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Sajjan Singh Lishk & S. D. Sharma
liturgical thought so much so that every Sankrānti (Solar ingress) etc. is termed as 15,30 or 45 muhurti (pertaining to muhūrtas) corresponding to the zodiacal stretch in muhürtas of the nakşatra (asterism) occupied by Sun at that time.25 No such series of developments is found in any Babylonian tablets of remote antiquity. Zodiac as known to Babylonians appears, however, for the first time in texts of the year 419 B. C.26 The zodiacal circumíerence suggests the Hindu origin of its division into modern degrees of Arc.
It may be worth mentioning here that the solar division of zodiac in India is the same in substance as that used in Greece. Sir W. Jones27 remarks that both Greeks and Hindus owe it to an older nation who first gave names to the luminaries of heaven. Need it be emphasized that the hitherto unexplored Jaina contribution in the history of division of zodiacal circle is uniqne in character of its Hindu origination.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors are grateful to professor L.C. Jain for some valuable suggestions in preparation of this paper. Thanks are also due to Dr. K.S. Shukla for encouraging comments.
Notes
This paper was presented at fourth annual session of the Astronomical society of India, Ootakamund session, March, 1978. Some results were reported at L. D.
Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad. (June 12. 1978) 1. Cf. Dvivedi, Sudhakara (1906) Jyotişa Vedāngam, V. 18, p. 14 (Varanasi) 2. For units of time, see Sharma, S. D. and Lishk, S. S. 'Tine Units in Ancient
Indian Astronomy,' 'Tulsi Prajñā, Vol. 2 No. 7-8. pp. 100-108 (JVB, Ladnun). 3. See Bose, D. M., Sen, S. N and Subarayappa, B. V. (1971)
A concise History of Science in India, p. 80 (INSA, New Delhi). 4. Cf. Needham, J. and Wang, L. (1959), Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 3.
p. 228 5. See Jain, L. C. (1975), Kinematics of the Sun and the Moon in Tiloya Papnatti,
Tulsi Prajñā, Vol. 1 No. 1. pp. 60-67 (JVB, Ladnun) For more details see Lishk, S. S. (1978) 'Mathematical Analysis of Post-Vedānga Pre-Siddhāntic Data in Jaina Astronomy' Ph. D. thesis, Punjabi University, Patiala. Jambudvïpa Prajñapti (JP). Hindi translation of Amolak Rishi (Vira era 2446). Jaina Shastradhara Mudralya, Sikandrabad.
The J.P. is the Sixth upānga(sub-limb) of Jaina canon of sacred literature. The present recersion of the Jaina car onical literaure is generally ascribed to the council of Valabhi under the presidency of Devardhi Gaộin which met during
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