बृहत्संहिता (आचार्य वराहमिहिर - स्थापत्य, खगोल, मौसम व जल विज्ञान)

156 बृहत्संहितायाम् [Adh. XIII. Sl. 3-4 आसन्मघासु मुनयः शासति पृथ्वीं युधिष्ठिरे नृपतौ । षड्द्विकपञ्चद्वियुतः शककालस्तस्य राज्ञश्च ॥३॥ Sloka 3.—The Seven Sages were in the lunar man- sion—Magha—when King Yudhishtira was ruling over the earth, the period of that King being 2526 years be- fore the commencement of the Saka (Vikramarka?) era. The assumption made by certain commentators that शक should invariably refer to Vikrama Saka (56 B. C.) does not seem to be altogether correct. For, it is said in the Mahabharata that Kali set in soon after Krishna's departure. This should be 3102 B. C. Hence the age of Yudhishtira should be somewhere at the earlier part of the 32nd century before Christ. Subtracting 2526 from this figure we find that the Saka referred to in the Sloka should be in the 7th Century B. C. (far earlier than the age of the Buddha —5th century B. C.). Hence the above remark. तथा च वृद्धगर्गः । कलिद्वापरसन्धौ तु स्थितास्ते पितृदैवतम् । मुनयो धर्मनिरताः प्रजानां पालने रताः ॥ एकैकस्मिन्नृक्षे शतं शतं ते चरन्ति वर्षाणाम् । प्रागुदयतोऽप्यविवराद्यन्नयति तत्र संयुक्ताः ॥४॥ Sloka 4.—The sages in their course remain for a period of 100 years in each lunar mansion. Whichever star to the east of which the sages rise, makes them con- spicuous, in that they are said to be posited. प्रागुत्तरतश्चैते सदोदयन्ते मसाध्वीकाः is another reading. According to this reading, the meaning will be "they rise constantly in the northeast, together with the chaste Arundhatee." तथा च कश्यपः । शतं शतं तु वर्षाणामेकैकस्मिन् महर्षयः । नक्षत्रे निवसन्त्ये ते ससाध्वीका महातपाः ॥