Bharatiya Jyotihshastra (History of Indian Astronomy), translated by R. V. Vaidya v1.c5.32

v1.c5.32

(i) Vidyārthi Buddhi Vardhinī (1876). (ii) Sṛṣṭa Camatkāra (1882). (iii) Jyotirvilāsa (1892). (iv) Dharma Mīmāmsā (1895) and the Indian Calendar written in collaboration with Sewell has been recently published. I have also written a book entitled “Bhāratīya Prācīna Bhūvarṇana”; but since, it is not yet complete as it ought to be, it has not yet been published. That ours is not a family of Jośis, (astronomers or astrologers) is evident from the above account. My natural aptitude for learning and the habit of reading newspapers led me to take interest in the Sāyaṇa controversy and eventually to the study of astronomy. Whatever knowledge of these subjects I possess, is wholly self acquired. Some people appear to think that I have some knowledge of astronomy that is not accessible to others; but my knowledge is so meagre that any intelligent man can acquire so much within six months if he has a fair knowledge of Marathi, Sanskrit and English, an aptitude for Mathematics and an inquiring mind. Many persons approached me with a request to teach them astronomy—it matters little that their enthusiasm was short lived. So vast are the treasures of astronomical knowledge, which, for various reasons, lie beyond the reach of my power of understanding, that my own knowledge is next to nothing in comparison. May Savitā (the Sun god) the self existant and stimulator of intelligence, inspire all of us to acquire knowledge.