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Bharatiya Jyotihshastra (History of Indian Astronomy), translated by R. V. Vaidya v2.c12.s2.t33: Karaṇa Prakāśa

Bhāratīya Jyotiḥśāstra (History of Indian Astronomy), translated by R. V. Vaidya v2.c12.s2.t33

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English

Karaṇa Prakāśa

v2.c12.s2.t33.1

Date and Author

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This is a Karaṇa work. The epoch of the work is Śaka 1014. The author, observes, in the beginning,

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नत्वाहार्यभटशास्त्रसमं करोमि श्रीब्रह्मदेवगणक: करणप्रकाशं ।।

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Translation :—"I, the astronomer, Brahmadeva by name, most humbly compile this work, Karaṇa Prakāśa, in conformity with the 'Science' of Āryabhaṭa".

v2.c12.s2.t33.5

From this it is clear that, the astronomer, Brahmadeva, compiled this work following the (principles of) Āryabhaṭīya. The colophon of the work is as follows

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आसीत्पार्थिववृंदवंदितपदांभोजद्वयो माथुरा:
श्रीश्रीशचंद्रबुधे गुणैकवसति: ख्यातो द्विजेंद्र: क्षितौ ।।
नत्वा तस्य सुतौघ्रिपंकजयुगं खंडेंदुचूडामणे:
वृत्तै: स्पष्टमिदं चकार करणं श्रीब्रह्मदेव: सुधी: ।। ११ ।।

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Translation :—"There lived a great Brāhmaṇa scholar, named Śrī Candra who was a (?) Māthura, reputed all over the world, who was the abode of virtue and whose feet were worshipped by a number of kings. His intelligent son, Brahmadeva, after worshipping the feet of Lord Śiva, compiled this very accurate Karaṇa work in metrical form."

v2.c12.s2.t33.8

It appears from this that Candra was the name of Brahmadeva’s father. Candra may have received the patronage of some king, or else as the above verse indicates, he must have been at least highly respected by some king. The name ‘Māthura,’ suggests that he may have been a resident of Māthura.

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School

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It is said in the beginning that this work was intended to be in conformity with the science of Āryabhaṭa and it is the first Āryabhaṭa who is thus referred to. Even then, the positions and motions of planets given in it agree with those obtained from the First Ārya Siddhānta only after Lalla’s corrections are applied to the latter. This does not mention the corrections separately. The planetary positions and motions have been determined after taking into consideration those corrections. The epochal positions mentioned in it are true for the mean sunrise of Friday, the 1st lunar day of the bright half of Caitra of Śaka 1014.

v2.c12.s2.t33.11

They are :—

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| | s | ° | ' | " | | s | ° | ' | " |
| Sun | 11 | 16 | 32 | 57 | Venus | 10 | 11 | 28 | 58 |
| Moon | 11 | 27 | 20 | 20 | Saturn | 3 | 2 | 14 | 23 |
| Mars | 3 | 13 | 20 | 6 | Moon’s Apogee | 1 | 5 | 49 | 16 |
| Mercury | 7 | 4 | 31 | 12 | Moon’s node | 1 | 3 | 17 | 12 |
| Jupiter | 6 | 2 | 56 | 27 | | | | | |

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These positions are found to agree, even to the seconds, with those obtained from the First Āryabhaṭīya after Lalla’s corrections are applied to the latter.

v2.c12.s2.t33.14

The work describes the method of caculating the mean places (of planets) from the ahargaṇa. It contains the following 9 chapters, viz. (i) mean places (ii) true places (iii) Geocentric calculation of the five planets (iv) Shadow (v) Lunar eclipse (vi) Solar eclipse (vii) Risings and settings (of planets) (viii) Elevation of the moon's cusps (ix) conjunctions of planets. This work has assumed Śaka 445 as the zero-precession year, and 1' as the rate of annual precession.

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Its Use

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There are two kinds of Ekādaśī fast Smārta and Bhāgavata. If on the day, preceding the Ekādaśī day, the tenth tithi (Daśamī) lasts for 56 ghaṭis or more (after sunrise), the followers of ‘Bhāgavata’ School do not observe the fast on that day, as it is regarded as “daśami-viddha” (i.e. associated with the 10th tithi), but observe it on the next day. In finding the duration of the 10th tithi in ghaṭis, the followers of the Vaiṣṇava sect in Sholapur, Karnatak and major part of the Deccan, follow the Āryapakṣa. The work, Karaṇa Prakāśa, follows the Āryapakṣa, and any tithi calculated by it happens to be longer than that calculated by the Sūrya Siddhānta or Brahma Siddhānta, by about 2 or 3 ghaṭis. The author does not think that an almanac giving all tithis as calculated from the Karaṇaprakāśa is any where in use at present; because in order to prepare Grahalāghava almanacs, tables which are given in Tithi Cintāmaṇi are available, and the calculations are made very quickly with their help; there are no similar means for making calculations according to Karaṇaprakāśa. For this reason, the followers of Vaiṣṇava sect, especially in Mahārāṣṭra, use the Grahalāghava almanacs for other tithis, but adopt the Āryapakṣa in the case of Ekādaśī only. And this too is done only approximately on the assumption that the Āryapakṣa’s tithi is always longer than that of Grahalāghava pakṣa by about two ghaṭis. Hence, if the almanac according to Grahalāghava shows the duration of the 10th tithi as 54 ghaṭis, the next tithi, viz. the 11th tithi, is regarded as ‘daśami-viddha,’ as its duration is bound to be 56 ghaṭis according to Āryapakṣa. The Grahalāghava almanac for Śaka 1809 gives 52g—15p, as the duration of the 10th tithi on Friday, in the dark half of Āṣāḍha, 54g—32p as that of the 11th tithi on Saturday, and 55g—39p as that of the 12th tithi on Sunday*. According to this calculation, the Ekādaśī is not “daśamīviddha”, nor is there any other reason for recommending two days for observing Ekādaśī; and hence, all Marāṭhī almanacs have shown Ekādaśī as falling on Saturday. But the author had a chance to meet a Vaiṣṇava Ācārya of Raichur side, along with a party of his disciples. He told the author that they were going to observe the Ekādaśī on the second day, and on being asked the reason why, he uttered some words like Āryapakṣa, Karaṇaprakāśa, liptā etc. but he did not understand what Āryapakṣa and Karaṇaprakāśa meant. And after a few searching questions he admitted that any one even in those parts actually calculates tithis from Karaṇaprakāśa. He has also seen a manuscript almanac of Śaka 1758 compiled at Bijapur. It also appears to have been calculated with the help of Grahalāghava or similar other works. It had, however, shown separately the 10th and 11th tithis calculated from Karaṇaprakāśa. The author once met a Vaiṣṇava astronomer from Sholapur who told him that they used to calculate the duration of Ekādaśī only sometimes from Karaṇaprakāśa. A learned astronomer from Bid once met him in Śaka 1806. He knew the complete method of calculation based on Karaṇaprakāśa but he told the author that they did not always make their calculations from Karaṇaprakāśa. I actually did the calculations for the ‘daśamī’ referred to above, from Karaṇaprakāśa and obtained its duration 55 54ʰ—59ᵖ after mean sunrise and 56 ghaṭis after true sunrise, for the longitude of Ujjayinī*. In short, the Karaṇaprakāśa is still in use to a certain extent. The author had to take a lot of trouble in procuring a copy of the work, and get one.

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∗ These figures have been copied from the Grahalāghava almanac published in the Sāyana Pañcāṅga of śaka 1809.

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The Three Schools

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It must be mentioned here that the tithi, according to Āryapakṣa, is found to be longer by 2 or 3 ghaṭis, only if Lalla’s correction is applied to the calculations made from First Ārya Siddhānta otherwise not. Hence, it appears that a different criterion governing the observance of Ekādaśī, according to Āryapakṣa, might have been introduced, sometime after Lalla, for such criterion could not have existed before. There is a work on ‘Muhūrta’ (compiled in Śaka 1493) known as Muhūrta Mārtaṇḍa, which states that the tithi according to Āryapakṣa is longer than that according to Brahmapakṣa, by about four ghaṭis. This work and the Grahalāghava show that, in the 15th Century of Śaka era, the differences of the three schools (Ārya, Brahma and Saura) had become acute and each had its own circle of followers. Karaṇa Kutuhala can be said to belong to the Saurapakṣa. Khaṇḍakhādya prior to Śaka 1014 following the Āryapakṣa, is available. Hence, the three schools appear to have become clearly divergent from Śaka 1000 or perhaps even from Lalla’s time, and their followers might have begun to take pride in their respective creed.

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The positions of planets mentioned in Grahalāghava as belonging to Āryapakṣa have been calculated from the Karaṇaprakāśa.

Cites (8)