History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c82.680

v6.c82.680

Something must be said about the 60 year cycle called Bārhaspatya (Jovian). The Viṣṇu-dharmottara¹⁰²⁰ says that the first year called Prabhava of the sixty year cycle began on Māghaśukla when the sun and the moon occupied the nakṣatra Dhaniṣṭhā and were in conjunction with Jupiter In Bṛhatsaṁhitā 8. 27-52 the *phalas* of the 60 years from Prabhava to Kṣaya are described, as also in Agripurāṇa chap. 139, while the Viṣṇudharmottara I. 82. 9 ff and Bhaviṣya quoted in Jyotiṣtattva pp. 692-697 enumerate all the 60 by name with their *phalas*. Each year of the Bārhaspatya cycle has the word 'Saṁvatsara' added to it. As *yuga* means five years, the sixty saṁvatsaras of Jupiter are twelve times five and are so described in Bṛ. S. 8. 23-26 and in Viṣṇudharmottara I. 92. 9 and later writers suppose that the saṁvatsaras are affiliated to the lunar year alone¹⁰²¹. In the Deccan now (and in older times also) it appears that at the beginning of each year the Jovian name is changed. But in northern India Vijaya is the first year instead of Prabhava. The length of Jupiter's year is 361. 9267 days and is shorter than the sidereal year by 4 23 days. The result is that in 85 sidereal years there are 86 Jovian (or saṁvatsara) years and therefore there is the suppression (kṣaya) of one year after 85 years (which is done only in Northern India).