Jain Journal 1983 07

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

Page 9

JULY, 1983
refers to the popular view-points of others like Kasyapa, Devala, Garga and Samasa from the historical point of view but he himself did not understand much of it as he explicity mentions (BTS, 6.7) as :
"Jyotisa (astronomy) is an Agama sastra (sacred scriptural knowledge) uttered through intuition. I know little of it but put forth views of others."
Varahamihira makes no reference to the Jaina work BBS which exhibits a distinct account of nomenclature of vithis; probably because he referred to only the view points in vogue at that time and thus this portion of BBS might belong to a period much earlier than Varahamihira (505A.D.) lived. It may also be quite probable that Varahamihira might have not come across the text of BBS which like the Jaina canonical works, might have been preserved in the memory of Jaina monks for a long time before its present recension might have been redacted. This view is upheld by the fact that the work BBS belongs to Bhadrabahu who is said to have convened a council of Jaina monks in Pataliputra and had established a fragmentary Jaina canon which was for long time preserved in memory.10 However, it appears that BBS gives the earliest exhaustive account of vithis (lanes) and it exclusively mentions lengths of arcs of inferior and superior combustions of Venus in several vithis (lanes). In this context BBS 7.206-223 states as :
i.e. Venus sets in the east and rises in the west,
after 86 days after 84 days
after 86 days
after 75 days
after 70 days
after 65 days
after 60 days
after 85 days
after 55 days
in vaiśvānara vithi in mrga vithi in aja vithi in jaradgava vithi in go vithi
in vṛsa vithi
in airavata vithi
in gaja vithi in näga vithi
Venus again sets in the west and rises in the east
after 24 days
after 22 days
in vaiśvānara vithi in mrga vithi in aja vithi in jaradgava vithi
after 20 days after 17 days
10
See ref. No. 6.
(BBS. 7.206) (BBS. 7.207)
(BBS. 7.208)
5
(BBS. 7.209)
(BBS. 7.210)
(BBS. 7.211)
(BBS. 7.212)
(BBS. 7.213) (BBS. 7.214)
(BBS. 7.215)
(BBS. 7.216) (BBS. 7.217) (BBS. 7.218)