Astronomy and Cosmology

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

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and 16 li amounting to 8 or 3 miles. 116
Fleet estimated the value of yojana to be 9 yojanas. Cunningham, after collating several variations, concludes that a yojana is equivalent to 6-7 miles, and Lishk and Sharma have also accepted this value from various considerations that follow. 117
4. RATIONALIZATION
Rationalization of the various data given in Jaina texts has been attempted by the above authors. For example the heights of various planetary bodies and the sun etc, from an unknown region, 118 uparima tala (upper surface of the Citra earth, are as follows : 119 The stars
790 Yojanas to 900 Yojanas The sun
800 Yojanas The moon 880 The nakşatras 884 The Mercury 888 The Venus 891 The Jupiter The Mars
897 The Saturn 900
894
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Now the measures given about for the sun, the moon etc. immediately appear to contradict the modern view, as well as the date of diameter
48 of them given in Jaina texts, (Sum * and moon 20 yojanas }. Similarly, the distance between the innermost orbit and outermost orbit of the sun is 510 yojanas. Lishk and Sharma propose to regard this as arcual distance or roughly 480 of arc, 10 being equivalent to 69.9 miles on the earth's sphare. 116. Cf. ibid., pp. 423, 424. D. A. Somayaji derives a yojana as approxi
mating to 5 miles. L. C. Jain has derived in TPG, a value equivalent
to that of Fleet. Cf. Lishk and Sharma op. cit. 117. Cf, Lishk and Sharma, op. cit., “The Evolution........., 118. Svetāmbara School, S. P. and C. P., regard this region as the extremely
plane-beautiful earth-part of ratna-prabhā earth. 119. Cf. T. P., II, vv. 7.36, 7:65, 7•82, 7.83, 7-89, 7.93, 7.99, 7.104, 7.108
7.112, Cf. also G. A., pp. 257, 259.
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