The Orion, or Researches into the Antiquity of the Vedas c8.41.2

c8.41.2

Now if the vernal equinox was 90° behind the asterism of Mrigashiras, it was 90°—63° = 27° behind the asterism of Revati!* The Vedic works, on the other hand, mention the Krittikâs as the first of the Nakshatras, and the winter solstice is shewn to have then occurred in the month of Mâgha. This means that the vernal equinox must be placed at least 26° 40', or nearly 27° in front of Revati. Now imagine the position of the Indian astronomer, who could neither reject the statement in the Vedic works, nor the one in the Bhagvad Gîtâ. Both were sacred and unquestionable texts, and it would be no wonder if, to his great relief, he got over the difficulty by proposing a libration of the equinoxes, 27° on either side of Revati! The hypothesis is now given up by modern astronomers as mathematically incorrect; but no reason has yet been assigned why it found place in the Hindu astronomy. A theory may be erroneous, but even an erroneous theory cannot become prevalent without a good cause. It has been suggested by Bentley and approved by Prof. Whitney †, that the limits of the libration might have been determined by the fact that the earliest recorded Hindu year had been made to begin when the sun entered the asterism of Krittikâ or 26° 40' in front of Revati. But this alone is not enough to suggest the theory of libration.