A Concise History of Science in India c6.5

c6.5

In the sacred literature of the Hindus, the Jainas and the Buddhists, such a skilled priest has been referred to as ‘astronomer’ and his science ‘astronomy’ (*jyotiṣa*). In the *Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad*a astronomy is included in the list of several branches of Vedic studies. The *Chāndogya Upaniṣad*b has it that Nārada, upon being interrogated by Sanat Kumāra as to the range of his knowledge, replied, ‘I have learnt the *Ṛgveda*, the *Yajurveda*, the *Sāmaveda* and the fourth the *Atharvaveda*; the *Itihāsa* and the *Purāṇa* as the fifth *Veda*; grammar, the science *par excellence*; the obsequies of Manu; the art of computation; omens; the revolutions of periods; speech; ethics; scriptures; sciences appendant on holy writings (accentuation, prosody, etc.); the abjuration of spirits; the military science; *astronomy*; snake-charming; music and mechanical arts (sciences of the demi-gods).’ In explaining the scope of astronomy, the *Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa* states: ‘The Vedas are revealed for the purpose of performing sacrificial rites; these rites are laid down in order of time. Therefore, he who is versed in astronomy, the science of the reckoning of time, knows the sacrifices.’ In the *Brāhmaṇa* literature, we come across the term *nakṣatra-darśa* meaning ‘a star gazer’ or ‘a gazer at the lunar mansions’. This term has also been used sometimes to mean an astrologer. Another term used to refer to an astronomer is *gaṇaka* which literally means ‘a calculator’ or ‘a mathematician’. The use of these two terms appears to imply the study of astronomy both from the practical (observation of stars) and theoretical (calculation) considerations.