Astroज्योतिष

Today's teaching

“Wealth is the star for wealth; what will the stars do?”
— Kautilya, Arthashastra IX.4

Library · Teachers · Lagadha · dated about 1400 BCE (Tilak, Dikshit) or about 400 BCE (Pingree)

Lagadha: the Vedanga Jyotisha

The oldest Indian astronomical text, on its own: a calendar for timing the Vedic sacrifices, built on a five-year cycle and the twenty-seven nakshatras from Krittika — what it contains, what it does not, and the long argument over its date. 2 chapters, 1,127 words.

  1. The calendar of the sacrificeWhat the Vedanga Jyotisha is, its two versions, its purpose in timing the Vedic rites, its five-year cycle of 1,830 days and 62 months, its nakshatras counted from Krittika, its famous verse in praise of jyotisha, and what it does not contain.592 words
  2. The question of the dateWhy the Vedanga Jyotisha's date is disputed: the solstice positions it records, Tilak's and Dikshit's early date, Pingree's late date from language and Mesopotamian parallels, Varahamihira's own testimony that the solstices had moved since the ancient books, and how to hold both views.535 words

All teachers · The Study of Jyotisha, the course that brings the teachers together by topic.