This document discusses archaeological evidence that supports the historicity of events described in the Mahabharata epic, including the existence of Krishna and the city of Dwarka. It summarizes astronomical, marine archaeological, and other archaeological findings that corroborate the dates of 1478 BC for the Mahabharata war and 1443 BC for the submerging of Dwarka city beneath the sea. It also argues against the Aryan invasion theory and suggests India had an indigenous civilization dating back 5000 BC.

1. AMAZING FACTS OF SHRI KRISHNA's DWARAKA
Shri Krishna's Dwarka submerged in 1443 BC
For thousands of years, we Indians have believed in the divinity of Shri Krishna. For us he was a
Karmayogi par excellence who gave us action oriented philosophy of life in the form of Bhagavad Gita.
But questions have constantly haunted us as to whether Shri Krishna was a historical character or is a
mythical character and whether war of Mahabharata was actually fought or was it great poet Vyasa’s
imagination.
Till recent past we did not have the wherewithal to search for and establish the truth. But modern
scientific tools and techniques like computers with planetarium softwares, advancements in
archaeological and marine archaeological techniques, earth-sensing satellite photography and
thermoluminescence dating methods, all have made it possible to establish the authenticity and dating
of many events narrated in ancient texts like Mahabharata. Recent archaeo-astronomical studies, results
of marine-archaeological explorations and overwhelming archaeological evidence have established the
historicity and dating of many events narrated in the epic Mahabharata. These have led to the
conclusion that Mahabharata War was actually fought in 1478 BC and Shri Krishna’s Dwarka City got
submerged under the sea in 1443 BC.
Astronomical Evidence - In the Mahabharata references to sequential solar and lunar eclipses as also
references to some celestial observations have been made. Dr. R.N.Iyengar, the great scientist of Indian
Institute of Science, Bangalore examined relevant references and searched for the compatible dates by
making use of planetarium software (PVIS and EZC). He concluded that most of these references were
internally consistent and that the eclipses and celestial observations of Mahabharata belong to the
period 1493 BC - 1443 BC of Indian History. (refer Indian Journal of History of Science/38.2/2003/77-
115).
In the Mahabharata there are references to three sequential solar eclipses and to some other planetary
positions. Reference to the first solar eclipse comes in the Sabha Parva (79.29), graphically described by
Vidur when Pandavas start their journey to the forest on being banished for 12 years of life in exile and
one year of life incognito after they had lost everything in the game of dice. After 13 years of exile and
incognito life, Pandavas came back to Hastinapur and they demanded their kingdom back but
Duryodhana refused. Several efforts to prevent war failed and war became imminent. There is a
reference to the second solar eclipse in the Bhisma Parva (3.29), following a lunar eclipse occurring
within the same fortnight a few days before the actual war of Mahabharata. These eclipses occurred
after 14-15 years of the first solar eclipse The epic also refers to some unfavourable planetary positions
between the second solar eclipse and the beginning of the war on Kartika Purnima (Bhisma Parva 3.14
to 3.19). On Kartika Krishna Ashtami, Saturn was near Rohini and Mars was between Jayestha and
Anuradha. Twenty two days later, on Kartika Purnima, Saturn was near Rohini, Mars was near Jayestha,
a rough planet (probably uranus) was between Citra and Swati. Another white planet (possibly Jupiter)
had moved from Purva-bhadra to Uttar-bhadra. Reference to the third solar eclipse comes in the
Mausala Parva (2.19 to 2.20) occurring in the 36th year of the Mahabharata War. This was visible from

2. the city of Dwarka which is stated to have been subsequently submerged under the sea. For these
observations to be internally consistent, there should had been three solar eclipses within a period of 50
years. The first one and the second one after a gap of 14-15 years should have been visible from
Kurukshetra whereas the third solar eclipse should have been visible from Dwarka after 35 years of the
second one.
From references to these eclipses and celestial observations Dr. Iyengar prepared the list of compatible
dates and concluded that these eclipses alongwith the stated planetary positions were observable
during the period 1493 BC - 1443 BC because the planetarium software shows that:
(i) On 19.3.1493 BC there was solar eclipse visible from Kurukshetra.
(ii) After about 15 years, on 1st June, 1478 BC, there was a solar eclipse visible from Kurukshetra which
was preceded by a lunar eclipse during the same fortnight on 16th May 1478 BC.
(iii) About 3 months later, there was Kartika Krishna Ashtami on 20.9.1478 BC when Saturn was near
Rohini (in Bhar-Kritika) and Mars was between Jayestha and Anuradha.
(iv) Three weeks later, on 12.10.1478 BC, there was Kartika Purnima when the war actually started. On
that day, Saturn was still near Rohini (as it actually moved from Bhar Kritt to Rohini between 1.6.1478
BC to 10.11.1478 BC). Mars was near Jayestha. Uranus, which probably is referred to as rough planet,
was between Citra and Swati. Jupiter had moved from Purva-bhadra to Uttar-bhadra on 12.10.1478 BC.
(v) In the 36th year after Mahabharata war in October 1478 BC, a solar eclipse could be seen from
Dwarka on 7.1.1443 BC.
Thus as per archaeo-astronomical calculations, Mahabharata War was fought in 1478 BC and Dwarka
City got submerged in 1443 BC. These conclusions arrived at are corroborated by marine archeologists,
archeologists as well as by the historians who have analysed the genealogy charts of rulers given in
Puranas.
Marine Archaeological explorations around Dwarka - The on-shore and off-shore explorations carried
out in and around Dwarka during last 50 years have revealed that Dwarka was a prosperous city in
ancient times which was destroyed and reconstructed several times. The work of great excavators like
Shri Z.D.Ansari and Shri M.S.Mate and chance discovery of temples of 9th century AD and 1st century
AD buried near the present Dwarkadhish Temple prompted setting of a Marine Archaeology Centre
jointly by National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). A project
for marine archaeological explorations in Dwarka was initiated under the dynamic leadership of great
marine archaeologist Dr. S.R.Rao who has the distinction of being awarded “The World Ship Trust
Award” for outstanding research done in this field.
Dr. S.R.Rao’s team consisted of expert under-water explorers, trained diver-photographers and

3. experienced archaeologists. The technique of geophysical survey was combined with the use of echo-
sounders, mud-penetrators, sub-bottom profilers and under-water metal detectors. This team carried
out twelve marine archaeological expeditions between the year 1983 to 1992 AD and articles/antiquities
recovered were sent to Physical Research Laboratory for dating. By using thermoluminescence, carbon
dating and other modern scientific techniques, artifacts were found to be belonging to the period 15th
century BC to 18th century BC. In his great work “The Lost City of Dwarka”, Dr. S.R.Rao has given graphic
and scientific details of these discoveries and artifacts. He has concluded that:
(i) The land for building the city of Dwarka had been reclaimed from the sea between 16th to 15th
century BC and a fortified city was built on boulder packing with outer gateway to the sea and inner
gateway to Gomti river. This corroborates the references in the Epic Mahabharata as per which Dwarka
city was built by Shri Krishna after reclaiming the land from the sea and it was built only a few years
before the Game of Dice in 1493 BC.
(ii) The thermoluminescence dating of lustrous Redware Pottery items found during explorations
revealed that these were 3520 years old i.e. around 16th-15th century BC.
(iii) The most famous rectangular seal with engraved motifs of bull, unicorn and goat found in trench
UW6 in the sea bed was dated as belonging to 16th century BC. The seal corroborates the references
made in the ancient manuscripts that every citizen of Dwarka was required to carry a mudra(seal) as a
mark of identification.
3 animal headed mudra, votive jar and copper bell
(iv) A copper bell and a copper lota, brass-items including U-shaped objects with holes at both ends and
a bronze bell, all were dated as belonging to 15th century BC. Stone anchors with double holes and
triangular prismatic stone anchors recovered from under the sea were similar to the ones found in
Lothal excavations belonging to 23rd century BC.
(v) A votive jar with seven characters inscribed was found. Reading based on Semitic-Indus-Phonetic
value revealed that script is old Indo-Aryan and similar to the other Indus seal inscriptions. The date
assigned to this votive jar and inscriptions is 15th-14th century BC.
(vi) Three iron nails and a stake, four potsherds and one small bottle of iron were dated 16th-15th
century BC indicating limited use of iron.
Thus, conclusions arrived at after carrying out these under-water archaeological explorations support
and validate the dates arrived at through astronomical calculations. These also prove that the
reconstructed city of Dwarka was a prosperous port town and that it was in existence for about 60-70
years in the 15th century BC before being submerged under the sea in the year 1443 BC.

4. artist's view based on marine archaeological reports and sumerged wall
Other Archaeological excavations - Most of the cities referred to in Mahabharata e.g.Mathura,
Hastinapur, Indraprastha, Kurukshetra and Dwarka were situated in the territories which are at present
known as Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, UP, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Extensive excavations carried out in these
areas have shown that Indus Civilization flourished in these areas between 3400-1500 BC. The
excavations carried out in Lothal in Gujarat have proved the existence of very advanced civilization
between 2300 BC to 1600 BC. The town was divided into the dock, the arcopolis and the industrial,
commercial, residential sectors. Artifacts recovered include gold jewellery and copper utensils.
Archaeological surveys at Kalibhangan in Rajasthan have identified the existence of a planned fortified
city between 2500-1700 BC. Artifacts excavated include baked bricks, semi precious stones, copper and
bronze articles. Photographs taken by American earth-sensing satellite known as Landsat have
confirmed that the river Saraswati described in the Rigveda as flowing from the “mountain to the sea”
was indeed a great river before 2000 BC. Archaeological explorations on the ancient beds of the
Saraswati e.g. at Kunal near Kurukshetra and at Banawali in Punjab have confirmed the existence of
highly advanced civilisation during 3400-1500 BC. Artifacts excavated include silver jewellery and articles
made of copper and bronze. Taken as a whole archaeological excavations establish the continuous
evolution of Sindhu-Saraswati civilisation between 3400-1500 BC culminating in the Mahabharata
period. The inhabitants of all the excavated places had similar ethnic features, spoke similar languages,
followed similar religious rites which were vedic in nature, knew about horse and rice, had advanced
knowledge of mathematics, made extensive use of copper and had discovered the use of iron. These
discoveries match with the details in the Epic as also with the belief of the historians that the use of iron
was discovered in India in 16th century BC. The War of Mahabharata acted as a watershed, putting an
end to the ‘copper age’ and ushering in the ‘iron age’ in 15th century BC. Archaeological excavations
thus support the conclusion that Mahabharata War was fought in 1478 BC.
Attempts have also been made to determine the year of Mahabharata War from the details available in
scriptures and ancient texts which include Puranas. When events are unrecorded for quite some time
and they are passed on to the succeeding generations through Shruti and Smriti traditions, the
inaccuracies and myths get mixed with reality on account of differences in the perceptions of different
individuals. However, it is for the objective rational individual mind to find out and differentiate facts
from fictions. Important informations, including the genealogy charts of rulers after Yudhishtira, are
available in Srimad Bhagvatam, Matsya Puran and Vayu Purana. On the basis of such evidence, famous
historian Lord Cunningham assigned the year 1424 BC to the War of Mahabharata. Another historian
Shri S.B.Roy in his work ‘Date of Mahabharata Battle’ also arrived at the same conclusion by combining
the literary and the astronomical route.
All these are very important pieces of evidence which prove that epic Mahabharata is not merely a myth
but is history and its central character Shri Krishna was a man with extra-ordinary abilities, around

5. whom legends were built over the years. The common man started having faith in the divinity of this
Supreme Hero, who for them is God incarnate.
After knowing all this, there can be no doubt in the mind of any rational person that what has been
taught to us in our school history books is not all correct. As per our history books, Aryans came to India
from Central Asia in their war Chariots in 15th century BC. They defeated and destroyed the natives who
were “aboriginal savages” . According to this theory both the Vedas and the Sanskrit language were
brought into India by these Aryan invaders. The most influential proponents of this theory were Max
Muller and William Jones who were linguists and they arrived at this conclusion on being struck by the
affinities between Sanskrit and European languages.This theory is not supported by any archaeological,
physical or scientific evidence. When subsequently archaeological excavations at more than 1100 sites
scattered all over major parts of India proved beyond doubt the existence of flourishing Indus civilization
during 3400 BC to 1500 BC then the proponents of Aryan invasion theory reacted by suggesting that the
invading Aryans had defeated the ‘Dravidian inhabitants’ of the Indus valley, least realising that such
theoretical assumption would change the character of invading Aryans from bringers of civilisation to
destroyers of great civilisation and culture developed by the native Indians.
The four sets of evidences referred to earlier point more to the probability that nobody had come to
India from Central Asia or from any other place. In fact, Indo-Aryan, kings and warriors had come to
Kurukshetra in their war Chariots from all over India to participate in the Mahabharata War and that a
whole lot of people got killed in that war. The killers as well as the killed, the victors as well as the
vanquished, the charioteers as well as the foot soldiers, all were Indians who had already experienced
thousands of years of prosperous and advanced civilisation. Archaeology also records a continuous
indigenous evolution of vedic civilisation going back to 5000 BC at sites like Mehrgarh and Koldi. It is sad
that, so far we have not known even a fraction about our ancient civilization and cultural achievements.
Detailed factual data in our ancient texts and sanskrit manuscripts is beckoning us to carry out further
researches. By making use of most modern scientific instruments and techniques we must discover the
true facts about our most ancient past. If we do that, we may be able to gather supportive evidences to
reassert that ours was the oldest civilisation in the world that flourished in India and that our ancestors
i.e. vedic Aryans had travelled from India to various parts of Asia and Europe to spread our knowledge,
civilisation and culture. When this is recorded we would be able to hold our heads higher and will be
able to take on the future with greater confidence.
Bibliography
1) “The lost city of Dawarka’ by Shri S.R. Rao ( Emeritus scientist and adviser, Marine Archeology), head
of Team for Exploration in Dwarka by Marine Archeology Centre. Aditya Prakashan , New Delhi.
2) R.N. Iyengar’s “ Internal consistency of eclipses and planetary positions in Mahabharata” (Indian
Journal of History of science, 38.2(2003) 77-115
3) ‘Mahabharata’ Translated into English from original Sanskrit Text by M.M. Dutt (Parimal Publications,
Delhi ) – 7 Parvas (volumes)

6. 4) “Lothal – A Harappan Port Town” By S.R. Rao – Vol. I & II, Archaeological Survey of India.
5) “The Saraswati flows on” by B.B. Lal, Aryan Book International, New Delhi.
6) “Date of Mahabharata War” by Shri S.B. Roy, The Academic Press Gurgoan.
7) “The Astronomical Code of the Rig Veda” by Subhash Kar, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd,
Delhi.
8) “Reference Encyclopedia (India – 2001)” By Hanna Myer, joint imprint created by Mermaid center,
Bangalore & Indmark Publishing New Delhi.
9) “Vedic Aryans and the Origins of Civilization” by Navaratna S. Rajaram and David Frawlley – Voice of
India, New Delhi
10) Ansari, Z.D. And Mate M.S. ( 1966) Excavations of Dwarka, Deccan College, Puna.
11) Rao, S.R. (1988) ‘ Marine Archaeology in India’ in “ 40 years of Research – A CSIR Overview”, Delhi.
12) Rao, S.R. (1991) “Dawn and Devolution of the Indus Civilization” Aditya Prakashan, New Delhi.
Shri Krishna's Dwarka submerged in 1443 BC For thousands of years, we Indians have believed in the
divinity of Shri Krishna. For us he was a Karmayogi par excellence who gave us action oriented
philosophy of life in the form of Bhagavad Gita. But questions have constantly haunted us as to whether
Shri Krishna was a historical character or is a mythical character and whether war of Mahabharata was
actually fought or was it great poet Vyasa’s imagination. Till recent past we did not have the
wherewithal to search for and establish the truth. But modern scientific tools and techniques like
computers with planetarium softwares, advancements in archaeological and marine archaeological
techniques, earth-sensing satellite photography and thermoluminescence dating methods, all have
made it possible to establish the authenticity and dating of many events narrated in ancient texts like
Mahabharata. Recent archaeo-astronomical studies, results of marine-archaeological explorations and
overwhelming archaeological evidence have established the historicity and dating of many events
narrated in the epic Mahabharata. These have led to the conclusion that Mahabharata War was actually
fought in 1478 BC and Shri Krishna’s Dwarka City got submerged under the sea in 1443 BC. Astronomical
Evidence - In the Mahabharata references to sequential solar and lunar eclipses as also references to
some celestial observations have been made. Dr. R.N.Iyengar, the great scientist of Indian Institute of
Science, Bangalore examined relevant references and searched for the compatible dates by making use
of planetarium software (PVIS and EZC). He concluded that most of these references were internally
consistent and that the eclipses and celestial observations of Mahabharata belong to the period 1493 BC
- 1443 BC of Indian History. (refer Indian Journal of History of Science/38.2/2003/77-115). In the
Mahabharata there are references to three sequential solar eclipses and to some other planetary
positions. Reference to the first solar eclipse comes in the Sabha Parva (79.29), graphically described by
Vidur when Pandavas start their journey to the forest on being banished for 12 years of life in exile and
one year of life incognito after they had lost everything in the game of dice. After 13 years of exile and
incognito life, Pandavas came back to Hastinapur and they demanded their kingdom back but
Duryodhana refused. Several efforts to prevent war failed and war became imminent. There is a
reference to the second solar eclipse in the Bhisma Parva (3.29), following a lunar eclipse occurring
within the same fortnight a few days before the actual war of Mahabharata. These eclipses occurred
after 14-15 years of the first solar eclipse The epic also refers to some unfavourable planetary positions
between the second solar eclipse and the beginning of the war on Kartika Purnima (Bhisma Parva 3.14

7. to 3.19). On Kartika Krishna Ashtami, Saturn was near Rohini and Mars was between Jayestha and
Anuradha. Twenty two days later, on Kartika Purnima, Saturn was near Rohini, Mars was near Jayestha,
a rough planet (probably uranus) was between Citra and Swati. Another white planet (possibly Jupiter)
had moved from Purva-bhadra to Uttar-bhadra. Reference to the third solar eclipse comes in the
Mausala Parva (2.19 to 2.20) occurring in the 36th year of the Mahabharata War. This was visible from
the city of Dwarka which is stated to have been subsequently submerged under the sea. For these
observations to be internally consistent, there should had been three solar eclipses within a period of 50
years. The first one and the second one after a gap of 14-15 years should have been visible from
Kurukshetra whereas the third solar eclipse should have been visible from Dwarka after 35 years of the
second one. From references to these eclipses and celestial observations Dr. Iyengar prepared the list of
compatible dates and concluded that these eclipses alongwith the stated planetary positions were
observable during the period 1493 BC - 1443 BC because the planetarium software shows that: (i) On
19.3.1493 BC there was solar eclipse visible from Kurukshetra. (ii) After about 15 years, on 1st June,
1478 BC, there was a solar eclipse visible from Kurukshetra which was preceded by a lunar eclipse during
the same fortnight on 16th May 1478 BC. (iii) About 3 months later, there was Kartika Krishna Ashtami
on 20.9.1478 BC when Saturn was near Rohini (in Bhar-Kritika) and Mars was between Jayestha and
Anuradha. (iv) Three weeks later, on 12.10.1478 BC, there was Kartika Purnima when the war actually
started. On that day, Saturn was still near Rohini (as it actually moved from Bhar Kritt to Rohini between
1.6.1478 BC to 10.11.1478 BC). Mars was near Jayestha. Uranus, which probably is referred to as rough
planet, was between Citra and Swati. Jupiter had moved from Purva-bhadra to Uttar-bhadra on
12.10.1478 BC. (v) In the 36th year after Mahabharata war in October 1478 BC, a solar eclipse could be
seen from Dwarka on 7.1.1443 BC. Thus as per archaeo-astronomical calculations, Mahabharata War
was fought in 1478 BC and Dwarka City got submerged in 1443 BC. These conclusions arrived at are
corroborated by marine archeologists, archeologists as well as by the historians who have analysed the
genealogy charts of rulers given in Puranas. Marine Archaeological explorations around Dwarka - The
on-shore and off-shore explorations carried out in and around Dwarka during last 50 years have
revealed that Dwarka was a prosperous city in ancient times which was destroyed and reconstructed
several times. The work of great excavators like Shri Z.D.Ansari and Shri M.S.Mate and chance discovery
of temples of 9th century AD and 1st century AD buried near the present Dwarkadhish Temple
prompted setting of a Marine Archaeology Centre jointly by National Institute of Oceanography (NIO)
and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). A project for marine archaeological explorations in Dwarka was
initiated under the dynamic leadership of great marine archaeologist Dr. S.R.Rao who has the distinction
of being awarded “The World Ship Trust Award” for outstanding research done in this field. Dr. S.R.Rao’s
team consisted of expert under-water explorers, trained diver-photographers and experienced
archaeologists. The technique of geophysical survey was combined with the use of echo-sounders, mud-
penetrators, sub-bottom profilers and under-water metal detectors. This team carried out twelve
marine archaeological expeditions between the year 1983 to 1992 AD and articles/antiquities recovered
were sent to Physical Research Laboratory for dating. By using thermoluminescence, carbon dating and
other modern scientific techniques, artifacts were found to be belonging to the period 15th century BC
to 18th century BC. In his great work “The Lost City of Dwarka”, Dr. S.R.Rao has given graphic and
scientific details of these discoveries and artifacts. He has concluded that: (i) The land for building the
city of Dwarka had been reclaimed from the sea between 16th to 15th century BC and a fortified city

8. was built on boulder packing with outer gateway to the sea and inner gateway to Gomti river. This
corroborates the references in the Epic Mahabharata as per which Dwarka city was built by Shri Krishna
after reclaiming the land from the sea and it was built only a few years before the Game of Dice in 1493
BC. (ii) The thermoluminescence dating of lustrous Redware Pottery items found during explorations
revealed that these were 3520 years old i.e. around 16th-15th century BC. (iii) The most famous
rectangular seal with engraved motifs of bull, unicorn and goat found in trench UW6 in the sea bed was
dated as belonging to 16th century BC. The seal corroborates the references made in the ancient
manuscripts that every citizen of Dwarka was required to carry a mudra(seal) as a mark of identification.
3 animal headed mudra, votive jar and copper bell (iv) A copper bell and a copper lota, brass-items
including U-shaped objects with holes at both ends and a bronze bell, all were dated as belonging to
15th century BC. Stone anchors with double holes and triangular prismatic stone anchors recovered
from under the sea were similar to the ones found in Lothal excavations belonging to 23rd century BC.
(v) A votive jar with seven characters inscribed was found. Reading based on Semitic-Indus-Phonetic
value revealed that script is old Indo-Aryan and similar to the other Indus seal inscriptions. The date
assigned to this votive jar and inscriptions is 15th-14th century BC. (vi) Three iron nails and a stake, four
potsherds and one small bottle of iron were dated 16th-15th century BC indicating limited use of iron.
Thus, conclusions arrived at after carrying out these under-water archaeological explorations support
and validate the dates arrived at through astronomical calculations. These also prove that the
reconstructed city of Dwarka was a prosperous port town and that it was in existence for about 60-70
years in the 15th century BC before being submerged under the sea in the year 1443 BC. artist's view
based on marine archaeological reports and sumerged wall Other Archaeological excavations - Most of
the cities referred to in Mahabharata e.g.Mathura, Hastinapur, Indraprastha, Kurukshetra and Dwarka
were situated in the territories which are at present known as Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, UP, Rajasthan and
Gujarat. Extensive excavations carried out in these areas have shown that Indus Civilization flourished in
these areas between 3400-1500 BC. The excavations carried out in Lothal in Gujarat have proved the
existence of very advanced civilization between 2300 BC to 1600 BC. The town was divided into the
dock, the arcopolis and the industrial, commercial, residential sectors. Artifacts recovered include gold
jewellery and copper utensils. Archaeological surveys at Kalibhangan in Rajasthan have identified the
existence of a planned fortified city between 2500-1700 BC. Artifacts excavated include baked bricks,
semi precious stones, copper and bronze articles. Photographs taken by American earth-sensing satellite
known as Landsat have confirmed that the river Saraswati described in the Rigveda as flowing from the
“mountain to the sea” was indeed a great river before 2000 BC. Archaeological explorations on the
ancient beds of the Saraswati e.g. at Kunal near Kurukshetra and at Banawali in Punjab have confirmed
the existence of highly advanced civilisation during 3400-1500 BC. Artifacts excavated include silver
jewellery and articles made of copper and bronze. Taken as a whole archaeological excavations establish
the continuous evolution of Sindhu-Saraswati civilisation between 3400-1500 BC culminating in the
Mahabharata period. The inhabitants of all the excavated places had similar ethnic features, spoke
similar languages, followed similar religious rites which were vedic in nature, knew about horse and rice,
had advanced knowledge of mathematics, made extensive use of copper and had discovered the use of
iron. These discoveries match with the details in the Epic as also with the belief of the historians that the
use of iron was discovered in India in 16th century BC. The War of Mahabharata acted as a watershed,
putting an end to the ‘copper age’ and ushering in the ‘iron age’ in 15th century BC. Archaeological

9. excavations thus support the conclusion that Mahabharata War was fought in 1478 BC. Attempts have
also been made to determine the year of Mahabharata War from the details available in scriptures and
ancient texts which include Puranas. When events are unrecorded for quite some time and they are
passed on to the succeeding generations through Shruti and Smriti traditions, the inaccuracies and
myths get mixed with reality on account of differences in the perceptions of different individuals.
However, it is for the objective rational individual mind to find out and differentiate facts from fictions.
Important informations, including the genealogy charts of rulers after Yudhishtira, are available in
Srimad Bhagvatam, Matsya Puran and Vayu Purana. On the basis of such evidence, famous historian
Lord Cunningham assigned the year 1424 BC to the War of Mahabharata. Another historian Shri S.B.Roy
in his work ‘Date of Mahabharata Battle’ also arrived at the same conclusion by combining the literary
and the astronomical route. All these are very important pieces of evidence which prove that epic
Mahabharata is not merely a myth but is history and its central character Shri Krishna was a man with
extra-ordinary abilities, around whom legends were built over the years. The common man started
having faith in the divinity of this Supreme Hero, who for them is God incarnate. After knowing all this,
there can be no doubt in the mind of any rational person that what has been taught to us in our school
history books is not all correct. As per our history books, Aryans came to India from Central Asia in their
war Chariots in 15th century BC. They defeated and destroyed the natives who were “aboriginal
savages” . According to this theory both the Vedas and the Sanskrit language were brought into India by
these Aryan invaders. The most influential proponents of this theory were Max Muller and William Jones
who were linguists and they arrived at this conclusion on being struck by the affinities between Sanskrit
and European languages.This theory is not supported by any archaeological, physical or scientific
evidence. When subsequently archaeological excavations at more than 1100 sites scattered all over
major parts of India proved beyond doubt the existence of flourishing Indus civilization during 3400 BC
to 1500 BC then the proponents of Aryan invasion theory reacted by suggesting that the invading Aryans
had defeated the ‘Dravidian inhabitants’ of the Indus valley, least realising that such theoretical
assumption would change the character of invading Aryans from bringers of civilisation to destroyers of
great civilisation and culture developed by the native Indians. The four sets of evidences referred to
earlier point more to the probability that nobody had come to India from Central Asia or from any other
place. In fact, Indo-Aryan, kings and warriors had come to Kurukshetra in their war Chariots from all over
India to participate in the Mahabharata War and that a whole lot of people got killed in that war. The
killers as well as the killed, the victors as well as the vanquished, the charioteers as well as the foot
soldiers, all were Indians who had already experienced thousands of years of prosperous and advanced
civilisation. Archaeology also records a continuous indigenous evolution of vedic civilisation going back
to 5000 BC at sites like Mehrgarh and Koldi. It is sad that, so far we have not known even a fraction
about our ancient civilization and cultural achievements. Detailed factual data in our ancient texts and
sanskrit manuscripts is beckoning us to carry out further researches. By making use of most modern
scientific instruments and techniques we must discover the true facts about our most ancient past. If we
do that, we may be able to gather supportive evidences to reassert that ours was the oldest civilisation
in the world that flourished in India and that our ancestors i.e. vedic Aryans had travelled from India to
various parts of Asia and Europe to spread our knowledge, civilisation and culture. When this is recorded
we would be able to hold our heads higher and will be able to take on the future with greater
confidence. Bibliography 1) “The lost city of Dawarka’ by Shri S.R. Rao ( Emeritus scientist and adviser,

10. Marine Archeology), head of Team for Exploration in Dwarka by Marine Archeology Centre. Aditya
Prakashan , New Delhi. 2) R.N. Iyengar’s “ Internal consistency of eclipses and planetary positions in
Mahabharata” (Indian Journal of History of science, 38.2(2003) 77-115 3) ‘Mahabharata’ Translated into
English from original Sanskrit Text by M.M. Dutt (Parimal Publications, Delhi ) – 7 Parvas (volumes) 4)
“Lothal – A Harappan Port Town” By S.R. Rao – Vol. I & II, Archaeological Survey of India. 5) “The
Saraswati flows on” by B.B. Lal, Aryan Book International, New Delhi. 6) “Date of Mahabharata War” by
Shri S.B. Roy, The Academic Press Gurgoan. 7) “The Astronomical Code of the Rig Veda” by Subhash Kar,
Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd, Delhi. 8) “Reference Encyclopedia (India – 2001)” By Hanna
Myer, joint imprint created by Mermaid center, Bangalore & Indmark Publishing New Delhi. 9) “Vedic
Aryans and the Origins of Civilization” by Navaratna S. Rajaram and David Frawlley – Voice of India, New
Delhi 10) Ansari, Z.D. And Mate M.S. ( 1966) Excavations of Dwarka, Deccan College, Puna. 11) Rao, S.R.
(1988) ‘ Marine Archaeology in India’ in “ 40 years of Research – A CSIR Overview”, Delhi. 12) Rao, S.R.
(1991) “Dawn and Devolution of the Indus Civilization” Aditya Prakashan, New Delhi.