HISTORICITY OF THE KURUKSHETRA WAR

Historicity of the Kurukshetra War :

Attempts have been made to find the exact date for the occurrence of this war based on astronomical and literary records, such as the Mahabharat and later literature. There have been a number of theories put forward :

• Dr. S. Balakrishna concluded a date of 2559 BCE using consecutive lunar eclipses.

• Prof. I.N. Iyengar concluded a date of 1478 BCE using double eclipses and Saturn + Jupiter conjunctions.

• Dr. B.N. Achar states a date of 3067 BCE using planetary positions listed in the Mahabharata.

• Shri P.V. Holey states a date of November 13, 3143 BCE using planetary positions and calendar systems.

• Dr. P.V.Vartak calculates a date of October 16, 5561 BCE using planetary positions.

Other scholars discount such dating as speculative. John L Brockington offers a possible date of around 900 BCE. Battle of the Ten Kings, a battle between the Bharat king named Sudas and a confederation of ten tribes mentioned in Rigveda, is believed to be seed from which the mythology of the Kurukshetra war evolved. Attempts have also been made by Indian archaeologists to link Mahabharata events to archaeological records of early India such as the Painted Gray Ware pottery found in the Ganges basin. However, radiocarbon datings of the artifacts have suggested a period of 800 - 350 BCE.

References :

1. Among other references, a list of nine pre-1950 papers for the astronomical dating of the War is found in R. C. Majumdar and A. D. Pusalker (editors): The history and culture of the Indian people. Volume I, The Vedic age. Bombay : Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan 1951, p.320 (fn.4)

2. The Scientific Dating of the Mahabharat War

3. John L Brockington, The Sanskrit Epics (1998) Brill Academic Publishers, ISBN 9004026428

4. S.S.N. Murthy, School of Physical Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi-110067, The Questionable Historicity of the Mahabharat

Source :

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