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Jonathan3628 t1_ivk7lpb wrote

Reply to comment by JonasNinetyNine in Dating the Mahabharata war – A tale of eclipses, archaeology, and genealogies by SomeDesiGuy

What seems pseudoscientific about it? The article was based on using astronomical events described in the text to determine the timing of events. Astronomical dating is an accepted technique in history, isn't it? (I know it's popular in Near Eastern history and in Mesoamerican history, but perhaps it isn't as accepted in Indian history?)

Are there flaws in the author's interpretation of the astronomical events, or the calculations he used?

The main issue I can think of is that maybe the astronomical information used to date the war (a solar eclipse that occurred in or slightly after the month of Kartika, which ended before sunset, and did not start too early in the day; and that there would have been a full moon very shortly before the war started) does not correspond to reality. For example, maybe the solar eclipse was just "made up" to make the story appear more impressive?

I'm not sure how a historian would determine whether the astronomical phenomena described in the text are real or not.

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JonasNinetyNine t1_ivko2pk wrote

Well, did the civilization that produced the text possess a elaborate and accurate grasp on and interest in astronomy, as far back as 2922 years ago?

And to date the war, one must operate under the assumption that it was an historical event, and shouldn't rather be understood as a part of vedic mythology

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