BRENNAND : HINDU ASTRONOMY (original) (raw)

Al-Bīrūnī's India, Chapter 14: an Account of Indian Astronomical, Mathematical and Other Literature

History of Science in South Asia, 2020

This article provides an updated English translation of Chapter 14 of al-Bīrūnī's Kitāb taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind, in which he lists and describes numerous Sanskrit works related to astronomy, astrology and mathematics, and a few books belonging to other genres. Chapter 14 of Kitāb taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind highlights several types of literature accessed by al-Bīrūnī in the north-west of the Subcontinent in the early eleventh century CE. Whenever possible the English translation is supplemented with annotations on the works mentioned by al-Bīrūnī, and the Appendix offers a comparison of the table of contents of the Brāhmasphutasiddhānta as reported by al-Bīrūnī (in Arabic) and that given in the edition by Dvivedin of the Sanskrit text.

Investigating the Astronomical Histories of India and Southeast Asia: The Role of Stone Inscriptions

Historical & Cultural Astronomy, 2021

Stone inscriptions from all over India provide records of eclipses, solstices and planetary conjunctions, although they were written for non-astronomical purposes, like grant and donation edicts. They have been very useful in understanding the observational tools and methods for prediction of eclipses. Also traceable are a few sightings of comets and supernovae, and information on the evolution of calendars. This study can be extended from South Asia, to include Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia, all countries where the influence of the Hindu calendar is, or once was, very strong. This study will throw light on many new aspects, such as the evolution of calendars and the influence of the Indian system of time measurement as early as the third century BCE. Many interesting records of planetary conjunctions also are available. Two records hint at a possible sighting of the supernova of CE 1054, while another may describe a pre-planetary nebula event...

Some Glimpses of Ancient Indian Astrony and Mathematics

Open Access Journal of Astronomy, 2025

In the present paper a brief account of ancient astronomy covering the Pre-Siddhanta period and the Siddhanta Jyotish period is given. Five Siddhanta books supposed to be written by the sages are described and some other books on astronomy written by outstanding mathematicians and astronomers are also discussed. The historical development of Ancient Mathematics regarding various manuscripts is described with examples. In particular, the development of decimal systems and numerals with zero symbols are discussed in detail. Some concluding remarks are also given with a list of references in the end.

Ancient Indian Astronomy in Vedic Texts

Astronomy in popular perception is about stars, planets, sun, moon, eclipses, comets, meteorites and associated observable phenomena. Something of all of these was known to our ancients though not in the same form and detail as it is available now. In the context of India, the question is what was known, in what detail and when. For the siddhānta period, roughly starting with the Common Era, (CE) such questions have been fairly well answered. This has been possible since several texts of the period, specifically devoted to astronomy are available for systematic study. But for the more ancient period we have no exclusive texts other than Lagadha’s Vedānga Jyotiṣa (c 1400 BCE) which is a calendar with no reference to eclipses or planets. Hence when one talks of Vedic Times several precautions are necessary..... In the following articles we investigate briefly how comets, meteorites, and eclipses were experienced and pictured in the Vedic texts. Over a long period of time the effect of precession was also felt as with the loss of importance for the constellation Śiśumāra (Draco) and shifting of the Pole Star Dhruva. The astral descriptions and the religious lore behind the above astronomical entities provided the inspiration for the development of observational and mathematical astronomy in India. Some portion of the present study has appeared in the Indian Journal of History of Science (2005, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012) in the form of papers. However, considerable new information, beyond the published material, can be found in the following pages

van Bladel 2014 Eighth-Century Indian Astronomy in the Two Cities of Peace

The argument is that the reception of Indian astronomical methods in Baghdad in the eighth century was conditioned by contact with the Tang court, where astronomers using the same Indian methods were already employed. The explanation sheds light on the connection between the exportation of Indian astrology and interest in esoteric Buddhism in China, on the one hand, and on the early background to the movement to translate Greek works into Arabic on the other.