ASTRONOMY IN ANCIENT INDIA

INTRODUCTION:

Astronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets,
and galaxies) and phenomena occurring outside the atmosphere of the Earth (such as cosmic
background radiation). It concerns the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and
movement of celestial objects, as well as the universe's formation and development. The night
sky's magnificence offers an instantly endearing and captivating grace; and it sure does
happen to a general member of an ancient society. From the earliest period, the heavens
fascinated people. The forces of nature that emerge in the sky and their seemingly
unpredictable behaviour have intrigued and frightened humans. These natural forces have
been held precious by humans with their own sense of time, and most of the civilisations
accepted the fact that Gods who manifest and control these forces have resided in the
heavens. Human beings have seen the heavens, from time immemorial, as the place where, all
sacrifices are to be sent and where all punishment for sins is to be addressed. All myths lead
the heavenly gods to watch over people and bless them or curse them as the case may be.

As an example, today we split the heavens study into several grades of atmosphere,
i.e., near-earth planet, solar system, and studying objects beyond in astronomy. But this is a
recent phenomenon and it has been not more than 400 years old in human history.

The invention of the telescope was required before astronomy was able to develop
into a modern science. Historically, astronomy has included such varied disciplines as
astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, calendar making, and even
astrology at one time, but nowadays professional astronomy is often considered synonymous
with astrophysics.

ETYMOLOGY:

Astronomy (from the Greek words astron, meaning "star" and -nomia from ‘nomos’,
"law" or "culture") means "law of the stars" (or "culture of the stars", depending on the
translation). Astronomy should not be confused with astrology, the belief system which
claims that human affairs are correlated with the positions of celestial objects. Although the
two fields share a common origin, they are now entirely distinct.
 Since, 20th century, astronomy is bifurcated into, namely, Observational astronomy
and Theoretical astronomy.1

1. Observational astronomy:
This branch of astronomy is centrally focused on acquiring and analysing data,
mainly using basic principles of physics and astrophysics. Observational astronomy
may be divided according to the observed region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Some parts of the spectrum can be observed from the Earth's surface, while other
parts are only observable from either high altitudes or outside the earth's atmosphere.

2. Theoretical astronomy:
This branch of astronomy emphasises towards the development of computer or
analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. Theoretical
astronomers use several tools including analytical models (for example, polytopes to
approximate the behaviours of a star) and computational numerical simulations. Each
has some advantages. Analytical models of a process are generally better for giving
insight into the heart of what is going on. Numerical models reveal the existence of
phenomena and effects otherwise unobserved.

Both observational astronomy and theoretical astronomy are complementary to each

other, as the theoretical astronomy tends to explain the observational results, on the other
hand the findings that are used to validate empirical results obtained from observational
astronomy. Amateur astronomers have contributed to many important scientific observations,
and astronomy is one of the few sciences in which amateurs can still play an active role in the
detection and study of momentary phenomena in general.

The study of stars and stellar evolution is fundamental to our understanding of the
universe. The astrophysics of stars has been determined through observation and theoretical
understanding; and from results obtained from the computer simulated programs that are
practically are used in the observational astronomy.

The first concepts of relating object movements in the sky and earth seasons were
presented by Astronomy. So, from the first stages of their understanding evolution, how did
humans collect and develop their ideas about astronomy? We are meandering through a

1
www.researchgate.com/astreonomy_types/types
situation as to how this might have happened. This may be the exact direction or not, but it's a
fascinating story.

In light of the above discussion, we can identify four major phases of transition in the
evolution of astronomy2. These are:

1. Initial phase: Marking of sunrise and seasons.

2. Settlement phase: Marking of stars and constellations.

3. Civilisation phase: Development of astrology and cosmogony.

4. Technology based phase: Modern astronomy with all its trappings.

The chronological explanation of the above-mentioned phases goes as follows-

 Initial steps: 20,000 BC to about 5,000 BC (7,000 YBP)

 Settlement Astronomy: 5,000 to 1,500 BC – for Vedic Culture and up to
1,000 BC or later for other cultures in the Subcontinent.
 Astronomy of civilisation: 2,500 to 1,900 BC for Indus Civilisation and
1,500 BC to 500 AD – Upanishad/ Purana period.
 Technology based and state supported astronomy: 500 AD Aryabhatta
onwards.

In Ancient Indian context, the constellations (tara-samuha) of Sun are called ‘rashi’
while the lunar groupings are called nakshatras. The term for constellations (tara-samuha) is
a very general and generic-term meaning (group of stars). It appears very late in the literature
and most of the ancient Indian astronomy is restricted to ‘raashi’ and ‘nakshatra’, i.e., solar
and lunar constellations.

ASTROLOGY:

Astrology, otherwise known as astromancy, consists of several systems of

calculation based on the premise that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena
and events in the human world. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical
events, and the Indians, Chinese, and Mayans developed elaborate systems for predicting
terrestrial events from celestial observations. In the West, astrology most often consists of a
system of horoscopes asserting to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict future

2
Cosmos, written by Carl Sagan, 1980.
events in their life based on the positions of the sun, moon, and other celestial objects at the
time of their birth. Astrology has been rejected by the scientific community as a
pseudoscience,3having no legitimacy or explanatory power for description of the universe.4

ETYMOLOGY:

The word astrology comes from the early Latin word astrologia, deriving from the
Greek noun ἀστρολο, 'accounts of the stars'. Astrologia later passed into meaning 'star-
divination' with astronomia, which is used for the scientific term.

ASTROLOGY IN HINDU CONTEXT:

Hindu scope of astrology originated with the western (Hellenistic-astrology) astrology

in ancient times, though incorporating the Hindu lunar mansions. The names of the signs (e.g.
Greek 'Kpios' - Aries, Hindi 'Kriya'), the planets (e.g. Greek 'Helios' for Sun; astrological
Hindi 'Heli'), and astrological terms (e.g. Greek 'apoklima' and 'sunaphe' for declination and
planetary combination, Hindi 'apoklima' and 'sunapha' respectively) in “Varaha Mihira”'s
texts are considered conclusive evidence of a Greek origin for Hindu astrology. The Indian
techniques may also have been augmented with some of the Babylonian (Mediterranean)
techniques.

HISTORY AND GROWTH OF ASTRONOMY IN ANCIENT INDIA

In an ancient Indian society, the development of astronomy took up pace based on the
religious and mythological beliefs and also the contemporary circumstances that are
prevailing in those times. Mere member of the ancient Indian society, being specific towards,
have been devoted to or felt an insecure appeal of the things that are cited by them, which
they would not get an idea of understanding of what that was (meteor showers in the sky,
cyclonic storms etc.).

Yet, at a more profound level, these two straits of human intellectual growth,
astronomy and mythology, are deeply connected. The life-giving ability of the sky, through
rain, sun and moon and its ability to revitalize and fertilise earth must have been observed
very early in human existence. Most religions therefore begin with the concept of Mother
Earth and Father Sky whose rain energizes and impregnates mother earth with new forms of
life. From this step, to making heavens a habitat for gods would have been a progression
towards an interest on the subject matter of astronomy.

3
http:/ / timesofindia. indiatimes. com/ india/ Astrology-is-a-science-Bombay-HC
4
James R. Lewis, 2003. The Astrology Book: the Encyclopedia of Heavenly Influences.
 Advancement in astronomical knowledge of a culture primarily depends on the
following factors:5

1) Requirement of the society,

2) Technological advancement and

3) Available potential of the people.

All these factors are sensitive to the period of the culture. The first two of these are
more or less monotonic, with both requirements and available technology becoming more
elegant with time.

Taking into account the observations of the celestial and interstellar bodies by the
members or the astronomers of the ancient Indian society, they would need the sky for the
following reasons: 6

1) Calendrical purposes including prediction of seasons,

2) Directional and navigational purposes,

3) As an abode of gods, and possible astrological purposes and

4) As a fascinating object of study in its own right.

 The history of Indian astronomy brings out three things clearly:7

1. In contrast to the Western, Christian and Judaic culture, where the man and universe
originated just about 6000 years ago, the Indians had the concept of origin of life to a
time-immemorial;
2. There was concentrated academic and cultural exchange among Central and West-
Asian countries and India, which influenced progress of science too; and
3. They were aware of Greek science too and translated Greek works in Sanskrit.

OBSERVATIONS:

There are two prominent objects in the sky. These are the Sun and the Moon.
The Sun rises somewhere in the East and sets somewhere in the West. The exact point of
Sunrise in fact drifts from a point North East to South East in a periodic cycle of about than
365 days. The Sun rises exactly in the East and sets exactly in the West only twice a year and
these days are marked by 12 hours of sun light and 12 hours of darkness.

5
Astronomy in India: a historical perspective, written by Thanu Padmanabhan (2016).
6
James R. Lewis, 2003. The Astrology Book: the Encyclopedia of Heavenly Influences..
7
Astronomy in India: a historical perspective, written by Thanu Padmanabhan (2016).
 The next object of interest is the Moon. Twelve full moon cycles bring the
Sunrise point nearly to the same place, short by a little more than 11 days. Moon therefore
makes an important calendar. However, the relation between the phase of the Moon and its
rise time is a complex one. The Moon rises at Sunset on full Moon. It rises at midday when
the Moon is halfway towards Full Moon. It rises at midnight when the Moon is halfway to
New Moon.

Beyond this is the relation of these celestial objects with the stars. The Sun
and the Moon seem to have a fixed relation to the stars in the sky, moving in a rather narrow
band of stars. The stars can be divided into small constellations. These constellations would
certainly have an important position amongst other constellations and are separately called
Zodiacs. Similarly, for people sensitive to calendars and using nights of navigation, the stars
visited by Moon would also be considered important and these are called tara-samuhas. The
constellations (tara-samuha) of Sun are called ‘rashi’ while the lunar groupings are called
nakshatras. The term for constellations (tara-samuha) is a very general and generic-term
meaning (group of stars). It appears very late in the literature and most of the ancient Indian
astronomy is restricted to ‘raashi’ and ‘nakshatra’.

In Yajur Veda, there are references to 12 lunar months counting to 354 days.
The synchronisation was done using Ekadasaratra ceremony. This made 365 days in a year
leaving an error of 0.25 days per year. But the Vedic year consisted of 12 months, each of 30
days. This gives the duration of the year as 360 days. This was substituted to the seasons
simply by adding 5 days to the calendar. Solstice days were also noted in literary works. The
Concept of Yuga was introduced as a more sophisticated attempt to substantiate the Solar and
Lunar calendars. The 5 Yugas were, Samvatsara, Parivatsara, Idavatsara, Anuvatsara, and
Idvatsara. Two intercalary months ‘Amhaspati’ and ‘Samsarpa’ were added to complete a
Yuga.

Hence, their understanding of astronomy was good. However, it is interesting

that it seems to be more suitable for not just an established population but, a fairly
progressive culture with needs for long term calendar, unique numbering of days and other
concepts.

RASHIS AND THEIR FORM:

Rasis are preferd to be represented as sub-divisions of the space(aakasa). Raashis are

twelve (12) in number and they are named as follows-
 1. Mesha, 2. Vrishabbha, 3. Mithuna, 4. Karkaataka, 5. Simha, 6. Kanya 7. Thula,

8. Vrischika 9. Dhanusa, 10. Makara, 11. Kumbha, 12. Meena.

According to Bhagavad Gita, the whole universe is considered to form the body of the
Creator. too. The 12 Raashis comprise the twelve (12) members of the body as noted below:

Mesha-Head, Vrishabha-face, Mithuna-the breast and chest, Karkaataka-the heart,

Simha-the belly, Kanya-the hip, Thula-the lower abdomen, Vrischika-the genital organs,
Dhanusa-the thighs, Makara-the knees, Kumbha-the legs and Meena-the feet.

This division will be found to be useful in predicting the nature and kind of the stolen-
property or giving out the description of a man. Thus, when a Raahsi or a person of
respective raashi is visited by an evil planet in the Horoscope, the corresponding member of
the body of the inherent, will have a wound or ailment or will have been rendered unfit for
work or when a question as to lost property is asked, from the Lagnam the portrayal of the
property can be known, such as a head embellishment or a necklace or an anklet etc.8

PLANETS(GRAHA):

In astronomical context of Ancient Indian Era, the planets are given various
representations, as to consider them as of higher beings and they are the ones who would
control the acts possible to be happened in the forthcoming time. Sun is the king, Moon—the
queen. Mars—the commander-in-chief, Mercury-the prince, Jupiter—the minister in religious
matters, Venus—the minister in politics and Saturn—a servant. Fore mentioned assertion is
substantiated as follows - Mercury is the son of tho Moon and as such is rightly adapted as
prince. Mars is a representative of “Kumaraswamy”, the commander-in-chief of Deva army.
Jupiter and Venus have been represented in the “Shastras” to be ‘Gurus’ or “imparters of
spiritual and social knowledge” and as such they have been represented as ministers in
Astrology. Saturn is “Yama” and is a dispenser of justice and is therefore represented as a
servant obeying the orders of his Lord.9

Just as Raasis represent the outer organs of human body, so do the planets with
reference to the feelings and senses. Thus, Sun controls the soul (Athma), Moon-the mind,
Mars-blood and strength, Mercury-speech, Jupiter-the brain, Venus-the passion, Saturn-the
life.

8
Brihad Jataka by Varahamihira.
9
Astronomy in India: a historical perspective, written by Thanu Padmanabhan (2016).
 Planets also represents the four Vedic divisions of the society, eluded as follows-

 Jupiter and Venus represent Brahmans.

 Sun, Moon and Mars represent Kshatriya
 Mercury — Vaishya
 Saturn—Sudra.
 Rahu and Ketu-other castes.

ANCIENT INDIAN ASTRONOMY IN VEDIC TEXTS

In the context of India, the question is what was known, in what detail and when. For
the siddhanta 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 “Vedanga 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. Firstly, even though for the pre-siddhantic period many
texts are available, they are neither specific to astronomy nor are they by particular authors.
Second, the texts were all orally transmitted by memory for generations before they were
scripted on palm leaves. This knowledge tradition has come down to us mainly in Sanskrit.
Three broad classes of BCE texts can be identified namely - Vedic, Puraṇic and Saastraic
texts of the first group including the complementary such as the Sutras and the “Parissiṣṭas”
are preserved unchanged in their original form with practically no deviation with time. The
same cannot be said about the two Epics, the eighteen and more Puranas, Samhitas of
“Parasara” and “Vṛiddha Garga” which have undergone changes in common era also. Texts
on grammar, prosody, dramas of “Bhasa”, “Kauṭilya”’s “Arthasastra”, Bharata’s
“Naatyasastra”, Jainist and Buddhist literature making up the third group are relatively late.
But these also provide insights into Indian astronomy before Common era (BCE). 10 In
addition to the above clarification it is essential to bear in mind the time-frame of
development of the above class of literature which spans some three to four thousand years
starting from an unknown past to the first millennium BCE.

When it is said that an ‘asura’ covered Sun, we may consider this event to be an
eclipse. This allegorical approach was known to the Vedic tradition as recorded by Yaska (c.
10
Astronomy in India: a historical perspective, written by Thanu Padmanabhan (2016).
700 BCE) who records three (3) types of interpretations for several hymns of the Ṛigveda.
These are the adhiyajna, adhyatma and the adhidaiva., the sacrificial, philosophical and
celestial (divine) meanings respectively. For example, the ‘adhidaiva’ meaning of the word
Soma is Moon, whereas in a Vedic sacrifice as per the adhiyajna, Soma is a creeper of that
name. In the Upaniṣads the philosophical meaning of Soma is ‘manas’ or mind. The
“Satapatha Braahmaṇa” has the esoteric statement:

candrama vai somo devanamannam ta pourṇamasyamabhiṣuṇvanti || 11

which literally means- “Moon is Soma i.e., the food of gods; they approach him on
Full Moon”.

RIGVEDA AND DERIVED TEXTS:

The Ṛigveda Samhita is the most ancient literature of India available for our
study. The three other Vedas namely the Yajurveda, Saamaveda and the Atharvaṇaveda along
with their ancillary texts are closely linked to the Ṛigveda in several ways. Even though Rig
veda is not a book on astronomy or on natural sciences, it is a collection of hymns covering a
large variety of themes ranging from the physical to the spiritual, human to the superhuman,
religion to philosophy, individual to the collective, earth to the sky to the universe.

Since Rigveda is the earliest among the Vedas, other texts derive inspiration from
rigveda for their contents and practices. Thus, Vedic literature has evidences to infer, the
sacrifice by the gods through the agency of meteoritic cyclones called ‘maruts’ in Rigveda
might have depleted population in the northern parts of ancient India.

The language of Rigveda is by definition, Vedic Sanskrit and its style can at best be
described as inspired poetry emanating out of spontaneous intuition, revelation or
contemplation. Hence, explaining the text strictly through analytical methods of grammar,
etymology, dictionaries and linguistics will make us miss the forest for the trees i.e.,
Aranyakas.

Reference to citing of comets and meteorites:

The reference to dhumaketu identifiable as Comet appears in the relatively late books
of Rig Veda namely, the first, eighth and the tenth maṇḍalas. However, there are distinct
11
Sapta Braahmana, Vol. 11, chapter 5, hymn 5.
references in the earlier books of Rig Veda to an ancient fire in the sky correlated with agni,
vaisvanara, matarisvan, arvan, ajaikapat, ahirbudhanya, pooṣan and other deities. Hence, in
the earlier layers of Rigveda, temporary celestial objects might have been described using
terminology and the original physical meanings of which might have been forgotten.

The famous hymns on Asva by “Aucathya” are traditionally taken to refer to the
Horse-sacrifice (Asvamedha). But these hymns primarily describe a bright horse-like moving
object in the sky. This event in a slightly different form appears also in the Mahabharatha.12

(tvaṣṭri tu saviturbharya vaḍavarupadharini |

asuyata mahabhaga santarikṣe asvinavubhau ||

mahat hayasiro bhutva yattad vedavido viduḥ |

tamagnim udgiran vaktrat pibatyapo mahodadhau||).

The celestial horse, a replica of which is sacrificed in the Asvamedha is described.

This is the medhyesva (sacrificial horse) born out of tvaṣṭa. This particular verse has two
meanings referring to both the divine horse which was killed by gods and the terrestrial
animal which is to be similarly sacrificed by men. Rig Veda quotes the “Taittiriya Samhita” 13
to clarify the close relationship between tvaṣṭa and arvan.

(tvaṣṭa viram devakamam jajana tvaṣṭurarva jyata asurasvaḥ||)

The deity called “arvan” was the first born in the sky, making sound, with wings of
falcon and ankles of deer. This horse given by Yama was harnessed by Trita for Indra to ride.
Here the word Yama is interpreted in the Nirukta as agni, which as per “Sayaṇa” would
indicate the simultaneous birth of agni and Indra. Arvan is said to be threefold with three
bonds in the sky (triṇi divi bandhanani). Sayaṇa interprets these three bonds to be similar to
the three ropes with which an earthly horse is held.

(ahuste triṇi divi bandhanani||)14

Discussion:

As is known agni and Indra are the most important deities in Rigveda. This is true,
not only in a statistical sense, but also in terms of the importance they have carried in the
Vedic rituals and literature devoted to the elucidation of Rigveda. Even though, the original

12
Maha Bharatha, Adi Parvam chapter 66 hymn 66 & chapter 180 hymn 22
13
Taittiriya Brahamana Vol. V chapter 1 prose 11
14
Taittiriya Brahamana Vol. IV chapter 6 prose 7
agni of Rigveda was clearly celestial, the terrestrial, sacrificial agni assumed greater
significance in the traditional (yajnika) interpretation of Rigveda by “Sayaṇa” and others
before him. The Vedic religion of yajna on earth is a replica of what the gods did once upon a
time. This yajna of the gods was of celestial origin with its effects reaching the earth. Hence
this was of profound spiritual significance to the masterminds of Vedic religion and
philosophy to raise questions about the place of man in the universe, as stated in the
formulations of the Vedanta or the Upaniṣads. There are several instances in the Vedas where
this point is stated either metaphorically or even directly. In the second book, Usijs (Angiras)
are said to have found the path by means of yajna. This yajna of gods had a corresponding
sacrifice on earth also, which in modern parlance could be called a natural disaster.
“Maitrayaṇi Samhita” mentions that gods did a sacrifice at “Kurukshetra”.

Since, Rigveda is the earliest among the Vedas, other texts derive inspiration from
Rigveda for their contents and practices. Thus, Vedic literature has evidences to infer, the
sacrifice by the gods through the agency of meteoritic cyclones called ‘maruts’15 in Rigveda
might have depleted population in the northern parts of ancient India.16

(viso vai maruto bhumo vai viṭ ||)

The Brahmaṇa texts explain that maruts are viś; the groups (or clans) and this means
their abundance in the skies. The perception of the Rigveda composers was that as in their
community traders and agricultural people were in abundance, so were maruts abundant in
the sky. The “Taittiriya Brahmaṇa” declares explicitly that maruts are the most numerous
among the gods. 17

maruto hi devanam bhuyiṣṭaḥ ||

An algorithmic calendar attributed to “Lagadha” became a necessity for timing the

rituals in the Vedic society. The Rigveda is well aware of eclipses and their recurring nature.
This is in contrast to sun getting concealed due to atmospheric dust or trail of comet debris.
While the observation of a solar eclipse by “Atri” is easily recognized, lunar eclipses are
allegorical invoking agni to a yajna when moon appears red in colour.

ECLIPSE CYCLE NUMBER 3339 IN THE ṚIGVEDA:

15
The Cosmic Winter. By Clube and Napier; Basil Blackwell; U.K. 1990
16
Sapta Brahmana Vol. III. 9.1.17
17
Taittiriya Brahmana Vol. 2, chapter 7, prose 10, hymn 1
 Rigveda refers to lunar and solar eclipses. Eclipses of sun and moon must have been
experienced by the people of the Vedic period, as they became knowingly sensitive to the
visible sky. The codified ‘darśa-purṇamasa’ rite, observed to this day by some ahitagnis,
indicates a fairly sophisticated stage when time reckoning and the calendar had become
important. The first reference to rahu by name is in the Atharvaveda where the moon,
planets, meteors, rahu and the dhumaketu are mentioned together. An investigation of the
Vedic number 3339 suggests that that this was the characteristic eclipse number of ancient
India. This represents the number of ‘tithis’ between two similar lunar eclipses separated by
nearly eighteen solar years, counting only the dark fortnights.

In the Rigveda we come across many small numbers such as 3, 7, 12, 27, 49, 360,
which can be explained as having some physical significance and are also easily countable. A
theoretically large number appearing in a sacred text due to chance is more apt to be in
hundreds and thousands in round figures. Curiously enough 3339 is a large number but is too
precise and specific to be taken as an arbitrary count of visvedevah due to chance. It is
deliberately connected with agni which in turn has had a link with visvedevah, and this
number is repeated twice in the Rigveda in the third and the tenth books.

The hymn Rigveda (mandala-3) is by “Gathina Visvamitra”, a legendary figure of

immortal fame in the cultural history of India. This hymn has ‘agni’ as its deity. The main
purport of the hymn is to invoke agni who has to come from a distance, being hidden as the
child of celestial waters. The last verse of the hymn is about the above agni being worshipped
by 3339 deities. This verse occurs again in the tenth book. The excerpt of the hymn goes as
follows-

triṇi sata tri sahasraṇyagnim trimsacca deva nava casarpayan|

aukṣan ghṛtairastṛṇan barhirasma adiddhotaram nyasadayanta||

which transalates into- “Gods in a number of three thousand and three hundred and
thirty and nine (3339) waited upon the Fire God(agni).” As the explanation goes on, they
anointed him with many streams of the clarity; they spread for him the seat of sacrifice, and
seated him within as Priest of the call. This verse is the famous illustration, that specifies the
number of visvedevaḥ to be 3339.

From the above analysis, a physical connection between the 3339 visvedevaḥ and an
agni who can cause eclipses is seen to exist. The intriguing aspect of this ancient theory of
eclipses is the number 3339 and its intended meaning. The existent Vedic texts are essentially
silent on this fact. In the “Taittiriya Brahmaṇa”, where this number 3339 occurs, declares that
over and above the thirty-three Rig Vedic deities and the others are supernumeraries. Some
modern-day scholars have also speculated on the nature of this number., a historian takes
3339 to be the number of year-gods and looks for a link with a 33-year cycle 18. Interpretation
was made considering a period of thirty years consisting of 371 lunar months. 19Majority of
Indologists and historians have presumed this to be just a part of variable Vedic mythology,
wherein the number of gods increased from thirty-three to higher figures (even 33 Crores)
with time. This type of speculative generalization has happened due to literalistic
interpretation of Vedic texts following the sacrificial tradition.

Later texts such as the “Taitiriya Samhita”, the “Satapatha Brahmaṇa” and the
“Taṇḍya Brahmaṇa” know the solar eclipse of Rig Veda but describes the same in different
ways. But the significance of number 3339 that appears in association with visvedevah is
nowhere stated in the Vedas. Based on the information, we can safely conclude that the Vedic
people knew the so-called ‘saros’ of 223 lunations, nearly equal to eighteen (18) years, in a
more fundamental and hence, novelist form as 6678 tithi. Ṛigvedic hymns describe or at least
allude to eclipses in poetic fashion relating the events with agni, soma, visvedevaḥ, yajna,
Indra, svarbhanu, surya and the coppery red colour. But the significance of number 3339 that
appears in association with visvedevaḥ is nowhere stated in the Vedas.

Vedic people knew the so-called ‘saros’ of 223 lunations, nearly equal to eighteen
years, in a more fundamental and hence original form as 6678 tithi. Discovery of this number
and its use in describing a natural astronomical event represents the earliest development of
scientific thinking in India.

VEDIC YEAR AND VEDIC CALENDAR (EXCERPT FROM “VEDANGA JYOTISA”

BY LAGADHA:

It is known that the Vedic people had a luni-solar calendar i.e., the year was
solar and the months were lunar-based. Intercalation was practiced to bring the solar and
lunar year into congruence by various methods. The central theme of “Vedanga Jyotisha” or
“Jyotisha Vedanga” is to provide an algorithm to find in advance the tithi, parvan, nakṣatra
in the formalized Vedic five-year cyclic calendar. Thus, its focus is not observational but also
is essentially computational. “Vedanga Jyotisha” has come down to us in two branches,
18
Drapsa: the Vedic Cycle of Eclipses by R. Shama Shastry, Mysore 1938
19
Sarma K.V. A Survey of Source Materials; IJHS
namely the ‘arca-jyotiṣa’ and the ‘yajusa-jyotsa’. The basic elements are common to both
and hence the two are generally considered together as a single tradition of ancient Vedic
astronomy. The basis of “Vedanga Jyotisha” is the five-year yuga (or) period equated to 62
lunar months i.e., 1830 days, taken equal to 67 side-real months. There are 1768 moon rises
and 1835 risings of the ecliptic star “Śraviṣṭha” (Dhaniṣṭha, Vasava, β-Delphini), with which
sun and moon came together at winter solstice c. 1400 BCE. The length of a solar year
according to this treatise is 371 tithi or 366 days. Any three independent elements among the
above parameters lead to the complete luni-solar calendar. There are several publications
discussing the strength and weakness of Vedanga Jyotisha as a calendar. The glaring
inaccuracy is with the length of the solar year which is too long. Hence if the formulae are
used blindly, the results would noticeably miss reality within a few years.

Vedic people had recognized several types of years such as the ‘nakṣatra’, the lunar,
the savana, the solar and the intercalary year. The claim that “Vedanga Jyotisha” stated
wrong about the length of solar year is substantiated in the Sama Veda. As the Sama Veda
mentions, a special year that falls short by 9 or navona in relation to the saavana year of 360
tithi. This year had 13 months of 27 tithi making the length of the year to be 351 tithi. This
corresponds to a year of 346-347 days in solar calculations. Eclipse year is the time taken for
the lunar nodes to be in line with the sun and the moon, when an eclipse is possible. The
well-known eclipse period of 223 lunation is equal to 18.03 solar years or 6585.32 days. This
consists of 19 eclipse years of 346.6 days. The unknown element here is the ancient way of
measuring tithi.

In “Vedanga Jyotisha”, that gives the astronomical aspects of the Vedic period, they
state that 5 solar years as 1 Yuga, 366 day or 12 solar months as one year, 30 mahuratas as 1
day (i.e. 1 mahurata is 48 min), 2 nadikas as 1 mahurata (i.e. 1 nadika is 24 minutes), 201/20
kala as 1 nadika (1 kala is therefore 2.4 min) and the kala itself is divided so that 124 kasthas
(about 1.1 sec) make a kala and 5 gurvaksaras or 10 matras (0.1 sec) as 1 kasthas. However,
while these ultrafine steps of time are defined, there is no clarity on how to measure such fine
time steps or their utilities.

The different calculations to define and propose the longest possible time or time-
scales of the respective contemporary period were as follows:20

20
Drapsa: the Vedic Cycle of Eclipses by R. Shama Shastry, Mysore 1938
  Rig Veda - 360 days of 12 months with a possible reference to
13th month.
 Atharva Veda -Thirteen months of 30 days.
 Brahmanas - Thirteen months of 35 days and one of 36 days.
 Mahabharata - 5-year cycle.
 Vedanga Jyotisha - Yuga of 5 years consisting 1830 days of Samvatsara,
Parivatsara, Idavatsara, Anuvatsara and Idvatsara. Two intercalary months
are added in 1 Yuga.
 Aryabhatta - 4 yugas of 4 equal periods of 1,080,000 years.

Summing up, the various ancient Indian texts centrally focussing on

astronomical and astrological aspects and discoveries are as follows-

 Brihat Samhita - approx. 5284 BCE

 Yajur Veda - 2350 BCE (Vernal Equinox in “Kritika Vedanga
Jyotisha”).
 Yajur Veda – Vedanga Jyotisha - 1370 BCE (Summer Solstice in “Aslesha”)
 Lagadha’s “Vedanga Jyotisha”- 1340 BCE (Polar latitude of Sravishtha)
 Mahabharata - 1200 BCE (Saptarishi Calendar).
 Parashara Samhita - 1300-1100 (Description of seasons and constellations).

VEDIC YUGA SYSTEM:

The use of the term Yuga is peculiar to the Indian Astronomy that calculates and
denotes vast stretches of time. The basic sense of yuga was not a fixed unit of time, but any
time span that could be related with a repeated phenomenon. The word occurs at a number of
places in Rigveda, probably standing for different time periods. Rigveda refers to
“Dirghatamas”, meaning ‘having grown old in the tenth yuga'. Here, yuga was a fraction of
human life, may be five or ten years. Vedanga Jyotisa, seemed to imply a five-year
yuga. Atharvaveda mentioned units of 100 years, an ayuta (10,000 years) and then two, three,
and four yugas. This suggested that a yuga here probably meant 10,000 years. The
terms Kali, Dvapara, Treta and Krta were mentioned in the Vedic literature as the
designation of throw of dice marked 4, 3, 2 and 1. Four
ages, Pusya, Dvapara, Khara and Krta, were mentioned in the later portions of Sadvimsa
Brahmana, while Dvapara was mentioned in the Gopatha Brahmana. Interestingly, the
Brahmana literature considered Krta to be something good and the others increasingly
inferior, with Kali the worst. It was however not clear whether the reference here was to a
time-span or a throw of dice. “Manusmrti” defined a unit of time called Mahayuga
or caturyuga made up of four yugas - Krta, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali - with lengths in the
ratio of 1:2:3:4.

Siddhantic Astronomy

The rather simple Sun and Moon-oriented astronomy of the Vedanga eventually made
way for the mathematically difficult planetary astronomy of the Siddhanta, literally meaning
'proven in the end', was the name given to the astronomical texts of the period. The historical
era began with Aryabhatta (AD 476) whose text “Aryabhatiya” (AD 499) (meaning
Aryabhata's work) was the first astronomical work attributed to a single author and accurately
dated. names in Siddhantic astronomy, following Aryabhatta, were his direct pupil Latadeva
(AD 505); Varahamihira ( AD 587), a compiler rather than researcher, and an expert on
omens; Bhaskara-I (AD 629), Aryabhatta's commentator and an able mathematician;
Aryabhatta's bete-noire Brahmagupta ( AD 598); Lalla (AD 638 or 768); Manjula or Munjala
(AD 932); Aryabhatta-II (c. AD 953); Sripati (AD 1039); and Bhaskara-II (b. 1114), author
of the celebrated mathematical work Lilavati.

Siddhantic Theory:

The basic observational input into the Siddhantic theory was the orbital periods of the
geocentric planets, which would have been obtained by actual observation. One of these
being- After the lapse of a long period of time (like a Mahayuga), during which the planets
made an integral number of revolutions the planets returned to the original alignment.
Aryabhatta also propounded the Ardha-ratrika (midnight) system in which the beginning of
Kaliyuga.

Discoveries in Siddhantic Astronomy:

The credit for discovering the fact that the earth rotates on its axis goes to Aryabhatta.
This observation was mentioned at three places in “Aryabhatiya”.

The Vedic mythology attributed the eclipses to a demon Rahu, who was explicitly
named in Atharvaveda. The correct mathematical theory of eclipses was first given by
Aryabhatta in the Indian context. He pointed out that for an eclipse to occur, the moon should
be at one of its nodes, that is, at one of the two points where the lunar orbit intersects the
ecliptic. Subsequently, the term Rahu was borrowed from the Vedic texts and applied to the
lunar node, especially the ascending node (when the moon crossed the ecliptic moving
northwards).21

PANCHANGA:

Panchanga or Indian-Almanac (Hindu calendar) is the backbone of Indian

astronomy, astrology and this calendar and is commonly used in India even today. Literally,
it means “five limbs (or) parts”. “Panchak Yoga”, otherwise known as ‘Kaal’ is the period of
five days that occurs every month of the Hindu or Vedic calendar. During this kaal or period,
moon transfers from the respective raashis-kumbha to meena and continues for approximately
5 days.

While each maker of the Panchanga keeps his method of calculation a closely guarded
secret they all claim to use Aryabhata’s work or “Suryasiddhanta” or “Karana” method. Its
earliest calculations are available in “Vedanga Jyotisha” (1200 BC) with later additions added
over the next 2000 years and more. Since all the festivals in Hinduism are based on lunar
calendar or Tithi. Panchanga plays a very important role in the daily lives of the Hindus even
today. More modern calculations use the ‘Grahalaghavam’ of “Ganesha Daivjna”.

There are mainly five (5) types of panchanga which are regular and common
in the dialy usage. They are:

 Vara(week),
 Lunar day (thithi),
 Nakshatra (constellation),
 Yoga and
 Karana.

Here, Yoga and Karana goes hand-in-hand, as the astrology represents that a Karana
is made from the half of the respective Yoga; Yoga is the combination of two Karanas. There
are twenty-seven (27) Yogas in number. Yoga is a component of Panchanga system that
plays important role in choosing Muhurta for any action. There are two types of Yoga,
namely, Naisargika or Nitya (Yogas that are based upon the longitudinal aspects of Surya and

21
Aryabhattiya by Aryabhatta
Chandra and Tatkaalika (Yogas, that are based on combination of Vaar (week) and Nakshatra
(constellation)).

‘Karanas’ are calculated as half of a lunar day and is one of the main components of
Panchanga system. Karana plays a major role in finding muhurtha or right time for any
occasion or action. There are eleven (11) karanas which play a major role in finding a right
time.

PANCHASIDDHANTIKA AND BRIHAT SAMHITA BY VARAHAMIHIRA:

After the commencement of the era after the completion of the Vedic period
(c. 1500 BCE. – c.500 BCE) Varahamihira’s works on astronomical and astrological fields,
which draws their principles back from the respective works of the Vedic literary works, had
brought a huge development in the fields of astronomy and astrology and its scope and point
of view in research. Varahamihira’s mathematical work included the discovery of the
trigonometric formulas. He improved the accuracy of the sine tables of Aryabhata l. He
defined the algebraic properties of zero as well as of negative numbers. Furthermore, hge was
among the first mathematicians to discover a variety of what is now known as the Pascal’s
triangle. He used it to calculate the binomial coefficients.

Varahamihira (499-587 CE), belong to the court of the Nava Ratna or nine
gems in Gupta Empire in the reign of Vikramaditya Chandragupta, wrote several important
works on Jyotish including – Brihat Samhita, Yoga Yatra, Pancha Siddhantika, and
Prasna Vallabha. Being an Astrologer, he wrote on all the three main branches of Jyotisha
astrology. It covered Brihat Jataka which is considered as one of the five main treatises on
Hindu astrology on Horoscopy; Laghu Jataka, Samasa Samhita, Brihat Yogayatra, Yoga
yatra, Tikkani Yatra, Lagu Vivaha Patai, Daiiivajna Vallabha (mythical) and so on. He also
worked with Aryabhata, and composed many rules of astrology. Aryabhatta was his teacher,
so he learned most of astrology rules exclusively from him only.he learned mathematical and
analytical calculations of astrology from Aryabhatta .

Pancha Siddhantika:

Among the fore-mentioned books, Pancha Sidhantika holds a prominent place

in the study of astronomy. It is centrally emphasised on the mathematical astronomy and
observatory calculations of the astronomy. It summarises literary works of earlier times –
Surya, Romaka(roman excerpt), Paulsa(excrept of the works of Greek astronomer
Paulus), Vasistha and Patlamaha siddhantas.
  Surya Siddhantha-principles based upon Surya or Sun.
 Vasista Siddhantha-principles propounded from one of the stars of the Great
Bear constellation.
 Pulisa Siddhantha-composed by Pulisa.
 Romaka Siddhantha-the subjects of the Roman Empire, composed by Sirisena.
 Brahma Siddhantha-composition of Brahama Gupta.

Varahamihira meekly said about his own treatises: “The science of Astrology is a vast
ocean and is not easy for everyone to cross it. My treatises provide a safe boat.”22

The book also had a significant coverage on kinds of time, the length of the year of
gods and demons, day and night of god Brahma, the elapsed period since creation, how
planets move eastwards and sidereal revolution. Surya Siddhanta mentioned the Mars’s
diameter (which was, as proposed, considered to be 3,772 miles, which has an error within
1/10th of the now accepted diameter - 4,218 miles), circumference and also carries
calculations on and about solar eclipses and lunar eclipses, its colour and share of the moon
as well.

Brihad Samhitha and Brihad Jatak:

The Brihad Samhitha and Brihad Jataka has revealed his discoveries in the
domains of geography (bhugola sastra), constellation (nakshatra), botany (vriksha sastra)
and animal science (jantu sastra). “Brihad Samhitha”, literally translated as ‘The Great
Compilation’, discusses the topics, namely- celestial bodies, their movements and
conjunctions, meteorological phenomena, planetary movements, eclipses, rainfall, rainfall,
clouds, domestic relations, gems, pearls and rituals, indications of the omens or signs based
on these movements and conjunctions, what action to take on a specific time and operation to
accomplish, signs to look for in humans, animals, stones etc.

According to the scripture, the Sun is the Lord of the region at the source of the river
Narmada of Bengal, Kalinga of Sakas; Yavanas of Magadha, Sabra, Pragjyotisha, Cambodia
and China.The volume illustrates on gemstone evaluation criterion found in the “Garuda
Purana”, and elaborates on the sacred Nine Pearls from the same text. It contains 106
chapters and is known as the "Great Compilation”. Varahamihira, with his rules and
principles had already explained Newton’s Theory on “Gravity Rules”. He already
recognized that there is an earth’s pull force or gravitational force that pulls objects towards
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it, and he named it as “Gurutvakarshan”. Varahamihira introduced 4 type of months which
includes Solar Month, Lunar Month, Yearly Month, and Fortnight Month.23

On the other hand, Brihad jataka, considered ‘India’s foremost astrological text’, is
prelude to be a standard textbook on ‘Vedic Astrology’. Work in this book covers the wide
and complex range of ‘Predictive Astrology’. It gives away the grasp on the fundamentals of
astrology, as it is considered one of the 5 major treatises on the subject, being Hindu
Predictive Astrology, along with- “Saravali” of Kalyan Verma, “Sarvastha Chinthamani” of
Venkatesha, “Jataka Paarijaatha” of Vaithyanatha and “Philadelphika” of Mantreswara.

CONCLUSION
Once a civilisation grows beyond a certain level of superiority, a culture begins to
specialise in its tasks and not everyone will be required to be skilful in all aspects of life. This
translates into specialised education programme that come in a variety of forms. However, a
common feature of most of these is the state-benefaction. Depending on the capability,
development of astronomy will be driven by mathematical and technological developments.
Interaction with neighbouring cultures can also spur the growth. The growth of astronomy
follows the same growth plan as the rest of the society. In the Indian context, this phase
begins around 500 AD with the advent of Siddhantic (mathematical or computational)
astronomy and great astronomers like Aryabhata. It also has a strong influence of Greek
astronomy. Pre-occupation of Indian astronomers for the next millennium was calculation of
geocentric- planetary orbits and development of algorithms for solving mathematical
equations arising in the process with instrumentation and observation playing a secondary
role to computations.

The idea of space and time have always fascinated humans from the first time
they looked around and noticed long term variations that they assigned to forces beyond their
reach. Disgusted by the idea of leaving the dead to the elements with all the dismemberments
that would be inevitable, they soon began to give a resting place to the dead. A desire to not
let go of the dead, the myths about the presence of gods (probably aided by appropriate
hallucinations, prophecies and sooth-saying) the place of burial soon began to be treated as
sacred. Independently, as the regularity and predictability and of these changes began to catch
their notice, they soon realised its importance in their lives.

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 Any attempt to trace the history of Indian astronomy cannot manage to outcast the
vast Vedic literature starting from the Ṛigveda and the Puraṇas. These texts present the oldest
description of a constellation (nakshatra), named the “Sisumaara” comprising of fourteen
stars including the ‘Pole Star’. The ancient Indian cultural practice of maintaining a divine
dialogue between the visible sky and the earth (prithvi) has passed through the Vedic
Samhita, Braahmaṇa, Araṇyakas and to the Puraaṇas with many plots and still later into the
period of mathematical astronomy, preserving reference to two Pole Stars, a scarcity for any
culture.

Scientific astronomers of the ‘Early Siddhanta Period’ meticulously avoided the

Sisumara of the Veda and the Puraṇa but retained the term dhruva to mean a fixed reference
point, which jargon they needed for the co-ordinate dhruvaka. But with passage of time, as
star Polaris approached the North Celestial Pole(NCP), the nearby group of stars was named
’dhruvamatsya’ (Polar Fish) and the new Pole Star was kept at the ‘mouth of the animal’, in
contrast to the ancient Dhruva placed at the ‘tail of the aquatic animal’ - Sisumara. This
uncertainty must have confused an outsider like “Alberuni” since the orthodox Hindus whom
he knew, must have held on to their belief that the Pole Star was at the tip of the tail of the
constellation Sisumara, looking more like a shape of an alligator, but not a fish. This amply
demonstrates the long memory of the sincere Hindus of their ancestral astral religion carried
through centuries, attempting synchronization of their faith with the universal law as
professed in the Vedas. The best example of how the Vedic facts are remembered is available
in the commentaries on the Viṣṇusahasranama, (Thousand names of Viṣhṇu) which is a part
of the Mahabharata. All the three schools of vedaanta, following “Sankara”, “Ramanuja” and
“Madhwa” recognize this text as important for their tradition. All the three commentaries
specific to the three schools interpret the 441st name nakṣatranemi, as a homonym for Viṣhṇu,
the controller of the nakṣhatras, stationed at the heart-region or core of the (constellation)
Sisumaara, quoting the Vedic and Puraṇic texts in differing details. “Shankaraacharya”
explains that Dhruva sitting on the tail of this figure rotates the stellar circle. He quotes
cryptically, the Vedic authority for his explanation as viṣṇuṛhṛdayam, which is the Araṇyaka
hymn. This commentary has a gloss by “Taraka Brahmananda Sarasvati”, a monk of the
Shankara tradition. he was after “Sayaṇa” and hence can be assigned to 15-16 Century CE.
We conclude that the Vedic people of the Yajurveda branch beheld the sky picture of a
constellation named Sisumara (the modern Draco) with fourteen stars the last one being
stationary without motion to be called Dhruva (α-Draconis) the Pole Star c. 3000 BCE. They
also preserved this information in their orally transmitted text Araṇyaka which formed the
basis for the meru centric astronomical models of the later Puraṇas and the still later
cosmological speculations in the Siddhaanta astronomical texts.

Through the human history, astronomy has evolved in a gradual manner. Starting with
the first attempts to understand the Sun, Moon and their relation to human life, the journey to
telescope and satellite-based astronomy has been a long and difficult one. According to this
research work, the researcher has attempted to trace the growth of the astronomy and its
subsidiary and complementary subject i.e., astrology by means of literary sources (both
primary and secondary) and giving away its references in a chronological manner. However,
the formulation is general enough to be applicable over a wide variety of cultures.