[Advaita-l] On evidence for and against Yugas of Indian chronology

[Praveen R. Bhat]

Namaste Raghavji,
​​

On Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 4:56 PM, Raghav Kumar Dwivedula via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> On 13-Nov-2017 4:52 PM, "Raghav Kumar Dwivedula" <raghavkumar00 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> ​
> I am also not too sure the time scales are merely an arthavAda for
> ​ ​
> inculcating vairagya. I am trying to take itihAsa (iti ha aasa - thus it
> ​
> happened ) as having atleast some historical basis. Sri Kanchi Periyava for
> ​
> one took them quite literally and seriously.


​As ​you and others rightly said that many Vedantins have no interest in
yuga dates, etc, which may be taken as mere stories or related to anAtma
and thereby landing on the moral of the stories instead. However,
traditionalists such as Kanchi Paramacharya have no pressure to agree to
so-called scientific conclusions and appear modern or rational to
scientists. The reason I call it so-called is because, its a work in
progress which will always be a work in progress! Even science agrees that
absence of proof doesn't mean proof of absence. There may be a new
scientific means available down the "yugas" which may give earlier dates.
Vedas are alaukika upAya for laukika gains also. No science can disprove
it, just as we cannot prove it. So it remains as shraddhA in shAstra that
is not logical or illogical but alogical (not subject to logic). That being
so, adRShTa phala or even adRShTa world cannot be known whether in Vedas or
Puranas, etc. A traditionalist would only resolve internal conflicts among
Shruti, Smriti, Purana, Itihasa, during mImAMsA.

While I do not know which is the right number of years in case of conflicts
among Puranic figures for yugas, I do not agree with lesser numbers such as
600yrs or other baseless views such as each yuga lasts 5000 yrs as some
dhArmic institution concluded and asserted that the ongoing yuga is
satyayuga! The commonly accepted is the 432000 calculation, despite
opposition from moderners.

Kind rgds,
--Praveen R. Bhat
/* येनेदं सर्वं विजानाति, तं केन विजानीयात्। Through what should one know
That owing to which all this is known! [Br.Up. 4.5.15] */​