R.N. Iyengar’s paper on Hinduism & Historical Time
Sunder Chakravarty
Namaste ,
Sharing Prof R.N. Iyengar's recent paper in the Quarterly Journal of The Mythic Society.
Hinduism's approach to time is an effort to align human life with natural rhythms - from daily to cosmic. Time flows like a river - while some phenomena could be cyclic.
In my college circles, debates regarding the date and evolution of the Mahabharata often centered on a difficult balance: how to remain respectful of tradition while maintaining logical coherence. This work provides a necessary rubric for this, demonstrating how we can accept the text's 'para-historical' purpose while still anchoring it in verifiable observed records.
My Key Takeaways:
The Sankalpa as History: We often ignore the Sankalpa recited before rituals, but Iyengar points out it’s actually a time-keeping mechanism. It links the current moment to three time scales: the cosmic (creation), the intermediate (human history/eras), and the local time.
Dating via the Pole Star (Dhruva): This was the most fascinating part. The Taittiriya Aranyaka describes a constellation called Śiśumāra (Draco) with a fixed star at the tail. Based on the precession of Earth’s axis, this naked-eye observation of the star Thuban as the "fixed" pole star was only possible around 2830 BCE. It gives us a solid scientific anchor for the Vedic period.
The "Para-historical" Approach: The paper argues that Purāṇas aren't trying to be history books in the Western sense. They intentionally expand time into cosmic cycles (Yugas) to situate the divine Avatāras, making the texts "para-historical" rather than just a linear record of years.
The Mahabharata War Date: There is no single consensus on the date (estimates range from 3162 BCE to 1478 BCE). The author suggests we shouldn't get hung up on a specific year for the war because the text has too many layers. The astronomical dating of the Vedic texts themselves is much more reliable.
Awareness of Precession: Ancient astronomers knew the stars shifted over long periods. There are even records of King Bṛhadratha lamenting that "even Dhruva moves," which dates that specific text (Maitrāyaṇīya Aranyaka) to around 1800 BCE.
Scientific Temper: The tradition allowed for updates based on observation. For example, in the 17th century, the astronomer Kamalākara Bhaṭṭa updated marriage rituals to point to the current Pole Star (Polaris) because the original Vedic star was no longer in the north.
The astronomical data alone makes for a fascinating read - digging deeper highlights the psychological genius of the Sankalpa rite, which forces us to mentally locate ourselves not just in our local time, but within a vast cosmic timeline, fostering a unique sense of belonging that spans billions of years
Regards
Sunder
( message crafted with help of Gemini )