History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c38.s3.2

v1.c38.s3.2

Primary Sources : The Ṛgveda (2.28.8) mentions three ordinary divisions of time, namely, present, past and future. Time is identified with the Sun and the Viṣṇu and is also divided into divisions like muhūrtas, days, half months, months, seasons, solstices, year, yuga, kalpa, mahākalpa and so on. The whole forms a circle which like a wheel is constantly moving. The word muhūrta appears in the Ṛgveda. The muhūrta as part of a day first appears in the Brāhmaṇas. The Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa (3.10.1. 1-3, 10..9.7) gives the name of each muhūrta. The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa (12.3.2.5) gives further subdivision of year into muhūrtas as follows: 1 year = 10800 muhūrtas;