Inquiries Into the Absolute: Digest 157, Blood in battlefield

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Digest 157, February 24th, 2006. Answers by His Holiness Romapada Swami

Maharaja

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Blood in battlefield sprayed up to the sun

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In the text below from SB 8.9.38, how is it possible that the blood in the

battle field can go up to sun?

 

SB 8.9.38

Fighting between demons and demigods after mohini murti cheats demons

 

TRANSLATION

 

Because of the impact on the ground of the legs of the demons and demigods and

the wheels of the chariots, particles of dust flew violently into the sky and

made a dust cloud that covered all directions of outer space, as far as the

sun. But when the particles of dust were followed by drops of blood being

sprinkled all over space, the dust cloud could no longer float in the sky.

 

PURPORT

 

The cloud of dust covered the entire horizon, but when drops of blood sprayed

up as far as the sun, the dust cloud could no longer float in the sky. A point

to be observed here is that although the blood is stated to have reached the

sun, it is not said to have reached the moon.

 

Apparently, therefore, as stated elsewhere in Srimad-Bhagavatam, the sun, not

the moon, is the planet nearest the earth. We have already discussed this point

in many places. The sun is first, then the moon, then Mars, Jupiter and so on.

The sun is supposed to be 93,000,000 miles above the surface of the earth, and

from the Srimad-Bhagavatam we understand that the moon is 1,600,000 miles above

the sun. Therefore the distance between the earth and the moon would be about

95,000,000 miles. So if a space capsule were traveling at the speed of 18,000

miles per hour, how could it reach the moon in four days? At that speed, going

to the moon would take at least seven months. That a space capsule on a moon

excursion has reached the moon in four days is therefore impossible.

 

Answer:

[supplied by one of our devotee scientists.]

 

Even if we accept that the Sun is 100,000 yojanas above the earth, as indicated

in the SB, we would not expect drops of blood to spray that high, given our

understanding of the laws of nature. Therefore, if the drops did spray that

high, it must have occurred in the context of some higher natural laws, perhaps

pertaining to the heavenly planets. It is worth noting that the battle between

the demons and the demigods took place on the shore of the Milk Ocean, which is

certainly a heavenly realm. The distance up to the Sun from the Milk Ocean must

therefore be understood in terms of higher dimensional geometry and physics. It

does not refer to distance in ordinary space from the surface of the earth

globe as we know it.

 

In fact, the distance to the sun must be defined in relation to the plane of

Bhumandala, and in this context to say that the Moon is higher than the Sun

does not contradict modern astronomy. If Bhumandala refers to the ecliptic

plane, then the Moon does go higher than the Sun in some parts of its orbit.

However, the sending of drops of blood from Bhumandala to the Sun still

requires some physics which is unknown to us. (Indeed, if there are living

beings in or on the plane of Bhumandala, they must function in ways that are

unknown in our experience.)

 

 

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