Indian Antiquary Vol 25

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 14

10
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
(JANUARY, 1896.
No. 12. - In the year opposite the Kollam year 410, with Jupiter in Scorpio and the sun
27 days old in Aries (i. e., the 28th Mêdam, about April 1235). No. 13. - In the Kollam year 427, with Japiter entering Aries and the sun 21 days old in
Taurus, Wednesday, the 5th lunar day after the new moon. No. 14. - In the Kollam year 491 and in the fourth year, the sun being 21 days old in
Aquarius (22nd Kumbham 491 M. E., or, roughly speaking, about the end of February
1316). As the dates Nos. 3. 11 and 13 seem to be the surest, we will begin with them. Mr. Robert Sewell states in his South Indian Chronological Tables, Madras, 1889, page 7f., that on the first day of the Kollam era 1434160 days of the Kaliyuga had expired, and this brings us to the day 2022626 of the Julian period. And counting from the beginning of the Kaliyaga, corrected by - 2 d. 51 g. 8 v. 45 p. (see Warren's Kala Sankalita, page 10) and adding hereto 3926 years of 365 d. 15 g. 31 v. 15 p. plus the duration of the months Mêdam, Idavam, Mithunam, Karkadakam and Chingam, we find indeed that the entrance of the sun into Kanya took place on the day 2022625 of the Julian period at 37 g. 40 v. 36 p. after mean sunrise at Lanka
Taking now the dates as current years, we find for the beginning of the respective months the day of the Julian period: 2145227 d. 1 g. 28 v. 31 p. for Idavam 336; 2164524 d. 28 g. 11 v. 43 p. for Minam 389; and 2178465 d. 33 g. 52 v. 16 p. for Idavam 427. The first instance is so near sunrise that the slightest difference in the assumed duration of the solar months ean bring it back to the end of the day 2145226, which day is to be taken as the 1st Idavam; so the 7th Idavam 336 corresponds to the day 2145232 of the Julian period, which day (29th April 1161 A. D.) was indeed a Saturday. As it is easily found by Jacobi's Tables that on this day the moon was indeed in Mrigasiras, this date peems identified without doubt. If the 1st Idavam 427 corresponds to the Julian day 2178465, the 22nd will correspond to 2178486 or the 15th May 1252, which day was indeed a Wodnesday, and by Jacobi's Tables the 5th bithi was running; so this date, too, is undoubtedly ascertained.
The day 2164524 for the 1st Minam 389 would bring the 19th Minam to the day 2164542, which, instead of being a Thursday and the 10th lunar day, is Wednesday and the 29th lunar day. But when we take this year to be expired, the beginning of Minam 389 falls on the the day 2164889 d. 43 g. 42 v. 58 p. and the 19th Mînam corresponds to the day 2164907 or the 12th March 1215, which was a Thursday, and on which day by Jacobi's Tables the 10th tithi was running and the moon was in the nakshatra Pushya; so there can be no doubt that this date also is correctly ascertained by transferring it to 1215.
These dates shew that in the inscriptions the years are sometimes expired and sometimes current.
No. 4 is the same as No. 3, and need not therefore be taken into consideration. Nos. 1, 5 and 14 have no particulars by which to decide if the years are current or expired, 80 they may correspond respectively either to August 1126 or 1127 (1125 of one begins the year with Chingam instead of Kanya), to August 4, 1167 or to August 3, 1168 (or to August 4, 1166 when beginning with Chingam), and to February 15, 1316 or February 14, 1317.
For the datos Nos. 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 the position of Jupiter is given, so that it is possible to decide in every case if the year is current or expired. Taking first all the years as current and calculating the places of Japiter, we find Japiter in the sign assigned to him in Ncs. 6, 9, 11 and 13, whilst in No. 12 Japiter, instead of being in Scorpio, was yet in Libra. So this date has to be taken as expired, which brings Jupiter to Scorpio. In No. 10 the case is reversed. Jupiter ought to be in Cancer, but he had really left this sign for some months and was far advanced in Leo. Yet this is easily explained when we consider the contents of the inscription. The words and the sun • days old in Gemini) are supplied. As the last lines of the document in question speak of a first half-yearly payment due in Vrischigam 385, Mr. Sundaram Pillai sapposes that the document itself was made half a year before Vțiśchigam