pada
(Aries), the moon at Vishakha would be Full Moon. This happens in solar Chitra
month and most probably in lunar Vaishakha month. Full Moon in Vishikha star
would happen every 3rd year. Here the verse carefully avoids a reference
to Full moon or days before that, but only gives the position of the moon at 4th
Pada of Vishakha which will be the last 6 hours of Moon’s transit in Vishakha!
This means the Vishuva related worship and homa was done only at the last 6
hours of Moon’s transit in Vishakha in Scorpio when the Sun was in Krittika 1st
Pada. Now let the readers ponder over the acceptability of western concept of
Vernal equinox which does not take into consideration these intricate features
laid out by the Vedic society.
Strangely the time of autumn equinox doesn’t follow
the reverse of the vernal equinox. It only follows the position of the Sun at
the last pada of Libra, in Vishakha while the moon must continue to be within
the last Pada of Aries (1st Pada of Krittika). The Sun cannot be
expected to go beyond 27 degrees to the left of zero degree Libra. In both the
Vishuva, the sun was at its maximum limit at Aries and Libra respectively. But
the identification of ‘Punya Kala’ of Vishuva was by means of Moon’s location
in a particular Pada.
Now let me quote another verse from the same chapter
of Vayu Purana that tells us why Equinox is important. The verses also say when
the Uttrayana starts.
Verse 203 says that equinox is favourable for Devas
and Pitrus! Those calling for ‘celebrating’ Uttarayana today (at the time of
writing this on 22nd December, the winter solstice of the western astronomy)
must tell us in what way they are going to celebrate. The Vedic society valued
the four points (2 Vishuva and 2 Ayanarambha) as Punya Kala for paying obeisance
to Pitrus and Devas. Even today those who meticulously follow the Vedic life do
tarpan on these 4 dates. The Pitrus don’t come on any day that western
astronomy declares as Vishuva or solstice. The days that attract them and the
Devas as well must have a link with the sun and the moon and also the star –
the Star in whose form the Purusha is seen!
For the maximum limit of 27 degree Aries, our Vedic
seers had laid down the time for Vishu-Punya Kāla in the above verse. The solstices
and the Vishuva are separated by 90 degrees between each other. When the Vishu
at Mesha occurs at Krittika 1st Pada, the Uttarayana would be
observed on the day when the Sun would be at 2nd Pada of Dhanishtha
(27 degree Capricorn). The date of Uttarayana in that position of the Sun is
given by Rig Jyothisha. The Moon will be at Dhanishtha and at first tithi. This
means when Shukla Pratipat starts with the moon still traversing Dhanishtha,
Uttarayana Punya Kala was observed and the Pitru tarpan was given.
Even within the 5-year period, the Uttarayana did
not start on the same tithi-stars. The above combination appeared every 6th
year only. For other years they followed the formula of shifting the moon (when
the sun will be in the ordained position of Vishuva or ayana) to 6th
consecutive tithi, in 19th consecutive star. The same formula was
used by me to deduce the Vishuva and ayana dates of Mahabharata.
Let me quote the following verse from Brahmanda
Purana (Ch 23) to show that Dhanishtha was the foremost star – implying it to
be the upper limit of Uttarayana.
The same primacy to Dhanishtha is told by Markandeya
in Mahabharata (3-219-10) that Dhanishtha was assigned the foremost position by
Brahma. The following figure explained by me in my video Understanding
Equinoxes the Vedic way gives the maximum oscillation of the vernal
equinoxes with the median position falling at Aries zero degree with
corresponding Uttarayana falling at zero degree Capricorn.
Once the equinox started backward movement, the
Vedic society seemed to have revamped the Vishuva and Ayana dates. They had
prescribed the median position of Uttarayana at the beginning of Capricorn and
Vernal equinox at the beginning of Aries. Or why else we get to see the same,
repeated again and again in every possible occasion in the Puranas and Siddhantas?
Siddhanta being the foremost literature on mathematical
astronomy let me first quote Surya Siddhanta (Ch 14). Only heretics would
reject Siddhantas as non-Vedic. All the Siddhantas (Jyothish) have been
authored by Vedic sages and all the Siddhantas calculate Time of the life-span
of the four-faced Brahma starting from Kalpa.
The same is expressed in Brahmanda Purana (Ch 21)
The same is repeated in Vayu Purana (Ch 50)
Let anyone
who wants to challenge this, produce
evidence from Vedic scriptures. We gloat over the fact that the
Vedic society had existed for thousands of years. If precession was a continuous
phenomenon the Vedic society must have seen different months for the ayanas. Why is there no evidence like above on any
other months as the duration of ayanas?
The 2nd most obvious reason (after the
limited to and fro oscillation of the equinoxes) is that the Sun carries along
with it the deities that are fixated in certain months of the ayana and season and
do not keep travelling continuously like the western vernal equinox. Let me reproduce
the forgotten deities of the Sun. Both Brahmanda Purana and Vayu Purana had
given the same version. Here I am reproducing the Brahmanda Purana version (Ch
23) given in the context of the chariot of the Sun.
The months Madhu, Madhava etc refer to solar months whose
equivalents are Mesha, Rishabha (Caitra, Vaishakha)
Note the seasons mentioned along with the solar
months. The season is defined by the sun’s movement across five and a half
stars, which is equal to two zodiacal signs.(Rig Jyothisha- 9)
Then comes the information on what they do to
mankind.
Different sets of 14 divine entities residing in two
specific months each, starting in sequence from Chaitra and spring season are responsible
for nourishing Pitrus, devas and human beings. Can they shuffle their positions,
say, those in vasanta season with sharad season which is what western concept
of continuous precession of equinoxes would make them do? The Purana continues
further:
The above is the fundamental belief of the Vedic society.
The different entities residing in different months- seasons cause the rain,
heat, happiness and despair. Their locations described above must dispel any
doubts on the shifting zodiac, for they cannot discharge their duties in a
shifting zodiac.
Equinoxes in backward movement is
considered inauspicious. Particularly when the Uttarayana moves in
Ajaveethi (which is actually Dakshinayana in equilibrium position) i.e. in
Sagittarius mankind suffers. History shows that Vedic religion started suffering
only after Uttarayana started moving in Sagittarius (6th century
onwards). So we are holding on to the median position of the Sun and its Devas
for the propitiation of pitrus and deities. Vishuva is on the day of solar
ingress into Aries and Uttarayana is when the sun enters Capricorn.
Once Uttarayana hits the 3rd degree mark
of Sagittarius there will be a reversal in the movement of equinox and also in
the fortunes of the Vedic society. Until then we will have heretics in the garb
of supporters of Vedic system doing maximum damage to the cause of the Vedic
Thought. Let us remain focused on what the texts say and continue with the age
old custom of “Uttarayane, Hemanta ritau, Makara Māse....” in our oblations at
the time of solar ingress in Capricorn.
