Questionnaire on the Dating of the Mahābhārata
Questionnaire on the Dating of the Mahābhārata A. Astronomy & Computational Methods Which modern software or astronomical models support inverse ephemeris (i.e., finding the date from planetary positions)? What are their limitations? How far back can they reliably compute? Why do these limitations exist (numerical instability, chaos, precession modelling, etc.)? What is the typical margin of error in long-term planetary simulations (using models like VSOP87, JPL DE431/406, Laskar, etc.)? How do small modelling errors affect deep-history dating? How reliable are the astronomical verses in the Mahābhārata? Are some likely to be interpolations or corrupted? Do different recensions (Krit, Bombay, Southern) show variation in these verses? When using astronomy for dating, how do scholars avoid “curve fitting” planetary positions to match preconceived dates? B. Arundhatī–Vasiṣṭha Phenomenon What is the scientific basis of the Arundhatī–Vasiṣṭha (Alcor–Mizar...