This blog aims at bringing out the past glory and history of India, Hinduism and its forgotten values and wisdom. This is not copyrighted so as to reach genuine seekers of these information. Its my prayer that only genuine seekers - and not vandals & plagiarists - come to this site.
What were the
nimitta-s seen on the path of Krishna’s journey to Hastinapura from Upaplavya?
Answer:
On his way from
Upaplavya and Salibhavana, Krishna encountered both auspicious and inauspicious nimitta-s.
·Though
there were no clouds in the sky, the roll of thunder accompanied by flashes of
lightning was heard.
·Fleecy
clouds in a clear sky rained incessantly in the rear!
·Delicious
breezes were blowing.
·Showers
of lotuses and fragrant flowers on his way.
·The
very road appeared delightful, free from prickly grass and thorns.
·In
all the places where he stayed, happy-looking people received him with flowers
and dishes.
After crossing Salibhavana,
he reached Vrikasthala by evening and stayed there for the night. The next
morning he continued his journey and reached Hastinapura by the afternoon.
What is a ‘nimitta’?
Why should we give importance to the nimitta-s asked by King Janamejaya?
Answer:
Nimitta-s (omens) are
often mentioned in the Mahabharata. They are also mentioned along with
astronomy features which make us take a serious look at them. They are part of
astrological predictions on whether a good or bad thing will happen. Nimitta is
mentioned in the Upanishads, Manu Smriti, and Brihat Samihita with meanings
such as cause, motive, ground, reason etc. The Vyakarana meaning is ‘unstable
first cause from which a stable effect is formed’. The ‘adhruva’ (not fixed, non-permanent)
nature of the first cause makes nimitta a temporary occurrence!
Therefore, we can
say that an unstable cause giving rise to a stable effect is a nimitta. The
temporary appearance of a feature is a nimitta. The related effects of the
nimitta-s are documented in texts such as Brihat Samhita. Mahabharata is replete
with many nimitta-s.
The knowledge of
nimitta-s as a science reached its peak during the Mahabharata times. Drona is
described as nimittajñaḥ (निमित्तज्ञः) as one knowledgeable in nimitta-s. Another character,
namely Shakuni must be a knower of omens, for his name Shakuni is the name of a
bird of omen. His son was known as Uluka – the owl which is also observed for
omens. It sounds strange that these persons of the Mahabharata were named after
ominous birds. The only probable explanation could be that they must have
mastered the omens of Shakuni and Uluka birds respectively.
The text called ‘Nimitta
Choodamani’ begins with the description of the ‘dice’ and how to make it.
After describing the making of the dice and the markings on it, the text says
that “Previously Lord Sri Krishna, Dharmaraja, Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula and
Sahadeva were said to have used this to know Shakuna (omen) and gained a lot
out of it. It is also called Mahabharata Shuddhi Shakuna”.
Due to its utility
to know the kind of things to come, king Janamejaya was curious to know whether
any nimitta-s were seen on the way of Krishna.
How long did it
take for Krishna to travel from Upaplavya to Hastinapura? Any specific events
on the way?
Answer:
After leaving
Upaplavya on the morning of Revati, Krishna had to travel the whole day to
reach a place called Vrikasthala for his night-stay. Only on the second day did
he reach Hastinapura. From this one
can gauge the distance between Upaplavya and Hastinapura.
When Vaisampayana narrated that Krishna had started off from Upaplavya, king Janamejaya asked him whether any nimitta-s were seen on the way. On the first day,
soon after he started off on his journey in the star Revati, some strange nimitta-s were seen in the route of Krishna and also in Hastinapura. While the nimitta-s on the way of Krishna were more of auspicious nature, those witnessed in Hastinapura could not be said so. Such descriptions cannot be
dismissed as the poet’s imagination because the text was not
composed to state what has not happened; secondly, the positive signs on the
way of Krishna did not ensure success for the mission of Krishna. There is
something more than just auspiciousness or inauspiciousness in the events
narrated.
On Saturday, 2nd September, Udayanidhi Stalin, son of the DMK supremo and the Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development of Tamilnadu stirred a hornet’s nest by calling for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma in his address to the ‘Sanatan Abolition Conference’ convened by the Progressive Writers and Artists Forum, in Chennai. Coming closely on the heels of the just concluded meeting of the opposition I.N.D.I.A. alliance in Mumbai, this outburst by a prominent member of a constituent party of the alliance garnered national attention.
While his speech was seen as a call to incite genocide of believing Hindu groups, the same utterances were excused as a right to free speech by the DMK supporters. The local TN Congress leaders were quick to pitch in to support Udayanidhi; Karti Chidambaram drew our attention by his tweet that ‘everyone who is batting for “SD” (Sanatan Dharma) comes from the privileged segment who are beneficiaries of the “Hierarchy”’, forgetting that he is married into the so-called privileged segment.
That the local Congress cadres had their own compulsions to support Udayanidhi’s indefensible verbal assault on Hindus by his attack on Sanatana Dharma, can be seen from the manner in which Congressmen outside Tamilnadu objected to his speech. The Maharashtra Congress Chief Nana Patole told ANI that the Congress party ‘neither comments nor believes in hurting anyone’s religious sentiments,’ and added that they ‘can’t take onus for someone else’s statement’.
While official responses from other alliance partners are awaited, it goes without saying that Udayanidhi has added salt to the injuries already inflicted by his party on North Indians, particularly the people of Bihar, UP and Northeast. Not long ago several migrant workers from the North fled from Chennai and Tiruppur, the textile hub, following hostile propaganda against ‘Vadakkans’ (northies). In the forefront was Udayanidhi, inciting anti-Hindi slogans while he had no qualms in buying rights for Hindi films through his Production and Distribution company, Red Giants.
Biharis are particularly are in the line of attack of the DMK headed by Udayanidhi’s father M.K. Stalin, who views the Bihar-born Tamilnadu Governor, R.N. Ravi, as a villain. Nothing can be more atrocious than the scorn spit by the DMK leader R.S. Bharati in an indirect dig at the Governor when he said that those who sell Soan Papdi and Panipuri don’t know the pride of Tamilnadu.
The arrest of a Youtuber, Manish Kashyap, further deepened the crisis which reflected in the opposition to M.K. Stalin’s visit to Bihar in June 2023, to attend a meeting of the Opposition parties convened by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The Twitterverse was buzzing with the hashtag #GoBackStalin with the tweet of T.R.B. Raja, DMK minister for Industries and son of T.R. Balu,..... Continue to read HERE
On what date did
Krishna start his journey from Upaplavya for peace with the Kaurava-s?
Answer:
Krishna started at
Maitri Muhurta on the day the moon was in Revati in the month of Kartika. If
the Full Moon of that month occurred in the star Krittika, this position of the
moon indicates Shukla Dwadasi.
When this was
checked in Jhora simulator for Surya Siddhanta ayanamsa, it showed a perfect
matching of Revati with Shukla Dwadasi. The corresponding Gregorian date was 25th August 3136 BCE.
The horoscopy
chart is given above for that date to show the auspiciousness of the time
chosen by Krisha and the Pandava-s for this crucial mission. In Maitri Muhurta,
the lagna happened to be Sthira (fixed) with the lagna lord Mars joining the 10th
lord Sun in the lagna and receiving the direct aspect of Jupiter.
More importantly,
I boxed the nodes that are positioned at Leo and Aquarius to show that no
single or double or triple eclipse could have occurred any time in Kartika or
in the months before and after Kartika. The position of Rahu and Ketu are vital
for eclipses. When the sun and the moon join them in close degrees, eclipses
occur. Here in the month of Kartika, with the sun having entered Scorpio, two
signs away from Rahu, there is no chance for an eclipse in Kartika or anytime
close to it. This is needed to be stated here because many of the Mahabharata
researchers misread the lines of the text and assumed that there were twin or
triple eclipses in Kartika.
Vyasa could have
simply used ‘Kartika’ - the well-known name. Why did he opt for a lesser-known
name ‘Kaumudi’ for Kartika?
Answer:
Kaumudi offers a ‘Ganesha moment’ to think
deeply but not in a shallow way like modern day researchers such as Mr.
Nilesh Oak who is found to twist words and meanings to suit the date he got
in his simulation.
In fact, the name
Kaumudi was in common usage until a thousand years ago. There was a Sanskrit
drama, ‘Kaumudī Mahotsav’detailing the life of King Kalyanavarman of
Magadha, of the 7th century CE, staged at the palace of Sugāṅga at Paṭaliputra
on the “Autumnal Full Moon Festival Day”, i.e., Sharad Kaumudī Mahotsav day! This king was re-instated
to the throne on the day of Kaumudī Mahotsav, the Full Moon Festival in the Kartika
month.
If we dig further
into its beginnings, we find Padma Purana and Skanda Purana giving the details
of this festival starting from the time of Mahabali who offered land to Vāmana.
It is explained in the context of the festival of Dīpāvaḷi in memory of Bali in
Padma Purana.
On the day of
Amavasya of Ashvina, charities and celebrations were done by the king followed
by the worship of Mahabali at night by keeping awake. Padma Purana states that
the “Kaumudī” festival started since then.Perhaps Kaumudī was the earlier name for the Dīpāvaḷi festival.
Going by the
description of this festival in Padma and Skanda Purana, it appears that
“Kaumudī Festival” that started on the day after Dīpāvaḷi by worshiping Mahabali
culminated on the Full Moon Day of Kartika. The Kaumudi Mahotsav of the above-mentioned
Sanskrit Drama culminated on the Full Moon of Kartika month.
Kaumudī festival
seems to have a specific significance for the recovery of lost lands. By
worshiping Bali who donated the earth to Vāmana, a king can prosper for a whole
year, says Padma Purana.
In tune with the
aim of the mission to restore the land of the Pandava-s, Krishna started off
after completing the worship of Bali, along with the Pandava-s (Dīpāvaḷi). Vyasa,
who didn’t utter a word without significance, seems to have thoughtfully
employed the name “Kaumuda” for Kartika, reflecting the expectations of the Pandava
clan on their completion of Kaumudī austerities. The date of the mission seems
to have been planned in such a way that, Krishna would return with a positive
news by the Full Moon Day of Kartika.
Krishna started his
journey for peace at the end of Sharad season in Kaumudi maasa (kaumude māsi
revatyāṃ śarad ante himāgame). Which month was known as ‘Kaumudi’?
Answer:
The dictionary
meaning of Kaumudi is Kartika month.
This can be
further corroborated by the reference to Sharad season in the verse. Sharad
season falls in the months of Ashvina and Kartika. Vyasa specifically says, ‘at
the end of Sharad season’ (śarad ante). Only Kartika will be running in the
later part of Sharad season.
To substantiate
this further, let us construct the season-calendar of the 5-year Yuga
period that started in the year Krodhi when the Pandava-s returned from exile. This
can be done based on the hints given in Yajur Vedanga Jyothisha which defines
the season as two synodic months and two tithi-s.This must not be construed as synodic months
starting from a New- moon or a Full moon. Vedanga Jyotisha calculates it from
the beginning of the 1st year of the 5-year Yuga period, i.e., from the Uttarayaṇa
of the 1st year.
Shishira was the
first season covering the two months, Magha and Phalguna. Since the Uttarayaṇa
started in Magha (found in the version of Bhishma) we can construct the Season-
calendar of the Mahabharata by adding two lunar months and two tithi-s from the
first tithi of the 1st year that was found to be Magha Shukla Pratipat. The 8th
Ṛtu (season) must start from the 15th tithi from the beginning of the 1st Ṛtu,
says Vedanga Jyotisha.That is found
fulfilled in the table below constructed for the 5-year Yuga period that
started in Krodhi, the year of the war.
The four seasons
of the 1st year (Samvatsara) Krodhi are boxed to highlight that all the major
events of the war had taken place within these four seasons. The Sharad season
when Krishna undertook the journey is also highlighted to show that it
contained only Ashvina and Kartika. This season started on Shukla Navami
of Asvina as per the Table.
Since a season has
2 lunar months and 2 titthis, by Shukla Dasami of Kartika one half of Sharad
season was over (one month + 1 tithi). We already found in Question
47 that Krishna left on Shukla Dwadasi of Kartika month. By then one half
of Sharad season was over. This prompted Vyasa to say that he started in the later part of the season (śarad ante). Kartika month coming at that time, it
goes without saying that Kaumudi was a reference to the month of Kartika.
The Table also shows
that the season (any season) didn't begin on the same day in any year of the
5-year Yuga. No simulator comes to our help in deriving the first day of a
season. We must manually calculate it.
The English version of my book on Aditya Karikala of Ponniyin Selvan fame is now available as an e-book. On this occasion I express sincere gratitude to Smt Sandhya Jain for copy-editing the manuscript. Preview pages are open now.
The story of “Ponniyin Selvan” written by the famous writer Kalki and made into a movie, differs in many places from the real history of the characters featured in it.
This book is a small attempt to point out not only the variations, but also to place on record what actually happened, substantiated by historical evidence such as inscriptions.
Here are the issues you will read in this book: # How Aditya Karikala's murder is used to spread sectarian hatred in the present times. # Did Madhurantaka rob Arulmozhi Varman of his royal position? # The analysis of the Sanskrit portion on the above issue as given in the Thiruvalangadu copper plates. # Aditya Karikala's original name and his period of rule. # The corrections to be done about Rajaraja's period. # Two Chola kings who have been forgotten in history. # The Chola king who was beheaded by Veerapandiyan. # The probable connection between the destruction of the Kandalur Shalai and the murder of Aditya Karikala. # The mix of historical facts and imaginations in the novel, Ponniyin Selvan.
Usually, people check
Rahu Kala or Yamaghanta or an auspicious hora for doing any work or starting a journey,
but Krishna seemed to have relied on Muhurta. Was Muhurta given precedence over
others in those times?
Answer:
There is no explicit reference to Rahu Kala or Yamaghanta in the
Mahabharata, but Muhurta is mentioned even for birth times. For example, while expressing the birth of Yudhishthira, it is said that he was born in Abhijit Muhurta. A Muhurta by name Maitri was running when Krishna started his journey. So, it appears that Muhurta was given greater importance in the Mahabharata times. Why?
Like tithi, Muhurta represents the nature of Time. While tithi
refers to a whole day, Muhurta represents a short time of the day, say, 2
Nadika-s (ghati-s), equal to 48 minutes. A sidereal day is divided into 30 Muhurta-s consisting of 15 diurnal Muhurta-s and 15 nocturnal Muhurta-s. Each Muhurta is given a name and is meant to indicate the nature of time. Like hora, a Muhurta may indicate good or
bad of the time of the day or night. Thus there are Shubha Muhurta-s and Dur-muhurta-s which are avoided. We must recall that even today we choose Shubha Muhurta for wedding and mention so in the wedding invitation.
Maitri Muhurta chosen
by Krishna to start his journey is a Shubha Muhurta coming as the 3rd Muhurta after sunrise everyday. By this we can calculate the time he started. He started one and a half hours after sunrise.
The word 'Maitri' refers to ‘friendship’.
Since the purpose of the journey was to seek friendly relationship with the Kaurava-s
expecting them to give back the land and wealth of the Pandava-s, Krishna had chosen
the Maitri Muhurta.
@ThamaraiTVTamil on * why the name 'Shivshakti' for #Chandrayaan3Landing site is not a religious term but in tune with IAU convention on naming.
* why the name 'Tiranga' was given to #Chandrayaan2 landing site now.
* 4 examples for science in Vedic concepts, including one from Taittriya Upanishad.
* From 31 minutes onwards I am speaking on the so-called "Dravida King Mahabali" and the difference between Onam as the birthday of Maayon (Vishnu) given in Tamil Sangam text and by Periyazhwar and Aippasi Onam mentioned by Devaram by Thirugnana Sambandar and the return of Mahabali on Aippasi Prathamai and the decipherment of Mahabali Story.
When did Krishna
begin his journey for peace to avert the war between Pandava-s and Kaurava-s? Did
he begin the journey in Sharad season or Varsha season?
Answer:
Krishna started
the journey to Hastinapura in the Sharad season in ‘Kaumudi’ month, says the
Mahabharata.
Krishna started in
Maitri Muhurta, on the day of
Revati coming in the waxing phase of Kartika, mentioned as “Kaumudi Maasa” If the Full Moon
of Kartika occurred in the star Krittika, the tithi on Revati was likely to be Shukla
Dwadasi. By Kartika Shukla Dwadasi, half of the Sharad season was over. This
prompted Vyasa to say that Krishna started at the end of Sharad season.
The exact line is
this: “kaumude māsi
revatyāṃ śarad ante
himāgame”. By stating “sharad ante” Vyasa did not give
any room for doubt on the season running then. Unfortunately, this was interpreted
by Mr. Nilesh Oak that it refers to
the Varsha season, to suit his date of the Mahabharata.
If the Varsha
(rainy) season was running then, lack of heat must have been indicated, since
the sun could be mostly hiding behind the clouds. But the words “arciṣi divākare” in the verse say
the opposite. Arciṣi is the name of
one of the twelve suns that is characterized as blazing or in flame. It is
referred so in Ṛg Veda in that sense.
The sun of the
rainy season cannot be described as ablaze. In the very next line of the same
verse the growth of abundant crops is mentioned thereby rejecting any scope for
an interpretation that it was rainy reason (MB:5.81.7). Enlarged corn and grains
on top had come up in time (kāle kalyaḥ) abounding with life. Crops of this
description cannot be seen in the rainy season. These crops are the result of
the rainy season that appear in the Sharad season. These were present in the
surroundings under the blazing sun when Krishna started off from Upaplavya
carrying the message of the Pandava-a to the Kaurava-s.
To find out the unusual change
in Time, let us begin to explore from the time of the end of Pandava-s exile.
What were the events in the initial months after the Pandava-s returned?
Answer:
To find out the events that
caused the change in Time, let us begin from Ashadha Krishna Dasami when the
Pandava-s ended their exile.
Lunar Ashadha month: (Sun in Cancer)
Exile ended on Krishna Dasami (11th May,
3136 BCE)
With 5 days left for the month to end, developing acquaintances and
discussions must have happened.
Proposal for marriage of Uttara, the daughter of King Virata, with
Abhimanyu.
Lunar Shravana month: (Sun in Leo)
Marriage of Abhimanyu conducted.
After the marriage, intense discussion on ways to get back the
kingdom from the Kauravas.
Krishna and Balarama returned to Dwaraka.
Lunar Bhadrapada month: (Sun in Virgo)
Pandavas began the preparations for war.
Both Arjuna and Duryodhana went to Dwaraka seeking support of
Krishna for the war. (It is also probable that this happened in the
previous month.)
After getting assurance from Krishna to send army to support his
side, Duryodhana went on to meet Balarama. Balarama refused to side with anyone
and expressed his inability to act against Krishna.
Emissary of King Drupada was sent on a peace mission to the Kuru
kingdom on a Pushya day. This was in waning phase (Krishna Paksha) of
Bhadrapada.
Lunar Asvayuja month: (Sun in Libra)
The peace mission of Drupada’s emissary sent on the Pushya day
failed.
This was followed by a peace mission by the Kauravas headed by
Sanjaya to Pandavas. This also failed. There is no reference to any
Panchanga feature for this date.
In
the next month, that is in the month of Kartika, Krishna himself went to
Hastinapura to broker peace between the cousins.
Is Ratha Saptami
intended to remember the altered time of Uttarayana that forced Bhishma to lie
on the arrow bed for 58 nights?
Answer:
Yes. The tithi-
star alignment changed once for ever at that time and it continues till today. The
first day of the 5-year Yuga, that was supposed to begin on Magha Shukla
Pratipat started on Krishna Ekadasi of Pushya month.
There was no
change in the position of the sun. It continued to turn northward in the star
Uttaradhadha but the moon did not join that on the day after Amavasya as it
used to be. It joined the sun four tithi-s earlier at Krishna Ekadasi.
This change being caused
by a sudden change in the 2nd year, with the new year starting in
Magha Shukla Ashtami, and Uttarayana happening at Magha Shukla Saptami, the sages
decided to immortalize it into memory as an odd date of the Sun turning northward.
That is remembered as Ratha
Saptami – the Sun turning his chariot on an unseasonal date of Shukla
Saptami.
Tithi Dvayam is a
conditional feature of Ratha Saptami indicating similar Tithi Dvayam on the day
Bhishma left. By its presence at sunrise, Saptami was the tithi of the day
marking the change of direction of the chariot of the sun, but Ashtami should
follow sometime soon. This must have been present on the day Bhishma left, for
he cast off his body on the very day of Saptami when the sun’s chariot turned
north with Rohini at sunrise, but Ashtami was running when he left the world.
The Ganesha moment exists in
this context requiring us to find out what caused the unusual extension of a
month when it should not have been. The Adhika Maasa in Magha that caused Bhishma
to wait for the arrival of the Nija Maasa must be probed to identify the root
cause of an anomaly that caused a change in the lunar days. That can be done by
a systematic analysis of the events that unfolded after the end of the exile of
the Pandava-s.
