Book of Indian Eras, with Tables for Calculating Indian Dates c8: III.—Bârhaspatya-Mâna

Book of Indian Eras, with Tables for Calculating Indian Dates c8

Language: English

III.—Bârhaspatya-Mâna

THE smaller Cycle of Jupiter consists of a period of twelve years, or one-fifth of the greater Cycle. It was described by Davis at some length, but is only briefly noticed by Warren.∗ I have already given a detailed account of this Cycle in my attempt to fix the initial point of the Gupta era.† Varâha Mihira notices it in the following terms: “Each year (during which Jupiter completes a twelfth part of his revolution) has to bear the name of the lunar mansion in which he rises. The years follow each other in the same order as the lunar months.” They are also named after the lunar months with the prefix of the word ‘Mahâ.’ Thus Lalla says:

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∗ For the former, see Asiatic Researches, III, 217; and for the latter, the Kâla Sankâlita, p. 197.

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† See Archæological Survey of India, Vol. X, Appendix.

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*Maghâ-cha Maghâyam yukta Maghâyam-cha Gururgada Mahâ-Mâgha.*

“When both the Moon and Jupiter are in the asterism Maghâ, on the day of full moon of the month Mâgha, then the year is called Mahâ-Mâgha.”

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The statement of Varâha, quoted above, that the year has to bear the name of the mansion in which Jupiter rises requires some explanation. The twenty-seven Nakshatra, or lunar mansions, are divided into twelve groups, nine of which comprise two mansions only, and the remaining three each three mansions. One Nakshatra in each of these twelve groups gives its name to the luni-solar months, and consequently to the years of this cycle.

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According to the rule for naming the several years of the 12-year Cycle of Jupiter, the year is called after the Nakshatra in which the planet rises heliacally. But in practice the names of the Jovian years are made to coincide with those of the luni-solar months. So that should the planet rise in Bharani the year is not called Bhârani, but Aswini, which is the name-giving Nakshatra of the group to which Bharani belongs.

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Bhattotpala quotes Garga to the effect that 170 solar years being equal to 175 Jovian years, the two names of Aswayuja and Chaitra must be omitted.

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This proportion was afterwards altered by Varâha, who made 172 years of Jupiter equal to 170 11/17 solar years, on which account two of Brihaspati's years are to be omitted in that period. His words are:

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*Saptatyabda sate ekâdasa bhagaih panchabhira adhike gate Guru yukta Nakshatra mâsa samjna varsha dwayamâdkikam bhavati.*

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Practically, every eighty-sixth name is expunged, and consequently the omissions are confined to six names out of the twelve; or, in other words, the omissions fall only on the alternate names in regular succession. Thus the six omitted names are Srâvana, Aswayuja, Mârgasiras, Mâgha, Chaitra, and Jyeshtha. The rule for finding the year of the 12-year cycle is only a slight extension of that for the 60-year cycle.

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*Rule.*—Find the equivalent year of the Saka era, and multiply it by 22, then add 4291 to the product, and divide by 1875. Add the quotient without fractions to the Saka date, and divide the sum by 60. This quotient gives the number of expired cycles, and the remainder the number of expired years of the current cycle counting from Prabhava. To find the year of the 12-year cycle divide the last remainder by 12; the quotient will give the number of Jupiter's own revolutions completed, and the remainder will be the number of years expired of the current 12-year cycle, counting from Mahâ-Srâvana as the first. The following example will show the working of the rules: Take A. D. 166 = 88 Saka.

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| I. | II. |
| 88 × 22 = 1936 | 31 |
| + 4291 | 12— |
| ÷ 1875 ) 6227 ( 3 | Cycles 2+7 years completed, |
| 88 | or the 8th year current, which |
| — | counted from Srâvana gives Jyesh- |
| 91 | tha, as in the General Table. |
| ÷ 60 — | |
| Cycle 1 + 31 years. | |

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But the same result may be obtained by the shorter process which I have proposed in my account of the 60-year cycle. Thus, to the Saka date add 195, then divide the sum by 85, and add the quotient to the Saka. Then divide by 60; the quotient will give the number of cycles expired, and the remainder the number of expired years of the current cycle. The above example will therefore be as follows:—

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Saka 88 + 195 ÷ 85 ) 283 ( 3 + 88 = 91 ÷ 60— 1-31 as before.

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Very few inscriptions have hitherto been discovered dated in the 12-year Cycle of Jupiter. But four of these, which are found coupled with the concurrent dates of the Gupta era, are of unusual importance from the aid which they may give in fixing the initial point of the Gupta era, which will be discussed hereafter. These four dates are found on the copperplate inscriptions of Raja Hastin and his son Sankshoba. They are as follows:—

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Year 156 of Gupta = Mahâ Vaisâkha. ,, 163 [read 173] = Mahâ Aswayuja. ,, 191 ... = Mahâ Chaitra. ,, 209 ... = Mahâ Aswayuja.

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Another inscription of the same family on a stone pillar gives the name of Mahâ Mâgha, but without any concurrent date.

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Mr. Fleet has published* two ancient inscriptions of the Kadamba Râjas of Banawâsi in the Dakhin, which are apparently dated in this 12-year cycle of Jupiter. Both inscriptions are of Raja Mrigesa, the earlier one being dated in the year Pausha, which is said to be the third year of his reign, and the later one in the year Vaisâkha, which is said to be the eighth year of his reign. From these two statements we learn that the third year of his reign must have begun in Mahâ Mârgasiras, as shown by the succession of the names of the years as follows:—

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Mahâ Mahâ Mahâ Mahâ Mahâ Mahâ Mârgasiras — Pansha — Mâgha — Phâlguna — Chaitra — Vaisâkha. 3rd year. 4th year. 5th year. 6th year. 7th year. 8th year.

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∗ Archaeological Survey of India, Vol. X, 126-27.

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Here unfortunately there is nothing to fix the date beyond the fact that between the years named Mahâ Pausha and Mahâ Vaisâkha there was no name omitted. But I think that something may perhaps be gained from the inscriptions to assist in finding an approximate date.

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Sir Arthur Phayre has published a Burmese inscription from Pugân, which appears to me to be dated in the 12-year Cycle of Jupiter, as well as in the common era in use in Burma. It opens with the date thus: “In the era 551, the Tharawan year.” Tharawan is the Burmese pronunciation of Sravana. But the year 551, or A.D. 1189, was Mahâ Jyeshtha. If we might read 553, or A.D. 1191, then the year would correspond with the Indian year of Mahâ Sravana.

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I have quoted these examples from Banawâsi in the Dakhin, and Pugân in Burma, to show how widely spread was the use of the Cycles of Jupiter in ancient times.

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The people of Tibet and Ladâk also make use of a cycle of twelve years for the computation of short periods, such as a person's age, or the date of any recent event. In this cycle each year is named after a different animal, as follows:—

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| | *Tibetan.* | | | *Tibetan.* | |
| 1. | Byi-lo ... | ... Mouse-year. | 7. | Ta-lo ... | ... Horse-year. |
| 2. | Lang-lo... | ... Ox ,, | 8. | Lug-lo ... | ... Sheep ,, |
| 3. | Stag-lo ... | ... Tiger ,, | 9. | Spre-lo ... | ... Ape ,, |
| 4. | Zos-lo ... | ... Hare ,, | 10. | Bya-lo ... | ... Bird ,, |
| 5. | Brug-lo... | ... Dragon ,, | 11. | Khyi-lo ... | ... Dog ,, |
| 6. | Brul-lo ... | ... Serpent ,, | 12. | Phog-lo ... | ... Hog ,, |

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The only difficulty that I see about accepting the 12-year Jovian Cycle of Varâha for the five centuries which preceded him is the statement of Garga about the omission of Chaitra and Aswayuja, as if in his time they were the only years subject to retrenchment. But as Garga mentions that 172 of Jupiter's years were equal to 170 solar years, while Varâha makes them equal to 170 solar years, the two cycles are practically the same in other respects. It does not, however, follow that no other years were subject to omission because Chaitra and Aswayuja alone are mentioned. My impression is, that the same six months that are omitted by Varâha's rule were also subject to omission in Garga's time. But even admitting that Chaitra and Aswayuja were the only two years that were expunged from the time of Garga down to Varâha Mihira, I see no difficulty in adjusting the times of omission so as to make them the only expunged years. As Chaitra and Aswayuja are also omitted years in Varâha’s scheme, they will of course remain constant, as the average period of omission is in both cases the 86th year. If then we accept the year 310 A. D. in which Chaitra was omitted as common to both systems, we have only to take the Aswayujas and Chaitras which fall nearest to the 85-year periods, either those preceding (A) or those following them (B), and the result will be the same excepting only as regards the names of the other omitted years. This will be seen at once by the following arrangement of the names:—

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| Varâha Mihira. | | Proposed Arrangements. | | |
| A. D. | Interval | A. D. | Interval | A | A. D. | Interval | B |
| 310 | 85 | 310 | 77 | Chaitra | 310 | 89 | Chaitra |
| 395 | 85 | 387 | 89 | Aswayuja | 399 | 89 | Aswayuja |
| 480 | 85 | 476 | 89 | Chaitra | 488 | 77 | Chaitra |
| 565 | 85 | 565 | 77 | Aswayuja | 565 | 89 | Aswayuja |
| 650 | 85 | 642 | 89 | Chaitra | 654 | 89 | Chaitra |
| 735 | 85 | 731 | 89 | Aswayuja | 743 | 77 | Aswayuja |
| 820 | | 820 | | Chaitra | 820 | | Chaitra |
| | 510 | | 510 | years | | 510 | years |
| ÷ 6 | | ÷ 6 | | | ÷ 6 | | |
| Mean | 85 | Mean | 85 | interval | Mean | 85 | interval |

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From this table it will be seen that a regular succession of Chaitras and Aswayujas might be omitted while still retaining a uniform mean period of eighty-five years. It will also be seen that at every third period the names of the omitted years, as well as the dates of omission, agree with those of Varâha Mihira.

Linked texts (1)

Ṛgvedasaṃhitā — Sanskrit