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identifying star of the Nakshatra which is also occuplied by the Moon on the 15th lunir day of the Bright half. The Rig Vedic statement (R. V. iii 3 20 ) that the Moon is placed in the breast of Nakshatras is justified in this way (Lishk & Sharma, Hindu Nakshatras ). Occultation here does not necessarily imply complete or partial overlapping like the Moon piercing through the cart of Rohini, a Tauri ( Dixit) because conjunction stars of many Nakshatras lie so distant from the region where the Moon passes. Hindus preferred brighter stars rather than the fainter stars near the ecliptic to mark the lunar mansions of the Hindus (Report). In this light the present paper mathematically analyses some of the Post vedäng Pre-hellenistic data regarding the occultations of the Moon as found in Jaina Texts as given belowSanthana, adda, Pusso, Silesa, Hat tho taheva Mulo a bahirau bahirmandalassa chappeta nekkhtta. Tatth nam je te nakkhtta je nam sya chandassa uttrenam joy am joyamti, te nam barasa, tanjaha-Abhyī, Savana, Dhanit, tha, Syabhisya. Puvvabhaddavyä, Uttrapotthavata,
तुलसी प्रज्ञा - 3
Jain Education International
Revyi, Assini, Bharni, Puvvapha
gguni, Uttaraphagguni, sayī, Tattha nam je te nakkhtta je nam
saya chandassa dahinauvi uttarau vi pamddampi jogam jo yamti te nam satta, tanjahaKattiä, Rohini, Punavvasu, Maghä cittä. visaha, Anurāhā Tattha nam je te nakkhttä je nam
sayacandassa dahinavvi pamddampi jogam joyamti, tāou nam dvve Asadhau savvabahirye mandale jogam joamsu va. Tattha nam je te se nakkhtte je
nam sya candassa paddam joyam joyi, sa nam aiga jettha iti.
(Ganitanuyoga P.P. 393-394) i. e. 6 Nakshatras always occult the Moon from the Southern direction (A), 12 Nakshatras from the Northern direction (B) and 7 Nakshatras both from the Southern and the Northern directions (C) Two aṣādhas i. e. Purvaṣādha (Sagittarii) and Uttaraṣādha (o Sagittarii) always occult the Moon from the Southern direction (D) Jyeṣtha ( Scorpii) always occults the Moon (E) Names of the other Nakshatras and their English equivalents alongwith the celestial latitudes at the beginning of 1973 A. D. (Lahiri) are given in the following table:
a
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