Category Archives: Historical / Scientific facts

Krishna’s historicity

The people of this country never had any doubts about the historicity of Krishna until the colonial invaders projected Krishna as a mythical figure cooked up by wonderful stories.

Colonial Hangover

The story of Krishna is deeply embedded in the cultural fabric of India and the people of this land revere Him as a Divinity. The colonial hangover has however left a doubt on the historicity of this highly adored Divinity.

Archeo-Astronomy

The science of Archeo-Astronomy has enabled us to go beyond the boundaries of conventional archaeology in tracing the historicity of some well-known personages of this land, such as Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Mahavira and Shankara. Planetary configurations mentioned in the ancient scriptures pertaining to major events and personages connected, help us date events that happened around these personages, centuries and millennia ago, either manually or with more ease and accuracy, using Planetarium software.

Tracing Krishna’s Birth Date

As per the scriptures, Lord Krishna was born around midnight. That night was the eight phase of the moon known as Ashtami Tithi. The moon was near Vrshabha, the bull, i.e the Taurus constellation that houses the star Rohini. The star Rohini is known as Aldeberan in modern astronomy. The month was Shravana, one of the 12 months in the Indian calendar.

These details are clearly mentioned in the 10th Skanda, 3rd chapter of the Bhagavata Purana.

The relevant sloka is,

Shravana vada ashtami, Rohini Nakshtra, uditam Lagnam

This detail combined with details of sky configurations for events that happened around Krishna’s lifetimes, namely the Mahabharata, leads us to the exact birth date for Krishna.

Such a search leads us to 27th July, 3112 BCE as Krishna’s date of birth in the Gregorian Calendar.

Sri Jayanthi

In Indian tradition, Krishna’s birth is also called as “Sri Jayanthi”. The word “Jayanthi” has an interesting connotation in Indian Astronomy. Indian astronomers have accorded special names to lunar phases occurring at certain stars.

The lunar phase occurring at Punarvasu star in Gemini constellation is called Jaya.The lunar phase occurring at Pushya star in the Gemini constellation is called Nasini. The lunar phase seen at Shravana star in the Capricorn zodiac is called Vijaya. Similarly, the phase of the moon occurring at Rohini star is called Jayanthi.

Krishna’s birth which happened when the moon was at Rohini star is called Sri Jayanthi.

Jayanthi also means celebrations and the word has thus come to be used to indicate birthday celebrations. Thus, the word “Jayanthi, over time, has also come to be used for the birthday celebrations of other great personages and we today celebrate Buddha Jayanthi, Mahaveer Jayanthi, Shankara Jayanthi, ShivajiJayanthi, Gandhi Jayanthi, Ambedkar Jayanthi etc. “Jayanthi” became popular because of association with Krishna.

Every year, for millennia, Indians have been celebrating Krishna’s birthday in the Shravana month, on Rohini Nakshatra, Krishna Paksha Ashtami (8th phase of the waning moon) based on these details in scriptures.

It is the year of birth however, which has been the missing piece in common knowledge.

Not only from Archaeo-astronomy, but also from a wholistic analysis of data across various disciplines, today we can conclude that Lord Krishna was born in 3112 BCE.

5127th Birthday of Krishna

So, this year, 2015 CE, makes it the 5127th year since His birth, Sri Jayanthi. Let us celebrate this 5127th birthday of Lord Krishna, keeping in mind that India’s most beloved Divinity was indeed also a historical figure who had walked this planet about 5000 years ago.

While Divinity is a matter of faith, historicity is a matter of existence. With the unraveling of the dates for Krishna, what comes out for all to see is the beautiful blend of Divinity and Historicity in Krishna. One does not preclude the other.

BHARATH GYAN

Martial Arts
According to author Terence Dukes:
“Fighting without weapons was a specialty of the Ksatreya (caste of Ancient India)and foot soldier alike. For the Ksatreya it was simply part and parcel of their all around training, but for the lowly peasant it was essential. We read in the Vedas of men unable to afford armor who bound their heads with turbans called Usnisa to protect themselves from sword and axe blows.
Search for Kalari Martial Arts and Silambam Martial Arts.
Fighting on foot for a Ksatreya was necessary in case he was unseated from his chariot or horse and found himself without weapons.
Although the high ethical code of the Ksatreya forbid anyone but another Ksatreya from attacking him, doubtless such morals were not always observed, and when faced with an unscrupulous opponent, the Ksatreya needed to be able to defend himself, and developed, therefore, a very effective form of hand-to-hand combat that combined techniques of wrestling, throws, and hand strikes.
Tactics and evasion were formulated that were later passed on to successive generations. This skill was called Vajramukhti, a name meaning “thunderbolt closed – or clasped – hands.”
The tile Vajramukti referred to the usage of the hands in a manner as powerful as the Vajra maces of traditional warfare. Vajramukti was practiced in peacetime by means of regular physical training sessions and these utilized sequences of attack and defense technically termed in Sanskrit nata.”
“Prior to and during the life of the Buddha various principles were embodied within the warrior caste known as the Ksatreya (Japanese: Setsuri). This title – stemming from Sanskrit root Ksetr meaning “power,” described an elite force of usually royal or noble-born warriors who were trained from infancy in a wide variety of military and martial arts, both armed and unarmed.
In China, the Ksatreya were considered to have descended from the deity Ping Wang (Japanese: Byo O), the “Lord of those who keep things calm.” Ksatreyas were like the Peace force – to keep kings and people in order. Military commanders were called Senani – a name reminiscent of the Japanese term Sensei which describes a similar status. The Japanese samurai also had similar traits to the Ksatreya. Their battle practices and techniques are often so close to that of the Ksatreya that we must assume the former came from India perhaps via China. The traditions of sacred Swords, of honorable self-sacrifice, and service to one’s Lord are all found first in India.
“In ancient Hinduism, nata was acknowledged as a spiritual study and conferred as a ruling deity, Nataraja, representing the awakening of wisdom through physical and mental concentration. However, after the Muslim invasion of India and its brutal destruction of Buddhist and Hindu culture and religion, the Ksatreya art of nata was dispersed and many of its teachers slain. This indigenous martial arts, under the name of Kalari or Kalaripayit exists only in South India today. Originating at least 1,300 years ago, India’s Kalaripayit is the oldest martial art taught today. It is also the most potentially violent, because students advance from unarmed combat to the use of swords, sharpened flexible metal lashes, and peculiar three-bladed daggers.
When Buddhism came to influence India (circa 500 B.c), the Deity Nataraja was converted to become one of the four protectors of Buddhism, and was renamed Nar (y)ayana Deva (Chinese: Na Lo Yen Tien). He is said to be a protector of the Eastern Hemisphere of the mandala.”

(source: The Boddhisattva Warriors: The Origin, Inner Philosophy, History and Symbolism of the Buddhist Martial Art Within India and China p.3 – 158-174 and 242).

7 mysteries Revealed about Shiva :
🌺1~ Why Snake?
Snakes are a symbol of awareness.
You can’t be asleep with a snake around your neck!

🌼2 ~Why Ashes?
To remind you of the impermanence of life; knowing that we live life fully.

:)3 ~Is the Moon an Ornament?
The moon and the mind are deeply connected. To be happy in all phases of life, you have to have a say over the mind.

🌹4~ Why Damru?
It has the same shape as the symbol of infinity. Shiva is the unbound infinite consciousness!

🍁5~ Trishul – A Weapon?
Shiva rules over the three gunas (Satvik, Rajasik, Tamasik) represented in the trishul. Yet he encourages everyone to do their dharma – to act and stand up for truth.

🌈6 ~Blue Bodied
The sky is limitless and so is Shiva.
The sky is blue and Shiva is blue too.

🌝7 ~What about Ganga?
Ganga represents gyan (knowledge). Knowledge is infinite hence its controlled flow is required. Wisdom dawns naturally when you are established in the Shiva.

Happy Mahashivratri

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Bheeshma Nirvana

On which day did Bheeshma leave his mortal coil in the Gregorian calendar?
In the chapters dealing with the war, Bheeshma Parva, in verses 6.114.86-100, after being mortally wounded, we find Bheeshma saying that he would wait until Uttarayana to die.
Again in the same Parva, in 6.116.13, he repeats that he is waiting for the return of the sun and the moon to breathe his last. He calls the alignment as Sasi Surya Yoga. Sasi is another name for the moon and Surya means the Sun.
It is only in AnushasanaParva, the chapters after the war, in the Mahabharata, that we find Bheeshma mentioning the exact number of days as well as the particulars of the lunar month, day and phase.
The relevant verse reads as,
Parivrtto hi BhagavansahasransurDivakarah
Astapancasatamratryahsayanasyadya me gatah
Saresunisitagresuyathavarsasatamtatha.
Magho’yamsamanupraptomasahsaumyoyudhistira
Tribhagasesahpakso’yamsuklobhavitumarhati.
– Mahabharata 13.153.26-28
The translation reads as,
“The thousand-rayed maker of day, the radiant Surya has turned around on his northward course.
I have spent 58 sleepless nights.
But it feels as though it has been a century since I have lain stretched on these sharp arrows.
O Yudhishthira, the lunar month of Magha has come.
This is the lit fortnight and remainder three parts ought to be.”
Bheeshma thus states that,
• the Sun had turned around and Uttarayana, i.e northern
movement of the sun had commenced
• the lunar month of Maghahad arrived
• it was the bright fortnight – implying that it was Shukla
Paksha
The last part of the verse mentions “3 parts” but seems to be shrouded in ambiguity on whether 3 parts have gone by or whether 3 parts are yet to come by. Also 3 parts of what, is not very evident either. This has stirred up many a debate among scholars and one finds many interpretations of this line.
However, this ambiguity is sealed by a verse in the Shanti Parva, which reads,
Shukla pakshasyaashtamyam
Maghamasasyaparthiva
prajapatye cha nakshatre
madyampraptedivakare
Nivritamatretvayane
uttarevaidivkare
samaveswhayadatmanam
atmanyevsamahitah
– Mahabharata, Shanti Parva47 – 3
“In the ashtami of shuklapaksha of Magha month, in Rohininakshatra, when the sun was at zenith, around noon, when the sun had turned Uttara already, i.e. when the Sun had turned north, Uttarayana had begun, Bheeshma’s soul joined the Supreme Divine.”
i.e. Bheeshma breathed his last on the 8th phase in bright fortnight of Magha, i.e.on Magha Shukla Paksha Ashtami, now known as Bheeshma Ashtami.
The Mahabharata text describes the night of Bheeshma’s Nirvana further as mighty Saturn had stationed itself near Rohini star, i.e. Aldeberan in Taurus constellation.
These are very exact statements and have to fit in the sequence of dates arrived at, through any method of dating.
The Skychart
From the details about Bheeshma’s demise, Bheeshma Nirvana, searching the past for such a time window which not only meets above descriptions from the text, but also fits with the time frame of the other events, we find that the winter solstice, Uttarayana, had occurred in lunar month of Magha, on Shukla Paksha Sapthami, 7th phase, brighter half, on 17th January, 3066 BCE.
Bheeshma therefore breathed his last on the next day, Ashtami, 8th
phase of the moon, 18th January, 3066 BCE.

D.K.Hari & D.K.Hema Hari, Founders, Bharath Gyan