The texts refer to the «darkness-ridden Sun», whose magic is destroyed by unknown «dark creatures».
These are texts from the «Rigveda» — an ancient collection of religious hymns written in Sanskrit and compiled around 1500 B.C. Like most religious texts, it refers to historical events: most coincide with the time of composition, but some cover even older times.
The «Rigveda» passages mention a strange position of the sun that coincides with the vernal equinox — one text says it occurs on Orion, while others speak of the Pleiades. Some descriptions are quite detailed and allow astronomers to date certain references.
The language of the «Rigveda» is very symbolic and allegorical, so it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between myths and history. However, two astronomers, Mayank Wahia of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai and Mitsuru Soma of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, believe they have come across a reference to a real total solar eclipse that occurred 6000 years ago (in fact, the oldest known solar eclipse).
The text is available in fragments, but refers to the sun as «riddled with darkness» and suggests that its magic was broken by unknown «dark and evil beings». Researchers say that the reference does not refer to the story of Raaga and the Ketu (part of later Hindu mythology), and thus the text was probably written before the emergence of this myth.
Further analysis helped astronomers narrow down the timeframe of solar eclipses that occurred in ancient times. The event occurred during the vernal equinox in Orion, and was probably visible over the territory where the future authors of the Rigveda «Rigveda» lived.
Research published in the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage (via Space.com).
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