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My first answer on this site to the post How could octogenarian heroes fight in Mahabharata? was deleted.

The answer was deleted under scientific speculation. However:

  • There was no written policy, under which it can be deleted. (sorry I missed relevant meta post, hence taking back this point)
  • The Qn clearly asks "Why", which implies logical reasoning or rational thinking. The experts of Mahabharata times cannot write in scriptures, that "why our times warrior are fighting at 'old' age", as they haven't seen weaker future generations yet! :-)
  • Logical Qns would merely generate opinions.
  • It's clear that sources cannot be sighted for hypothetical Qn-s & since my post attempts to answer the Qn as per main SE, it's protected by our local policy: What should we do about opinion based answers?

The mod who deleted my answer, interestingly hasn't cited scriptures in his own answers:

If deletion of my rational answer is justified then, under which written policy, the above answers are not deleted?

Update: As it seems that the discussion with the Mods are failing on the fairness of the deletion. To avoid dragging this issue further, I have decided to add "some scripture", which is related. Though for this Qn no sources can be cited IMO.

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  • 2
    Why 5 posts and not just one??
    – Ankit Sharma
    Apr 21, 2017 at 10:46
  • 3
    I suggest to you to post your issues in a single post
    – Pandya Mod
    Apr 21, 2017 at 10:47
  • 2
    @iammilind if you feels targeting then you can make a single post about "targeting" and add your deleted answer as examples. (why to create separate posts)?
    – Pandya Mod
    Apr 21, 2017 at 10:59
  • 1
    All the posts you've mentioned of Keshav are of 2014 where as yours belong to 2015
    – Pandya Mod
    Apr 21, 2017 at 11:03
  • @Pandya all mods agree that no targeting is going on. Hence I had to post All of that. All deleted answers are of different nature & require different discussion. Single post won't help. I am following proper guidelines. I have separated 5 posts, assuming no targetting is going on. Regarding 2014 & 2015, please list down the written meta policy which suggests deletion of 2015 & not 2014. Has the community agreed with that already?
    – iammilind
    Apr 21, 2017 at 11:03
  • @iammilind We'll try to make things clear soon (in few days).
    – Pandya Mod
    Apr 21, 2017 at 12:54
  • You actually have posted 2 answers. Why? In any case i don't see anything wrong with the deleted answer. Should be un-deleted as well.
    – Rickross
    Apr 26, 2017 at 12:10
  • @Rickross, both the answers are separated by almost 1.25 years. The 1st answer is based on common theories (not science). As all the other answers, my 1st point suggests that due to "yoga" the longevity & strongness of body can be achieved. Point 4 is also related to Hinduism, that in earlier times Kshatriya-s will marry within their divisional castes, hence the gene pool of strongness will retain. Point 2 & 3 are with respect to current times, because the comparison is with current times. The point 5 actually questions the premise of question itself & it's further expanded in 2nd answer.
    – iammilind
    Apr 26, 2017 at 12:19
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    @iammilind Ok. So this should be the next answer of urs that will be un deleted.
    – Rickross
    Apr 26, 2017 at 12:22
  • "There was no written policy, under which it can be deleted. (sorry I missed relevant meta post, hence taking back this point)" - Just because there's a meta post and it's happens to be an FAQ, doesn't mean it's a rule on this site. Here, different FAQs are treated differently - some are rules, some are just there for guidance, some are outdated.
    – Say No To Censorship
    Apr 28, 2017 at 2:04
  • Related: What rules does this site currently follow? When does a highly-upvoted post become a rule?
    – Say No To Censorship
    Apr 28, 2017 at 2:05
  • @sv. May be you are right. But on my part it was a mistake that I missed that meta post. However that meta post alone is not sufficient to delete this answer as other points still hold strong. Hopefully we have a progressive discussion with new mods and will see what is decided. Rickross answer describes that.
    – iammilind
    Apr 28, 2017 at 3:51
  • @Pandya, TheDestroyer, the scripture is added to this answer. Let me know if you still want to keep this answer in deleted state. If Keshav's permission is required to undelete, then I am available for chat room discussion with all the Mods to reach to an early settlement. Kindly ping me whenever you have time.
    – iammilind
    May 4, 2017 at 7:20

3 Answers 3

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But how can one fight a deadly war at this age with perfection as shown by the warriors from both the sides? I believe that anything super natural in Mahabharata is written in symbolic way and if we research more, the technical and actual incident can be extracted. So, what exactly does this age group symbolize when octogenarian heroes can fight such a historical battle ?

The question never seems to ask how it was possible according to Hinduism. The OP already states that what's written in Mahabharata about the age is only symbolic according to him and if we can do some more (scientific ?) research on the topic then the real truth might come out.

So, given the sceptical nature of the question, @iammilind's answer is perfectly ok.

The answer was deleted citing "scientific speculation is not allowed" as reasons. But i fail to understand where is he actually doing that? speculating in the name of science to arrive at his conclusion that is?

This answer by paul also says that Yoga is responsible but its kept. Milind has also said the same besides giving other reasons but his answer was deleted.

My opinion- Answer should be un-deleted.

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Let me address your points one by one:

There was no written policy, under which it can be deleted.

Yes, there was: https://hinduism.meta.stackexchange.com/a/143/36

The Qn clearly asks "Why", which implies logical reasoning.

No, that's true in the slightest. Hindu scripture addresses "why" questions all the time. There's voluminous discussion of age changes in different Yugas, for instance.

Logical Qns would merely generate opinions. - It's clear that sources cannot be sighted for hypothetical Qn-s

Sources could certainly be cited for answering this question, like quotes from various Puranas discussing the nature of the human body in different Yugas. But as I said in the comment section of your answer, "If the questioner wanted a scientific answer, then that's an argument for closing the question, not for allowing your answer to remain."

The Mod who deleted my answer, intetestingly hasn't cited scriptures in own answers: - https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/317/1049 - https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/420/1049 - https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/445/1049 - https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/638/1049 - https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/781/1049 - https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/935/1049 - https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/2313/1049

All of those answers were posted in the first month of the site's existence. What we have been doing with such answers until now is grandfathering them in. There have been discussions about eliminating our grandfathering policy and making all unsourced answers subject to deletion, but that hasn't been finalized yet.

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  • Where is the policy for grandfathering 2014 Qn-s? Back it up rule existed even before those listed answers. Why couldn't/can't we delete them?
    – iammilind
    Apr 21, 2017 at 13:35
  • @iammilind The grandfathering policy is not formally written up anywhere, but it's been followed by mods for years. That's precisely why we're reevaluating and formally writing up our policies. It's a crucial step in graduating out of Public Beta.
    – Keshav Srinivasan Mod
    Apr 21, 2017 at 13:43
  • 2014 posts were already grndfathered in 2016 (2 years), then why 2015 posts are not grandfathered in 2017? If grandfathering policy is not written then how do you decide if an answer should be deleted or not? What's the criteria other than rule of thumb?
    – iammilind
    Apr 21, 2017 at 13:47
  • 2014 posts were grandfathered in 2015 and onwards. No subsequent years are grandfathered. The reason is that the 2014/2015 divide is roughly when mods started to enforce deletion of unsourced answers. In any case, in deciding whether to delete an answer, we look at whether it was posted in 2014, or whether it was posted in 2015 or later. But as I said, there are discussions ongoing about eliminating that grandfathering policy.
    – Keshav Srinivasan Mod
    Apr 21, 2017 at 13:50
  • Until the discussions are going on & until the deletion policy is not decided in written, on what basis you have deleted unsourced answers for me & others? Why don't you delete after the policy is fixed?
    – iammilind
    Apr 21, 2017 at 13:53
  • We are following the policies we have been following until the community reaches a consensus about changing those policies.
    – Keshav Srinivasan Mod
    Apr 21, 2017 at 13:54
  • From our discussion in chatroom, it appears that other mods & users may not be convinced that why is this answer deleted under "scientific - speculation". Because the answer doesn't discuss anything on "science" and no "speculation" are claimed. Especially point 2 & 3 are based on facts as OP compares modern times with old time. 1 & 4 is pure Hinduism perspective. 5 is doubting on the premises of Qn. Can you kindly explain your stand on deletion (i.e why is the answer is scientific speculation)?
    – iammilind
    May 9, 2017 at 4:43
  • @iammilind It's simple - you are speculating as to what the reason is that octogenarians could fight in those days but not in the present days. For instance, speculate that it's due to a difference in pollution levels. In any case, if you'd like to remove all speculation from your answer and just leave the part that's grounded in scripture, I'd be more than happy to undelete your answer. But if the OP is looking for scientific speculation, then that's an argument for editing or closing the question, not an argument for undeleting your answer.
    – Keshav Srinivasan Mod
    May 9, 2017 at 5:39
  • Neither OP asks for science nor my answer does speculation. For pollution thing, it's a fact and can be found in many articles. Those points are worth noting as OP wants the comparison with present times.
    – iammilind
    May 9, 2017 at 6:12
  • @iammilind If you can find a reliable source that says that the reason octogenarians were able to fight in those days is due to lack of pollution, that would be acceptable. But as it stands you're engaging in speculation.
    – Keshav Srinivasan Mod
    May 9, 2017 at 6:16
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I see no justification for deleting this answer. Must be undeleted.

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