The Oldest Known Reference To A Total Solar Eclipse Occurred 6,000 Years Ago In An Ancient Hindu Text
After examining an ancient Hindu text called the Rig Veda, they discovered the earliest known reference to a total solar eclipse that occurred about 6,000 years ago.
The Rig Veda is a collection of hymns and quotes from various schools of religion and philosophy. It was compiled around 1500 B.C.
Some passages in the Rig Veda mentioned the position of the rising sun during the vernal equinox. The vernal equinox occurs twice a year. During these times, the sun is right above the equator, and day and night are of equal length.
One reference from the Rig Veda stated that the vernal equinox occurred in Orion, while another had it taking place in the Pleiades.
Experts have been able to date the references because the relative position of astronomical events changes as the Earth spins on its axis.
Right now, the vernal equinox is in the constellation Pisces. Around 4500 B.C., it was in Orion, and it was in Pleiades around 2230 B.C.
This means the Rig Veda contains documentation of events that happened much earlier than its compilation.
The language of the Rig Veda is highly symbolic and metaphorical, which makes it a challenge to determine the differences between myths and actual historical events.
However, two astronomers, Mayank Vahia from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai and Mitsuru Soma from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, think they have found real references to an ancient solar eclipse.
IgorZh – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
The passages describe the sun as being “pierced” with gloom and darkness. They also proposed that evil beings had caused the sun’s “magical arts to vanish.”
The passages do not mention the story of Rahu and Ketu, which is a more modern Hindu myth about the eclipse. The absence of the myth indicates that the passages were described before the story was created.
Other passages helped the astronomers pinpoint the timeline of the solar eclipse. It happened when the vernal equinox was in Orion, three days before an autumnal equinox.
It was also a total solar eclipse and must have occurred over the area where the writers of the Rig Veda lived.
There were only two possible dates on which the eclipse could have occurred: October 22, 4202 B.C., and October 19, 3811 B.C. Both dates are earlier than the current record-holders for the oldest eclipse.
A clay tablet from Syria documented an eclipse in 1375 B.C. or 1223 B.C., and a rock carving in Ireland might allude to an eclipse in 3340 B.C.
The findings proved that ancient civilizations were capable of advanced astronomical knowledge and highlighted the valuable insights that old texts can offer to modern science.
They also show that humans have had a fascination with celestial events that have been passed down to generations for thousands of years.
The study was published in the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage.
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