Srimad Bhagavatam's Explanations: The Law of Gravity

(written on October 25, 2019)

(References: SB 5.23.3)

1. How planets float in their orbits.

The general definition for an orbit is the path an object follows around another object. However, scientifically there is a lot more depth in how different celestial bodies orbit one another than just a simple definition. The orbiting of an object is based on two things: the gravity of the objects and the velocity of the objects. When the mass of an object is greater than the other object’s mass, the object with more mass pulls in the smaller object into an orbit, due to greater gravity. However, if the velocity of the object is just correct, then instead of orbiting the greater object, the object would miss and keep shooting off into space, or would crash into the larger planet, depending on its direction. So the combination of gravity and velocity is what creates an orbit.

One might wonder why planets don’t just fall out of the sky. Albert Einstein gave an analogy to make it more understandable. He said that space is like a fabric and that gravity warps space. So when you place a bowling ball on a stretched fabric, the fabric will ben underneath the bowling ball. Now, when you place a marble on the same fabric, the bend of the fabric will cause the path of the marble to curve. There are many simulations of this analogy available on the internet.

1. SB’s explanation of gravity.

The SB’s explanation of real gravity is given in SB 5.23.3. The verse says, “When bulls are yoked together and tied to a central post to thresh rice, they tread around that pivot without deviating from their proper positions — one bull being closest to the post, another in the middle, and a third on the outside. Similarly, all the planets and all the hundreds and thousands of stars revolve around the polestar, the planet of Mahārāja Dhruva, in their respective orbits, some higher and some lower. Fastened by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to the machine of material nature according to the results of their fruitive acts, they are driven around the polestar by the wind and will continue to be so until the end of creation. These planets float in the air within the vast sky, just as clouds with hundreds of tons of water float in the air or as the great śyena eagles, due to the results of past activities, fly high in the sky and have no chance of falling to the ground.” Basically, the planets and stars are all servants of the Lord, traveling in their respective orbits. So, in the Srimad Bhagavatam, there is no such thing called gravity, it is only the order of the Lord which causes everything to move in their orbits. And if the laws of gravity exist, it is certain that Krishna created them because it is said in Bhagavad Gita 9.10, “This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings.”