There are so many incidents in the Hindu puranas which have a direct relevance to astronomical events. For example, the discovery of the Pole Star and its being named after Dhruva, the Sapta Rushi Mandala, the chase of the Sun and the Moon by Rahu and Ketu and the burning of Tripura by Lord Shiva etc. etc. A detailed article on this subject is envisaged.
Recently, astronomers in Los Angeles have discovered a new planet temporarily called as 2003 UB 313. Doubts are being expressed as to whether it is a planet at all, or just a cluster of objects, which have entered the orbit of the Sun due its gravitational pull.
Our view on the subject is that the new planet may of course be real, but it is not the tenth planet. Instead it is the twelfth. The tenth and the eleventh are yet to be discovered. The reasons for our hypothesis is as follows:
Even trees of the same kind do not grow very near each other, but they keep a safe distance between them. This is the natures way of allowing growth to every living being. As per the Hindu belief, even human births do not take place every second or minute or hour, but only at every seventh BREATH, AND BIRTHS DO NO OCCUR FOR THE PREVIOUS SIX BREATHS AND THE NEXT SIX BREATHS, BUT ON THE SEVENTH BREATH ONLY. HINDUS ALSO BELIEVE THAT THE LIFE SPAN OF HUMAN BEINGS ARE MEASURED BY THE NUMBER OF BIRTHS THEY TAKE (BOTH INSPIRATION AND EXPIRATION INCLUDED), IN THEIR LIFE TIME. HENCE THE LONGEVITY OF THE SAGES HAD BEEN ACHIEVED BY THE CONTROL OF THE BREATHS THROUGH YOGA PRACTICES I.E. FROM NORMAL 4 PER MINUTE TO MAY BE LESS THAN ONE IN AN HOUR.
Just as trees keep an interval of space, human births keep time interval. Similarly, planets also a space interval among themselves to avoid collision, gravitational pull and all other related problems. There is a formula to calculate the distances between every two planets. See the table below:
Name of the Planet | Distance from the Sun | Formula Applied |
| Mercury | 0.39 AU | - (ALREADY KNOWN) |
| Venus | 0.723 AU | - DO - |
| Earth | 1 AU | - DO - |
| Mars | 1.521 AU | 10(0.39)2 (SQUARED) |
| Jupiter | 5.22729 AU | 10(0.723)2 (SQ) |
| Saturn | 10 AU | 10 (1) 2 (SQ) |
| Uranus | 19.321 AU | 10 (1.39) 2 (SQ) |
| Neptune | 29.68729 AU | 10(1.723)2 (SQ) |
| Pluto | 40 AU | 10 (2) 2 (SQ) |
| Tenth Planet | 57.121 AU | 10 (2.39) 2 (SQ) |
| Eleventh Planet | 74.14729 AU | 10(2.723)2 (SQ) |
| 2003 UB 313 | 90 AU | 10 (3) 2 (SQ) |
N.B. : - AU = ASTRONOMICAL UNITS.
2 IN THE THIRD COLUMN REPRESENTS SQUARE.
It is to be understood that ancient HINDUS arrived at this formula based on mental calculations in the absence of modern technical instruments like telescope etc. Secondly, the formula is based on the assumption that it is a circular orbit, whereas we know planets orbit is elliptical; hence the difference between the actual distances of the planets from the Sun and the distances from this formula can be explained away. The unit 10 in the third column is the nearest equivalent of square of mathematical pye i.e. 22/7 (for ease of calculation)