European writers have created a lot of confusion in our historic dates and their blind followers have mindlessly swayed themselves in that flow of ignorance without even checking the authentic records of our own scriptures. Let us see the reality.

Sage Vashishth has referred to Ashwalayan and Shankhayan in his Dharm Sutra. Sage Bodhayan has referred to Sage Gautam in his Dharm Sutra. Sage Panini has referred to Sage Apastamb in the bidadi-gan-path, of his Ashtadhyayi. Baudhayan’s Dharm Sutra is one of the oldest ones and Gautam was before that. According to these references Ashwalayan and Shankhayan were before Vashishth, and Apastamb was prior to Panini. These are the main figures. If we could discover the period of Panini, Gautam and Vashishth, we can easily make out the period of others. Now look to the scriptural records.

The Brahmvaivart Puran is one of the prestigious Puranas. It says,

The first two verses mention that Panini, Bharadwaj and Shaktayan were in the same period. The second five verses give the names of 28 Sages who were in the same period. It includes Panini, Sankadik, Atri, Angira, Bhrigu, Mareechi, Kanad, Lomash, Kapil, Markandeya, Katyayan, Gautam, Vashishth, Kashyap and Durvasa etc.

Now we know that all the important Sages who produced the Sutras were contemporaries. It is a fact that the Sages Vashishth, Gautam and Bharadwaj were during the time of Bhagwan Ram, 18 million years ago who are said to be the contemporaries of Panini in the first two verses.

Jacobi’s astrological calculations tell that 2780 BC could be the period of Sutras and 4500 BC for the Vedas. According to him the Vedas were produced 2,720 years earlier than the Sutras. Sage Shaunak’s branch of Atharvaved is still available. His pupils Ashwalayan and Katyayan produced Shraut Sutra which is also available. It is discussed earlier in the ‘Age of the Vedas’ that the astrological situations are a perpetually occurring event at the close of every astrological cycle of the stars. So it could also have been billions of years ago. In the same topic it is also established that the Vedas along with all of their affiliates (Upvedas and Vedangas) and the Puranas etc. were originally conceived by the Sages 155.5 trillion years ago. Then again, 1,900 million years ago when the human generation again started, all of these scriptures were reproduced by the Sages of Bharatvarsh. First they produced the Vedas, then the Upvedas, then the Sutras and then the Puranas. So a couple of thousand years of difference between the reproductions of the Vedas and the Sutras (called the Vedangas) is not a significant issue. But it all happened 1,900 million years ago. In this way, just like the Vedas, the Sutras are also eternal. They were not created by the Sages, they were simply reproduced by the Sages so they are referenced to by their names.

Sage Panini’s name (in the above reference of Brahmvaivart Puran) has come along with the names of Sankadik, Atri, Angira and Mareechi who were originally produced by the mind of Brahma 155.5 trillion years ago, in the very beginning of the creation of this brahmand. It shows that Panini is also an eternal Saint.

The Bhagwatam says that Brahma first produced the four gyani Saints, Sanak, Sanandan, Sanatan and Sanatkumar, called the Sankadik.

Then he produced 10 more Sages (called the manas putra). Their names are: Atri, Angira, Pulastya, Mareechi, Pulah, Kratu, Bhrigu, Vashishth, Dakch and Narad.

The Brahmvaivart Puran in chapter 22 (Brahm Khand) mentions the names of some more Sages who were produced by him. Brahma then produced Swayambhuva Manu and Shatroopa.

Smritis* are the books of codes related to the social living. They describe what are the sins and the good deeds, define what penances, or what kind of fasting, or what kind of charity could redeem which sin, or what should be the punishment for a particular sin. They also describe what kind of rites and rituals a person is supposed to observe in the family, and what is the right conduct and right behavior for the people of various orders of life in the society, and so on. A lot of Sages and eternal Divine personalities have written Smriti books. Out of these Manu Smriti, Yagyavalkya Smriti and Parashar Smriti are important. Parashar Smriti is suitable for the people of kaliyug, but the other Smritis are suitable for other yugas. However, the last verse of Parashar Smriti says,

which means that a person who is desirous for celestial pleasures should study this. It means that it is not directly related to God realization.

* Eighteen Smritis: Manu, Brihaspati, Dakch, Gautam, Yam, Angira, Yogishwar, Pracheta, Shatatap, Parashar, Samvart, Ushna, Shankh, Likhit, Atri, Vishnu, Yagyavalkya and Harit.