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Dating of Thirruppavai from pasurams.written byJayasree SaranathanVedas contain knowledge of everything under the Sun and Beyond.Similarly, Thiruppavai which is hailed as "Vedamanaitthukkum Vitthu"contains many concepts of worldly wisdomin addition to wisdom of the spiritual kind.Some such concepts as enshrined in Thiruppavaihelp us to locate the time period when it was composed.The well-known information on the period of Thiruppavai iscontained in the verse 13 (VeLLi yezhundu Vyaazham urangittru)indicating a celestial happening of simultaneousrising and setting of Venus and Jupiter respectivelyin the pre-dawn time of that day she composed that verse.Based on this information,Dr M.RajamAnikkanAr had identified 4 time periods,600 AD, 731 AD, 885 AD and 886 AD.He arrived at the probable time as 885 AD or 886 AD,based on the near opposition of Venus and Jupiterat pre dawn in the month of mArgazhi in those two years.But his analysis was done at a time when computer software was not developed.It will be a useful exercise if some one with the present day know-howexplore the time of this celestial happening.There are other information too, with which
 
we can roughly arrive at the time of Thiruppavai.They are discussed below and can be incorporatedif someone woks on a software on the sky map of those years.Of importance are two information,one, on the thithis andthe other in the probable days of GarbOttam as indicated in the paasurams.The thithi factor.Thiruppavai opens with the description of the Full moonin the pre-dawn sky of the first day.The day was a 'Mathi nirainda nannAL'It must have been the day of Pournami continuing even after sun-rise.In the month of Maargashira,pournami occurs when moon is in the star, Mrigashirsha..If the moon is in Mrigashirsha on Maargazhi pournami,then the sun must have been in Pooradam (pooravashada).This is crucial information.Because today Margazhi begins when the sun enters Moola star.Whereas the sun had entered Poorada in Andal's time,on the first day of Maargazhi.This is ahead of to-day's location by 13 degrees and 20 minutes!(that is the duration of a star – the distance between moolam and pooradam )The reason for this discrepancy is thatthe precession of the equinox is taking place continuously at the rate of 1 degreefor every 72 years ( 50.24 seconds / year).This information helps us in calculating the year
 
in which Andal had composed Thiruppavai.Today the precession is at 6 degrees, 40 minutes and 24 secondsin the constellation of Pisces.At the rate of 72 years for a degree,we can calculate how many years had preceded for 13-20 degrees.This comes to 960 years.That is, the occurrence of Full moon on the first day of Maargazhicould have happened 960 years ago.But the Full moon does not happen in the exact degree of Jyeshta.If we give allowance for 1 pada duration (3-20 degrees),that is, Full moon happening anywhere in the 4th pada of Jyeshta,we arrive at a figure 1200 years from now.That means Andal had lived anywhere between 808 AD to 1048 AD.Here we have to apply the Vunus – Jupiter rise and fall on a Krishna pakshadwaadasi ('Pullin vaai' pasuram coming on dwadasi if the first day is assumed tobe pournami).Going by this, we can say that the vernal equinox wasin Ashwini 2 nd pada in Andal's time.Today it is in Utthrattaadi (uttara bhadrapada) 1 st pada.Applying this calculation,we can say that in Krishna's time, the equinox was in Kritthikai 4th pada.GarbOttam.Let us see the other information that Andal is giving us.GarbOttam means conception of rains or pregnancy of clouds.This is a topic by itself in ancient Samhita works.
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