Mahabharata...An ancient Nuclear War?

Years have rolled by since India detonated its first Nuclear weapon to join the league of the so-called "Nuclear Power"s. However a little research on the Mahabharata indicates that India could have been a Nuclear Power millenniums before the rest of the world even came to know of the existence of atoms. Incidentally, Oppenheimer, the inventor of the atom bomb, on being interviewed by the media, gave a surprising reply referring to the atom bomb which he had just invented, as- " not the first nuclear weapon, but the first one of modern times".

A few excerpts from the Mahabharata have caused doubts in the minds of historians, indicating the possibility of nuclear weapons being used in the Mahabharata war or post-war. This fire of suspicion has further been fuelled by the recent discoveries of green glass and many radioactive samples in certain excavations, in India, which apparently were associated with the Mahabharata war. Green glass is said to form when sand melts at very high temperatures prevalent in Nuclear Explosions . The following is an excerpt found in many websites, reproduced as it is.

"Gurkha, flying a swift and powerful vimana (fast aircraft)hurled a single projectile (rocket) charged with the power of the Universe (nuclear device). An incandescent column ofsmoke and flame, as bright as ten thousand suns, rose with all its splendor. It was an unknown weapon, an iron thunderbolt, a gigantic messenger of death, which reduced to ashes the entire race of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas. The corpses were so burned as to be unrecognizable.Hair and nails fell out; Pottery broke without apparent cause,and the birds turned white. After a few hours all foodstuffs were infected... to escape from this fire the soldiers threw themselves in streams to wash themselves and their equipment." "Dense arrows of flame, like a great shower, issued forth upon creation, encompassing the enemy. A thick gloom swiftly settled upon the Pandava hosts.All points of the compass were lost in darkness.Fierce wind began to blow upward, showering dust and gravel. Birds croaked madly... the very elements seemed disturbed.The earth shook, scorched by the terrible violent heat of this weapon.Elephants burst into flame and ran to and fro in a frenzy. over a vast area, other animals crumpled to the ground and died.From all points of the compass the arrows of flame rained continuously and fiercely."

This description matches very well with the modern Nuclear explosions and it is quite logical to confess that the explosions being talked about in the Mahabharata indeed refer to Nuclear explosions.But the story doesn't end here. On making a rigorous search of various versions of the Mahabharata, I noticed the following facts.

1. There aren't any (at least, not many) Texts of Mahabharata which account for a character called Gurkha. A search on the net for Gurkha reveals the fact that this word is found only in sites which fell prey to the sites containing the above story. 2. There isn't any official evidence of Oppenheimer saying the above, though there are enough evidences of him quoting the Gita. 3. Most of the excerpts given above, are truly found in the Mahabharata, in parts, but not with reference to a single context. Descriptions of various happenings, unrelated to each other, from various nooks of the epic have been intelligently jigsawed together to weave the story. Whoever did so, tried to club many truths together to build a Fallacy. Surprisingly this Fallacy still has some truth in it.

The excerpt "An incandescent column of smoke and flame, as bright as ten thousand suns, rose with all its splendor" actually appears in the section 34 of the Karna Parva of the Mahabharata( http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m08/m08034.htm ), as follows.

"The universe is similarly said to consist of Vishnu. Vishnu is, again, the Soul of the holy Bhava of immeasurable energy. For this the touch of that bow-string became unbearable to the Asuras. And the lord Sankara cast on that arrow his own irresistible and fierce wrath, the unbearable fire of anger, viz., that which was born of wrath of Bhrigu and Angirasa. Then He called Nila Rohita (Blue and Red or smoke)--that terrible deity robed in skins, looking like 10,000 Suns, and shrouded by the fire of superabundant Energy, blazed up with splendour. That discomfiter of even him that is difficult of being discomfited, that victor, that slayer of all haters of Brahma, called also Hara, that rescuer of the righteous and destroyer of the unrighteous, viz., the illustrious Sthanu, accompanied by many beings of terrible might and terrible forms that were endued with the speed of the mind and capable of agitating and crushing all foes, as if with all the fourteen faculties of the soul awake about him, looked exceedingly resplendent".

"It was an unknown weapon, an iron thunderbolt, a gigantic messenger of death, which reduced to ashes the entire race of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas." is actually found in Section 1 of Mausala Parva.( http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m16/m16001.htm).

"When then next day came, Samva actually brought forth an iron bolt through which all the individuals in the race of the vrishnis and the andhakas became consumed into ashes. Indeed, for the destruction of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas, Samva brougt forth, through that curse, a fierce iron bolt that looked like a Gigantic messenger of death. The fact was duly reported to the king. In distress of mind, the king (Ugrasena) caused that iron bolt to be reduced to a fine powder.Men were employed to cast the powder into the sea."

The term "10000 suns" and "Super-abundant" perfectly fit into today's description of Nuclear Energy. In fact what is depicted as an Iron bolt could actually have referred to Radioactive Iron (Iron-59 is known to be radioactive). Perhaps the usage of Iron-59 as a nuclear weapon was known to man in ancient times. The last sentence " to cast the powder into sea", is in good terms with the fact that water is a very effective shield for nuclear radiations. Perhaps that was the intention in casting the iron powder into the sea. The section 2 of the Mausala parva also has,

"The streets swarmed with rats and mice. Earthen pots showed cracks or broke from no apparent cause. At night, the rats and mice ate away thehair and nails of slumbering men"

and

"Fires, when ignited, cast their flames towards the left. Sometimes they threw out flames whose splendour was blue and red. The Sun, whether when rising or setting over the city, seemed to be surrounded by headless trunks of human form. In cook rooms, upon food that was clean and well-boiled, were seen, when it was served out for eating, innumerable worms of diverse kinds."

The above passage too reminds us of the effects of a nuclear explosion, as foodstuffs get infected in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. In section 3, there is also a mention of the vaishnis taking shelter close to the sea coast. This might have as well meant that the vaisnis took shelter in the sea. As mentioned earlier, water is a natural shield to Nuclear radiations.

Further, in the second section of the Mausala Parwa ( http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m16/m16002.htm ), there stands a shloka which (on translation ) says

"Asses were born of kine, and elephants of mules. Cats were born of bitches, and mouse of the mongoose."

Perhaps, this could be an indication of genetic disorders created on account of exposure to lethal nuclear radiations.

These above facts make us really wonder if the Mahabharata was indeed a nuclear war. In aid to the above mentioned facts, India, from times immemorial knew the existence of atoms and the atomic energy. The following shloka is evidence to the statement.

anor aniyan mahato mahiyan atmasya jantor nihito guhayam tam akratuh pasyati vita-soko dhatuh prasadan mahimanam atmanah (Katha 1.2.20)

indicates that the greatest of the great is hidden in the smallest of the small. This forms the basis for the atomic energy.