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¤ÉÞ½þº{ÉÊiÉ& |ÉlɨÉÆ VÉɪɨÉÉxÉ& ÊiɹªÉÆ xÉIÉjÉÆ +ʦɺÉƤɦÉÚ´É* 4500 BC Absurd....

¤ÉÞ½þº{ÉÊiÉ& |ÉlɨÉÆ VÉɪɨÉÉxÉ& ÊiɹªÉÆ xÉIÉjÉÆ +ʦɺÉƤɦÉÚ´É* 4500 BC Absurd....

Ultramodern Computer Evidence for Date of the Vedas? Some Vedic verses talk of Jupiter's first appearance, probably as a planet
moving in the background of stars in the vast open sky. Such hymns are found
¤ÉÞ½þº{ÉÊiÉ& |ÉlɨÉÆ VÉɪɨÉÉxÉ& ÊiɹªÉÆ xÉIÉjÉÆ +ʦɺÉƤɦÉÚ´É* in Rgveda (RV.4.50.45), Taittirīya Samhitā (T.S.2.8.2). The most important
verse in Taittirīya Brāhmana reads (T.B. 3.1.1.5) reads:
¤ÉÞ½þº{ÉÊiÉ& |ÉlɨÉÆ VÉɪɨÉÉxÉ& ÊiɹªÉÆ xÉIÉjÉÆ +ʦɺÉƤɦÉÚ´É*
1. Introduction
"The Jupiter is first (recognized) moving and appeared occulted with Tisya
The modern Vedic Seer is at the height of his eloquence when the Śruti as (i.e. δ-Cancri)"
above is sung in his ubiquitous style followed by the announcement that using
ultramodern computers and software it was found out that Jupiter was 2. Neither Super-computer nor Science
discovered when transiting over Pusya naksatra and Vedas have preserved a
record of the discovery made in 4500 BC. It may be noted that the crux of the paper is a purposeful inserted reading of
the astronomical phenomenon of occultation which is stated nowhere in the
The truth is that there is no computer and no modern computations and no
verse. Claims such as the above, discovery of Jupiter while occulting δ-Cancri
truth in the interpretation given to the verse¤ÉÞ½þº{ÉÊiÉ& |ÉlɨÉÆ VÉɪɨÉÉxÉ& ÊiɹªÉÆ xÉIÉjÉÆ +ʦɺÉƤɦÉÚ´É*
can’t withstand even a casual scrutiny by any astronomer because of the
for deriving the date as 4500 BC. What is being quoted is a dubious paper following reasons:
which if presented before astronomers shall be a source of laughter to them
and insult to India's scientific heritage. Details of the so called super-computer (a) Astronomers attending the International conference would have laughed at
work getting eulogized by the Heritage Institution are as follows: the claim of 'first observation of Jupiter as occulting the star δ-Cancri' as
δ Cancri has a visual magnitude1 of only 4 while Jupiter has a visual
'Jupiter’s Occultation of δ-Cancri' magnitude of (-) 2. Jupiter is more lustrous than the brightest of all stars
like Sirius (Canis Major of magnitude ≈ - 1.46) and so it is ludicrous to
A 1996 paper entitled 'Conjunction of Jupiter with δ-Cancri'1 which appeared speak of first observation of Jupiter when it occulted a faint 4th magnitude
in a Journal had made an unscientific attempt to date the Occultation of δ- star.
Cancri with Jupiter and had given the result as 4350 BC. Accordingly the (b) Second thing that makes the paper funny is the impossibility of
author had concluded that the Taittirīya Brāhmana 3.1.1.5 and the allied verification of the so-called Vedic record of Jupiter occulting δ-Cancri as
hymns in Rgveda, Taittirīya samhitā had their origin around the epoch of 4500 we have no precise idea of the location of the Vedic people. Visibility of
BC. The paper is getting cited in the Institute of Scientific Heritage preaching occultation is extremely sensitive to the locations as in the case of solar
as 'ultramodern computer generated sophisticated' evidence for the antiquity eclipse and when the apparent diameter of the disc of the faint star is so
of the Vedas. The superlative claims have awakened the curiosity of the miniscule, no easy exercise as in the Sharma’s paper can establish that the
present author to have a close look at the paper and its conclusions. Sharma in occultation could have been observed by anyone.
his introduction says:
(c) Further, -2.0 magnitude Jupiter is seen only when it occulted the 4th
"In the International Congress on the History of Sciences in Scotland during magnitude δ-Cancri – alas, what to speak of such ideas inserted into the
1977, there was a discussion about the antiquity of some Vedic hymns. The verse? Our scientific heritage had no common sense?
author pointed out that there is a mention of an occultation of Jupiter with δ-
Cancri in the Vedic literature which took place around 4500 BC. The scholars (d) Paper of Sharma has not discussed the visibility aspect at all.
wanted a detailed note of this claim on high antiquity of the Vedic literature.
The paper deals with this problem in detail. 1
Visual magnitude of celestial bodies is given on a scale where the lower
numbers indicate more luminosity.
Pseudoscience, distortions and plagiarism…Indian Heritage? 1 Pseudoscience, distortions and plagiarism…Indian Heritage? 2
¤ÉÞ½þº{ÉÊiÉ& |ÉlɨÉÆ VÉɪɨÉÉxÉ& ÊiɹªÉÆ xÉIÉjÉÆ +ʦɺÉƤɦÉÚ´É* 4500 BC Absurd.... ¤ÉÞ½þº{ÉÊiÉ& |ÉlɨÉÆ VÉɪɨÉÉxÉ& ÊiɹªÉÆ xÉIÉjÉÆ +ʦɺÉƤɦÉÚ´É* 4500 BC Absurd....

Under these circumstances what may be gleaned about the refereeing taken the Vedas. Wonderful the phenomenon was the result too is wonderful –
place of the paper? Now let us make a closer look at the body of the paper. Taittirīya Brāhmana is dated to 4500 BC.
Apparent magnitude of luminous bodies viewed from the earth are: Sun = -
3. Paper presents Jargon just to fill in the pages 26.7, Moon = -12.6, Venus = -4.4, Sirius = -1.46, Vega = 0.00 and in this scale
Jupiter is -2 and δ-Cancri is 4.0 which means that Jupiter is nearly 250 times
Discussion and the pictures given in the paper under reference are all quite brighter than the Pusya naksatra. How ludicrous then it is to claim that Jupiter
unwanted details as may be understood from the following facts: was discovered when it occulted δ-Cancri?
(a) A third degree polynomial gives the accurate position of the Node of Can anyone having commonsense think that a bright planet needs a particular
Jupiter. For J.1950 the value was ≈ 75030' sidereal longitude and δ- stars background to fall in the eyes of an observer? What falls in the eyes –
Cancri was at 1040 to and so δλ = 28 degrees and the latitude of light of Jupiter or the name Pusya from the sky?
Jupiter while transiting δ-Cancri around the epoch would have been
i*Sin δλ = 37', slightly more than the disc size of the Moon.
5. Conclusions
(b) No diagram or any explanation is needed as it is well known that δ-
Cancri is an ecliptic star whose latitude is almost zero (0004’) and We must note here that the Rishis did not distort anything. In fact the
Jupiter could have occulted it only when its latitude will be zero. Any phenomenon described is the heliacal rise of Jupiter during the periods when
computation in seconds of arc is meaningless due to the parallax and Jupiter is in Kataka. If we need an old date we can have 27 July 502 BC for
limitations of naked eye observations. Nodal arc multiplied by 78’ example and the next few days or if we want a modern date – take 10
would have yielded the latitude of Jupiter and such information had no September 2002 – the observation recorded is possible at any epoch when
value as the visibility at the location is not all discussed in the paper Jupiter is in Kataka. After combustion in the solar month of Leo, Jupiter and
due to the cumbersome computations involved. δ-Cancri may rise together, Jupiter may rise earlier heliacally and that is the
observation that a sage just wrote down to have some identity for the year
(c) Geometrical explanations etc have been given just to camouflage the
observed from solstice.
bogus nature of the paper. With 4' latitude of the star, it is easy to
understand that the nodal arc of nearly 3 degree would have been the Tail piece
precise limit of occultation that may or may not have been visible
somewhere in Vedic India or Vedic Siberia. How can an erratic paper undergo verification? Dr. N. Gopalakrishnan says
that some Super computer has proved the absurd notion which came on print
in IJHS by some mistake of the editor or the referee. Which American scientist
4. Not to talk of Occultation was more sensible will take up a foolish idea like Jupiter getting discovered in front of δ- Cancri
for verification? There is nothing to be verified – every 12th year Jupiter
With the interpretation of such a verse, it would have been more sensible if the
passes over the faint δ Cancri. A faint star is not needed to facilitate the
author had not spoken about the occultation. Jupiter had been passing δ-Cancri
discovery of a luminous planet like Jupiter. Which American University then
every 12th year and in BC 500 the nodal arc would have been 17 degrees to
made such a wonderful discovery of 4500 BC for Dr. N. Gopalakrishnan?
give a latitude of only 22' for Jupiter. Reference may be to the simultaneous
visibility of both Jupiter and δ-Cancri around any time say 500 BC or 500 AD Reference:
- the nodal arc changing by 1 degree only in 600 years, the latitude of Jupiter
1
also would have been changing only at a very slow rate and the occultation of Sharma, SD., Ind. Jour. of Hist. of Science, 31(3), 1996, pp. 269-274
δ-Cancri by Jupiter is the worst phenomenon that can be thought of for dating chandra_hari18@yahoo.com
09426614711

Pseudoscience, distortions and plagiarism…Indian Heritage? 3 Pseudoscience, distortions and plagiarism…Indian Heritage? 4

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