Ancient Indian Chronology Illustrating Some of the Most Important Astronomical Methods
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
ANCIENT INDIAN CHRONOLOGY ILLUSTRATING SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ASTRONOMICAL METHODS BY PRABODH CHANDRA SENGUPTA, M.A., LATE PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS, BETHUNE COLLEGE, CALCUTTA, ' SOMETIME LECTURER IN INDIAN ASTRONOMY AND MATHEMATICS AT THE CALCUTTA UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA 1947 Rs. IN INDIA BY NISHITOHANDKA SKN, FEINTED AND PUBLISHED CALCUTTA UNIVBRSITY PBBS1, UPBBINTENDENT (OTTO.), BALL^GUNQS, CALCUTTA. 48, HA2EA ROAD, U08B November, CONTENTS PREFACE ... ... ... y INTRODUCTION ... vii SPECIAL NOTE TO CHAPTER VI xxvii Section Chapter Name of Chapter Page I Date of the Bharata- Date of the Bharata-Baitle, Battle ... I Mahabharata Evidences ... 1 II Bharata Battle Tradition (A) 34 III Do. (C) 46 7 II Vedic Antiquity IV Madhu-Vidya or Science of Spring 60 72 ,, V When Indra became Maghavan ,, VI Ilbhus and their awakening by the Dog 82 ,, VII Tradition of Indra's Victory over Asuras ... 90 of ,, VIII Miscellaneous Indications Vedic antiquity ... 95 IX The Solar in the , f Eclipse !Rgveda and the Date of Atri 101 X Heliacal Eising of X and v Scorpionis ... 132 XI Yama and his Two Dogs ... 137 XII of and Echini 147 , , Legend Prajapati XIII Solstice in Vedic Litera- f , Days ture and the Date of Yajur- IV ANCIENT INDIAN CHEONOLOGY Section Chapter Name of Chapter Page III Brahmana XIV Solar Eclipse' in tbe Tandya Chronology Brabmana ... 175 XV Time Reference from the Jaimimya Brahmana . 183 XVI Vedanga and Maitrl Traditions 189 XVII Sariikhayana Brahmana 19 i 99 XVIII Baudhayana Srauta Sutra 198 99 XIX Satapatha and Tandya Brahmanas ...... 208 XX Katyayana and Apastamba Srauta Sutras ...... 212 IV Indian Eras XXI Eclipses in the Samyukta Nikaya and the Date of the Buddha's Nirvana ... 217 XXII Kani ska's Era ...... 222 XXIII Earlier Era of the Kharothl Inscriptions ... , , 229 XXIV Samvat or the Malava Era ,,. 235 XXV The Gupta Era ...... V XXVI Date of Kalidasa ...... 263 Epilogue ...... 279 ERRATA PREFACE I published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Letters, in the years 1988 and 1939, the following five papers : (i) Some Astronomical References from the Maha- and their in Vol II bharata Significance , No. 10. (it) Bharata-Baltle Traditions. ^ Published (Hi) Solstice Days in Vedic Literature. f in (iv) Madhu-vidyaor the Science of Spring. C Vol. IV, (v) When Indra became Maghavan. ) Nos. 15-18 The last four of the above papers were kindly communi- cated to the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal by Prof. M. N. Saha, F.R.S., who had found in these papers methods and results in Ancient Indian Chronology which deserved encouragement. It was at his suggestion that I submitted to the authorities of the Calcutta University, in a letter dated the 23rd August, 1939, a scheme for publication of a work on Indian research Chronology, The University very kindly sanctioned my scheme in their Minutes of the Syndi- cate, dated the 30th September, 1939, and appointed Mr. Nirmalchandra Lahiri, M.A., to assist me in my research work. Under the very favourable conditions thus created by the University i took up work under the scheme from Nov., 1939, which was finished by July, 1941 in the form of the present work Darned ''Ancient Indian Chronology." The five papers mentioned above formed the nucleus of the present work. The last four of the above-named papers were noticed in the famous British Science Journal, "Nature" in Vol. 145, Jan., G, 1940, in the Section of "Research Items/' under the caption, "Some Indian Origins on the light of Astronomical Evidence" which is quoted at the end of this work. I have carried on the researches embodied in the present work in the spirit of a sincere truth seeker. If I have been led by any bias my critics will kindly correct me and point CEBONOLOGY vi ANCIENT INDIAN hesitated to some out the same to me. I have not reject and new of my former findings when further study light action. I trust work received therefrom justified such my researchers in the will be continued by other Indian same line in future. I have to acknowledge my indebtedness to the works 2 3 of the late Prof. JacobP, Tilak and Dlksita on Vedic of Tilak Dlksita I Chronology. To the works and am indebted for many references from the Vedas, but in many has been different from theirs. cases my interpretation I have also to acknowledge with thanks the sympathy and help with which I was received by Mm. Vidhusekhara of Calcutta Sastrl, late Asutosh Professor Sanskrit, Univer- Mm. Sltarama whenever I sity and his colleague Sastri, correct of approached them as to the interpretation Vedic Prof. Dr. M. N. I am indebted passages. To Saha, F.E.S., for constant encouragement and help in the matter of making many books accessible to me and for many helpful discusssions and criticisms. I have to express iny thanks to the authorities of the Calcutta University, and specially to Dr. Syamaprasad Mookerjee, M.A., B.L., D.Litt., Bar.-at- LaWj M.L.A., late President of the Council of Post- Graduate Teaching in Arts, for creating this facility for me to carry on my researches, Finally I have to, pay my tribute of respect to the memory of the late Sir Asutosh Mookerjee, the inspirer and organiser of research studies at the Calcutta University, and of the late Maharaja Sir Manindrac handra Naadi, K.C.I.E., of Cossiinbazar, the donor of the fund created ' for Research work in Indian Astronomy, from which was met the major expenses in carrying out the researches. Calcutta, Octobert 1947. P. C. SENGUPTA, 1 "On the 1 Date of the Bgveda' Indian Antiquary, Vol, xxiii, pp. 154-159. INTRODUCTION * ' The word chronology meant apparent dating only, from" the 16th century of the Christian era. The word has * now come to mean the science of" computing and adjusting time and periods of time, and also of recording events in order of it com- and arranging time ; means putation of time and assignation of events to their correct * dates." In the present work, it is the science of Astronomy alone that has been brought into requisition in ascertaining the dates of past history of the Hindus, both of the Vedic and of later times. The data for dates arrived at from 4170 B.C. to 625 B.C. have been derived from the sources which are either of the Vedic or In the section on the post- Vedic Sanskrit literature. Indian eras* they have been derived chiefly from the archaeological sources. Now, chronology is based on the interpretation that we is either from the may put to any statement which derived the literary or epigraphic sources. Whether interpreta- is a tions accepted in the present work are justifiable, author's critics. So far point that is to be decided by the could as he IB concerned be has this satisfaction that he what, he has not find any better interpretations than references which he could- accepted of the astronomical discover and use for the present work. It is made op-bf the Date of Bharata Battle, the following sections, viz., and on the the Vedic Antiquity, BrShnaana -Chronology, ascertain Indian Kras. It has not been possible to any Sutras those of dates from any other Srauta excepting viii ANCIENT INDIAN CHRONOLOGY Baudhayana, Katyayana and Apastamba. The Grhya Sutras do not present any new indication of dates. The results of the findings may be briefly stated thus : The date of the Bharata Battle has been proved to have been the year 2449 B.C., so far as evidences can be discovered from the 'Sanskrit literature, no other date for the event is now possible. The antiquity of the Bgveda as shown in the chapters af the book extend from 4000 B.C. to perhaps 2450 B.C. The Atharva Veda indications also point to dates from 4000 B.C. to about 2350 B.C., viz., the time of Janamejaya Pariksita, while the different sections of the Yajur-veda show a range of dates beginning from about 2450 B.C. As to the Brahmanas and Sraida tfutras, they are books on rituals only and as such they cannot belong to the same antiquity as the Vedas themselves, more specially the Rg-veda. The range of dates obtained for this type of works extends from about 1625 B.C. to about 630 B.C. So far as my studies go, the Yajurveda itself is more or less a Brdhmana or a work on rituals. The Brahmanas as a rule record the traditional days for beginning the sacrifices which indicate the earliest date of about 3550 B.C. Such statements, however, cannot give us the dates of the Brahmanas which record them. The Srauta Sutras generally are crude followers of earlier rules as to the beginning of the year, the same remarks are applicable to all the Grkya Sutras. The 1400 Iru Jyautisa Vedangas indicate a date of about B.C. the section of the Indian Eras, it has been shown that the Buddha's Nirvana era should be dated at 644 B.C., if the can be held as eclipses spoken of in the Samyukta Nikaya life time. It has real events happening in the Buddha's also been shown that the zero year of the early Kharosthi as the 305 the era inscriptions, should be taken year B.C., of Nikator the zero itself may be called that Selukus ; year INTBODUCTION ix of the later KharosthI inscriptions or of Kaniska's era was 80 A.D. while of the current ; Sakaerathe Zero year is 77-78 A.D. It has been shown in the chapter on the Samvat or Malava era, that it was started from 57 B.C.