Jainthology

Author(s): Ganesh Lalwani
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 83

S. No.
Sighting confirmed in history
Years as per calculation
388
311
24.
235 149
25 26.
86
28.
69 B C. Julius Ceaser's time
145
,
240 B.C. (Plinny's age)
30.
221 297
31.
32.
373
33
450
34.
526
,
526 November, The year
of Mahavira's nirvāņa
The time of Halley's comet approaching its perihelien (nearest point to the sun) as arrived from calculation and shown in the chart is likely to differ from the time of its sighting from the earth. The reasons for the time lag are as under :
1.
The earth itself rotates round the sun ;
2. The earth and the comet do not travel in the same plane ;
3.
The direction of the rotation of the comet is opposite to that of the earth ;
The gravitational pull of some of the heavier planets would have affected the rotational period of the comet.
Yet the difference or time lag as stated above is not more than a few months only. As such it can be said with sufficient degree of certitude that the comet which appeared in the night of November 526 B.C. was none else than the well-known Halley's comet.
What is Bhaşma Rasi Graha ?
This comet has been named as Bhaşm Rasi Graha in Jaina literature. Bhaşma Rasi Graha is purely a Jaina mythological term and its reference
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