Inspiration: Netizens Call Kerala Tourism 'Anti-Hindu' after it Tweets Beef Dish Recipe on Makar Sankranti
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Speaking for Kerala. we eat beef not because we want to intimidate/tease any idiotic belief system; we like it just like pork or chicken or fish!
If the tourism department happened to post a delicious beef fry coincidentally on Makar sankranti day, what to do?!
Kerala respects the right to practice religion and Kerala stays strongly against imposing a belief on everyone.
If Hinduism is about oppression, we'll proudly stay Anti-Hindu.
Let's divide the idiocy of the mob/the wise strategy of Hindu imperialism into two parts. socioeconomic and astronomy.
Socio-Economic part:
The earliest concept of daana -donation- can be found in Rigveda. Few of them are given below. Vedas- the books of knowledge- stated many practices, socioeconomic regulations, sometimes like a data book! Let's find the roots of holy cow from there!
godāna (donation of a cow)
bhudāna (donation of land)
vidyādāna or jñānadāna (sharing knowledge and teaching skills)
aushadhādāna (charity of care for the sick and diseased)
abhayadāna (giving freedom from fear- asylum, protection to someone facing imminent injury)
anna dāna (giving food to the poor, needy and all visitors)
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-Rigveda
हिङकर्ण्वती वसुपत्नी वसूनां वत्समिछन्ती मनसाभ्यागात |
दुहामश्विभ्यां पयो अघ्न्येयं स वर्धतां महते सौभगाय ||
“Making
the ‘hin’ sound, the treasure queen, desiring the calf of treasures with her
mind, has approached. Let this cow (aghnya) yield milk for the
two Asvins, and may she grow for greater prosperity”
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Aghnya means ‘not fit to be killed’ or ‘destroyer of sins‘
-Rigveda
Does it mean, the practices from 1500-1200 BCE retained ever after? Nope!
During the medicine studies and development during 200 - 100BCE, Charaka wrote in his book as follows
“Cow meat is beneficial in curing breathing problems, Ozaena, Ague, dry cough, fatigue, diseases due to burns and marasmus.”
-Charaka Samhita, Sutra Sthaanam, 27/79-80
गां हंति तस्मै गौघ्नो.अतिथिः
For it a cow is slaughtered; a guest is called ‘goghna’
-‘Uttarkradant’ chapter, Siddhanta Kaumudi (17th century sankrit grammar book)
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Briefly, like the 21st century, cows were used for different purposes, for milk, meat, donation (given by local government to people), and additionally as a commodity money.
Astronomy part:
Briefly, like the 21st century, cows were used for different purposes, for milk, meat, donation (given by local government to people), and additionally as a commodity money.
Astronomy part:
Makar sankranti is the day when Sun transit to 'makara' (capricon); the winter solstice! Indians celebrated it on Jan 15 this year.
Oh wait, but the winter solstice was on December 22nd!
Yes, you're right. The Indians still follow the Aries era calendar for the celebration. When Indian astronomers made a calendar from that era, they observed the winter solstice happened on the day of transit of capriocon to the Sun, which coincides with Jan 14/15 of Gregorian calendar.
It's not the property of Makar Sankranti alone, e.g. the Spring equinox is celebrated on April 14/15 when it's actually on March 20/21.
Due to the axial precession, earth changes its orientation against the celestial bodies causing a shift in the equinox, solstice etc. As a result we should update the calendar.
Due to the axial precession, earth changes its orientation against the celestial bodies causing a shift in the equinox, solstice etc. As a result we should update the calendar.
Many regional calendars in India follows the 2250 BCE- 100 BCE solar position based solar calendars, as a result you'll find the astronomy related festivals with a shift of ~3 weeks with respect to the 21st century the same astronomical events.
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Does it mean that Indian astronomers didn't notice the precession of earth at any point of time? NO! They not only have observed it, some of them had updated their calendars accordingly. Few of those astronomical calculations are given below.
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During the ruling of Vikramaditya -the emperor- 'Vikrama Samvat' (vikrami calendar), was updated with new year on the day of spring equinox (which coincides with the spring equinox in gregorian calander). Despite these observations and updation of calendars, the spring equinox is still widely celebrated on April 14/15. Some exceptions exist like the spring equinox festivals Gudi Padwa, Ugadi, and a few more [2]. They're so uncertain when to celebrate the equinox -wrt Aries era or Pisces?!-
This clearly shows that these regional calendars are no more scientific. More than that, they don't even know what they're doing. If they knew, they would've known the equinoxes and solstice can't jump from year to year.
Very interestingly, some places, who built their regional calendar based on Vikrama samvat of eg, Odisha, have some festivals in relation to the Dec 22nd winter solstice, though they also are no more scientific as a result they celebrate it on Dec 16 or 17.
Briefly, Makar Sankranti has nothing to do with beef or god, and killing cow has nothing to do with god or astronomy but with socioeconomic regulations.
Then why to connect all these together?! Let people celebrate and eat whatever they want unless it's harming a society!
