Jain Journal 1977 07

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 44

JAIN JOURNAL
The lamina bounded by the aforesaid circular locus of the axis of the Meru has been called as samatala bhūmi (plane earth) in Jaina canonical texts. The plane of samatala bhūmi is parallel to the plane of ecliptic. It indicates a notion of obliquity of ecliptic. Furthermoie, we find that the arcual distances of sun, moon and other Jyotiskas (astral bodies) from samatala bhūmi were called as their heights respectively. In accordance with this concept of 'height, the moon was regarded as 80 yojanas higher than the sun. Shankar Balkrishna Dixit ascribes to it the reason that the moon moves among the stars. Stars being higher than the sun led them believe that the moon also moves higher than the sun. But the concept of 'height' does not imply, indeed, the sense of vertical height of moon over sun, rather it depicts a notion of latitude of moon. This idea is confirmed from the fact that the notion of latitude of moon is also reflected from their knowledge of the lunar occultations with the 28 Naksatras (asterisms). Some Naksatras always occult the moon from the southern direction, some from the northern direction whereas some occult the moon from both the northern and southern directions depending upon the position of moon's nodes. In this way, Jainas possessed a unique knowledge of the belt of lunar Zodiac. A crude notion of the motion of lunar nodes, Rahu and Ketu, is also implied therein. It is worth-mentioning here that the well-known American astronomer, Neugebauer, has attempted to show that according to Babylonians, the moon had a zigzag motion. Jainas had also a sound knowledge about the motion of moon. They knew the latitude of moon in no less better a manner than ancient Babylonians did.
Jainas had also studied the phenomenon of eclipse formation. In the context of Jaina texts, the shadow as implied in the concept of parva Rahu (parva means half lunar month and Rahu denotes moon's ascending node these days) covered the sun or the moon at least once in a period of six months and specifically the sun after 48 years and the moon after 42 months. It has been mathematically shown in our research paper presented at the Jaipur session of Jaina Vishva Bharati in October 1975, that Jainas had a unique contribution in expressing the cycles of eclipses in eclipse-years. Consequently, the 336 eclipse-years luni-solar cycle of eclipses is no less better than the Chaldean saros and the Metonic cycle. The Jaina cycle of eclipses compared to other world cycles of eclipses is absolutely distinct in its features.
Besides, Jainas have a great contribution towards the evolution of graduating the Zodiacal circumference. Firstly, the Zodical circumference was graduated into 27 % days and subsequently into 819 47 mūhurtas of a lunar sidereal revolution, 54900 gagana khandas (celestial