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OCTOBER, 1985
Modern astronomy may reject the Jaina views to the Rahu, appearing like a black shadow of its black vimāna, and its intervention in the interception of the light, of the luminous body like the Moon or the Sun, producing an eclipse, on the plea of the Jaina conception of a stationary circular Earth24 with flat surface and two Moons and two Suns in the celestial sphere of Jambudvipa25 etc. And it may favourably support to some extent the astronomical view of the Brahmanical school in regard to the causes of the lunar and solar eclipses respectively as a result of the passing of the Moon into the shadow of the Earth and its covering by the shadow of the latter and its passing into the sphere of the Sun and covering of the latter by it. But it is to be remembered that "until after the work of Copernicus (1543) it was generally believed that the Earth was stationary and the diurnal motion of the celestial sphere was a real motion in which all the heavenly bodies took part."26 It should be noted here that long before Copernicus, the Indian astronomer, Aryabhata advocated the theory that the Earth was not stationary but moving.27
The Jaina astronomical views on the causes of eclipses along with their other aspects deserve a critical study, as it is thought-provoking. It is evidently clear that the Jaina, 28 Brahmanical 29 and modern 30 schools of
24 All the orthodox Indian astronomical schools except Aryabhata and his followers advocated the theory of the stationary Earth,
67
e.g. paramarthatastu sthiraiva bhumi I, comm. on Aryabhatiya, Golapada p. 76. by Paramesvara.
25 The Jaina Canons also quote some unnamed astronomers who advocated the theory of one Moon and one Sun. See Suriyapannatti, pahuda 19.
tatthege evamahumsu tu ta ege camde ege sure scvvaloyam obhasati, etc.
26 Astronomy, p. 68, John Charles Duncan, see Ibid., p. 214.
Aristarchus of Samos (310-250 B.C.) taught that both the Earth and the bodies now classed as planets revolved around the Sun.
37 bhumeh praggamanam naksatranam gatyabhavanccchantti, etc., Aryabhatiya, Golapada, p. 76.; Golapada, IV. 9.
28 Brhat Samgrahani, p. 152.
29 aniyatacarah...kasmanna grhnati 1 Varahisamhita, v. 5.
Why there do not take place the lunar and solar eclipses at any other time except at full Moon (purnima) and new Moon (amavasya)?
amavasyante iylyayo ravicandrayortkasminnuva drstisutra urdhvadhorupena sthititivat suryagrahanam, paurnamasyante suryaddhardhe sthitascandro bhubhatulyo atascandragrahanam I,
Suryasiddhanta 4.7 comm., ed. by Kapilesvara Chaudhury, Patna, published by Jayakrisnadas Haridas Gupta, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Series, Benaras, 1946. amavsayantakale...candra yadarkam pravisati tadadhikanam grahanamadhyam I paurnamasyante yada candro bhucchayam pravisati tada candragrachanasya madhyam bhavati 1,
30
Aryabhatiya Golapada, Comm. on v. 38. Astronomy, p. 143, John Charles Duncan.
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