The world's oldest total solar eclipse has been discovered. Its most authentic documentation is believed to be in the Rigveda. Astronomers have considered the ancient total solar eclipse mentioned in the Rigveda to be the oldest. This event is estimated to have occurred around 6000 years ago. The Rigveda contains various religious and philosophical schools of thought.
These writings are believed to date back to around 1500 BCE. Like other ancient religious texts, the Rigveda also mentions ancient events. Some texts provide insights into ancient happenings, but the Rigveda is the oldest, frequently referencing the vernal equinox when the sun is directly overhead at noon.
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It is written that this equinox occurs in the Orion constellation, and another in the Pleiades constellation. This description led astronomers to begin their investigations. They started looking for dates. The Earth wobbles on its axis. Currently, the vernal equinox is in the Pisces constellation, meaning Orion was around 4500 BCE, and Pleiades around 2230 BCE.
Study of symbolic language by Indian and Japanese scientists
Scientists have acknowledged that the Rigveda mentions many things before they were recorded. As for the language of the Rigveda, it is highly symbolic. However, Mayank Vahia from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Mitsuru Soma from Japan's National Astronomical Observatory studied it.
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The real story of the solar eclipse as told in the Rigveda
Both scientists found references to the ancient solar eclipse in the Rigveda. Their study has been published in the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage. The story in the Rigveda differs from the usual Rahu-Ketu myth. These later myths were created, but the Rigveda offers a different explanation for the solar eclipse.
The event from the time of the Rigveda's writers
Both scientists began searching for the date of the vernal equinox in the Orion constellation, as the ancient solar eclipse occurred on this day. This is considered the first written total solar eclipse, meaning it happened during the time of the Rigveda's authors. They documented this event because they witnessed it.
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Two other civilizations also mentioned ancient solar eclipses
According to the calculations of both scientists, the oldest solar eclipse occurred sometime between October 22, 4202 BCE, and October 19, 3811 BCE. Prior to this, an ancient clay tablet mentioning the oldest solar eclipse was found in Syria, dating between 1375 and 1223 BCE. Additionally, Ireland had a rock carving of a solar eclipse from 3340 BCE.
