I have written on the Smritis,Laws governing Hindu Society.
Laws undergo change with changing Times.
Our present Laws get changed, including The Constitution quite frequently in a short span of Time.
Hinduism takes Time Span on a larger scale,the present Aeon ,Kali Yuga lasting for a period of 4,32,000 years and the earlier one Dwapara Yuga 8,64,000 years!
And we have two more earlier Yugas,Treta and Krutha Yugas.
Yugas
The religious texts of Hindus are classified into two types.
Sruthi,that which is ‘Heard, and ‘Smriti’,that which is remembered.
Vedas are called Sruthi and their authority is final in case of a conflict between Sruthi and Smriti.
Since Hindu texts are transmitted orally and never by written words,there are,at times differences in the number of texts available .
So,there are two versions regarding Smritis.
One lists Eleven Smritis and some Eighteen.
Though it is said that Many Smriti is the first one,being compiled by the first Human,Manu,all Smritis disappear with the dissolution of the world.
They come into being when new Time scale or creation manifests.
Vyasa,the great Complier,the name Vyasa means ‘Compiler’.
The Smriti to be followed for the present Yuga,Kali, is Parasara Smriti.
There are variations between Manu and Parasara Smriti.
I shall write on some important points from Parasara Sruthi.
'The author of the Veda there is none ; (he) the four-
faced (God) , at each succeeding revolution of a Kalpa, re-
calls to mind the Veda ; and so does Manu remember the
law (at each succeeding revolution of a Kalpa) .
22. ” In conformity to the character of the age, the rules
of law (suitable) for men differ from age to age. The rules
for the Krita differ from the Treta rules ; the Dvapara laws
are not identical with the Kali rules.
23. ” Self-mortification is the rule in the Krita age ;
knowledge is said (to be the same) in the Treta ; in the
Dvapara, (they) say sacrifice (to the gods to be) the sole
(rule) ; and charity alone in the Kali age.
24. ” For the Krita are suited the laws of Manu ; for the Treta, those
by Gautama (are) prescribed ; for the Dvapara those by Shank and
Likhita ; for the Kali, those by Parasara are prescribed. ‘
You may download Parasara Smriti PDF from the above Link.
‘The Smritis are named after them. We have Manu Smriti or Manava Dharma-Sastra (the Laws of Manu or the Institutes of Manu), Yajnavalkya Smriti and Parasara Smriti. Manu is the greatest law-giver of the race. He is the oldest law-giver as well. The Yajnavalkya Smriti follows the same general lines as the Manu Smriti and is next in importance to it. Manu Smriti and Yajnavalkya Smriti are universally accepted at the present time as authoritative works all over India. Yajnavalkya Smriti is chiefly consulted in all matters of Hindu Law. Even the Government of India are applying some of these laws.
There are eighteen main Smritis or Dharma Sastras. The most important are those of Manu, Yajnavalkya and Parasara. The other fifteen are those of Vishnu, Daksha, Samvarta, Vyasa, Harita, Satatapa, Vasishtha, Yama, Apastamba, Gautama, Devala, Sankha-Likhita, Usana, Atri and Saunaka.
The laws of Manu are intended for the Satya Yuga, those of Yajnavalkya are for the Treta Yuga; those of Sankha and Likhita are for the Dvapara Yuga; and those of Parasara are for the Kali Yuga.
The laws and rules which are based entirely upon our social positions, time and clime, must change with the changes in society and changing conditions of time and clime. Then only the progress of the Hindu society can be ensured.‘
The Mahabharata War took place towards the closing years of the Dwapara yuga.
Kali yuga is reported to have begun after the departure of Lord Krishna and after Yuga Sandhi.
Yuga Sandhi is the Interregnum is the period between two yugas.
When did Kali Yuga begin?
Indians follow an almanac system based on the movement of the Sun and Moon.
Time is divided into finest parts and large numbers are also discussed..
This Almanac is called Panchanga s it takes into account five factors,Pancha means Five.
The Five are,
Thithi, waxing and waning of the Moon,
Vaara, Day,
Nakshatra, Stars and their Movements,
Yoga, a specific time of the day which indicates auspiciousness or otherwise and
Karana, yet another parameter of time to calculate auspiciousness.
The Panchanga is used by the Hindus daily to find out the auspicious dates.,movement of the Moon.
The Panchanga is read at the beginning of a year.
Panchanga predicts, among other things like natural calamities, general world status, weather.
And it predicts the Eclipses so accurately which tallies with modern scientific calculations.
Based on the Panchanga , the date when Kali Yuga began is arrived at.
This is how it has been done.
.
The description is detailed to year-month-days of each and every king who ruled. By adding the total number of years of the four dynasties from Yudhishthir to Vikramaditya, it comes to 3,178 years which is 3141 Kali era or 39 AD, which represents the date when Vikramaditya left this earth planet.
According to the Bhavishya Puran and Rajtarangini, Vikramaditya lived between 102 BC and 15 AD; and according to the above details his period ends by 39 AD. There is only a difference of 24 years in the date-wise record of 70 kings who ruled Hastinapur for 3,085 years. A discrepancy of 24 years in 3,000 years of record could be a copying or printing mistake, and is thus negligible when we are dealing with a longer span of years. In this way the predicted period of the dynasties of Magadh and the historic records of the dynasties of Hastinapur correspond with each other and justify their correctness, and vice versa.
Magazine Text detailing the Early King list of India
This is only a section of the magazine. It gives full date-wise detail of each and every king who ruled Hastinapur from Yudhishthir up to Vikramaditya. This is one of the rarest records that survived through this magazine.
The beginning of kaliyug, 3102 BC.
We have taken the beginning of kaliyug as the fixed point to determine the chronological dates of the events, kings, Divine dignitaries and the important personalities of our history. It is a common understanding that kaliyug started about 5,000 years ago (in round figures) and we never had any problems in the past in accepting this fact. But only after the arrival of the English people in India, all sorts of baseless criticisms started regarding our history and religion that were promoted and fostered by them. We had hundreds of such evidences regarding the date of Mahabharat war and the beginning of kaliyug in our history books that were destroyed by the British, still we have more than enough material to fully establish this fact.
(1) Astrological.
(a) We still follow the ancient astrological tradition. There is a most prestigious, 48 page detailed date-wise journal (panchang) with all the astrological facts and figures called “Vishva Panchangam,” established in 1925 and published by Kashi Hindu Vishvavidyalaya (Benares Hindu University), Varanasi. It gives all the three eras: Kali era, Vikram era and (Shalivahan) Shak era.
It is as thus:
It says on page 3 that 5,100 years have already elapsed before 2056 Vikram year which is 1999 AD. It means that the existing Kali era is 5101 in 1999 AD, which comes to (5101 – 1999) 3102 BC.
(b) Another panchang of India called “Shree Saraswati Panchangam” published from Navalgarh, Rajasthan, also gives all the calculations and says that 5,100 years of kaliyug had already elapsed before 1999.
(c) The “Vishva Vijay Panchangam” of Solan, Himachal Pradesh, says,
It means that 5,100 years of kaliyug had already elapsed before 1999 and 426,900 years of kaliyugare still left. Kaliyug is of 432,000 years (so, kaliyug started in 3102 BC).
Thus, the best team of the scholars of astrology all over India give the same figures of 3102 BC and publish it in the panchang (journal) every year.
These astrological journals are run by a group of the most learned astrologers of India, and thus it is mindlessness if any astrologer or scholar unnecessarily tries to argue about their accuracy.
(2) Others.
Alberuni. “Alberuni’s India,” first Indian print 1964 (S. Chand & Co., New Delhi) Volume I. In the second part of this book on page 4 Alberuni writes, “…the time which has elapsed since the beginning of kaliyug before our gauge-year, 4132 years, and between the wars of Bharat and our gauge-year there have elapsed 3479 years.” In the Annotations (p. 358) of the same book Alberuni tells about his gauge-year, which is: “A.D. 1031, 25th February, a Thursday.”
There is a difference of 968 years between 1031 AD and 1999 AD. Thus, adding 968 years to 4,132 years comes to 5,100 years, the period that has already elapsed since the beginning of kaliyugand up till today (1999), and this is exactly what is mentioned in the astrological journals of India.
Alberuni also mentions about Vikram era (57 BC) and also the Shalivahan Shak era which starts 135 years after the Vikram era.
Aryabhatt. The greatest astronomer and mathematician, Aryabhatt, was born in 476 AD. His work in astronomy is an asset to the scholars. He gave an accurate figure for pi ( ) 3.1416. He finished his book “Aryabhattiya” in 499 AD in which he gives the exact year of the beginning ofkaliyug. He writes,
“When the three yugas (satyug, tretayug and dwaparyug) have elapsed and 60 x 60 (3,600) years ofkaliyug have already passed, I am now 23 years old.” It means that in the 3,601st year of Kali era he was 23 years old. Aryabhatt was born in 476 AD. Thus, the beginning of kaliyug comes to 3,601 – (476 + 23) = 3102 BC.
‘According to KD Abhyankar, the starting point of Kaliyuga is an extremely rare planetary alignment, which is depicted in the Mohenjo-Daro seals. Going by this alignment the year 3102 B.C is slightly off. The actual date for this alignment is February 7 of 3104 B.C.'(wiki Kali yuga)
There are four Yugas and they are created, destroyed and recreated.
According to Hinduism, destruction is a misnomer.
It is hidden.
Curious enough modern Quantum Physics calls it in a different way as projection of Multi Verses.
Aarati to Tirupati Balaji Moolavar.
I have written a couple of articles on Multi verses in Hinduism.
The Time scale of Sanatana Dharma has the following points.
The Universe is created, hidden and re projected.
This happens at three-time frames called Manvantara, Kalpa and Yuga.
Three kinds of cataclysms take place.One is water, Another by Fire and another is total darkness each of these correspond to the dissolution at the end of Manvantara, Kalpa and yuga.
The Universe is eternal.
Time is eternal.
Time is non linear.
Time is Cyclic.
Arunachala Mountaion, Pre historic.
Brahma’s day is divided in one thousand cycles (Maha Yuga, or the Great Year). Maha Yuga, during which life, including the human race appears and then disappears, has 71 divisions, each made of 14 Manvantara (1000) years. Each Maha Yuga lasts for 4,320,000 years.
Manvantara is Manu’s cycle, the one who gives birth and governs the human race. before & after each manvantara there’s a sandhikal as long as krutyuga & in that time there is all water on earth.
Each Maha Yuga consists of a series of four shorter yugas, or ages.
The yugas get progressively worse from a moral point of view as one proceeds from one yuga to another. As a result, each yuga is of shorter duration than the age that preceded it.
The current Kali Yuga (Iron Age) began at midnight 17 February / 18 February in 3102 BC in the proleptic Julian calendar (Year 6898 of the Holocene Era.) kalpa=ahoratra of brahma. Space and time are considered to be maya (illusion). What looks like 100 years in the cosmos of Brahma could be thousands of years in other worlds, millions of years in some other worlds and 311 trillion and 40 billion years for our solar system and earth. The life span of Lord Brahma, the creator, is 100 ‘Brahma-Years’.
One day in the life of Brahma is called a Kalpa or 4.32 billion years.Every Kalpa creates 14 Manus one after the other, who in turn manifest and regulate this world. Thus, there are fourteen generations of Manu in each Kalpa. Each Manu’s life (Manvantara) consists of 71 Chaturyugas (quartets of Yugas or eras). Each Chaturyugais composed of four eras or Yugas: Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Kali. if we add all manvantaras(4320000x71x14)as long as 4 chaturyuga will be missing its because sandhikaal.after & before each manvantara so 15 sandhikaal The span of the Satya Yuga is 1,728,000 human years, Treta Yuga is 1,296,000 human years long, the Dwapara Yuga 864,000 human years and the Kali Yuga432,000 human years.[8] When Manu perishes at the end of his life, Brahma creates the next Manu and the cycle continues until all fourteen Manus and the Universe perish by the end of Bramha’s day. When ‘night’ falls, Brahma goes to sleep for a period of 4.32 billion years, which is a period of time equal one day (of Brahma) and the lives of fourteen Manus. The next ‘morning’, Brahma creates fourteen additional Manus in sequence just as he has done on the previous ‘day’. The cycle goes on for 100 ‘divine years’ at the end of which Brahma perishes and is regenerated. Bramha’s entire life equals 311 trillion, 40 billion years. Thus a second of Brahmā is 98,630 years. Once Brahma dies there is an equal period of unmanifestation for 311 trillion, 40 billion years, until the next Bramha is created. During one life of Brahma there are 504 000 Manus (Vedic “Adams”) are changing, there are 5040 Manus are changing during one year of Brahma, and 420 Manus manifest during one month of Brahmā. (See: List of numbers in Hindu scriptures for more such numeric details).
During the course of my research into Sanatana Dharma I stumbled across these facts which are authenticated by Modern Science.
Thiruvannamali in Tamil Nadu, India is over 3.5 Billion Years old.
Shiva Uma Marraige took place 40 Millionyeas ago.
Tirupati is over 2100 million years old.
An ancient site is Chennai, Tamil Nadu is dated around a Million years
Jwalapuram ,Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India is dated around 74,000 years
I wanted to look into this taking into account these points,The Age of Earth as stated by the Hindu Puranas and by Modern science.
Now according to Hindu Cosmology, the earth is .4.32 Billion years old.
The puranic view asserts that the universe is created, destroyed, and re-created in an eternally repetitive series of cycles. In Hindu cosmology, a universe endures for about 4,320,000,000 years (one day of Brahma, the creator or kalpa) and is then destroyed by fire or water elements. At this point, Brahma rests for one night, just as long as the day. This process, named pralaya (literallyespecial dissolution in Sanskrit, commonly translated as Cataclysm), repeats for 100 Brahma years (311 Trillion, 40 Billion Human Years) that represents Brahma’s lifespan. Brahma is regarded as a manifestation of Brahman as the creator.
Modern scientific view is that the earth is…4.54 Billion years + or – 5 Billion years!
‘
The age of the Earth is 4.54 ± 0.05 billion years (4.54 × 109 years ± 1%). This age is based on evidence from radiometric age dating of meteorite material and is consistent with the radiometric ages of the oldest-known terrestrial and lunar samples.
Following the scientific revolution and the development of radiometric age dating, measurements of lead in uranium-rich mineralsshowed that some were in excess of a billion years old.The oldest such minerals analyzed to date—small crystals of zircon from the Jack Hills of Western Australia—are at least 4.404 billion years old. Comparing the mass and luminosity of the Sun to those of other stars, it appears that the Solar System cannot be much older than those rocks. Calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions – the oldest known solid constituents within meteorites that are formed within the Solar System – are 4.567 billion years old, giving an age for the solar system and an upper limit for the age of Earth.
It is hypothesised that the accretion of Earth began soon after the formation of the calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions and themeteorites. Because the exact amount of time this accretion process took is not yet known, and the predictions from different accretion models range from a few millions up to about 100 million years, the exact age of Earth is difficult to determine. It is also difficult to determine the exact age of the oldest rocks on Earth, exposed at the surface, as they are aggregates of minerals of possibly different ages..
Now Thiruvannamalai,Tamil Nadu, India is 3.5 Billion years old!
In Puranic version of Brahma’s creation, the first creation for this kalpa was around 4.32 Billion Years.
In such great stretches of Time 5 to 10 billion years is allowed in calculation.
Hence it is probable Shiva was at Thiruvannamalai when Brahma created the world around 4.32 Billion Years ago!
I shall be exploring this data from other angles as well.
Knowledge , in my opinion, is, jumping from one uncertainty to another.
The consoling factor is that the latest information is less uncertain than the earlier one.
( Hindu Texts say Knowledge is nothing but removal of ignorance, by stages)
Planetary Alignment At The Time of Rama’s Birth.
Lord Rama’s Date has been determined by various tools.
Please read my posts on Dating Tools of Ramayana, Mahabharata.
Image,Work in progress on the four-tusked elephant Stegotetrabelodon syrticus.
Some of them are,
Literary, both Indian and Foreign.
Etymology from Sanskrit and Tamil.
Cultural behaviour.
Archeology.
Astronomy.
Each one of these has its strength and weaknesses.
When we speak of archeology, it has to be borne in mind that when one digs he hits the top available layer of the site.
If the events had taken place over thousands of years, then the layers one finds may not reflect them as we would have it the first layer available, because the deposits of the earth would have covered the earlier ones.
In the case of Astronomy, by far the best tool, which none can tamper-with, has its peculiar problem.
Planetary Alignment at the Time of Rama’s Birth.
When one dates with the help of Astronomy, one must remember that astronomical events repeat themselves at regular intervals.
Which one has to be taken into account ?
The issue is very much relevant in dating the Indian Puranas and Ithihasa.
They cover vast stretches of Time.
Lord Rama Has been dated at 5114 BC.
Please read my Post.
But the event verified by planetary positions indicate, as I observed earlier, that there have been similar Planetary configurations.
So to determine the date, one has to seek the help of the other tools.
In this case, it is Valmiki’s Ramayana.
”
In the Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara-Kanda (or Book 5), Chapter 4, verse 27, [Gita Press, Gorakhpur, India] it explains that when Hanuman first approached Ravana’s palace, he saw the doorways surrounded by horses and chariots, palanquins and aerial cars, beautiful horses and elephants, nay, with four-tusked elephants decked with jewels resembling masses of white clouds.
Elsewhere in the Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara-Kanda (or Book 5), Chapter 27, verses12, an ogress named Trijata has a dream of Lord Rama, which she describes to the other demoniac ogresses upon awakening. In that dream she sees Rama, scion of Raghu, united again with Sita. Sri Rama was mounted on a huge elephant, closely resembling a hill, with four tusks.
(The question is how could there be a mention of the elephants with four tusks unless Valmiki and the people of his era were familiar with such creatures? A quick search on the Encarta Encyclopedia will let us know that these four-tusked elephants were known as Mastodontoidea, which are said to have evolved around 38 million years ago and became extinct about 15 million years ago when the shaggy and two tusked Mastodons increased in population.”)
Valmiki does not lie.
His facts check out in Geographical descriptions and astronomical events.
Wherever he has used Hyperbole, it is easily distinguishable.
Those who know Sanskrit know how to identify them.
26,27,28.. mahaakapiH= The great Hanuma; aavivesha= entered; guptam= secretly; raakshasaadhipateeH= Ravana’s inner city; trivishhTapaHnibham= (which was like a) paradise; divyam= best one; vaajighoshhitasangushhTam= resonating with neighing of horses; tadhaa= and; naaditam= made noisy; bhuushhanaiH= with ornaments; radhaiH= by chariots; yaanaiH= by vehicles; vimaanaishca= and by aerial-cars; tadhaa= and; bhuushhitam= decorated by;; subhaiHhayagajaiH= by auspicious horses and elephants; swetaabranicayopamaiH= equalling a group of white clouds; vaaraNaishca= by great elephants; caturdantaiH= with four tusks; mR^igapakshibhiH= by animals and birds; mattaiH= in heat; ruciradvaaram= with a beautiful entrance; rakshitam= protected; yaatudhaanaiH= by raksasas; sumahaaviiraiH= with great strength; shahasrasheH= in thousands.
The great Hanuma entered secretly Ravana’s inner city which was equal to paradise, rendered noisy by neighing of horses and tinkling of ornaments, by chariots, vehicles and aerial-cars and decorated by auspicious elephants and horses and great elephants with four tusks and by birds and animals in heat. It had beautiful entrances and was protected by thousands of rakshasas with great strength..
12. siitaa = Seetha; saMgataa = came together; raameNa = with Rama; prabhaa yathaa = like the light; bhaaskareNa = with the Sun; raamashcha = Rama also; mayaa dR^ishhTaH = was seen by me; aaruuDhaH = (to be) mounted; mahaagajam = on a great elephant; chaturdraShhTram = with four tusks; shailasaMkaasham = equalling a mountain; chachaara = (and) wandered; saha lakshmanaH = together with Lakshmana.
Seetha came together with Rama like the light with the Sun. Rama also was seen by me to be mounted on a great elephant with four tusks and equalling a mountain and Rama wandered together with Lakshmana.”
The great Hanuma entered secretly Ravana’s inner city which was equal to paradise, rendered noisy by neighing of horses and tinkling of ornaments, by chariots, vehicles and aerial-cars and decorated by auspicious elephants and horses and great elephants with four tusks and by birds and animals in heat. It had beautiful entrances and was protected by thousands of rakshasas with great strength.
Thereafter, Hanuma the glorious one neared and observed the best residence of Rakshasas and the house of Ravana, containing elephants with four tusks and also those with three tusks, those with two tusks and still not crowded. It was protected by soldiers bearing raised weapons.
(Sundara Kanda 9th Sarga 4 – 5 Slokas)
Here, Sage Valmiki describes elephants with four tusks and also those with three tusks and those with two tusks.
*Image of Gomophotheres set as featured Image at the top of this article.
Description and places where it lived,according to Modern Zoology.
Welded beast”
Height:
3 m (10 ft)
Weight:
4 tons
Time:
13,650,000-
3,600,000 B.C.
Location:
Bavaria, Germany; Nyanza and Rift Valley, Kenya; Södermanland, Sweden; Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, and Tennessee, United States
You find India missing!
Now History of Biology proves that,
“The Gomphotheriidae were a diverse taxonomic family of extinct elephant-like animals (proboscideans). Referred to as gomphotheres, they were widespread in North America during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, 12–1.6 million years ago. Some lived in parts of Eurasia,Beringia and, following the Great American Interchange, South America. Beginning about 5 million years ago, they were gradually replaced by modern elephants, but the last two South American species, in the genus Cuvieronius, did not finally become extinct until possibly as recently as 9,100 BP, and Stegomastodon remains have been dated as recently as 6,060 BP in the Valle del Magdalena, Colombia. Gomphotheres also survived in Mexico and Central America until the end of the Pleistocene
Ramayana took place in the Treta Yuga, according to Valmiki and other Puranas.
Treta Yuga was about ,
“The duration of the Tretā-yuga is 3,600 x 360, or 1,296,000 years. The duration of the Dvāpara-yuga is 2,400 x 360, or 864,000 years. And the last, the Kali-yuga, is 1,200 x 360, or 432,000 years in total.” (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.11.19) . These 4 yugas follow a timeline ratio of (4:3:2:1).
That’s about a Million Years ago.
(Please read my Post Million Year Old Tamil Quotes Vedas)
Hence the astronomical calculation being cited to date Rama at 5114 BC can be revised to the same astronomical Event around one Million ago.
So Lord Rama can be dated around One Million years ago, considering this evidence and the dates of Dwaraka(Dated 32 000 years ago), the earliest dwelling Tamil Site in Chennai which is a Million Years old.( and Tamil quotes Ramayana)
Image,Work in progress on the four-tusked elephant Stegotetrabelodon syrticus.
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