Manvantara Theory of evolution of Solar System - V

FUTURE EVOLUTIONARY PHASES :
Manvantara Theory also peeps into future and predicts seven more phases until the last event of dissolution of Earth and the Sun. The account of the manner of ultimate dissolution appears fantastically scientific in character and content. The next seven stages are named Savarnis (literally of the same colour or form) with different prefixes. Savarnis indicate the possibility of recreation of humans in future otherwise than through the contact of male and female. According to the Manvantara Theory such a possibility will become a universal reality about all the human beings (and probably all conspicuous life) only after 189 million years. Then the process of mutation of the asexual creation will be continued during the future six Manvantaras. The new progeny will retain the form of its parent but the process of birth would go on changing drastically after every 309 million years.

SUN TO DISSOLVE AFTER 2347 MILLIONS YEARS :
The present Aeon is to last another 2347 million years after which the oceans will dry, the Earth will get burned and its atoms scattered in the cosmos and when the Sun itself will cool down and finally get dissolved to re-emerge after 4320 million years.

UNIVERSALITY OF MANVANTARA THEORY :
The Manvantara story is narrated practically by all the 18 Puranas in chapters normally entitled Srsti-prakarana (on creation). There is apparently no inconsistency as to the connotation of the Manvantaras in different Puranas. How old can this story by, may be indicated from the fact that for numberless generations, the Puranas could be passed on from one generation to another only through oral tradition and that there is evidence to show that some of the Puranas existed in textual form as early as 5th Century B.C.

Manusmriti also mentions the first even manvantaras. Gita refers to four preceding Manus. Vedas also speak of a few Manus. Even Madame H.P. Balavatsky has discussed manvantaras in detail in her Secret Doctrine first published in 1888.

MANVANTARA THEORY AND ARYABHATA :
Aryabhatta, the Indian Astronomer and Scientist of 5th Century A.D., directly supports the Manvantara Theory in his Aryabhatiya. His support is clearly borne out from the discussion that follows:

Firstly, he declared his date of birth in Aryabhatiya with reference to the present Kali-yugi calendar. Kali-yuga as we know is one of the four yugas of a catur-yugi or maha-yuga which is an important unit of manvantara.

Secondly, Aryabhata gives the duration of the yugas, the number of revolutions of the planets and the Sun and the movement of Earth in a symbolic language which indicates figures through vowels and consonants just like Numerology. The Manvantara Story has been specially narrated by Aryabhata in Verse Number 5 of Gitika-pada. The English rendering of a Hindi commentary of this verse is as follows:
One day of Brahma has 14 Manus.
One Manu consists of 72 Maha-yugas.
Six Manus of the current day of Brahma have already elapsed.
Twenty seven Mahayugas of the seventh Manu have also passed.
Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga and Dvapara-Yuga of the 28th Maha-yuga are also over.
Kali-yuga started on Friday at the end of Dvapara-Yuga when Kuruksetra was fought.
It will be seen from this rendering that according to Aryabhata a manvantara has got 72 mahayugas (instead of 71 as per Puranas) and 1008 mahayugas (instead of 1000 as per Puranas) are there in a day of Brahma. Aryabhata does not, unlike Puranas, assume transition period between two manvantaras.

Thirdly, he says that Brahma`s day signifies the period during which the Sun remains in existence, and that Brahma`s seeing of the Sun in his day and his not seeing of the Sun is his night.

Fourthly, he favours the view that time is without beginning or end adding that the planets and stars always continue their movement in the sky.

Fifthly, Aryabhata like Puranas talks of a divine year being 360 times bigger than the year of human beings. He also speaks of conjunction of all the planets at the beginning of a mahayuga covering 4320000 years, thus giving the manvantara story, an astronomical base. Aryabhata does not claim credit for this theory and even for his treatise. He concludes his book by saying that he himself is the author of Aryabhatiyam only in name otherwise it is `Brahma-Siddhanta`, i.e., based on the principles enunciated by Brahma. This apparently emphasizes very remote antiquity of Manvantara story.

Similarly, Aryabhata does not claim any intuitional powers for being able to write his treatise. He specifically says that whatever has been said by him is based on calculations. This fact raises a question as to who evolved so sound mathematical formulae, when and how? Obviously, the answer lies buried in the depth of time.