Hindu calendar 5 of 5 – Cosmology and Era

Cosmology and Era

Chronology and Geography are the eyes of history, and an attempt to understand or know it without their aid becomes meaning less and confused. At the same time, chronology without history is equally dry and insipid. Recording the succession of time and events becomes meaningful for the future to understand the past.

For accurate date and time recording, we require a continuously running time accounting system besides the month and the day. Presently, we use the Christian Era (CE) for continuous accounting.

We find dated records of kings in Babylon from about 1700 B.C. (Kassite kings). They used regnal years. In fact, most eras are regnal, including those used in India.

Hindus view this continuous timeline in a slightly different form. The baseline of the Hindu faith is that time is not linear, as is generally understood, but cyclical. Therefore, we do not find any numbered years, especially during the Vedic period. The years had names and were repeated on completion of the cycle; the samvatsar system was one such cycle used.   After 60 years and 14 days, they repeat themselves.   So, when you complete one cycle of 60 years, you celebrate the Shashtiabdapoorthy, and when you have completed 1000 Pakshas (fort-nights), you celebrate the Sathaabhishekam.   The West has a linear timing which travels only in one direction.   They will never return to year 1 BCE or 2024 CE.   These are gone forever.   After a few million years, you will have a year with several digits!

 Post-Viedic period, we do have regnal eras.

 Hindu calendars, both Lunisolar and Solar, have an astronomical base for accounting. Anyone with a fair knowledge of astronomy can guess the day and month by looking at the sky.

Cosmological Cycles

The structure of Hindu astronomy is built upon the foundation of a unique concept of cosmological time cycles. No other culture is known to have such a unique system of Cosmology. The Mayan culture is close to it.

The astronomical quantities derived from these cosmological time cycles are vastly more accurate than anything achieved by the Greeks or Babylonians.

Most ancient Indian texts mention a large cosmic cycle of 4,320,000 years and even a larger period of 1000 times or, कल्प. The exact meaning and purpose of these cycles have perplexed scholars. I think the purpose may be to record a continuous period to know the turn of the cycle. The events then could be related to a particular cycle or a sub-cycle. These cycles are mentioned along with legends with an allegoric mix to explain the astronomical phenomena to a layman.

Arriving at such a large period is akin to the calculation of

•  Day and night- 24 hrs for those living on Earth
• The two fortnights, light and dark half of a lunar month- analogous to day and night of pitri’s/ manes/ forefathers.
•  Two halves of a tropical year, uttarayan (bright half) and dakshinayan(dark half), as day and night of the gods. For an observer on the poles, it is day and night.
• 360 such whole days define a year of gods
• 12000 divine years of gods constitute 4,320,000 years called mahayug.

This mahayugमहायुग is divided into 4 yug, known as चतुर्युग . Their duration decreases in the ratio of 4:3:2:1

Infrastructure of the चतुर्युग period  

कृतयुग	Divine Years	Solar years
Dawn	400	144,000
कृतयुग	4,000	1,440,000
Twilight	400	144,000
Subtotal	4,800	1,728,000
त्रेतायुग
Dawn	300	108,000
त्रेतायुग	3,000	1,080,000
Twilight	300	108,000
Subtotal	3,600	1,296,000
द्वापरयुग
Dawn	200	72,000
द्वापरयुग	2,000	720,000
Twilight	200	72,000
Subtotal	2,400	864,000
कलियुग
Dawn	100	36,000
कलियुग	1,000	360,000
Twilight	100	36,000
Subtotal	1,200	432,000
Total	12,000	4,320,000

An interesting point in this system is the inclusion of the two twilight periods, one before and one after, with each equal to one-tenth of the total period. It resembles the two twilight periods in a day. Each twilight period lasts as long as the time during which the Sun is less than 18 degrees below the horizon and 18 degrees is one-tenth of 180 degrees or the Sun’s path above the horizon. The entire sequence of these large periods appears to be based on this logic.

It also gives an insight to the frequency of repetition of Eclipses at the same place and time of the year at the end of each कल्प.

We are still mystified by these vast periods. It was presumed by astronomers, scholars of earlier centuries that in 4,320,000 years, the planetary positions, including the Moon nodes, returned to their starting positions, marking as end or the beginning of a yug. Surya Siddhant also states similar calculations.

 With the help of the latest methods of calculation and software, it has been observed that the planets do not align at these epochs. However, large periods can be justified with he help of Vedic texts.

A lot of information and views of various scholars are available on cosmic cycles and large periods for further reading.

Era

The earliest non-regnal eras as seen in India are, Saptarishi Era, बृहस्पति मानस or the Jovian cycle (Jupiter cycle) and the Kali Era. In dealing with dates in the Indian eras, one must remember that every year that is mentioned by a number, that number actually refers to the number of years elapsed. So if a year is mentioned as 1946 saka, that means 1946 years have elapsed, and 1947 is the current year. This system has been prevalent from the beginning. Though, one can see some changes to this ancient practice.

 सप्तऋषि काल

 This system of measuring time originated in the supposition that the सप्तऋषि stars (The great bear) have motion. They take 100 years to move from one nakshatra to another. Thus, a cycle of 2700 years has been adopted for reckoning time. In practice, on completion of 100 years, the counting begins afresh. This era is in use in Kashmir, Multan and the adjoining hill areas of Himachal. राजतरङ्गिणी, a historical chronicle of kings in Kashmir, written by Pandit Kalhan in, 11th century CE, has described all historical events wrt this era. This era is also known as ‘ Laukika Kal”(Civil Time), Shastra Kal (Scientific time), and Pahadi Samvat. The years in this system are current and ‘Chaitradi’, the months are Poornimanta.

As per Vishnu and Bhagwat Puran when the first two stars rise and a nakshatra is observed in between/near them , the seven rishis continue to stay together for a 100 years. They also mention that the sapta rishi’s were placed near magha nakshatra at the time of Mahabharat war.

 According to Kashmiri astronomers, this era began from Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, in the current kali year of 27. Bhatotpala , disregarding  Varahmira's views, quotes Garga,that at the junction of dwapar and Kali yugas, the sapta rishis were in Magha(10^th ) nakshatra and had completed 25 years.

Gen Cunningham, in his book (pp10-14), has mentioned that, at the time of Alexander, the सप्तऋषि chakra of 2700 years was a common mode of Indian reckoning. Garga had also arrived at this conclusion. The starting point of this era is not clear. There is, also, a contrarian view stating that there is no connection of this era with सप्तऋषि or its movement.

Kali Era

As given out earlier, this yug is the last part of the चतुर्युग. The universally accepted date of its beginning is 3102 BCE (completed) 3101 BCE current. This year of 3102 BCE is accepted as 0 year of Kali yug.

This era was used in astronomical works and in almanacs. It uses both types of years, चैत्रादी  (Luni Solar) and मेशादी(Solar). This era is not used for civil purposes, however, almanacs of Tamil Nadu and area around do use and state the year according to Kali era.   

This era was first mentioned by Aryabhatt while quoting his age in the following couplet.

 षष्ठयब्दानां षष्टियंदा व्यत्रीतास्त्रयक्च युगपादाः ।।

 व्यधिका विशं तिरब्दस्तरेह ममजन्मनोतीतः: ॥   -- कालृक्रियापाद

‘Aryabhata says that he was 23 when sixty 60-year cycles(i.e., 3600 years) had elapsed after the three yugapadas, that is in the 3600^th  “ Kali Elapsed’ year, which is same as Saka 421(499 CE). This shows that his birth year was Saka 398(476 CE). This implies the Kali era commenced wef 3101 BCE.

Kali era is also mentioned in verses 33–34 of the Aihole inscription, in Badami, Karnatak, which mentions the date to be the year 3135 after the Bharata war, or saka samvat 556. This corresponds to 634–635 CE.

 Aihole inscription

त्रिमशत्सु त्रिसहस्रेशु भरत अहवदितः सहब्दासतयुकेत्शु गतेश्वरब्देधु पञ्चसु

The interpretation on this inscription has generated a lot of disagreements amongst the scholars in ascertaining the antiquity of the Era and that of Mahabharat War.

 Kali era was in use till varahmira’s (499 CE) time. Varahmira found that the kali era was not practical for use in astronomical calculations. He started to use the Shalivahan Saka era (the Saka era will be discussed in later blogs) for astronomical calculations.

 The calendar reforms committee, 1952, has remarked as 

Quote” It is easy to show that the Kaliyuga era which purports to date from 3102 B.C. is really extrapolated just like the Christian era, introduced long after the supposed year of its beginning” Unquote.

 Prof PC Sengupta, in his report submitted to the calendar reforms committee, has shown that the longitudes of the planets, the Sun and the Moon are not zero at the beginning of the ‘0’ kali yug as is assumed. This is even after taking into consideration the value of precession, as per Surya Siddhant. The latest software also corroborates the same results.

 We have unearthed a lot of archaeological evidences of ancient civilisations, Nevali Cori ,for example,which gives a different perspective to antiquity of ancient texts, civilisations and epochs. Interpretation of vedic and other ancient texts, by Indian scholars have completely changed the accepted narrative as handed over to us by Non-Indian scholars.

Every verse of Vedic/ancient texts is a treasure house of astronomical information and phenomena. A correct interpretation is the need of the hour. Presently, a piecemeal interpretation of ancient texts creates more confusion than solving the mystery. 

 A lot of research is required in these aspects to dispel the misconception about our rituals and astronomical knowledge.

 

The next non-regnal era is the बृहस्पति मानस, or the Jovian cycle. This will be covered in the next blog 

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References:-

1.  Bhartiya Jyotish Shastra-SB Dixit
2. The Indian Calendar- Robert Sewell and SB Dixit
3. Cowasjee Patells Chronology
4. The book of Eras- Gen A Cunningham
5. Calendar Reforms Committee Report 
6. The celestial key to the Vedas- BG Sidharth.