History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c82.672

v6.c82.672

¹⁰¹³ The वेदाङ्गज्योतिष (which is in two recensions, attached to Ṛgveda and Yajurveda respectively) summarizes the several items of the saura year as follows —त्रिंशत्यह्ना सपदपञ्चिरब्दं षट् चर्तवोऽयने। मासा द्वादश सौरा स्युरेतत्पञ्चगुणं युगम्॥ वेदाङ्गज्योतिष verse 31 (Sham Shastri, ed.) The Vedāṅga-jyotiṣa holds that 366 days constitute a year. The modern Sūrya-siddhānta says that there are 365 258756 days in a year. The other siddhāntas slightly vary from this According to modern astronomy the year consists of 365 242196 days Vide 'Indian Culture' vol VIII. pp. 114-116 for a note on this (by N. C. Lahiri) and Preface p. VIII. and p. 240 of the (C. R. C Report). For the length of Jupiter's revolution round the sun, vide 'Frontiers of Astronomy' p 47 by D S Evans. The meaning of the above verses is : a solar year contains 366 days, it has six ṛtus (seasons) and two ayanas, twelve months, these multiplied five times make a yuga.' It does not profess to be a treatise on astronomy as then known, but its aim was a thoroughly practical one viz, to enable the Vedic (*Continued from last page*) priest having some knowledge of elementary arithmetic but not knowing astronomy to determine a required *tithi* (age of the moon) and the place (nakṣatra) of the moon and the sun on a particular day in the *yuga* of five years.