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Determination of the exact period of the Mahabharat, the greatest epic
of the Sanskrit language and treasure of Hindu tradition, has been one
of the most difficult and controversial problems of religious history since
the eighteenth century. Religious historians outside India have consistently
argued that the events described in the Mahabharat and the Purans are completely
mythical and have virtually no relationship to history. On the other hand,
Indian scholars have argued, equally vehemently, that the stories of Hindu
scriptures are irrefutable facts of history. It has been pointed out that
nothing comparable to the genealogy of the Bible exists in the entire collection
of Hindu sacred literature. All the generations of mankind between Abraham
and Jesus Christ are clearly identified in the Bible while the purans merely
mention that 1115 years will pass between the reign of Nanda, the first
famous king of Kali-age (kaliyuga), and Parikshit, the last Pandava king
of the Dvapar age (Dvaparyuga). Detractors of ancient Indian tradition
have used this argument for centuries as the most powerful weapon in their
intellectual arsenal to attack the foundations of the rich and varied tradition
of Sanskrit epics and Purans which represents a perfect socio-cosmic harmony
of history and mythology.
Fortunately, many works of the Vedic and Puranic tradition contain a
sufficient number of clues in the form of astronomical observations which
can be used to determine the approximate date of Mahabharata and thus establish
the historical authenticity of the events described in this great epic.
Notable among these works are the Parashar Sanghita, the Bhagvat Puran,
Shakalya Sanghita, and the Mahabharat itself. Aryabhatta, one of the greatest
mathematicians and astronomers of India in the fifth century AD, examined
the astronomical evidence described in the Mahabharata in his great work
known as the "Aryabhattiya". According to the positions of the
planets recorded in the Mahabharata, its approximate date was calculated
by Aryabhatta to be 3100 BC implying that the great war described in the
Mahabharata was fought approximately 5000 years ago, as most Hindus have
always believed.
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