Aryan Wliscellany. PAMHITA pERIES. THE yBRIHAT SAMHITA, OF VTARABRA UIRIRA. TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY N. Cxipamparam Ivrr, B. A., F. T. S. FOUNDER OF THE Tirvvavr JorisTanTRA Sau. MADURA: Printeo at tag Soure Ivpian Pass 1884Dm 2. 3610.4 .5 HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY DEXTER FUND Mayes, 27PREFACE. Brarata Vagswa has long continued to be the centre of attraction not only in respect of its wealth and civilization but in that of its intellectual advancement. To it converged, as to a common focus, the eyes of foreigners from the earliest eriod of the world’s history. It was the one fountain of nowledge from which issued streams to water distant lands of ignorance at every point of the compass, now yielding abundance of intellectual harvest. Time was when Aryan wisdom sbone resplendent, and, from its eminence, dazzled the eyes of distant nations—distant geographically and distant chronologically,— illumined every corner of the intellectual horizon and served as a beacon, lighting the paths of erring travellers. History is puzzled in its attempt to reach the date of Aryan civilization. Antiquarians are at logger-heads in their conclusions touching the age of Aryan learning. Though at loggerheads most of the Christian antiquarians take care not to assign to any Indian event dates earlier than what is permissible under their Biblical Chronology. Now it is well known that Aryan learning dates from the remotest antiquity. ‘he Aryans have cultivated almost every department of knowledge. As the art of printing was un- known a large proportion of Aryan literature has been washed into oblivion by the mighty wave of time. Nota few remain, « Like stranded wrecks the tide returning hoarse To sweep them from our sight”. uvlese rescued’ from their fate. Our excellent Government are now laudably working in this direction. But most of the Hindus, of the present day, can neither use the books them-i selves nor will they allow foreigners to interfere with their sacred literature.* The public can therefore do much if their eyes could only be opened to the importance of the subject. Most of the Eng- lish knowing natives hardly know what these books treat of. I have many a time astonished young Collegians and graduates by quoting from Hindu astronomers and mathematicians, and they were surprised to find that the Aryans knew what the Eu- ropéans know forgetting that these sciences were taken to the west from here.t Now it has come to my knowledge that in many Hindu families whole libraries, for want of inspection, are now baing feasted on by moths and white ants and large quantities have already been emptied: nto the dustbins, the decay having gone too far I know that at this moment over 50 books ara being exposed to sun and rain in a wellknown family hero and I hear they have remained in that state for over four years. This meritorious act is no doubt due-to the circum. stance that the present owners of the books have begun to taste the sweets of English education, while their ancestors appear to have been men of learning. My attemptsto rescue them from further ruin proved a complete failure. The books appear to kave, by a peculiar process, melted together and formed into one brittle mass. Similar injuries to Aryan lite- rature are more or less going on all over India. English edu. cation, like Aaron’s rod, appears to have devoured up every other education and it has spread now throughout the land. * And not withont reason; it may not be out of place to quote here a little from Louis Jacolliot’s “ Biblo in India ”: “ The Reverend Fathers, Jesuite, Franciscans, Stranger-missions and other corporations unite with touching harmony in India to accomplish a work of Vandalism, which it is right to denoance as well to the learned world as to Orientalists, Every manuscript, every Sanscrit work that falls into their hands, is immediately condemned and consigned to the flames, Needless to say that the choice of tkese gentlemen always falls from preference npon those of highest antiquity, and whose authenticity may appear incontestable,”* * * * * Every new arrival receives a formal order, #0 to disposo of all that may fall intohishands. Happily the Brahmins do not open to them the secret stores of their immense literary wealth, philosophic and religious”. + It may be mentioned here, in passing, that these Sciences, so much neglected by the State, stand a fair chance of being revived as, at my sugges tion a Sanakrit Mathematical class has recently been opened in tho Mahara. jah’s free Sanskrit College, Tiravadi, Tanjore District, and placed under the management of Brahma Sree Sunderaswara Srouthy, Hinda Astronomer and Almanac publisher.In the humble hope that the progressing ruin might be in a measure retarded, it is proposed to tell the present Indian generation, in the language in which they will all and can all hear that, if they would exert a little, they might rescue from ruin a vast amount of splendid Aryan literature: ia other words, it is proposed to publish an English translation of Aryan Miscellany. As the prosperity of a nation depends on its literature, the public are requested to form iuto societies for the collection and preservation of Aryan works and for the printing of the more important of them. They will also kindly communicate to me the names and particulars ot Aryan works falling within their notice. The Samhita series is taken up first as being best calcu- lated to awaken public interest and arrest public attention on account of the interesting variety of the subjects treated of. Mapovra, } To 1st October 1884,Google < DigitINTRODUCTION. Vazana Mitra was a native of Avanti and the son of Adityadasa who was an astronomer and from whom he recei- ved his education as he himself tells us in his Brihat Jata- ka (Chap. XXVI Verse 5). The da‘e of his birth is involved in obscurity. It is the practice of all the Hindu astronomers to give this information in their works on astronomy ; but unfortu nately Varaha Mihira’s work on astronomy, known as the Pan chasidhantika, is now lost* beyond all hope of recovery. The popular notion is that he was one of the 12 gems of the Court of Vikramarka. Now Vikrama Era, as we find from the * Hindu calendar, dates from 56 B. C. whereas Varaha Mihira is considered to have flourished in the sixth century after Christ. So the Vikramarka of the first century before Christ must be different from the Vikramarka of the 6th century after Christ, anless we go to the length of believing that Vikramarka reigned, according to the Hindu legend, fora thousand years. We are not without parallel instances in the Christian Bible in which Fnos is said to have lived 905 years, Cainan 910 years, Seth 912 years, Adam 930 years, Noah 950 years, Jared 962 years and Methusala 969 years; and yet Poor non-biblical Vikramarka is grudged a comparatively small matter of 500 years. Now A. D. 50 is considered by some to be the date of Varaha Mihira’s birth and by others to be that of his Pancha- sidhantika, and A. D. 587 is thought to be the dato of his death. It is also said that Varaha Mihira has quoted from Aryabhatta; that Aryabhatta was born in 476 A. D. and that this circumstance goes to prove that the dates given above are probably not incorrect. We shall now exa- mine how far these dates are supported by evidence to be obtained from Varaha Mihira’s own works—a circumstance which, curiously enough, appears to have esciped the atten- tion of even such eminent scholars as Colebrook, Davis, Sir William Jones and others: * Onur subscribers, especially those of N. W.P. and Bengal, are requested to give the matter some attention and try if they can procure = copy of this excellent work.vi In verse 2 of Chapter II] of his Brahat Samhita Varaha Mibira says:— “ At present the Solsticial points coincide : with the beginning of Karkataka (Sign Cancer)and with the begin- ning of Makara (Siga Capricornus).” Th's amounts to saying that the Vernal equinox, which is midway between the Solstices (96° from each), was at the commencement of Mesha (Sign Aries) 7. e. coincided with the Star Revati where the fixed Hindu Zodiac commences. The precession of the equinoxes was known to the Hindus Jong before it was known to the Europeans, although Hindu astronomers are not agreed as to the naturo of its course— some asserting that it oscillates on both sides of the star Revati while others that it makes a complete revolution round the heavens, a point about which even European astronomers have not arrived at any conclusion. Now this point is at present about 20° to the west of the star Revati. Its annual rate of motion is known and the increment in the rate is also known ; so that by a process of simple calculation we can ariveat the period when the point must hive coincided with the star Revati. Now unfortunately, the exact distance between the Vernal Equinox and the star Revati is not known, and cannot be determined from observation as the star (which the Hindu astronomers say was on the ecliptic) appears some how to have disappeared. Mr. Kero Latchmana Chatrai M. A. of Poona has adopted a star, known as the Zeeta Piscium (which however is not on the ecliptic) as the Revati of the Hindus. According to him the Ayaramsam, (the distance bet- ween the vernal Equinox and the star Revati), on the first Janu- ary 1883 was 18° 14’ 20”. According to the late Mr. C. Reghunatbachariar of Madras,( after him, Messrs. Vencate- swara Deekshitar and Sundereswara Srouthy of Southern India) and Mr. Bapu Deva Sastry of Benares, the Ayanamsam on the 1st January 1888, was 22° 2’ 89” and 21° 58’ 29” respectively. But as these lengths have been arbitrarily assumed they may be dismissed as deserving of no consider- ation in this place, J have discovered it to be20° 24’ 15” on the above date avd my discovery rests on the Druva Nadi, a work of Satyachariar, a great astronomer. For particulars of this disputed question the reader is referred to my article on the Hindu Zodiac published in the April (1883) issneof The Theosophist. Now we will calculate Varaba Mihira’s time from the