Sacred numbers and hidden astronomy
New articles!
I have been largely absent from social media over the past month or more. My upcoming book on declination, latitude, apogee, and the nodes is in its final proofing phase, with many glitches still needing correction. At the same time, I have been reading extensively whenever I could, as well as giving talks at several conferences.
One of the books I have been reading is Michael Danino’s incredibly interesting exploration of the geological age of the River Saraswati in India. Why is a geological survey so fascinating? This river is mentioned multiple times in the Rigveda, where its mighty waters are frequently praised. We can therefore imagine a large river with cities along its banks. Archaeological excavations have indeed found many of these cities, but the problem is that the river had already dried up around 1900 BCE. As a consequence, the cities must have been abandoned long before their water supply vanished.
These cities belonged to the Harappan, or Indus Valley, civilization, which some scholars consider the ancestors of the Vedas. Be that as it may, the Saraswati is mentioned in the Rigveda, which -and here it becomes particularly interesting for me -is full of astronomical references.
At this regard, there is another book I have been reading, Subkash Kak’s The Rigveda Code. This is not an easy reading and requires some side-research but this makes it only more intriguing. He assumes that the entire Rigveda is pieced together following an astronomical code. He goes into much detail showing how the number of hymns corresponds to astronomical numbers just as combinations of the several books that compose the Rigveda. The same code has then be used, he suggests, to build fire altars. The book is truly fascinating and prompted me to write an article on the Solar Steps, a concept used in Indian astronomy. These Solar Steps are different from the steps used by the Babylonians, which measure the declination of the planets, a topic that I cover in my book.
The Solar Steps relate to the actual Sun–Earth distance, but they connect this true distance to the apparent size of the solar disc as seen from Earth. In a sense, we could say that this idea combines a heliocentric with a geocentric perspective -a type of reasoning that Indian astronomers employed frequently. In fact, I have long suspected an underlying heliocentric worldview in Indian astronomy, predating the Greeks, from whom mainstream scholarship often claims the Indians derived their knowledge.
Here is one example from the Aitareya Brahmana, composed in the first millennium BCE during the late Vedic period (circa 900–500 BCE. Book 4, 19:
The sun being placed among these (highest worlds) as their ruler, burns with (his rays). Owing to this position, he is superior to everything in creation that has been and will be, and shines beyond all that is in creation. (In the same way, this Viṣuvan day) is superior (to all days which precede or follow.
The Sun is unmistakably described as the most important planet, just as the Visuvan (summer solstice) is described as the most important day, because on this day the Sun reaches its highest declination.
Of course we can also think about the implications on the name of the Moola Nakshatra. It means roots. The point is, this nakshatra coincides with the position of the Galactic Centre. That’s a heck of a coincidence, in my opinion.
Anyways, that’s it for today! Stay safe and look at the stars.
Recommended Links:
Recommended books:
-The Aitareya Brahmanam of the Rigveda, containing the earliest speculations of the Brahmans on the meaning of the sacrificial prayers, and on the origin, performance and sense of the rites of the Vedic religion, Translator / Editor: Martin Haug (first published in Bombay, 1863, in two volumes). online on archive.com
-Subhash Kak, The Astronomical Code of the Rgveda, Aditya Prakashan, 2019
-Michael Danino, The Lost River, On the trail of the Saraswati, Penguin Books 2010
Hi Tania,
What caught my attention most here is your reflection on Mūla Nakṣatra and the idea of a central point of convergence. That immediately connects, for me, with how Graha Dṛṣṭi works at a structural level, especially through Mūlatrikona as the rooted place from which planetary sight operates.
In Graha Dṛṣṭi, projection depends on having such a rooted centre in the zodiac. Sight extends because there is a point where direction settles and holds. Seeing Mūla linked with a deep centre of convergence feels very much in line with that logic, and it brings the idea of projection into clearer focus for me.
I appreciated that closing observation. It opens a door that feels worth stepping through. 😉