NAKSHETRA - A POSSIBLE INSPIRATION for the MARINER'S COMPASS
By Deepak Bhattacharya ¹ & P. C. Naik
Edited by Christopher F. Ash

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Part II: A Voyage to the Orient

The theoretical point of the celestial intersection [the "centre of Universe" or 2nd appearance] can be identified in the NAKSHETRA diagram. The constituent stars of Nakshetra are as in the table below.

W - West face monument E - East NK - Not Known SW - Southwest	The four corners of Orion are 12. Bellatrix (Uttareswara) 15. Betelguese (Prasurameswara); 17. Rigel (Lingaraj); 20. Saiph (Dakara Vivishana) a- Usha (Bimaleswar) b- Anirudha (Bhabanishankar) c- Chitralekha (Mohini)
TARAKKA STAR SANSKRIT MONUMENT 14 Hydra Falguni Megheswara 1 Regulas Magha Bhaskareswara 5 Dhube Kratu Chintamaniswara 9 Cassiopiea Kasyapa Rameswara 11 Pegasus U.B. Pada Chandaka Fort 16 Deneb Kaitos Udayagiri & Khandagiri 19 Archarner Nadimukha Kapileswara9 23 Crux Trisanku Dhauli (Bahirangeswar) 27 Crater Pakhi Raja Sisupalagada Fort North/Polestar has not been considered

Why the Kalingan Sailor and not some one else?

We have noted that Orion was visually aligned over the Kalingan territories for the longest period of time, in contrast to other places in the Indian sub continent. Natives of this region thus had the means to dare out to sea and home again with the navigational aid of the constellation. This practice must have taken a slow evolutionary route. While its studious aspect may have come much later; practice preceded. Time and tide were with the ancient Kalingan sailor (seasonal fair weather with a long coastal belt; across the bay, another land; none of these influences are available in India's southern tip, which has a vast endless ocean). Comparative archaeology throughout India indicates that he also enjoyed royal and social patronage as well.

As the ancient Kalingan sailor set sail from Kartika Purnimaa (under the full moon of November) he might have trusted in this celestial compass, or its hub (Orion), which in Vedic terms is "Jagya Soma" and in post Vedic and Siddhantic terms is "Kalapurasha / Rudra / Shiva." This may possibly explain why every evening, even now, the Oriya household holds a burning oil lamp to the night sky during the month of Kartika (October to November, we believe would have been the best time to have set sail). This practice is apart from the fortnightly hoisting of Masala / Maha deepa (the previously mentioned "flaming torch") atop the Lingaraj spire on every Chaturdasi.

Might we suggest that the spire itself may have acted as an additional signpost for the mariner, in daylight? Moreover, post sunset, the burning lamp may have played a role similar to that of a modern lighthouse. Might Chaturdasi have been an important date for navigation to and from the harbors?

In fact, coastal and deltaic hydrology supports this conclusion.

This argument, we deal with in our paper Balijatra (Sojourn to Bali Island), where we also try to peer through the demographic maze and locate the descendants of that ancient maritime class. It may be relevant to remind the reader that in our paper "The Cranium..." we have sought to portray the spire as a model of an ancient observatory. It may also be noteworthy that numbers of stars and constellations bear Indian names.

It was to the care of Kalingan sailors that Emperor Ashoka, post Dhauli (3rd century B.C) chose to entrust his only daughter in her voyage to Sri Lanka. Perhaps these professionals were indispensable even to the mighty all-conquering emperor.

Time of Rik Vedic and Nakshetra Civilisation

The time period between 36,000 B.C. and 10,000 B.C. mentioned above, if called the Rik and post-Rik Vedic, is fully consistent with the time of Nakshetra. It is indeed possible then that the two civilizations existed in parallel. A possibly more-articulate Panini / vedic culture may have derided the other but what harm the Kalingans may have done Panini,¹⁰ to his times and his civilisation, remains untraceable and presumably unreported.

Footnotes:

9. Nadimukha is marked by a Siva monument on the north bank of the river Gandhabati, which is the river that presently connects Ekamra with the sea, via the great Chilika Lake. Prior to Nadimukha ("river mouth") comes Matsyamukha ("fish in mouth"). Might Matsyamukha mark the place beyond which all those onboard a departing ocean vessel would have to depend on fish (no more exclusive vegetarian diet)? Interestingly one of the near-by settlement is called "Keuta sahi" ("fishermen's hove") to this day. Ketua sahi lies in between the monumental representative of b Orionis (Lingaraj) & Matsyamukha ( Kapileswar ). On the other hand, Nadimukha ("river mouth") marks the treminal point of the river Gandhabati, which services the great inland dock of Vela. Vela is located two kilometers to the east of the representative of b Orionis (Lingaraj) == it is almost linear. Again, prima facie, it appears that the southwest corner Dikpala ("maintainer of direction") of Lingaraj (180 foot high siva temple) seem to be in line with the representative of Nadimukha (Bhimeswar). This means the masala (maha deepa / "flaming torch") could have been seen by a boat approaching from greater distance.
   
   Both the archaeology members Matsyamukha & Nadimukha are ritually associated to this day with non Bramhin-Saivaits. Bramhinism has, in fact, taken over very few of the sites.
   
   Nadimukha archaeology marks the termity of the Nakshatra scheme in this direction. Thereafter, it is low flat land which merges into the world's largest brakish water lake, Chilika, which opens out into the sea. This could have been the mariner's route.
   
10. The Rik does not conceptualize Shiva nor Nataraja. This may indicate that the Rik period was coincident with Orion's ascendance over sub continental latitudes and the evolution and spread of the Shiva - Nataraja concept was marked by the constellation's descent. The southerners seek the character of Panini in the descent phase to Vedicanise Nataraja. It also supports our claim that the concept of Nataraja - Shiva (above) was present in the Tarakka forest and was not a creation of an Indian, Peninsular civilization. Does this then mean that Shiva - Nataraja was indigenous to the Tarakka zone? While Panini was a non-southerner and had not witnessed the 1st appearance of Nataraja - Shiva in the forest of Tarakka in his previous birth, and he is silent about why he did not visit the forest of TARAKKA…. .This all may indicate the two to be concurrent cultures - the TARAKKA civilization following the period of Orion's ascendance.