--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "koenraad_elst" <koenraad.elst@...>
wrote:
> In the past I've seen some excellent archaeo-astronomical
> work by Achar, but here I have the impression that he's made
> consequential mistakes. (...) For an astronomer to place winter
solstice on ca. 14 January
> is a strange mistake. So strange that I wonder if I haven't
misread
> his meaning in that passage.
>
> A more clear-cut mistake pertains to the timing of the event in
> Magha. (...)
> So, that pretty important part in his reconstruction is seriously
> mistaken.<
It seems I have to apologize to Dr. Narahari Achar for
misrepresenting his position, as far below the intellectual level
that might be expected from an expert like him. I wrongly relied on
unreliable sources attributing the mistakes described to him. The
mistakes I have pointed out, are not really his. The text I
commented on, and that was presented on this list by M. Kelkar with a
header suggesting it was Narahari Achar's, is in fact a rewording of
and comment on Achar's paper by S Kalyanaraman. I should have
realized this authorship problem upon seeing the South-Indian
form "Bharatam" where Bharat (India) was meant, it's a typical trait
of Dr. K's writings. The original paper by Achar is free from those
mistakes and can be found at:
http://sarasvati96.googlepages.com/VyasaDhritarashtrasamvada.pdf
I remain nonetheless unconvinced by his chronology, even before
studying his astronomical arguments (to which I hope to return),
because the technology in the core scenes of the Mahabharata just
doesn't fit >3000 BC. Yes, such things are often back-projected by
narrators, like medieval Jesus paintings showing his clothes and the
buildings and landscapes as oif medieval-European. But some things
are simply too close to the very essence of the story, e.g. chariots,
given that Krishna participates as charioteer. Contrast with the
Ramayana, where Rama used bow and arrow and Hanuman uses a mace,
primitive stuff that could date to deep prehistory.
Moreover, in Hindu tradition the MBh war marks the end of the Vedic
period, with Vyasa finalising the editing of the Vedic collection as
well as writing the first MBh account (the classical MBh is by its
own testimony the third enlarged version). But a number of mutually
consistent astronomical data in Vedic literature point to the 3rd and
2nd millennium, well after dates like 3067 BC or 3139 BC given for
the MBh. Without too much special pleading, the MBh's astro-data can
be reconciled with a year such 1504 BC, or even later. That would
not be in conflict with all the other astronomical, literary and
archaeological data.
Kind regards,
KE