The Veda, India, and the Sacred Map Symbol - Capricorn

[Guest guest]

Shri Raviji,

Namaskar!

I know I am late in responding to your post of May 28. My apologies.

 

You have said:

< meanwhile regarding preference of Solar over Lunar or vise versa - what

are the implications?>

 

Raviji, honestly, the Vedic/Hindu Calendar is really unique and the most

scientific! Astronomically, the phenomena that we attribute to the sun are

actually attributable to the earth since the former is stationary and it is

the latter that is moving. Moon is a satellite of the earth, as everybody

knows.

 

The solar/earth movement generates all the phenomena. Whether it is

uttarayana or dakshinayana or Vasanta or Varsha ritu, all these phenomena

depend on the movement of the sun/earth. Moon has absolutely no role to

play in those phenomena.

But what is unique about the Vedic/Hindu calendar is the importance of about

ninety percent of the festivals etc. almost exclusively because of the moon.

Tithi like Purnima, Amavasya or ashtami etc. etc. are an inseparable

phenomena from any karmakanda of the Vedas, puranas or other shastras. Apart

from solar ingress, known as sankrantis, which were and are known as Madhu,

Madhava etc and/or dakshinayana/uttarayana etc, the solar ingress to the

exclusion of the lunar involvement played no role in the Vedic or Pauranic

times, though all these (solar) ingress timings were extolled in all the

shastras, especially those of the Ayanas and Sampats.

Tithis, however, played and still play a dominant role after those solar

phenomena. For example, when we say that Vasanti Navratras have started,

what we mean to say is that since the sun has had the ingress into the month

of Madhu (the first month of Vasanta ritu), and since now it is the first

New Moon after that, it is vasanta navratra. As such, though the season of

Vasanta i.e. Spring started with the ingress of the sun into the month of

Madhu, and though it was/is celebrated in its own way (like thal-bharun in

Kashmir!), yet the real vasanti puja will start only after the moon conjoins

the sun in that Madhumasa!

 

Similarly, Sharadiya navratras start only with the first New Moon after the

Sharat Ritu has started with the ingress of the sun into the month of Vedic

Isha. Durgapuja, especially Durga Saptami/Ashtami and Dashahra/Vijaya

Dashmi etc. festivals are tied with luni-solar phenomena i.e. tithis

following the start of Sharadiya Navratras.

 

In India, we never celebrate birthdays or punya tithis either as per solar

days, though of late this phenomenon has become a rage! For example, for

us, Bhadra Krishna Ashtami (Shrvana Krishna in South India etc.) is the

Janmashtami of Bhagwan Krishna! Similarly, Chaitra Shukla Navmi i.e. the

last tithi of vasanti navratras known as Ramanavmi is the janma tithi of

Bhagwan Rama! Same is the case with the jayantis of all the other avatars

etc. etc.

 

In our day to day life also, we celebrate our birthdays etc. on lunar

tithis. For example, instead of July 2, my date of birth, in Kashmir, I

used to celebrate my birthday on Ashada Krsihna Dwadashi since that was the

lunar tithi when I was born!

 

Same is the case with deciding the punya-tithis (shradhas) of our departed

souls. We do not take into account, for that purpose, the solar or Gregorian

date but the lunar tithi that was prevailing at the time of demise of the

person concerned. For example, we celebrate Bishma Ashtami because Bhishma

Pitamaha is supposed to have shed off his mortal coil on Shukla Paksha

Ashtami in the month of Magha i.e. the lunar month following Uttarayana.

Similarly, whenever we have to decide a muhurta about anything, whether

marriage or tonsure or upanayana etc., the first consideration is that it

must be a suitable/auspicious tithi of a suitable month.

 

Thus we can say that all the Hindu samskaras (rites and rituals), right from

birth to death, revolve around lunar tithis. But the lunar tithis have no

existence or importance without the solar phenomena! Even astronomically, a

tithi is a distance of multiples of twelve degrees the moon has gained over

the sun. e.g., when the moon is conjunct i.e. when it is away by 0 or 360

degrees from the sun, we say it is Amavasya (New Moon) and shukla pratipat

starts immediately after that. When the moon gains a distance of twelve

degrees over the sun, that shukla pratipat is over and so on till it is at

an exact distance of 180 degrees from the sun. That is the exact time of

Purnima (Full Moon), after which Krishna paksha starts, Krishna pratipat

ranging from 180 degrees to 192 degrees of the moon gaining over the sun.

The names of lunar months also are dependent on the solar ingress. If the

sun has crossed Uttarayana it will be Magha shukla paksha on the first New

Moon day after that and so on as per the Vedanga Jyotisha. Lunar months

i.e. synodic months always follow solar months but it is never the other way

round! Thus if there are two New Moons in between two solar ingresses, we

have an adhika masa and if there is no new moon between two solar ingresses,

there is a kshyaya-masa. Te latter phenomenon is not likely to happen over

the next couple of centuries, at least. This adhika-masa is also a unique

phenomenon referred to in the Rigveda as well.

 

Nakshatra is an independent phenomenon as far as the lunar sojourn is

concerned. As is clear from the MBh etc., in ancient times, the lunar

nakshatra was taken into account only when the moon was in that particular

nakshatra. Nakshatra names were determined as per prominent stars, known as

mile posts, of those names. E.g., when it was said that " Krittikiasu agnim

adadeeta " i.e. one should get consecrated in krittikas, what it meant was

that it should be a day when the Moon was in that particular nakshatra --

conjunct the starry group of krittikas.

 

These days there are three other phenomena of a panchanga, which means

literally, a book of five limbs. These are, apart from tithi and nakshatra,

yoga, karna and var. Of these remaining three limbs, Karna is half of a

tithi whereas yoga is said to be multiple of 13 degrees 20 minutes of the

sum of the moon and the sun at a particular point of time. Var is a week

day, which is definitely a phenomenon imported into India from overseas.

 

During the Vedic period, Madhu, Chaitra etc. months, Amavasya etc. tithis

and krittika etc. Nakshatras only were considered for muhurtas etc. We find

the mention of 27 yogas for the first time in the Surya Sidhanta, though

that sidhanta also does not say anything about week days. However, there

are also two other types of yogas detailed in the SS viz. the Vaidhriti and

the Vyatipata, which are more or less dependent on the declinations of the

sun and the moon.

 

The only tragic part of all these festivals -- whether solar or lunar --and

muhurtas is that instead of the Vedic Madhu, Madhava etc. solar ingresses,

we are going by Lahiri Sankrantis like (Lahiri) Makar Sankranti, (Lahiri)

Kumbha sanranti and so son. These have no sanction either astronomically or

as per our dharmashastras! The only sanction those snakrantis have is from

" Vedic jyotishis " like overseas " Vamadevas " and local " Abhinav Parasharas "

and " Varahamihiras " . In other words, we are going by what our Vedic

jyotishis advise us even about our fairs, festivals and muhurtas instead of

as to what our dahrmashastras say!

Since lunar months follow solar ingresses, all the lunar festivals also get

skewed, so much so that we celebrate Pitramavasya on the day of actual

Dipavali and shradhas during a period that may actually be auspicious for

marriages etc. etc.

 

We should not take such insults by " Vedic jyotishis " to our dharmashastras

in s supine condition!

With regards,

AKK

 

PS I really appreciate your humility when you say

< Sorry for being so rudimentary in such questions.>

AKK

 

hinducivilization , " RAVI " <ravi7640@>

wrote:

 

Thank you Avatarji. Let me digest this. In the meanwhile regarding

preference of Solar over Lunar or vise versa - what are the

implications? Do you recommend our government should prefer one of them or

both while formulating a national calendar? Sorry for being so rudimentary

in such questions.

Ravi

-

" jyotirved " <jyotirved@>

<hinducivilization >

Cc: <HinduCalendar >

Sunday, May 27, 2007 3:09 PM

RE: [hc] RE: [HinduCalendar] Fwd: Re: The Veda, India, and

the

Sacred Map Symbol - Capricorn

 

 

>

> Shri Raviji,

> Namaskar!

> < Could you please describe how the modern calendar should be?>

>