Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

ON ASTRONOMICAL REFERENCES IN VYĀSA-DHṚTARāṢṬRA-SAṀVĀDA IN THE BHĪṢMAPARVAN

OF MAHĀBHĀRATA
Author(s): B. N. Narahari Achar
Source: Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 84 (2003), pp. 13-22
Published by: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41694746
Accessed: 01-10-2015 09:42 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Annals of the
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 137.219.5.13 on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 09:42:43 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 ON ASTRONOMICAL REFERENCES IN
VYÄSA-DHRTARÄSTRA-SAMVÄDA
IN THE BHlSMAPARVAN OF MAHÄBHÄRATA

By

B. N. NARAHARI ACHAR

Abstract

Contrary tothegeneralbeliefthatthereferences toastronomical phenomena

alludedto duringtheconversationbetweenVyãsaandDhrtarãstra inBhlsmaparvan
oftheepicMahäbhärata areconfusingandcontradictory, itis clearlydemonstrated
thatthe descriptionis verysystematic and thatthereferences to astronomical
are
phenomena quite consistentin thecontextof ill omens within theparvanand
thattheonlytruereferences to planetarypositionsare consistent withthosein the
Udyogaparvan also.

in Mahäbhärata
Keywords: Astronomy
I. Introduction

It has beenwellknownthattheepic Mahäbhärata 1 contains overone hun-

dredandfifty referencesto astronomical events2scattered throughout thetextand
a majority of thesereferences occurin theBhlsmaparvan. These references are
contained mainly inchapters 2 and3, andoccurinthecontext ofVyäsa'sdescription
of ill omenson theeve of thewarto Dhrtarãstra. everyscholar3has
Practically
criticized thesereferences as confusing and beingcontradictory. It is thoughtthat
everyplanet is as
described being at leastat twodifferentpositionsat the same time.
Whilemostscholarshavecriticized theapparent theopinionsvary
contradiction,
from justplaincriticism4 toridicule5, ortouttercondemnation6 . Onlya fewscholars
haveconsidered thereferences in thisparvanto be ofanyrealvalue7. Somehave
considered onlythereferences toeclipses8 , othershaveconsidered selectedplanetary
.
positions9Very few ofthem have considered all theastronomical referencesinthe
parvan. Even those whoconsider allof thereferences inthesetwo chapters, recognize
the apparentinconsistency and tryto explainthem10 in termsof astrological
terminology suchas vedhäandpïdâetc.Others havetriedtoreinterpret thereferences
byintroducing additional
hypothesis. Daftari"introduced theidea thatthereare

This content downloaded from 137.219.5.13 on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 09:42:43 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
14 AnnalsBORI, LXXXTV(2003)

twosetsofastronomical dataandthentriedtorearrange theoriginal

textbyswitching
thestatedpositionsof naksatras pusya and šravana. Sharma12advanced thehy-
pothesisthatVyäsa metDhrtarãstra on morethanone occasion and thatthe
astronomical references actuallycorrespondto differenttimes,but have been
compliedtogether at oneplace.Thereis no evidence,textual
orotherwise,forsuch
hypotheses and in anycase, theseattemptshavenotbeen successful
in accounting
forall planetarypositions.
Thepurposeofthisnoteis toshow(i) thatthecriticisms
directedagainstthese
areunwarranted,
descriptions (ii) thatVyãsais verysystematic
inhisdescriptions of
theillomensand(iii)thatwhenunderstood intheirpropercontext, thereis no con-
tradiction
intheastronomical
references andthattheyconstitutea coherent unit.

AstronomicalReferences from Bhlsmaparvan

As is wellknown,VyãsameetswithDhrtarãstra on theeve ofthewarand

describesto hima wholeset of ill omenshe has seen. These descriptions of ill
omensrunovertwochapters intheBhlsmaparvan , andthe astronomical references
occurin fourseparatesections:šlokas(20-23) and áloka(32) in chapter2, and
šlokas(11-17) and šlokas(24-29) in chapter3. The scholarswho have studied
theseastronomicalreferenceshaveonlyseentheapparent contradictions,buthave
not appreciatedhow systematic Vyãsa is in his description.Just because the
appearinfourdifferent
descriptions sections, some13 havesuggested thattheybelong
to different
times.Or,whatis worse,somescholars14 havesuggested thatsomeof
thešlokasbelongto Sabhãparvan ! However,thetruesituation is quitedifferent.
The astronomical referencescan be groupedin fourdifferent segments because
theypertain to fourdifferentaspects of ill omens as willbe shown below.The
tradition
ofrecognizing astronomicalill omenscan be tracedto AtharvavedaiS and
16andtheillomensdescribed
itsParišfstas intheepicareconsistent withthetradition.

The First segment

šlokas(20-23)ofchapter 2 constitute
thefirstsegment.HereVyãsadescribed
theomensforetellingtheimminent war.Beforedescribing
theillomens,hemakesit
clearthata greatdisasteris boundto occur,justas indicated
bytheill omens:
ihayuddhemahãrãjabhavisyati
mahãnksayah/
nimittäni
yathemäni II MB (VI. 2. 16)
bhayäyadyopalaksyate
"Oh King,a greatdestruction
willoccurin thiswarjustas itis indicated
by
theseomens,whichare harbingersofgreatcalamity".

This content downloaded from 137.219.5.13 on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 09:42:43 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 B. N. NARAHARI ACHAR : On Astronomical References
in theBhïsmaparvan
in Vyãsa-Dhrtarãstra-Samvãda ofMahãbhãrata

The ill omens

(i) ubhepürväpare pasyãmibhãrata/

sandhyenityaiii
udayãstamane
sûryamkabandhaih II MB (VI. 2. 20)
parivãritam
I observethesuneverydaybothinthemorning
"Oh Bhãrata, at sunriseand
atsunsetandhaveseenhimas ifencircled
intheevening bylongarms(i.e.,encircled
bya comet)".
(ii) svetaiohitaparyantãh /
savidyutah
krsnagrlvãh
trivarnãh
parighãh II MB (VI. 2. 21)
sandhaubhãnumãvãrayantyuta

byhaloson all sides,haloswhichare tricolored,

"I see thesunsurrounded
darkin themiddleand whiteand red towardsthe edges and accompaniedby
lightning".
naksatrarh
(iii)jvalitãrkendu /
nirvišesadinaksapam
ahorätrarh
mayã drstaríi II MB (VI. 2. 22)
bhavisyati
tatksayãya

daysandnights
"I havebeenwatching thefiercesun,themoonandthestars
shining and
incessantly havebeenunableto betweendayandnight.
distinguish This
forebodes
surely destruction".
utter

prabhayãhïnahpaurnamãsm
(iv) aiaksyah ca kârtikïm/
nabhasthale
samavarne
candrobhüdagnivarnasca II MB (VI. 2. 23)

, themoonwithfierytingewas hardly
"On thefullmoonnightof kãrtika
devoid
visible, of the
glory, were
horizons also ofthesamehue".

ofVyãsais toimpress
Itis clearthattheintent uponDhrtarãstrathatthereis
an imminent war,the armiesare facing
standing each other to
ready fight andthat
will
war bring aboututter This
destruction. hasalsobeen indicated
by theillomens.

Vyãsabeginsbysaying thatheobserves theSuneverydaybothinthemorning

at sunriseandin theeveningat sunset.He has notedtheappearanceofhalosand
somecomets,whichappearto enclosethe Sun as ifwithlongarms.Themoonhad
becomelustreless on thelunareclipseday of KãrtikaPürnimä.The classofomens
thoughttoindicate an imminentwar is quiteconsistentwiththe goingback
tradition
to Atharvaveda-Parišista.

Consistency with tradition

The versesquotedabovecanbe compared verses(givenbelow
withsimilar
witha freeflowing from
translation) vedaParišista
Atharva describing
yuddhalaksana,
omensindicativeofwar.

This content downloaded from 137.219.5.13 on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 09:42:43 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
16 AnnalsBORI,LXXXÍV(2003)

(a) arkebhraparighãdinãm /
parivesorkacandrayoh
sarvesáñca vicãranam
(b) lãksãlohitavarnatvam II AP (64.5.7)
"One shouldalwaysconsiderthelineofcloudsandhalosaroundthesunand
themoonandobservewhether theyappearredornotincolour".
(c) mlalohitaparyantam
krsnagrívam / AP (61.1.4)
savidyutam
"Whichare blue and red towardstheedges and darkin the middleand
accompanied
bylightning".

(d) trivarne
parighevãpitrívarnairvã
balãhakaih
/
udayãstamayamiyãdyad kadäcana//AP (61.1.15)
süryah
(e) prthivyãm
rãjavamêyãnãrhmahadbhayamupasthitam //AP (61.1.15)
"Wheneverthesunis surrounded atsunrise
orsunsetbytri-colored
clouds,
(thebalähakaclouds),itindicates totheearthandroyalfamilies'
greatcalamity
(f) tãmrobhavatiéastràya
dhömravarno1
gm'varnovãgrãmesunagaresuvã II AP (53.5.1-2)
"The colourofthemoon(atthetimeofeclipse)indicated a battle,ifitis red
anddisaster
to citiesandvillages,ifitis smokyor fiery".The omensdescribed by
Vyãsaareentirelyconsistent
withthedescription inAtharvaveda-Parišista.

The second segment

Inthesecondsegment,consistingoftwoálokas, Vyãsaconsiderstheillomens
the
foretelling greatharmto the Kuru dynasty andrefersto thelunareclipse,
which
occurredon theFull moonday at krttika,followedby a solareclipse.The.earth
constant
experiences tremors.He also refers
to Saturnafflicting
rohini(Aldeberan)
and švetagraha citrã
transgressing , whichindicatestheselectivedestructionofthe
Kuruclan.

(i) rohinim sthito

pldayannesa /
rájaňšanaišcarah
laksma
vyãvrttarh somasyabhavisyati II MB (VI. 2.32)
mahadbhayam
"Oh King,Saturnis harassing
Aldeberanandthespotonthemoonhasshifted
fromitsposition.Somethingterrible
willhappen".

(ii) abhiksnamkampatebhùmirarkam /
rãhusthathãgrasat
švetograhastatbã
citrãríi tisthati
samatikramya II MB (VI. 3.11)

This content downloaded from 137.219.5.13 on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 09:42:43 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 B. N. NARAHARIACHAR : On Astronomical References I7
in theBhlsmaparvan
in Vyãsa-Dhrtarãstra-Samvãda ofMahäbhärata

"The Earthis experiencing

tremors andRähuhas seizedthe
intermittently
Sun.
citrã".
has transgressed
švetagraha

Consistency with the referencesin Udyogaparvan

These are almostidenticalto the omensdescribedby Karnaearlierin
Udyogaparvan inaddition
(Karnaincludes theretrograde
motionofMars)atthetime
withKrsna:
ofhisriding

(a) prãjãpatyamhinaksatram
grahastïksno
mahãdyutih
šanaišcarah
pidayati II MB (V. 141.7)
pldayanprãninodhikam
"The noxiousandmuchlustrous
grahaSaturn,whichalwaysharassespeople
extremely, thenaksatra
is harassing presidedbyPrajãpati".

(b) krtvã câùgârakovakraiii

jyesthãyãmmadhusüdana
I
anürädhäm prãrthayate samšamayannivaMB (V. 141.8)
maitrarìi II

"Marshas performed a retrograde and

turnat Antares,O, Madhusüdana,
as
anurãdhís friendship,
appearsto be begging ifto it".
pacify

(c) nünammahãbhayam krsnakurûnâiiisamupasthitam/

pïdayategrahahII MB (V. 141.10)
citrãríi
višesenavãrsneya

bythegraha
andis indicated
"Indeeda greatdangerawaitstheKurufamily
".
citrã
afflicting

(d) somasyalaksmavyãvrttaiii / MB (V. 141.10)

rãhurarkamupesyati
4'The moonlostitslustreandRãhuis theSun".
approaching
A lunareclipsehasalreadyoccurred andthereis an impending solareclipse.
Thisclearlyshowsthatthesecondsegment inVyäsa'sdescription toDhrtarãstra in
Bhlsmaparvan , pfill omens to
pertaining the dangerto theKurus is consistent with
theastronomical referencesinUdyogaparvan . Itmaybe notedthatthere is a reference
toa grahaafflictingcitrãinbothcases.Grahahererefers toa cometandnottoplanet
Mercury as is generally Infact,itcanbe compared
translated. tothefollowing verse
fromVarãhamihira17 whenhe discussestheeffect ofcometson asterisms:

maranam
citrãsukuruksetrãdhipasya / BS (XI. 57)
samadisettajñah

(by a comet)asterismbe citrã,a wise astrologer

"If theafflicted should

This content downloaded from 137.219.5.13 on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 09:42:43 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
18 AnnalsBORI' LXXXfV(2003)

predictthedeathoftherulerofKuruksetra".
Itmayfurther be pointedoutthatthis
whichincludes
is theonlysegment, trueplanetary in
positions describingtheomens.

The Third segment

Vyãsadescribesinthethird segment further indicators

ofthecalamityto the
entirearmy(senayorašivamghoram. ...). It is thissegment thathascausedso much
to thescholarsinthattheplanetsappearto havebeendescribed
difficulty as being
at twoormorelocations at thesametime.Itis possiblethattheapparent ambiguity
and confusionin the statedplanetarypositionsarise because of the implicit
thatthewordgrahameansa planet.The wordgraha(fromtheroot
interpretation
grah= to graspor to seize) refersto anyheavenlyobject,whichcan moveand
hencecangrasporseizea star.Thus,thewordrefers toa planetorcomet,although
inmuchlatertimesinIndianAstronomy, the
during earlyyearsofCE, itcametobe
associatedwithonlya planet.But,Vyãsaleavesno doubtto thefactthatherethe
wordgraharefersto a comet:

au tãmrãrunasikha
u prajvalit '
"grah ã vubhau MB (VI. 3.24)
'The twograhasblazingwithcopperyandredhair'.

It maybe notedthatthewordcometitselfis derivedfromtheGreekword

forhair.Thewordgrahawithredhairinthecontext herecanonlyrefer to a comet.
Furthermore,as notedby Varãhamihira18, theancientastronomers Paralaraand
Gargaclassified
cometsas sons of Sun,sons of Moon,sonsof Mercury, sonsof
Venus, sonsofMars, children
of Jupiterand childrenofSaturn,all ofwhich indicate
mainly impendingcalamities.
Thispracticeofconsidering a cometas "grahaputrà 9
can be foundin Atharva veda-Parišista19
also. The astronomicalreferences in the
thirdsegmentcan nowbe examined in thislightandthewords

"[son of]"havebeenaddedtothetranslation
to makeitclear.

(i) dhümaketur
mahãghorah tisthati
pusyamäkramya // MB (VI. 3 12)
"Deadlydhùmaketu
has overcome
pusya".
(ii) senayorašivarii
ghoraihkarisyati
mahãgrahah /
maghãsvaúgãrako vakrahsravaneca brhaspatih
//MB (VI. 3.13)
"The mahãgrahaappearsto bringaboutan awfuldestruction
inbotharmies.
[Son of]Marsis retrograde
in maghã,also [son of]Jupiter
in šravana".

This content downloaded from 137.219.5.13 on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 09:42:43 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 B. N. NARAHARI ACHAR : On Astronomical References 19
in theBhïsmaparvan
in Vyãsa-Dhrtarãstra-Samvãda ofMahãbhãrata

(iii) bhãgyam naksatramãkramva

süryaputrena
pïdyate
šukrah pürvesamãruhya
prosthapade viéãmpate
sahitah
uttaretuparikramya II MB (VI. 3.14)
pratyudïksate
"The son of Süryahas crossedtheasterism and is vexing.
pürvä-phälguni,
Oh King,[son of] šukra has entered going
pürvä-prosthapadä, around uttarã-
and is risingin both".
prosthapadã
(iv) éyãmograhahprajvalitah sadhumah /
sahapãvakah
aindram tejasvinaksatram tisthati
jyesthãmãkramya II MB (VI. 3.16)
" is luminous withdhümaandpãvakahas crossed
andtogether
éyãmagraha
overtojyesthä , thebrightasterismruled
byIndra".

(v) dhruvah ghoraiii

prajvalito apasavyarii /
pravartate
parusograhahII MB (VI. 3.16)
caivã dhisthitah
citrãsvãtyantare
"Theluminous dhruva ofghora.Theparusagrahahas
hasmovedtotheright
".
itselfbetweencitrãand svãtf
established

(vi) vakrãnuvakramkrtvãca šravane

pãvakaprabhah /
brahmarašim samãvrtya II
vyavasthitah
lohitaňgo
" hasgonecircumventing hasbecome
šravana,andlohitaňga
pãvakaprabha
brahmaraši ".
steadyafterenclosing
/
ca grahauprajvalitãvubhau
(vii)sanivatsarasthäyinau
višãkhayoh samipasthau šanaišcarau
brhaspati II MB (VI. 3.25)

whichstayaroundfora year,areboth
andSaturn,
"[Sons of]Jupiter
luminous stars".
andarenearthetwovisãkhã

(viii)krttikãsu naksatre
grahastïvro jvalan /
prathame
bhãsã
vapûmsyapaharan sthitah
dhümaketuhva II MB (VI. 3.26)

, and concealing
krttika
"The grahatlvrablazingin thefirstconstellation
with
forms resembles
lustre dhümaketu".

su pürvesusarvesunaksatřesuviéãmpate
(ix) tri /
budhahsampatatebhïksnam II MB (VI. 3.27)
janayansumahadbhayam

"[Son of] Mercury underall thethreeearlierconstellations

is falling and
causinga greatterror".

This content downloaded from 137.219.5.13 on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 09:42:43 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
20 AnnalsBORI, LXXXIV(2003)

Vyãsanamesspecificallytwelvecomets, šveta,dhûmaketu, mahägraha, parusa,

pãvaka,dhüma,lohitãnga, tïvra,pãvakaprabha, áyãma,ghora and dhruvaketu. Ali
thesenamescan be foundin thelistgivenbyVarãhamihira 20. Earlierscholarshad
translated someofthesenamesas planets,forexample,švetagraha as whiteplanet
(torefer toVenus),syãmagraha as darkplanet(torefer toMercury), andparusagraha
as cruelplanet(torefertoRãhu).Vyãsarefers to sonofSun,suryaputra, explicitly,
buthe also refersto thecometsbynameoftheparentplanets.Whilethisis quite
according totheSanskrit
grammar, itisthisnotationthathascausedso muchconfusion.
The scholarshave interpreted these references literallyas referring to planets
themselves. Thenetresultis theconfusionofconflictingplanetary positions.Whenit
is realizedthatcometsaretobe considered,thereis noambiguity orconfusion ofany
kind.Moreover,cometshavebeen considered to be harbingers of calamity since
Atharvaveda 21.

The fourthsegment

Inthefinalsegment, Vyãsadescribes theomenswhichindicate destruction

of
theentirepopulation. Theseincludea pairof eclipses:a lunarand a solareclipse
inthesamemonth
occurring andwithinanintervalofthirteendays,andatanaparvani
moment (i.e., notat themoment or
exactconjunction opposition ofthesunandthe
moon).

(i) caturdaším ca sodasîm/

bhütapürvaiii
paňcadašliii
imamtunãbhijãnãmiamãvãsyãm trayodašimII MB (VI. 3.28)
candrasüryävubhau trayodašim
grastãvekamãse /
grahãvetau
aparvani prajãhsamksapayisyatahII MB (VI. 3.29)

"I knowNew Moon coinciding withfourteenth,fifteenth

and also on the
sixteenthday,butI haveneverknownit coinciding withthethirteenth
day.In one
and thesamemonth,boththeSun and theMoon are eclipsedon thethirteenth.
Theseill-timed ofthepeople".Thiscan be compared
eclipsesindicatedestruction
witha description
fromAtharva vdeda-Parišista.

yadi turähurubhau éaáibhãskarau

grasadpaksamanantaramantatah/
purusašonitakardamavãhinl
bhavatibhûrna ca varsati
mãdhavahII AP (53.3.5)

Discussion and Conclusion

Itis clearthattheomensdescribed
byVyãsainfourdifferent refer
segments

This content downloaded from 137.219.5.13 on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 09:42:43 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 B. N. NARAHARIACHAR : On Astronomical References 21
in Vyäsa-Dhrtarästra ofMahãbhãrata
vädain theBhlsmaparvan
Sarti

to different aspects : (i) an imminent war, (ii) calamityto theKurudynasty,

of theentirearmy,and (iv) dangerto theentirepopulation.
(iii) destruction As
suchtheyinvolvedifferent astronomical The
happenings. truly planetarypositions
areindicated intheomenspertaining to thecalamity to theKurufamily andinthis
casethedescriptions givenbyKarnain Udyogaparvan areidenticaltothedescriptions
givenby Vyäsain Bhlsmaparvan. The allegedgreatconfusion and ambiguity in
'planetary'positionsseenbyscholars pertaintothesegment, whichdescribes omens
ofa greatdangerto theentirearmy.Thissegment does notrefertoplanets,butto
cometsand has beenmadeexplicitly clearbyVyãsa,butscholarshavenottaken
noteofit.Explicit references byspecific namesto cometshavebeenmistranslated
as planets,leadingto confusion. Compounding theconfusion is Vyäsa's reference
to cometsas offsprings ofplanets,butdenoting thembythenamesof theparent
planets. But,onceitis recognized thatCometsareimplied herethereis noconfusion
orambiguity andeverything fallsinto place.Thereis no necessity forintroducing
adhochypotheses suchas thoseadvancedbyDaftari, SharmaorIyengar to account
fortheambiguity, becauseitis non-existent.
account.Itis evident
ofomensturnsoutto be a coherent
The description
thatcriticism againstthedescriptions
directed It maybe remarked
is unwarranted.
omens
in passingthatothernon-astronomical in thesetwo chapterscan also be
foundin Atharvaveda-Parišista.

Abbreviations

AV Atharvaveda
AP Atharva
vedaParišista
BS Brhat-Sarhhitã
MB Mahãbhãrata

References and Notes

, Textas constituted
1) The Mahãbhãrata Edition(Bhandarkar
initsCritical
ResearchInstitute,
Oriental Poona, 1972)
V., andJoshi,
2) Sathe,S., Deshmukh, yuddha: Astronomical
P., Bhâratïya
References(ShriBabasahebApteSmarakaSamiti,Pune,1985)
3) See forexample: Dikshit,S. B., Bhâratïya (Government
Jyotihsãstra of
IndiaPress,Calcutta,1969) PartI, pp. 107-127;VaidyaC. V., TheMahãbhãrata:
a Criticism(Cosmo PublicationsNew Delhi, 1983); Kane, P. V. Historyof
Dharmasãstra (BhandarkarOriental Poona, 1958),Vol. Ill, pp.
ResearchInstitute
902 923

This content downloaded from 137.219.5.13 on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 09:42:43 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
22 AnnalsBORI' LXXXIV(2003)

4) Vaidya,C. V., ibid

ata Colloquium
5) Holay,P. V., 'YearoftheKauravaPandavaWar/presented
onDatingtheMahãbhãrata WarbasedonlyontheAstronomical
References(January
5-6-2003,Mythic Society,Bangalore).
6) Sengupta,P. C., AncientIndianChronology(University
of Calcutta,
Calcutta,1947), p. 24.
K. S., TheDate oftheMahãbhãrata
7) Raghavan, War (Srirangam
Printers,
1969)
Srinivasanagar,
8) Kochhar,R., The VedicPeople (Oriental
Longman, 1997).
Hyderabad,
9) Sharma,V. N., 'Modelof Planetary in Mahãbhãrata:
Configurations an
Exercisein Archaeoastronomy',
Archaeoastronomy,Vol. lo, pp. 88-98 (1988)
K. S., ibid
10) Raghavan,
11) Daftan,K. L., TheAstronomicalMethodand its Apphcaüonto the
ChronologyofIndia(Nagpur,1942), p. 27

12) Sharma,V. N., ibid

13) Sharma,V. N., ibid
R. N.
14) Iyengar,
15) Atharvaveda
(XIX. 9.9)
16) Atharvaveda-Parišista
edited withHindi notes by RamkumarRai
(Chowkambha Varanasi,1976).
Orientalia,
17) Varãhamihira
'sBrhat-Samhitã,
Ramakrishna
Bhat,M. (Motilal
Banarsidass
Pvt.Ltd., Delhi,1981)
Publishers

18) ibid.
, ibid.(LH. 2.1 - LIL 4.2).
19) Atharvaveda-Parišista
4
ibid,in keutcãra
20) Brhat-Saríihitã, ', Ch. XI
21) Atharvaveda
(XIX. 9.10)

This content downloaded from 137.219.5.13 on Thu, 01 Oct 2015 09:42:43 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions