It is however not possible that three retrograde, as normally understood, motions of Mars, at Magha, Chitra-Swati and Jyeshtha, one after the other, could occur in any single year. Interpretation of Apasavya as Retrograde and Vakra meaning maybe, change of direction, veering to left or right, (not necessarily crossing the ecliptic), can be considered as an acceptable solution. If the Vakra motion i. e. crossing of ecliptic, had been seen at Magha and at Jyeshtha, one could accept Shri. Oak’s definition but it occurs at Rohini and before Anuradha.
Use of present tense in all statements of Karna and Vyasa creates problems which appear irreconcilable. At the start of war, Mars can be only 1)at Magha – मघासु (or 2) at Anuradha , - प्रार्थयते मैत्रम् 3) at Chitra, - पीड्यते or )at Shravan, -श्रवणे not at all four places, obviously. The text however uses present tense for all four! Also Mars would be at first three locations long time before start of war, if it had reached Shravan-Dhanishtha by start of war. So why Karna and Vyasa use present tense for earlier three positions is a puzzle. One could treat it as poetic liberty if the Vakra motion did take place at Magha and Jyeshtha, but it does not!
I wonder whether any better fit could be found in some other year. I have no means to check it.
I look forward to seeing similar video of Jupiter going Vakra at Shravan, when and where.
1 comment:
Shri. Oak has given a novel interpretation of Vakra motion. If Mars had actually crossed the Ecliptic anywhere close to Magha then even the discrepancy of mars crossing Ecliptic slightly before reaching Anuradha instead of in Jyeshtha (ज्येष्ठायाम्) could have been considered acceptable, considering the difficulty in exactly determining the crossing point for a naked eye observer. The discrepancy in case of the earlier crossing is far more glaring, 5 nakshatras before reaching Magha. So मघासु अंगारको वक्रः remains uncorroborated.
If going Vakra is simply changing direction (swinging left to right or other way) as I have proposed , though only half-heartedly, the videos need to be examined again to check whether Mars did change direction near Magha and Jyeshtha.
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