Carbon dating of Charaka Samhita

Tangents of Charaka’s Arc – 1

It is all accepted fact that the Charaka Samhita is the oldest Medical recordings in Indian Heritage. The question is how old is it? The historians date it as the very recent and of 2000 year old. But the fact is bitter for them. The Charaka (Agnivesha), when he records his first words of testimonials, states that the first ever meeting of the health seekers / workers took place at Himalayan province with the participation of sages from all over world. He narrated the Charaka in the form of conversations of the participants and statements. One of such conversational statement returns us to the dates of Ayurveda development in Human Interface. Till that time only the “Devata” are known with this Medical Measures and the Human is not aware. This is clear as the “Bharadwaja” went to Indra (deity), as the solemnly representative of the entire Human race to learn the Ayurveda, the Health science.

Propagation of Ayurveda in Human

The propagation of Ayurveda in human races are said to be at the early days of “Tretayuga” i.e. approximately 14000 years back. To have authenticity of this we refer the sentences used in Janapadodhwansa chapter as “bhrishyati Kritayuge”. It states that, long back in kritayuga the diseases spread extensively and killed the huge human population. Later on such incidents are not occurred. There were no mentions of Tretayuga, Dwaparayuga or even Kaliyuga, any where in the Charaka Samhita. With this we understand that the era of human interface with Ayurveda first occurred in early Treatayuga.

Another word here used is the Human interface. Bharadwaja, who is the first Human disciple of Indra, have no Prior Ayurveda learner from the human race. The rest Dhanvantari (Divodasa) and others learned Ayurveda in due course from Indra and Bharadwaja, Punarvasu, etc. The Indra of Veda times is a deity and later on it became as a post by Purana times and who ever performs the 100 Yagnya has the eligibility to become “Indra” like Nahusha. Is the initial “Indra” is an Extra terrestrial? Is this Ayurveda descending from extra terrestrial or developed in Human knowledge? Was it really happened 14000 years ago or even long enough?

o The age of the Earth is 4.54 ± 0.05 billion years (4.54 × 109 years ± 1%). This age is based on evidence from radiometric age dating of meteorite material and is consistent with the ages of the oldest-known terrestrial and lunar samples. Following the scientific revolution and the development of radiometric age dating, measurements of lead in uranium-rich minerals showed that some were in excess of a billion years old [1].

o The Paleocene, lasted from 65.5 ± 0.3 Ma (ICS 2004) to 55.8 ± 0.2 Ma (ICS 2004). In many ways, the Paleocene continued processes that had begun during the late Cretaceous Period. During the Paleocene, the continents continued to drift toward their present positions. Supercontinent Laurasia had not yet separated into three continents – Europe and Greenland were still connected North America and Asia were still intermittently joined by a land bridge, while Greenland and North America were beginning to separate [2].

o The Laramide orogeny of the late Cretaceous continued to uplift the Rocky Mountains in the American west, which ended in the succeeding epoch. South and North America remained separated by equatorial seas (they joined during the Neogene); the components of the former southern super-continent Gondwanaland continued to split apart, with Africa, South America, Antarctica and Australia pulling away from each other. Africa was heading north towards Europe, slowly closing the Tethys Ocean, and India began its migration to Asia that would lead to a tectonic collision and the formation of the Himalayas [3].

o During its long span of existence, Gondwana, through movements that would have been imperceptibly slow to the unaided human senses, merged with a northern hemispheric land mass, Laurasia, to form the super-continent Pangaea, until the two masses gradually parted again. That is, Gondwana existed both before the super-continent Pangaea formed near the end of the Paleozoic era (roughly 350 to 260 million years ago), and it remained together, with some changes, after Pangaea broke up during the Triassic and Jurassic periods of the Mesozoic (with this rifting beginning about 208 million years ago). Gondwana itself began to break up in the mid to late Jurassic period about 150 million years ago [4].

o The earliest phase of tectonic evolution was marked by the cooling and solidification of the upper crust of the earth surface in the Archaean era (prior to 2.5 billion years) which is represented by the exposure of gneisses and granites especially on the Peninsula. These form the core of the Indian craton. The Aravalli Range is the remnant of an early Proterozoic orogen called the Aravali-Delhi orogen that joined the two older segments that make up the Indian craton. It extends approximately 500 kilometres (311 mi) from its northern end to isolated hills and rocky ridges into Haryana, ending near Delhi [5].

It is clear that the history of present India is long and started 140 million years ago as “Jambudwipa” and float long time to join the present Russia to form Himalayan range. The Indian time calculation used delineated measures like Kalpa, Manwantara, Mahayuga, Yuga, etc. The present Kaliyuga 5114 years are part of one of such Mahayuga and with its prior Krita, Treta and Dwapara. With the fixation of present set yuga timeline, we are clear to say the Ayurveda is older then Ramayana. Historicity of Ramayana and Mahabhart Eras are fixed in “Scientific Evidences from the depths of Oceans to the Heights of the Skies” which was held in New Delhi on 14th March, 2012, by ISERVE. The venue is placed in R.K. Sadan of Kurukshetra University Campus. Ramayana time is fixed by various aspects as 14000 years and even older. They are as follows.

i) The astronomical references in Rigveda represent the sky view of dates belonging to the period 8000 BC to 4000 BC and those mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana refer to sky views seen sequentially on dates around 5000 BC.

ii) The ecological references in ancient books, especially those relating to melting of glaciers and fluctuations in water volumes of ancient rivers, seem to corroborate such astronomical dates. Recent research reports on paleoclimatic changes have revealed that, after the last ice age and in the beginning of the Holocene, the glaciers first melted near the equator i.e. in south India, and civilization started developing on the Banks of the rivers which started flowing there. When populations multiplied, these river waters became insufficient and some more adventurous people started traveling from south to north. Such northward migration continued for several centuries and finally when these people reached the banks of Himalayan Rivers, they got climatic conditions conducive to long term development of civilization on the banks of these rivers providing security of water, food and shelter. This period starts from around 10000 BC and covered Vedic and Ramayana eras.

iii) Remote Sensing pictures taken by ISRO, corroborated by geological reports, have revealed that a mighty river system, referred to in Vedas and Epics as Saraswati, was flowing with full majesty during Ramayana period i.e. around 6000- 4000 BC. However this river system slowly started drying up and almost disappeared around 3000 BC as in Mahabharat it is stated to have disappeared near Vinasan in Rajasthan. These conclusions have been supported by sedimentology, hydrogeology and drilling data. These conclusions not only support the astronomical dates of Vedas and Epics but also support such references in ancient books.

iv) The oceanographic reports on fluctuations of water levels in the oceans have revealed that sea level was around 9 to 10 feet below the present level Therefore Ram Sethu was a walkable bridge around 5000 BC therefore, it could be used as a land route from Rameshwaram to Talaimannar in Ramayana era.

v) The paleobotanical research reports have revealed that certain cultivated varieties of plants, trees and herbs, which are mentioned in Vedas and Epics, have existed in India continuously for more than 8000 years. Remains of cultivated rice, wheat and barley have been found belonging to 7000 BC; melon seeds, lemon leaf, pomegranate, coconut and date palm etc relating to 4000 BC; lentils, millets and peas etc from 3000 BC; use of reetha, amla and shikakai for making shampoo since 2500 BC. These plants remained in use continuously indicating that there was not any abrupt end of ancient Indian civilization as is normally being taught in schools and colleges and that their references in Ramayana and Mahabharat get corroborated scientifically.

vi) The latest archaeological excavations have revealed large volume of new data which has proved the indigenous origin and development of civilization in the Indian Subcontinent since 7000 BC. Some examples are: Lahuradeva, Jhusi, Tokwa and Hetapatti in Ganga Valley in the east; Mehrgarh, Kot Diji and Nausharo in Indus valley in the northwest; Lothal and Dholavira in the west. The material testimonies of these excavations have shown gradual cultural developments from the 7^th-6^th millennium BC in the entire region of Indus-Saraswati-Ganga system for a period of almost eight thousand years. Thus archaeology is also supporting the astronomical, ecological and anthropological conclusions that Aryans were originals of India, they have been creating and nurturing a continuously developing civilization for last 10000 years and dispersal probably happened the other way round.

vii) The anthropological research reports have established that DNA dating for Paleolithic continuity starts from 60000 BC. The Genome studies during the Holocene have revealed that the genetic profile of humans settled in north, south, east and west of India is the same and has remained the same for the last more than 11000 years. It is also significant to note that the inhabitants of the Harappan civilization were not a mysterious people of unknown biological origins, or migrants from western/central Asia, but they were the indigenous people identified with the pre/early Harappan cultures of northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Therefore, contrary to the popular belief, the Dravidians as well as north Indians have common ancestors and both are originals of India, have common genetic profile and thus had common ancestors. This corroborates the details of geneology charts prepared for Ramayana era.

Astrologically, another important landmark is the initiation of Medicine on “Pushyami” star day. Pre Ramayana periods used to calculate the Zodiac from Pushyami and it is said as the new year start. Today we fixed the Ashwini and Chaitra as the New Year day and celebrate as “Yugadi”. Ayurveda even today practices Pumsavana, etc, auspicious medicinal distribution on Pushyami star day. With these we may have a conclusion that the Ayurveda is brought from a Known (Devata / Extra terrestrials) source of those days (the Devata interferences are recorded till Mahabharata period i.e. 5000 years ago and maybe we lost the connection now) and propagated among Human 14000 years ago, i.e. before to Ramayana period for the welfare of human race.

References:

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_the_Earth

2) J.J. Hooker, 2005, “Tertiary to Present: Paleocene,” in Richard C. Selley, L. Robin McCocks, and Ian R. Plimer.

Encyclopedia of Geology, (Oxford, UK: Elsevier Limited. ISBN 0126363803), 459-465

3) http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Geological_history_of_Earth

4) http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Gondwana

5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_India