Kali Yuga of 4,32,000 year span in the
grand scale of 10 times of that duration of Catur Maha Yuga and 1000 times the span of a day of Brahma (Kalpa) started with distinct markers. The
foremost marker told by Puranas is historical – of Krishna leaving this world.
Two more historical events happened closely after kali Yuga began. We will
discuss them in this part.
The three historical markers for Kali
Maha Yuga are
· Kali Yuga started with Krishna’s departure from the earth.
· It was followed by the Pandavas relinquishing the throne.
·
Parikshit
was given the crown.
On seeing the Adharma of Kali increasing
around him after the exit of Krishna, Yudhiṣṭhira stepped down from the throne
and crowned Parikshit. Then the Pandava brothers quit their householder status
by casting of their Agni into water, says Mahabharata.[1]
They were no longer required to do Agni related homas as a householder would.
The same event is told in Srimad Bhagavatam
with additional information. Bhagavatam says that Yudhiṣṭhira conducted “prājāpatyāṁ” by which he
placed Agni within himself![2]
prājāpatyāṁ nirūpyeṣṭim
agnīn apibad īśvaraḥ
prājāpatyām — Prājāpatya sacrifice;
nirūpya — having performed;
iṣṭim — goal;
agnīn — fire;
apibat — placed in himself;
īśvaraḥ — capable.
Meaning:
Yudhiṣṭhira performed a Prājāpatyam yajna and placed in himself the fire
for quitting household life.[3]
His brothers, on seeing Kali’s Adharma
everywhere followed his footsteps (SB: 1-15-45)
The next verse tells what they meant by
following his footsteps.
They also had done the Prājāpatyaṃ yajna
to quit the householder dharma and become Sadhus.
A unique feature of Prājāpatyaṃ yajna as
given in Yajur Veda and extoled by
many luminaries such as sage Yajnavalkya and Bodhayana is that after relinquishing all the
belongings, the doer of this yajna gives up his Agni too, but places it within himself.
As long as one is a householder the
sacrificial fire must be kept burning on all days of his life. Even when the
Pandavas went to forest they had taken their Agni with them to do Agnihotra
every day. At the time of one year of
incognito living their Agni was sent to the kingdom of Drupada to be maintained by him. This Agni would
remain with oneself until one leaves this earth when one’s mortal remains would
be consumed by this Agni.
For one who had relinquished his
householder Dharma and embraced Sanyasi Dharma by doing the Prājāpatyaṃ yajna, the Agni that is going to consume his mortal remains would be
placed within oneself! It is like self-
cremating and doing one’s last rites
by oneself. All the Pandava brothers had done this by Prājāpatyaṃ Yajna as
soon as Kali Yuga started.
This information is contained in Aihole inscription!
Aihole inscription deciphered
The inscription of the Chalukya king Pulikeshin II found in a Jain temple at
Aihole in Karnataka is a major evidence for the date of Kali Yuga. However it
had run into controversy due to a
single reference to Bharata, which is being interpreted in two ways to either mean the beginning of Kali Yuga or the beginning of
Mahabharata war. With the above details from both Mahabharata and Srimad
Bhagavatam on the mode of relinquishment of the Pandavas, we are able to
understand the verse better.
Verse
33 and 34 of this inscription gives the date of the Jain
temple built by Ravikirti who had
composed the verses of the inscription in Sanskrit. The entire inscription is
in praise of the king Pulikeshin II. The importance of the verse is that it
gives the time in Kali years and
also the Shaka years, but from when,
is disputed – is it from the time of Mahabharata war or from the beginning of
Kali Yuga when Krishna left.
Let us take a look at the inscription as given in Indian Antiquary. [4]
The underlined word is disputed: “Bhāratādāhāvāditah”. What does this mean? From the
time of Mahabharata war? Or from some
other event of the Bharata?
This verse was analyzed by Kota Venkatachelam who suggested a
correction of “shateshu” in verse 33
to “gateshu”. But he assumed that
the verse refers to Mahabharata time and deducted 37 years (not mentioned in
the verse) to arrive at the Mahabharata date as 3138
BCE which has been picked out by a few researchers as truth immortal. There is no basis for 37 year gap
between Kali Yuga and the war, as Mahabharata clearly states a gap of 35 years
only. Kali Yuga started in the 36th year after the war. Let
us now examine the verse to know the time period given and pick out the
disputed “Bhāratādāhāvāditah” at the end of the decipherment.
Verse
33:
Trimshatsu = 30
trisahasreshu = 3000
Bhaarata
daaha avaaditaha
= ( to be translated at the end)
Sapta abda shatayukteshu = 700
Gateshu = gone
abdeshu panchasu = 5 years
Verse
34:
Panchāshatsu = 50
Kalaukāle = in Kali’s Time (7th
case)
shattsu
= 6
panchashatāsu = 500
Samāsu = putting together, aggregation,
conjunction, combination, connection, union, totality. (stem: samāsa: masculine vocative singular)
samatitāsu = samatIta = gone or passed by
shakānām = of the shaka (6th
case)
Api – unto, on
bhubhujām = king (accusative)
Meaning:
Trimshatsu (30) trisahasreshu (3000)
Sapta abda shatayukteshu (700) abdeshu panchasu (5)
Gateshu Kalaukale (having gone in Kali
Kaala) = 3735 years gone in Kali Kāla
Panchaashatsu (50) shattsu
(6) panchashataasu (500) Samaasu samatitāsu shakānāmapi
= 556 years having gone in the Shaka era.
Kali years = 3735
Shaka years = 556
Kali years – Shaka years = 3735 – 556 = 3179
3179
is the beginning of Shalivahana shaka!
Deducting 78 CE when this shaka began =
3179 – 78 = 3101 BCE
= Kali Yuga begin date.
It is very clear that this inscription
refers to Kali years at the time of inscribing
it.
The Shaka year is undoubtedly Shalivahana shaka.
The Kali age being mentioned in this
goes to show that “Bhāratādāhāvāditah” doesn’t refer to the end of Mahabharata war. Then
what does it mean?
Let us split the word.
Bhāratāt
= singular, masculine, 5th case = from Bharata, a reference to Yudhishthira, the foremost among the
Bharatas.
Dāha
= √dah, burning, combustion, internal heat.
More meanings given below from Sanskrit
dictionary
Note the meaning ‘place of cremation’.
There is something called, “Dāha-bali” mentioned
in Garuda Purana, which is pinda offered
to the deceased at the time of cremation. Dāha is associated with cremation
agni.
Bhāratāt Dāha reminds us
of the final fire
deposited within the body of Yudhiṣṭhira at the Prājāpatyaṃ Yajna when
he gave up everything.
The last word is vādita.
vādita = spoken or declared
The meaning is complete.
Bharatāt
Dah (√dah) avādita = from (the time) Bharata declared that they consumed
(reposited) the fire (within by Prājāpatyaṃ yajna).
This is a clear indication of the abdication of the throne by Yudhishthira that took
place at the beginning of Kali Yuga.
The
Aihole inscription stands as a solid proof for linking the abdication with the
beginning of Kali Yuga.
Similar reference to Bharata is found in
Aryabhatiya.
Aryabhatiya reference
Aryabhatiya refers to the historical
event of abdication by the Bharata.
Aryabhatiya mentions the lapse of 6 Manus,
27 Yugas and 3 “Yuga-pada” on a Thursday at “Bharatāt Purvam.”[5]
Two issues arise here: What is Yuga pada? What is meant by Bharatāt Purvam?
The Pada in Yuga – Pada doesnot mean
‘quarter’, but it means ‘foot’. Vayu Purana offers
authenticity for this.[6]
The Yuga padas are not of equal length. By
the lapse of 6 Manus, 27 Catur Maha Yuga and the three Yuga padas of the 28th
Catur Maha Yuga, Aryabhatiya is referring to the beginning of Kali Maha Yuga
only. But why then the term Bharatāt Purvam is
used instead of Kaliyugāt Purvam?
The date coinciding with the abdication
of the Bharata (Yudhishthira), followed by a Shaka (sub period of Kali Yuga)
named after him (Yudhishthira), Aryabhata had referred to the beginning
(Purvam) either of Bharata relinquishing the throne or the beginning of the
shaka of Bharata (Yudhishthira). Both ways it points out to the historical moment connected
with Bharata.
Aryabhata’s time coming within 150 years
of Pulikesin II who also made a reference to ‘Bharata’, it appears that this
kind of reference to the start of Kali Yuga was in vogue around that time
period.
In this regard, the claim by Vedveer Arya that Kali
Yuga commenced before the Mahabharata war is totally unfounded. A clipping from
his presentation is reproduced below.
Both the internal evidence and the
external evidence stand nullified. It was established in Part
10 of the supplementary series what those “Kali” verses mean. With the war
happening at Dvapara- Kali
sandhi, all those references cannot be treated as the time of the start
of Kali Yuga.
The external reference quoted by him was
explained by me above. With the complete duration of 6 Manus, 27 Yugas and the
first three Yugas of the current 28th Yuga getting over at the
beginning of Kali Yuga, there is no way to assume that Aryabhata referred to
some other date. The beginning of Pandava samvat 12
year later is nowhere found in the verse. The commentator is obviously wrong. In
Jyothisha texts, such as “Jyothisha
Graha Chinthamani”, a guide book for Pancanga writers, Pandava Samvat is one year later
than Kali Yuga, not 12 years. Aryabhatiya verse doesn’t refer to
Pandava Samvat.
Janamejaya’s inscriptions.
Janamejaya’s grant to Sitarama temple in Hampi in his 29th
regnal year which happened to be the year Plavanga was already discussed in Part
1. Plavanga is indeed the 89th year counted
from Pramathi, the first year of Kali Yuga. His father Parikshit ruled for the
first 60 years of Kali Yuga. Janamejaya’s 29th year perfectly
matches with 89th Kali Year (Yudhishthira Shaka). The calendar date
was 2nd November, 3013 BCE
There are three other inscriptions of
Janamejaya found in Karnataka that are rejected as spurious by the colonial
Indologists. For decipherment we need at least four features of Pancanga which
we get in one of them found at Begur.
The first three columns show the grants given by Janamejaya, the son of
Parikshit. The last was a recent one. Our focus is on the first three columns.[7]
Continued below
Janamejaya was on a Dig-Vijaya to South
when he made the donations to the Brahmins who participated in the Sarpa-yajna
for conducting worship for Vyatipada and eclipse.
The Prashasti of the three grants are
the same. The “katakam utkalita’
refers to the rising Kataka lagna when the King issued the grant.
The first grant on the left gives valuable clues such as Citra month, Krishna Paksha Tritiya, Bhauma dina (Tuesday) and Indrabha nakshatra, a reference to Visakha ruled by Indragni. When checked in the Jhora software, it perfectly matched for 10th January, 3014 BCE. It was given in Adhika Caitra. Another grant found at Kuppagede matched well for the Nija Caitra.
Janamejaya grant at Begur
The grant was given for the sake of
Vyatipada, says the inscription. The next day was Vyatipada. The alignment of
Pancanga features is proof for the authenticity of the details of the inscription. This perfect matching shows that the grant was true. The Sarpa Yaga was done in the year Parabhava, in 3014 BCE.
Begur grant as well as the Hampi
grant go well with the tenure of the king Janamejaya in Kali Yuga, with both the grants giving solid proof for Kali Date at 3101 BCE.
By all sources, Kali Yuga date is
non-challengeable and connected with Krishna’s departure and Pandavas departure
too.
Computational nature of Kali Yuga is unique
The calculation of Kali date is such that another inscription found at Parthivapuram issued in the reign of Ko-Karunandadakkan, has recorded the Kali ahargana – the exact number of days elapsed since the Kali Yuga began.[8]
The grant was issued on 1449087th day of Kali Yuga!
Converted into years, it was on Kali
year 3967, 105 days, 48 Nazhigai, 51 vinadi, 38.304 tatparai.
The calculation is as follows.
Conversion formula for one year into
tatparai
Number of days converted into years
The grant was issued at the lapse of
3967 Kali years. Completion of 105 days shows that Kataka month was running
then.
Deducting 3101 BCE, the calendar year is
866 CE, which was the 9th
year of his reign as per the inscription. This shows that the king ascended the
throne some time after the middle of Kataka month in 857 CE. This is how dates
are deducted with the base as Kali Yuga. Strangely this
method is missing in Mahabharata dating. The Kali Yuga date gives an easy deduction of the year of
Mahabharata war.
Back to the topic, the Kali date did not
start on some day; it had a specific beginning in all the cycles of small and
big time. Only then this kind of calculation is possible. When we see 105 days
in the above calculation, a question comes how to convert it into months,
because not all months are of same length. And which month to be counted as the
first one is the next question. For all the features there is a ‘first’ and all
the ‘firsts’ started on the first day of Kali Yuga. Totally there are 8
features known as Ashtanga in the computation of a Kali date.
The top three of Ashtānga are
1.
Yuga (four Yugas)
2.
Years (60 year cycle)
3.
Months (solar months)
This is followed by Pancanga.
4.
Week-day (7 days)
5.
Star (27 stars starting from Asvini. 1
star = 13° 20” )
6.
Tithi (the lunar phase = 12°)
7.
Yoga (total distance travelled by the
sun and the moon in a day. Cycle starts with Vishkambha yoga)
8.
Karana (half of tithi = 6°. Cycle starts with Bava karana )
Features 2 to 8 are part of the first,
i.e. Kali Yuga when all these features started their respective new cycles.
This is shown below for 23rd
January, 3101 BCE when Kali Yuga began with its first day.
First day of Kali Yuga – Pancanga
cycles started together
The tithi – nakshatra – Yoga – Karana
started their cycles simultaneously on the 1st day of Kali Yuga. The
day was Friday and the solar month, Mesha. The lunar month is not in the
reckoning in the four-unit time computation (solar, saumya, nakshatra and
savana). Only the lunar tithi-paksha is taken into consideration in a given
solar month.[9] From that time onwards, the seven features of
the Ashtanaga are continuously going on in their own cycles and are tracked
till date.
This kind of computation doesn’t exist if the Yuga started at the day Bhima killed
Duryodhana. Did the month, star, tithi, karana etc., start at the
beginning of their respective cycles at that time? No. Duryodhana was hit on
Shravana day, on a Monday, in the year Krodhi, during Amawasya. When none of
these were starting their respective cycles, how can it be said that a new Yuga
began?
The Yuga beginning is not a regnal year,
where the year and day of coronation of a king is taken into consideration. Yuga is about cosmic Time. A cosmic entity such as Krishna became a deciding
marker for the start of Yuga. Such being the relevance of a Maha Yuga,
it sounds ridiculous that Kali Yuga started at the time Bhima killed Duryodhana
or Krishna killed Kamsa. It just shows one
thing. Those who have no exposure to studies in history and epigraphy, apart from
astrology should never even dream to date Mahabharata - relying only on the astronomy
simulator.
Another issue is needed to be solved. That is about the
Shaka eras.
(To be continued)
[1]
Mahabharata: 17-1-20
[2] Srimad
Bhagavatam: 1-15 -39
[4]
Indian Antiquary, Vol 5, p.70 https://archive.org/details/TheIndianAntiquaryVolV/page/n91/mode/1up
[5]
Aryabhatiya: 1-5
[6] Vayu
Purana 1-32- 64
[7] ‘Two
new Chalukya Grants’ by Lewis Rice, April 1879
[8] Huzur
Office Copper Plates, Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in
Archaeology 4 (2016): 454-458
[9] The
lunar month is called as the day of the manes (Pitrus), and the solar year is
called the day of the Devas. A combined luni-solar is limited to the tithi in a
solar month. Today this is ignored mostly in North India but retained in South
India.
