Astronomy and Cosmology

Author(s): L C Jain
Publisher: Rajasthan Prakrit Bharti Sansthan Jaipur

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coordinates exclusively. Finally, the thirty-six Old Babylonian asterisms were confused with the Egyptian decans and twelve of them ousted to make room for the Zodiacal constellations. One might fairly surmise, therefore, that the equatorial moon-stations of East Asia originated from Old Babylonian astronomy before the middle of the -Ist millennium and probably a long time before."76
MATHEMATICAL ASTRONOMY
The authors, it appears, have not gone through the details of the nakşatra system of Zodiac in the Jaina School. The tables above speak of a great similarity between the Jaina School and the Chinese School and the transmission could be thought possible, both east and west ways, even before the Budhists entered into the lands. The Zodiac of the Jaina School was so predominant that every nakşatra of the Zodiac had its own sign and Yogatārās.77
According to Neugebauer, “ Thus magic, number mysticism, astrology are ordinarily considered to be the guiding forces in Babylonian science. As far as mathematics is concerned, these ideas have had to be most drastically revised since the decipherment of mathematical texts in 1929 ................ Early Mesopotamian astronomy appeared to be crude and merely qualitative, quite similar to contemporary Egyptian astronomy. At best since
76. Cf. ibid., p. 256. 77. The C, P, mentions, "Gosisāvali, Kāhāra, Sauņi, pupfovayāra, vāviya,
ņāvā, āsakkhandhaga, bhaga, churagharae, ya Sagaduddhi ||1|| miga sisāvali, ruhira bindu, tula, vaddhamāņa, padāgā, pāgāra, pallanke, hatthe, muhuphullae ceva |12|| Khilaga, dāmiņi, egtāvali ya gayadenta, vicchuyaņangūle, ya gayavikkame, ya tatto, sihanisīyā, ya santhāņā. 11311 p. 312, (10.9 1). The T. P, II mentions variants : Viyasaya sayalauddhi kuranga siradivatoraņāņam ca || Adavavāraua vamniya go muttam sarajugāņam ca 1| 465 || Hatthuppaladivāņam adhiyaranam hāraviņa singā ya 11 Vicchuva dukkaya vāvi kesarigayasisa āyārā || 466 11 Murayam pata ntapakkhi seņā gayapuvva avara gattā ya Il pāvā hayasira sarisā ņam culli kitti yādiņam 11 467 11
It appears that C. F. belonged to the observations taken in the north and the T. P. observations might have been taken in the south of India, resulting in the difference of signs of the Zodiac.
Cf. T. P. II, vv. 463-464 & C. P, 10.9. 1, p. 313 for stars of the nakşatras.
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