The Date of Karkacarya

Summary

This note attempts to determine the approximate date of Karka (Karkācārya), a commentator on Vartika literature, by analysing his astronomical references. The key evidence is a passage indicating that during his time, the sun at the vernal equinox occurred between the nakṣatras Citrā and Svātī. By comparing this with current positions, the author calculates that the equinox point has moved by about 15 nakṣatras since Karkācārya’s era, corresponding to a precession of approximately 15,000 years. Using this astronomical argument, the article suggests that Karka’s work dates roughly to 12,000–14,000 BCE, far earlier than previously assumed. The author acknowledges that such a remote date seems incredible but argues that textual evidence must be taken seriously. He reviews other textual clues and dismisses later interpolations. The article concludes that if the astronomical statement is genuine, Karkācārya lived in a pre-historic age when the vernal equinox aligned with the specified stars.