Indian Antiquary Vol 20

Author(s): John Faithfull Fleet, Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 45

JANUARY, 1891.]
MISCELLANEA.
37
have overlooked the fact that no less than twenty But I think it is really meant for suddhi-dina out of the forty-nine Tables given by him in (aita), used for the tithi-suddhi, and so connection with the Hindu astronomy were should be defined as the day on which the directly borrowed from Hindu works; and that Misha-Sankranti occu's, though Warren has most of the other Tables were necessary only used it for the day on which any sankranti to convert the Hindu dates into their Euro. occurs, or the luni-solar year begins. pean equivalents. And he was not aware that
On pages 376, 384, definitions are given of the Tables similar to those which he gave, might
words prakchakra and sprik, the latter of which be in use in other parts of India, or
is snid to be wrongly written in the Text as sprohu perhaps even in the very province in which
or sprohoo. They are explained as meaning he lived. His assertion (Pref. p. i.) that "the
respectively the epicycle on which ancient usresults of the present research...... were derived from systems which we see nowhere
tronomers corrected the precessional variation,
and 'a lunar intercalary day, repeated during two supported by recorded observations, or modified
successive solar days in the calendar. But (for several centuries past) by improved theories,"
there are in reality no such terms. The second is subtle and liable to dispute. But such
of them seems to be meant for tridinasprik, instances are rare, and it may be said that
'(a tithi) which touches three (civil) days."? Warren was a good appreciator of the merits of
And the former seems to owe its existence only to the Hindu astronomy, and was not merely a
Davis' incorrect translation (see page 84, note) fault-finder. His book gives a good insight into
of the 9th, 10th, and 11th verses, and the first the Hindu astronomy; and those foreign writers
half of the 12th, of the Triprasna-Adhikara of who wish to be judges on the subject of the Hindu astronomy, may do well to give it a
the Sdrya-Siddhanta. On page 389, avanatama
(under the word vanatamsa) is said to mean thorough perusal.
degrees of altitude. But it really means There is ample proof to shew that Warren was
zenith-distance. The correct term for 'altitude' a good mathematician and a careful computator. is unnatamg&. But notwithstanding this, some mistakes have
The terms solar ahargana and luni-solar crept into his book; and without a knowledge of
ahargana, used throughout, are rather mislead. them, the utility of it is liable to be affected.
ing; and it would have been better to use " ahar. The book seems to be still one of constant refe
gana at the beginning of solar years (or months)," rence; and it, therefore, will be useful to note the
and "ahargana at the beginning of luni-solar more important mistakes in it, which is the chief
years (or months)." These are the senses in object of my present remarks.
which the terms in question were used. And it As might be expected, partly from the fact that
would have been at any rate advisable to give the no regular system had then been established, and
definition of them. partly from the author's admission that he himself A misunderstanding in connection with the was totally ignorant of the Sanskrit language (page Second Chronological Table, into which War. 351), most of the Sanskrit toohnical terms, used ren himself seems to have fallen, is likely to by Warren, are very corruptly spelt in the be impressed on the reader's mind, and it might text, and in reading the book it is necessary to casily render its fourth, fifth, sixth, and tenth read first the Glossary (pp. 353-396), where they columns quite useless. One is likely to suppose are corrected and defined; and in some instances that the entries in these columns are for the end it has to be searched rather carefully, before the of the apparent last amavdsyd of the year; but required words can be found. Even in the Glos- this is not the case. The luni-solar ahargana in sary, however, some words are not correctly dis
the tenth column is calculated from Table XLIX. posed of. For instance, srishtyadidyugana (p. 64); the very nature of which shews that it is (FETE ), which is spelt strostidi digona in for the end of the last mean andvdsyd, and not the text, is given as sristyadi diugona in the Glos. of the apparent one. The heading of the fifth sary (p. 58). Also some words are wrongly column, "date of the last mean conjunction in defined, though this is not often the case; for in the luni-solar year," - also shews the same fact; stance, the word spelt as sootadina in the text, is and I myself have ascertained it from several given as suddha dina, and is defined as the dayon calculations. The difference between the endingwhich a particular phenomenon isto occur' (p. 385). 1 times of a mean and an apparent tithi, amounts
This word, by the bye, is wrongly defined in Monier-Williams Sanskrit Dictionary, as meaning 'the conjunction or concurrence of three lana.ions with one solar day.'