PHRASES IN THE GITA - 94

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PHRASES IN THE GITA - 94

षण्मासा उत्तरायणम्  ... षण्मासा दक्षिणायनम्  ...  (अध्याय ८ - श्लोक २४ , २५)
ஷண்மாஸா உத்தராயணம்  ...  ஷண்மாஸா தக்ஷிணாயனம்  ...  (அத்யாயம் 8 - ஶ்லோகம் 24 , 25)
Shanmaasaa Uttaraayanam ...  Shanmaasaa Dakshinaayanam ...  (Chapter 8 - Shloka 24 , 25)

Meaning :  Six months of Uttaraayanam and six months of Dakshinaayanam ...

Ayanam in Samskritam is Path ..  These are Paths of the Sun ...  Uttara is North and Dakshin is South in Samskritam .  The period (Half Year) wherein Sun travels , rather seems to travel towards North is Uttaraayanam and the period (half year) in which the Sun seems to travel southwards is called Dakshinayanam .  This is splendid discovery .  Our ancestors who could see and discover this must have been masters in Geo-Positions of the planets .  This discovery was made how many thousands years back ?  What types of instruments must have been used in making these calculations ?  We do not know , but it is an absolute truth that they discovered this movement of the Sun and calculated it on yearly calendar .  Swami Vivekananda while addressing the Whites in Amerika said , "At a time when you did not cook your meat and were eating raw , at a time when you did not wear clothes and roamed around with colour spots on your bodies , at a time when you lived on trees and caves , our Hindu ancestors lived a glorious civilized life and had mastered many fields of science ."

If the imaginary straight line connecting the North pole and the South pole or the axis around which the earth spins had been vertical and not tilted towards the Sun , if the Sun had been exactly to the East of the earth , probably , this concept of Uttarayana and Dakshinayana might not have come up .  This slight tilt of the North pole towards the Sun for six months and slight tilt away from the Sun for the other six months is the reason for this concept .  If the Sun is observed for a year , it appears to move Northwards for six months and Southwards for the other six months .  The day on which it appears to change its direction from Southward journey to Northwards is Makara Sankranthi .  The period of Sun's travel in Northwards direction is Uttarayana .  The day on which it appears to change its direction Southwards is Karka Sankranthi .  Period of Journey towards South is Dakshinayana .

Hindus have named the transition day as Punya Kaala or Auspicious Time .  Uttarayana Punya Kaalam is period of gaiety , celebration and worship of Sun , as it coincides with harvest .  The Dakshinayana Punya Kaalam starts the darker half year and hence is meant for study of scriptures , Religious festivals and fasts . 

Modern scientist declare December 21st as the day of transition from Dakshinayana to Uttarayana , as the day on which the Sun changes its path from southward to Northward .  According to our calculations , it is either January 13th or 14th (very rarely on 12th Jan.)  Why this difference ?  If you consider the distance of the Sun from our planet , relatively miniscule size of our planet , change in location of observation (Ujjain - Greenwich) and different yardsticks , this difference is not unexpected .  The Sun does not move .  It is firmly fixed at its own position .  We calculate this path of Sun on the basis of a virtual line projected on the earth . And the Sun does not suddenly change its direction of travel at a particular moment .

What about the belief that death in Uttarayana is Holy and the deceased will reach the world of Gods (Deva Loka) ?  Yes .  There is a belief and the cause for the belief is Bheeshma's wait on the bed of Arrows till the onset of Uttarayana ...  What we get after death is our own Karma Phala or 'fruits of our own actions' .  Nothing more and nothing less .  It is true that Bheeshma waited for Uttarayana .  Reason is not the desire to reach the world of Gods .  Bheeshma belonged to the world of Gods .  He was one of the eight Vasus (Ashta Vasu) .  He had to experience human life on the earth as the result of a curse .  On completion of his human life , he had to return to the world of Gods .  Uttarayana , here in this world is Day in the world of Gods .  So , he waited for day break in his destination , so that he reaches there in daylight .  If we live a life as Virtuous as Bheeshma , we also will reach the world of Gods , not on the basis of timing of our death .

Rituals for our dead ancestors are to be performed on Uttarayana transition date (Makara Sankranti) and Dakshinayana Punya Kalam (Karka Sankranti - Auspicious time of Dakshinayana transition) .