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| The Scientific Dating of the Mahabharata War |
Quite a number of efforts have been made by various scholars to find the date of the Mahabharata War. Various methods have been used, using historical references in the Puranas, language conditions, archaeological findings etc.
A few have used astronomical methods to determine the time of the Mahabharata. It is possible to determine the date of an astronomical reference by considering the movements of the planets including the Sun and the Moon in the various constellations of the sky, the movement of the Earth with its axis inclined to the ecliptic and the precession and nutation of this axis as well as the seasonal changes referred to in the text.
Dr. P. V. Vartak from Pune carefully studied the astronomical references in the Mahabharata and corroborated the same with historical and archeological evidences. All in all, it is possible to state that the dates as derived by Dr. P.V. Vartak are more accurate than the various other dates propounded by other scholars who have been carried away by the statements made by Western scholars. They have been prejudiced against the richness of the Indian Civilization in the past and have always tried to attribute much later dates and consequently lo denigrate the glorious past of India.
Dr. Vartak has derived the date of the initiation of the Mahabharata War to be 16th October 5562 B.C. This proposed date has been examined by a few scholars and has been verified. This may prove to be a break-through in deciding the chronology of the events in the history of India (and probably the World). Dr. Vartak has also derived the dates of Ramayana and the Vedas which has also been published as a book.
Address for Communication:
Dr. P.V. Vartak, 521, Saniwar Peth, Pune
