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Information from books by Dr.
P. V. Vartak , Pune, INDIA
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Astronomical
Dating of the Ramayan
By Dr. P.V. Vartak
It has been believed
that there is no evidence to determine the dates of events in the
Ramayan era. Some historians of the past even refuse to acknowledge
that Rama and other characters from the Ramayana even existed. However,
Sage Valmiki has recorded the dates if events in detail, albeit by
describing the positions of stars and planets. To decipher the
astronomical encodings has not been a trivial task, and not many have
attempted to do so. It should be noted that the ancient Indians had a
prefect method of time measurement. They recorded the 'Tithes (dates)',
days according to the nakshatra on which the moon prevailed, the months,
the seasons and even the different Solstices. By therefore noting a
particular arrangement of the astronomical bodies, which occur once in
many thousand years, the dates of the events can be calculated. Dr. P.V.
Vartak has thus attempted to calculate the dates of important incidents
that occurred during the Ramayan Era. The correct astronomical records
goes to show that Valmiki's has chronicled an account of a true story
and also, that the an advanced time measurement system was known to the
Hindus (Indians) at least 9000 years ago. Please refer to Dr. Vartak's
celebrated book "Vastav Ramayan" for further reading.
Before coming to the astronomical method, it should be noted that the
Mahabharat has recorded a number of facts about Ramayan (and not
otherwise). The precedence of the Ramayanic era to that of the
Mahabharat can therefore be inferred. An attempt to fix the dates of the
events in the Mahabharat era, mainly based on internal astronomical
records. The Mahabharat Era has already been dated by Dr. Vartak to 5562
B.C. [Reference: Dr. Vartak's book "Swayambhu"].
Genealogical links available from the Mahabharat and Puranas, Yuga
calculations and some archaeological findings also provide clues to the
dating of the Ramayanic era. Also, literary references to the characters
from the Ramayanic Era provide limits after which the Ramayan could not
have occurred. For example, Guru Valmiki (the author of Ramayana) is
referred to in the Taittiriya Brahmana (dated to 4600 B.C) and therefore
Ramayana must have before the Brahmana was composed. However,
archaeological and literary methods can only provide approximate
datelines and for determining the precise time of the Ramayanic events,
astronomical calculations may alone be useful.
Astronomical Dating
Mahabharat states that Sage Vishwamitra started counting nakshatras from
Shravana (Aadiparva A.71 and Ashwamedha A.44) and a new reference to
time measurement thus initiated. According to the old tradition, the
first place was assigned to the nakshatra prevalent on the Vernal
Equinox. Vishwamitra modified this and started measuring from the
nakshatra at the Autumnal Equinox. Sharvan was at this juncture at about
7500 B.C, which is therefore the probable period when Vishwamitra
existed and also that of the Ramayanic Era.
Formerly, the year initiated with the Varsha-Rutu (season) and therefore
was termed "Varsha". Ramayan shows that the flag was being
hoisted to celebrate the new year on Ashwin Paurnima (Kishkindha 16/37,
Ayodhya 74/36). Ayodhya 77 mentions that the flags were defaced and
damaged due to heat and showers. These descriptions point to the fact
that their new year started on the Summer Solstice when heat and rain
simultaneously exist. The Summer Solstice fell on Ashwin Full Moon, so
the Sun was diagonally opposite at Swati nakshatra. This astral
configuration can be calculated to have occurred around 7400 B.C.
Kishkindha 26-13 describes the commencement of the rainy season. In
shloka 14, refers to Shravan as "Varshika Poorva Masa".
Kishkindha 28/2 clearly shows that the rainy season began in Bhadrapada
Masa. Further description "Heated by the Sun and showered by new
waters, the earth is expelling vapours" (Kish.26/7) points to
Bhadrapada as pre monsoon. Kish.28/17 tells that there was alternate
sun-shine and shadowing by the clouds. Kish.28/14 describes the
on-coming rainy season. Thus Bhadrapada was the month of pre-monsoon,
that is before 21st June or Summer Solstice. Naturally, months of Ashwin
and Kartika formed the rainy season. It is therefore concluded that
Ashwin Full Moon coincided with Summer Solstice, that year being 7400
B.C.
Rama started forest-exile in Chaitra and ended it in Chaitra. He was
coroneted in the same month and one month later, proceeded to Ashokavan
with Seeta (Uttar 41/18) when the Shishira Rutu terminated. So it seems
that Vaishakha Masa coincided with Shishira. So the Winter Solstice was
at Vaishakha with the Sun at Ashwini. At present, the Winter Solstice
takes place at Moola. Thus a shift of 10 nakshatras has occurred since
the Ramayanic Era. Precession has a rate of 960 years per nakshatra.
Therefore, Ramayan must have occurred 9600 years ago, which is 7600 B.C
approximately.
Sriram's Date of Birth
Now we shall proceed with the astral route. Valmiki records the birth of
Rama as Chaitra Shuddha Navami (9th), on Punarvasu Nakshatra and five
plants were exalted then; Sun in Mesha upto 10 deg., Mars in Capricorn
at 28 deg., Jupiter in Cancer at 5 deg., Venus in Pisces at 27 deg. and
Saturn in Libra at 20 deg. (Bala Kanda.18/Shloka 8,9).
Ayodhya 4/18 states that Sun, Mars and Rahu were at Dasharatha's
nakshatra. It was the month of Chaitra, so the Sun was in Revati,
Ashwini or Bharani. Naturally, either Rahu and Ketu was in any one of
these nakshatra (Rahu and Ketu are diagonally opposite).
The planetary positions on 16th October 5562 B.C., the date of
commencement of the Mahabharat War, have been calculated and known
[Dating of the Mahabharat, by Dr. P.V. Vartak]. Therefore, calculating
further backwards for the astral combination noted above, the date
concludes to be 4th December 7323 B.C. On this date, Saturn was at 205
deg., Jupiter at 94 deg., Mars between 283 and 298 deg., Rahu at 179
deg. and Sun at 2 degrees. 4th Dec. 7323 therefore is the date of birth
of Rama, when the aforementioned 4 planets exalted. Venus is always
within 47 degrees from the Sun, and might be in Pisces in an exalted
state. Thus Ram's date is confirmed.
The Date of Ram's Exile
Rama completed 17 years of age (Ayodhya 20/45) and his coronation was
fixed on Chaitra Shuddha 9th on Pushya day. However, he had to proceed
to the forest on the same day, at the behest of Kaikeyi. At this time,
Dasharatha states that Rahu, Mars and Sun were disturbing his nakshatra
(Ayodhya 4/18). Calculating 17 years from Ram's birth date, the
location of Mars can be determined at 303 degrees in Dhanishta nakshatra.
From here, Mars casts its fourth-sight on Krittika. Rahu, after 17 years
had been at 211 degrees in Vishakha, and so was in opposition to
Krittika. Being Chaitra masa, the Sun was at Mesha and so it could be at
Krittika. This the planetary positions agree with Valmiki's statement.
Dasharatha's nakshatra appears to be Krittika.
Valmiki has beautifully described the sky (Ayodhya 41/10), when Rama
left for forest exile. He states, "Crux (Trishankhu), Mars, Jupiter and
Mercury have cornered the Moon. Vaishakha and Milky Way are shining in
the sky". Crux is on line with Hasta (Corvus) on the southern side. On
the eastern side of Hasta, there are Chitra, Swati and Vishakha. As seen
earlier, Mars was at 303 deg. in Dhanishta. Calculations show that
Jupiter was in Poorvashadha at 251 deg. Pushya was at the western
horizon with the setting Moon. On the southern side, from the west to
the east, all the other planets were situated. So poetically Valmiki
describes the sketch as if the Moon was cornered by the planets. The
description of the sky, 17 years after the birth-date of Rama, is
perfect astronomically.
After 14 years of Ram's stay in the forest, Valmiki tells that Rohini
was imprisoned (6-24-7, 6-93-60, 6-92-60), Mars marched on Rohini (6-
93-46 or 6-92-45) and mars was torturing Rohini (5-17-24 or 5-15-22,
5-19-9, 6-113 or 116-2). The bracketed seven statements show the
vicinity of Mars with Rohini. Calculations reveal that 14 years later,
Mars was at Ardra and was retrograde. Mars therefore moved in the
reverse direction (from Ardra) to Rohini, resided at the "gate" of
Rohini, thus in a way imprisoning the latter. It is to be noted that the
constellation of Rohini is V-shaped. The apex of the angle points to the
west and the two limbs towards east, and therefore appears like a
"gate". Mars was situated in between the two limbs (or two doors) of the
gate and appeared like a guard. Thus can the simile be explained.
Amavasya (No Moon Day) comes 10.883 days earlier each successive year.
25th November 7323 B.C., 9 days before Ram's birth, was a Amavasya. In
17 years, the Amavasya shifted by 185.011 days backwards. It means that
6 Amavasyas (each 29.53 days) were completed and a shift of 7.8 deg. was
noticed. The original Amavasya before Ram's birth took place at 353
deg. Deducting 7.8 deg. from it, we obtain 345 deg. as the position of
this Amavasya which falls in the Uttara Bhadrapada nakshatra. Naturally,
the next month was Chaitra, when the coronation was arranged on Pushya
day at 104 degrees. One 'tithi' contains 12 degrees. So the moon was in
Pushya on 29th November 7306 B.C., when Rama proceeded to the forest.
Calculations show that this day was a Thursday, so said by Seeta as
well (Ayodhya 26/9).
Rama left for the forest on a Thursday, the 29th Nov. 7306 B.C. He
completed the required 14 year period in the forest and returned on 5th
Shuddha 9th was over, and the 5th tithi referred to must have been
Chaitra Krishna 5th. Amavasya recedes by 10.883 days each successive
year. So in 14 years it must have receded by 152.3 days. Deducting 5
Amavasya periods (29.53 days each), 4.7 days remain which implies that
Amavasya came 4 days earlier on 15th November 7292 B.C. Calculating
backwards for 14 years from 29th November 7306 B.C, when the Amavasya
was at 345 deg., the Amavasya falls at 340 deg. (receded by 4.7 days in
14 years). This is Uttara Bhadrapada, the month being Phalguna. Since
the next month was Chaitra, Krishna 5th tithi happens to be 5th December
7292 B.C. when Rama entered Bharadwaja Ashram.
Hanuman's Visit to Lanka
Hanuman set out to Lanka in the hopes and mission to search for the
kidnapped Seeta. He reached this destination at night, roamed around a
little until he located Seeta the next morning. While describing
Hanuman's return in Sunder Kanda (S.56 or 57 /1/2), Valmiki states using
a simile of sea to the sky:
" The Moon was attractive like a lotus, Sun like a good crane and a span
from Pushya to Shravana was seen. Punarvasu appeared like a big fish,
Mars like a crocodile, Airavata like an island and Swati like a swan."
Even though a poetic simile, Valmiki provides a plot of the nakshatras
from the west to the east. When Hanuman started from Lanka it was early
morning, because Seeta tells him to rest for a day in some hiding place
(Sunder 56/3,11; 57/18). Since it was morning, the Sun was rising and
appeared like a crane and the moon like a lotus. As both the moon and
the sun were present simultaneously in the sky, it probably was a
Paurnima (Full Moon Day) with the moon on the western horizon and sun on
the eastern. The span of nakshatras stretched from Pushya to Shravan,
that is from 104 deg. to 281 deg. Punarvasu was also seen. Aairavat
connotes an elephant, and it is possible that Scorpio was seen like an
elephant showing its trunk. The span of nakshatra's from Punarvasu to
Sharavan is seen early in the morning of Krishna paksha of Pushya Lunar
month. Sun-rise could also be seen. Hence, most probably, Hanuman
returned from Lanka of Pushya Paurnima or Pushya Vadya paksha.
Hanuman had set out for Seeta's search after Ashwin masa as he himself
says in Kishkindha 53/21,22. So he must have started the campaign in
Kartika masa. One month, that of Margashirsha was spent in the cave of
Swayamprabha. Some more time was spent in the search upto the South sea,
after which Hanuman entered Lanka, possibly on Pushya Shuddha 14th. Thus
it highly probably that he returned on Pushya Paurnima or Pushya Krishna
1st.
Ravana had abducted Seeta in the season of Hemant (Aranya 16/1) and had
given a period of 1 year, that is upto the next Hemant to consider
marrying Ravana (Aranya 56/24, Yudh 12/19). Had Seeta not accepted this
offer, Ravana would have killed her in Hemant. Hemant is composed of 2
months. Sunder 58/106 or 108 state that Seeta told Hanuman that only 2
months of her life remain, after which she will die. Seeta therefore
must have conveyed this to Hanuman before Hemant began, that is, in the
season of Sharad. Thus Pushya lunar month coincided with the season of
Sharad.
According to the above description, Mars was near Punarvasu and Pushya.
It was noted that during the (Lanka) war, Mars was at 102 deg. in Pushya.
Naturally, since Mars many a time becomes stagnant, Mars would have been
near Punarvasu and Pushya two months earlier.
The distance from Kishkindha (Vijayanagar to Hospet) to the centre of
Lanka is about 600 miles. An army can travel about 20 miles a day,
therefore accordingly, Ram's army would have taken a month to reach
Lanka. Even assuming a pessimistic speed of 30 miles per day, Hanuman
may have covered the distance in 20 days. Also, it is known that the
army of Vaanar tribe were searching for Seeta in many directions, and
therefore, may have taken 2 months to reach Lanka. This army had started
searching for Seeta in mid-Kartika, and would have reached Lanka in mid-Pausha.
The assumption that Hanuman returned from Lanka in the month of Pausha
therefore appears to be reasonable. The Vanar army hurriedly returned to
Kishkindha and could have spent 20 days in the interim and the date
falls at Maagha Shuddha 5th. Rama marched to Lanka in one month and
reached there on Phalguna Shuddha 5th (22nd Oct. 7292 B.C). Rama
observes, "Today is Uttara Phalguni. Tomorrow when the moon will rise
on Hasta, we will proceed to Lanka" (Yudh s.4). Probably on Magha
Krishna 1st (2nd Oct. 7292 B.C), Rama commenced his journey and reached
the shores of Lanka on Phalguna Shuddha 5th. Subsequent three days were
spent before Rama could cross the sea. Phalguna Shuddha 8th ended.
Thereafter, starting on the 9th, Nala built a temporary bridge (Setu)
within 5 days. On Phalgun Shuddha 14th (31st Oct. 7292 B.C), Ram's army
crossed over to Lanka. On Phalgun Shuddha 15th, a full moon day, Rama
positioned his army at strategic points and surveilled the territory
from Mount Suvela (Yudh 38/18). Ravan also observed the approaching army
from a tower, held a meeting with his ministers and deployed his army
for defense. On Phalgun Krishna 1st (2nd November 7292 B.C.), Ravana
arranged his troops at strategic points.
The Great War Started
On Phalgun Krishna 2nd, Ram's army seiged the gates of Lanka. Angada
proceeded as Rama emissary on a peace mission to Ravana's court.
However, any peace proposal was rejected by Ravana and the next day (Phal.Kr.
3rd), Rama-Ravana war commenced. The great war spanned 13 days and
concluded on Phalgun Krishna Amavasya, with the death of Ravana. The
very next day, Chaitra Shuddha 1st was celebrated as a Victory Day. This
tradition still continues to be a New-Year's Day and is marked by
hoisting flags.
End of Ram- Ravana war
15th November 7292 B.C was then Phalguna Amavasya. Valmiki states that
Ravan came out for the last battle on the Amavasya day (Yudh. 93/66) and
was killed. In the description of the battle, Sage Valmiki writes, "Kosala's
nakshatra Vishakha is aspected by Mars" (Yudh. 103/37). The annual
motion of Mars is 191.405 degrees. In 14 years, it will progress by
159.58 degrees. At the time of Ram's exile, Mars was at 303 deg. 159
deg. added to this provides Mars at 102 deg. in Pushya. From Pushya Mars
could cast its fourth-sight on Vishakha. So, the calculations presented
so far seem to be correct. It also shows Valimiki's minute observations
and time recording capabilities. Thus the date of the last battle of the
War is 15th November 7292 B.C.
Following are the dates of few events from the Ramayana:
Ram's Birth Date
4th December 7323 B.C
Ram-Seeta Married
7th April 7307 B.C
Ram Exiled
29th November 7306 B.C.
Hanuman enters Lanka 1st September 7292 B.C
Hanuman meets Seeta
2nd September 7292 B.C.
Setu (Bridge) built
26-30th Oct. 7292 B.C
on the ocean
The War begins
3rd November 7292 B.C
Kumbhakarna is killed
7th November 7292 B.C.
Ravana is killed by Rama
15th November 7292 B.C.
Rama returns to Ayodhya
6th December 7272 B.C.
Reference
- Dr. P.V. Vartak,
Vastav Ramayan in Marathi, Vedvidnyana Mandal, Pune
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