Happy Pseudo Vishu To All!

I think today is an interesting day to discuss about the science culture we had in Kerala or making it a bit wider in India, because it's Vishu! It's a bit long, but if you like investigations, you should read it- I'd say... :)

Do you feel what's there to talk about science culture on this special day? Let us see... The following article begins from a fact that I recently read in some magazine. So I thought why don't we have a deeper investigation on it and look at our science culture.

Vishu is a well renowned festival; celebrated on Medam 1 based on Malayalam calendar.  The term 'Vishu' is derived from Sanskrit term Vishuva, which means equal. There are several versions of myths about Vishu. Along with them, it is known as Hindu new year, and the day of spring equinox... Our neighbouring states also have similar celebrations. Ugadi for Telugu- Kannada society, Puthandu for Tamil society and so on. The celebration dates goes as follows for a few and widely distributed states in India.

Holi, Gudi Padwa, Sajibu Nongma Panba, Navreh, Thapna are different versions of new year and equinox celebration according to Hindu Calendar. Most of them except a few like Ugadi and Gudi Padwa are celebrated around mid of April. Additionally Gudi Padwa was celebrated on March 20, in 2015 and April 8th, in 2016; like Ugadi.

Note that, it's a celebration of new year and spring equinox!

If it's a celebration of equinox, why does it vary from place to place?! that was a doubt I had from past few years when I met people from these places. Till then I was having a different conundrum... Do you remember the high school geography text books? We did study the spring equinox is on March 20, and yet celebrated Vishu on April 14 or 15. (Yet, I searched nothing about it and considered it as ancient useless astrology! -note: even a school student can be prejudiced so much!-)

Except the Telugu- Kannada-Marathi society rest of them have almost same date for the celebration of new year (and equinox!). Probably rest of them followed the same solar/luni-solar calendar. and Hence we do celebrate them on almost the same day. But the equinox is on March 20th/21st!

A glance at equinox...

Equinox is the day, when day and night are of equal length. As earth has an axial precession, the equinoxes shift each year with a cycle of ~26,000 years. Now we are in Pisces on the day of spring equinox in 2000's -the age of Pisces-. Since the spring equinox shifts each year, we will be in Aquarius after 10,000 years. Similarly winding back the years we would have been in some other zodiac signs in BC 3000's and in some other in the Triassic period.

The following video, it briefly explains the ages of different zodiac signs.

The equinox shifts a day backwards every 72 years.

We are in Pisces celebrating equinox as if we are in Aries; in 1000's BC! Why do we celebrate the spring equinox as if we are in BC 1000's - the Vedic Period???

A glance at Vedic era...

Vedic period; the era of star gazing with naked eyes... and the era of deep astronomical studies. We have strong evidences of having excellent astronomical studies in Vedic period; various solar and luni-solar calendars are themselves are excellent examples!

Almost every regional calendars are based on the Vedic calendar (Hindu calender) except a few like Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh; the states who has a very different timing for the celebration of new year and equinox, who has regional calendars based on Shalivahana Shaka Calendar (Indian national calender), the luni-solar calendar where the year start with SHAKA ERA EQUINOX on March 20/21. Nowadays it's considered to be the national calendar though that's not the real case: that calendar is not even updated properly, which is clearly seen from the oscillating equinox celebration day... Is that a coincidence??? Let us investigate more...

The Latest ancient recording is found from Bhaskara II's writings; History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Volume XV, Part 4 , page 42 edited by Debi Prasad Chattopadhyaya.

Now, the OLD Vedic calendar starts with vaisakha month, on the day of equinox, mid April...as the naame of new year festival of West Bengal suggests -Pohela Boishakh- or the new year festival of Punjab suggests -Vaisakhi-... who celebrated their new year on April 14/15 in 2015 and 2016. 

(this calendar existed till vikramaditya era, BCE 70s -look at the beauty of astronomical studies and scientific updates-)

Whereas them who follows Shalivahana Calendar, starts with Chaitra month, on the day of equinox, March 20/21 (built in 1st-2nd century), celebrated their new year on March 20th in 2015 and on April 8 in 2016...

What is happening to the most updated calendar from historic period, why the updated vikrami calendar from BCE 70s - 9th century CE was buried???What happened to Bhaskara II's studies and data???

Alarmingly the most updated one try so hard to align themselves with the Vedic calendar-I claim so because equinox can not shift from March 20 to April 8 and to March 29 in a year; so does their new year! So, if at all it is shifting it can't be scientific but due to some compulsion and one of the biggest compulsion I see is the unified new year celebration of rest of the India who celebrate their equinox and new year according to Vedic calendar-... If there was a well-established astronomy study stream in our culture (as we had strict four social classes which is strong even in this 2016 in the name of castes), we would have celebrated Vishu on March 20/21 and not on April 14... Why there were no one to continue the studies of Varahamihira or Bhaskara II???

Is that accidental that certain discipline  -astronomy, mathematics- went unnoticed??? Why we never had science as a culture but merely as discrete and independent studies???

So far it was a wonderful investigation. You may continue searching more on where did we lose the track of science way of thinking, why and how did we lose it...

Happy Pseudo Vishu to All...

PS: Vishu is derived from Vishuva, which means equal in Sankrit.