On Some Comet Observations in Ancient India

Iyengar, RN (2006) On Some Comet Observations in Ancient India. In: Journal of the Geological Society of India, 67 . pp. 289-294.

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Abstract

A brief review of the ancient prose text of Parasara, referring to comets, as transmitted by later non-religious Sanskrit literature is presented. The information passed on appears to belong to 2nd millennium BC or earlier. A sequence of 26 comets with names and purported effects are given. The form of each comet sometimes with its position in the sky is presented vividly. A year number, mentioned as the time interval between each appearance, is also given. The total period covered adds to about 1300 years. The first comet is said to have appeared in the era of the Floods.This would date the Floods to about 2500-2700 BC. Whether this has any historical importance needs to be further investigated.The names of many comets correspond with names of Vedic deities. This raises the possibility of comet sightings being alluded to in the Rig Veda.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Journal of the Geological Society of India
Publisher:	Geological Society of India
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Geological Society of India.
Keywords:	Comets;Flood;Disasters;Anomalous phenomena;Sanskrit Literature;Ancient India.
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Civil Engineering
Date Deposited:	29 Jul 2008
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 04:48
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/15301

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