Jain Journal 1984 01

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

Page 18

JANUARY, 1984
summer solstice day, height (celestial co-latitudinal distance projected along surface of earth) of Sun above samatala bhūmi (earth having plane surface denoting circular area with centre at the projection of pole of ecliptic) is 800 Y. Radius of Jambudvipa with axis of Meru passing through its centre is 50000 y. As we have expounded13 that periphery of Jambudvipa coincides with the parallel of maximum declination of the Sun, so height of Sun occupying innermost mandala above samtala bhūmi (distance of Sun occupying innermost mandala from axis of Meru) is equivalent to radius of Jambudvipa i.e. 800 Y = 50000 y............(10)
500
1 Y = By
80 Y
= 5000 y....
.....(1
Substracting eq. No. (11) from eq. No. (10), we have 720 Y = 45000 y = 50000 y-5000 y
= Radius of Jambudvipa-radius of Meru's base on flat
earth = Shortest distance of earth's axis from periphery of Jam
budvipa. = 90°-23°.5 (periphery of Jambudvipa coincides with
maximum declination 8 max of Sun).
= 66o.5. This result is tout a fait consistent with eq. No. (8) i.e. 510 Y = 2 8 max = 47°
In the light of these discussions, it may be contemplated that the variation of Sun's declination was deliberately measured in 510 Y in a manner as discussed earlier. Jainas were probably afraid of the insecurity of reckoning the variation of Sun's declination from zero (corresponding to Sun's position on Summer solstice day) to 510 Y (corresponding to Sun's postion on winter solstice day). Thus to avoid the act of defining the place of zero declination, they might have been tempted to befit these data in their pre-conceived cosmographic frame-work of mind. Consequently the concept of NPD of the solar mandala as implied in Jaina canonical texts came into existence thereby. The two Units, Y and y, were intermingled. Primarily, Dj was confused with while calculating the NPD of the innermost solar mandala (see eq. No. 9). This happened probably because according to their original findings, circumference of Jambudvipa was considered to be
18 See Ref. No. 1.