Read on Twitter
[QUICK THREAD: DEBUNKING 79°41'54" E]
1/19
For years, Hindutva experts have peddled to gullible suckers a myth. Read about it in this @timesofindia piece from 2016 here. This thread intends to scratch the surface and see if it holds water. https://toistudent.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/holy-trail/ancient-siva-temples-kedarnath-to-rameswaram-on-straight-line/2486.html
1/19
For years, Hindutva experts have peddled to gullible suckers a myth. Read about it in this @timesofindia piece from 2016 here. This thread intends to scratch the surface and see if it holds water. https://toistudent.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/holy-trail/ancient-siva-temples-kedarnath-to-rameswaram-on-straight-line/2486.html
2/19
Here's my findings:
There's many Shiva temples that do sit around 79°E, that's true. But there's many more that don't. The claim speaks of "major" Shiva temples, so it depends on how one defines the term.
I'd consider the 12 Jyotirlingas as pretty major, wouldn't you?
Here's my findings:
There's many Shiva temples that do sit around 79°E, that's true. But there's many more that don't. The claim speaks of "major" Shiva temples, so it depends on how one defines the term.
I'd consider the 12 Jyotirlingas as pretty major, wouldn't you?
3/19
Here's their coordinates (longitude only, in °E):
1. Somnath, Gujarat: 70.401389
2. Srisaila Mallikarjuna, Andhra Pradesh: 78.8667
3. Mahakaleshwar, Ujjain: 75.768333
4. Omkareshwar, MP: 76.151056
5. Kedarnath: 79.066917
6. Bhimashankar, Pune: 73.536
Here's their coordinates (longitude only, in °E):
1. Somnath, Gujarat: 70.401389
2. Srisaila Mallikarjuna, Andhra Pradesh: 78.8667
3. Mahakaleshwar, Ujjain: 75.768333
4. Omkareshwar, MP: 76.151056
5. Kedarnath: 79.066917
6. Bhimashankar, Pune: 73.536
4/19
7. Kashi Vishwanath: 83.010614
8. Trimbakeshwar, Maharashtra: 73.530833
9. Baidyanath, Jharkhand: 86.7
10. Nageshwar, Gujarat: 69.0869
11. Ramanathaswamy, TN: 79.317282
12. Grishneshwar, Maharashtra: 75.169917
7. Kashi Vishwanath: 83.010614
8. Trimbakeshwar, Maharashtra: 73.530833
9. Baidyanath, Jharkhand: 86.7
10. Nageshwar, Gujarat: 69.0869
11. Ramanathaswamy, TN: 79.317282
12. Grishneshwar, Maharashtra: 75.169917
5/19
The easternmost of the above 12 is at 86.7°E in Jharkhand.
The westernmost is at 69°E in Gujarat.
That's a longitudinal span of 17.7 degrees. The entire Indian mainland spans 29 degrees. So the 12 Jyotirlingas alone span 61% of the whole mainland. Is that narrow enough?
The easternmost of the above 12 is at 86.7°E in Jharkhand.
The westernmost is at 69°E in Gujarat.
That's a longitudinal span of 17.7 degrees. The entire Indian mainland spans 29 degrees. So the 12 Jyotirlingas alone span 61% of the whole mainland. Is that narrow enough?
6/19
The mean longitude for the above data-set comes to 76.71716175°E. The claim says 79°41'54"E which translates into 79.69833°E. Standard deviation from claim is 5.7 degrees. That's an average variance of over 550 km on Indian latitudes.
The mean longitude for the above data-set comes to 76.71716175°E. The claim says 79°41'54"E which translates into 79.69833°E. Standard deviation from claim is 5.7 degrees. That's an average variance of over 550 km on Indian latitudes.
7/19
Also note that the 29 degrees that the Indian mainland covers also includes vast tracts that were initially untouched by Aryan rulers, i.e. all of NE and much of East.
Even a variance of 5.7 degrees from 29 comes to a good 20%. Not narrow in my books. In yours?
Also note that the 29 degrees that the Indian mainland covers also includes vast tracts that were initially untouched by Aryan rulers, i.e. all of NE and much of East.
Even a variance of 5.7 degrees from 29 comes to a good 20%. Not narrow in my books. In yours?
8/19
Besides the 12 Jyotirlingas, there's also 5 Pancha Bhoota Stalams:
1. Ekambareswarar, Kanchipuram: 79.7
2. Jambukeshwarar, Thiruvanaikaval: 78.705556
3. Arunachaleswara, Thiruvannamalai: 79.0672
4. Kalahasti, AP: 79.698333
5. Thillai Natarajar, Chidambaram: 79.693333
Besides the 12 Jyotirlingas, there's also 5 Pancha Bhoota Stalams:
1. Ekambareswarar, Kanchipuram: 79.7
2. Jambukeshwarar, Thiruvanaikaval: 78.705556
3. Arunachaleswara, Thiruvannamalai: 79.0672
4. Kalahasti, AP: 79.698333
5. Thillai Natarajar, Chidambaram: 79.693333
9/19
Now this time things are different. Standard deviation from the claim line is only slightly over half a degree, i.e. 50 km on an average. Even the span is as narrow as 1 degree. Almost as if all 5 were built by the same family?
Close...
Now this time things are different. Standard deviation from the claim line is only slightly over half a degree, i.e. 50 km on an average. Even the span is as narrow as 1 degree. Almost as if all 5 were built by the same family?
Close...
10/19
All 5 (along with many others, some as extensions to structures from the preceding Pallava period) were built by the Cholas and lie within the region directly under their rule. Direct rule, not even influence. Hardly an anomaly; kings tend to build within their kingdoms.
All 5 (along with many others, some as extensions to structures from the preceding Pallava period) were built by the Cholas and lie within the region directly under their rule. Direct rule, not even influence. Hardly an anomaly; kings tend to build within their kingdoms.
11/19
There's also 5 Pancharama temples, all in Andhra Pradesh:
1. Amararama Swamy: 80.358946
2. Draksharama Swamy: 82.0633
3. Somarama: 81.535086
4. Ksheerarama: 81.7333
5. Kumararama Bhimesvara: 82.2
There's also 5 Pancharama temples, all in Andhra Pradesh:
1. Amararama Swamy: 80.358946
2. Draksharama Swamy: 82.0633
3. Somarama: 81.535086
4. Ksheerarama: 81.7333
5. Kumararama Bhimesvara: 82.2
12/19
See any 79 in there? Here, the closest temple to the claim line is the one at Amararama at over 70 km. The farthest is the Bhimesvara temple at Kumararama, over 266 km.
See any 79 in there? Here, the closest temple to the claim line is the one at Amararama at over 70 km. The farthest is the Bhimesvara temple at Kumararama, over 266 km.
13/19
Just like the 5 Pancha Bhoota Stalams, these 5 also seem to have been built by a single dynasty, the Chalukyas, at least 3 of them for sure.
So that's a total of 22 Shiva temples we can count as "major."
Just like the 5 Pancha Bhoota Stalams, these 5 also seem to have been built by a single dynasty, the Chalukyas, at least 3 of them for sure.
So that's a total of 22 Shiva temples we can count as "major."
14/19
I don't think the 79 degree theory holds much water outside of the fact that...well, 3 facts.
First, dynasties naturally tend to build closer to capital.
Second, most Hindu empires spanned a subsection of the Indian mainland.
I don't think the 79 degree theory holds much water outside of the fact that...well, 3 facts.
First, dynasties naturally tend to build closer to capital.
Second, most Hindu empires spanned a subsection of the Indian mainland.
15/19
And third, the gap between the easternmost and westernmost Jyotirlinga is over 60% of the mainland's total width, including the NE which was never under any major temple-building Shaivite empire.
But there's more to debunk this myth, something far more elementary.
And third, the gap between the easternmost and westernmost Jyotirlinga is over 60% of the mainland's total width, including the NE which was never under any major temple-building Shaivite empire.
But there's more to debunk this myth, something far more elementary.
16/19
Longitude is a man-made concept. There's no reason to assign a mystical meaning to any given value. 79 is 79 only because we decided Greenwich to be 0. It could be any number. How arbitrary the choice of prime meridian was, is different conversation altogether.
Longitude is a man-made concept. There's no reason to assign a mystical meaning to any given value. 79 is 79 only because we decided Greenwich to be 0. It could be any number. How arbitrary the choice of prime meridian was, is different conversation altogether.
17/19
One could argue on the temples' absolute locations though, with no reference to coordinates.
IF the temples actually lined up around the claimed line, irrespective of how or if that line were numbered.
They don't.
One could argue on the temples' absolute locations though, with no reference to coordinates.
IF the temples actually lined up around the claimed line, irrespective of how or if that line were numbered.
They don't.
18/19
What Hindutva conspiracists and pseudoscientists can do though, is cherry-pick any number of temples, major or not that just happen to fall on or even close to the line and ignore the many, many more that don't.
Science calls it confirmation bias.
What Hindutva conspiracists and pseudoscientists can do though, is cherry-pick any number of temples, major or not that just happen to fall on or even close to the line and ignore the many, many more that don't.
Science calls it confirmation bias.
19/19
Science doesn't cherry-pick. Reality doesn't cherry-pick. Patterns are for humans to see. Some see one even where there's none. We see constellations, nature doesn't. Stars do not plan to line up as a teddy bear, it's we who connect the dots and draw one.
Same story here.
Science doesn't cherry-pick. Reality doesn't cherry-pick. Patterns are for humans to see. Some see one even where there's none. We see constellations, nature doesn't. Stars do not plan to line up as a teddy bear, it's we who connect the dots and draw one.
Same story here.
