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Bharatiya Jyotihshastra (History of Indian Astronomy), translated by R. V. Vaidya v2.c12.s2.t34: Bhāsvatī Karaṇa

Bhāratīya Jyotiḥśāstra (History of Indian Astronomy), translated by R. V. Vaidya v2.c12.s2.t34

Language
English

Bhāsvatī Karaṇa

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Date, Author and place

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This is a Karaṇa work. It has adopted Śaka 1021 as the epochal year. It has been compiled by an astronomer named Śatānanda. Aniruddha, the commentator of Bhāsvati Karaṇa, says that Śatānanda was a resident of Puruṣottamapuri that is Jagannāthapurī, and that the epochal positions given by him are true for that place. The convention generally followed is that the epochal positions are given as for Ujjayinī, irrespective of the place where the siddhānta works are compiled. But the author of Bhāsvatīkaraṇa appears to have departed from the convention, since Jagannāthapurī happens to be far away from the meridian of Ujjayinī and he was right. Śatānanda has, in the beginning, observed, “natvā Murāreścarṇāravindam” meaning, “after saluting

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*Even four hour’s labour will not be sufficient to calculate figures for Ekādaśī with the help of Karaṇaprakāśa. The author has done the calculation in about three quarters of an hour by another method which is easier than that and still gives results in conformity with the Karaṇaprakāśa.

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the feet of Murāri (Lord Kṛṣṇa). From this, Mādhava, one of his commentators, says that he was a Vaiṣṇava. “Śatānanda observes in the first Adhikāra-

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अथ प्रवक्ष्ये मिहिरोपदेशात् तत्सूर्यसिद्धान्तसमं समासात् ।। ३ ।।

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Translation.—“Now by favour of God Mihira, I compile a brief work equal to the Sūrya Siddhānta in merit”.

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Basis

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Mādhava, one of the commentators of his Bhāsvatikaraṇa interprets the word “Mihira’ as the sun, and interprets the words “like his Siddhānta” as “from the Sūrya Siddhānta”, and he has attempted to explain the positions and motions of planets ir it with the help of the modern Sūrya Siddhānta, but he has failed in this attempt. He is everywhere required to justify his stand by remarking that “the Ācārya has ignored the slight differences.” Mādhava has not at all understood the fact that Śatānanda compiled this Karaṇa work with the help of the Sūrya Siddhānta of Varāha’s Pañca Siddhāntikā. The Pañca Siddhāntikā appears to have gone quite out of vogue in his time (Śaka 1442) and this may have been the reason for misunderstanding. The author has seen many other commentaries on Bhāsvatī but they do not explain the basis of the ‘Kṣepaka’.

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The epochal positions given by the Bhāsvatī are those, true for the moment of true Aries Ingress of Thursday, the New Moon day of the ‘amānta’ Caitra of Śaka 1021. The author could not exactly find for what moment on that day they are true, and hence, he could not verify if they agree upto minutes and seconds of longitude. However, the epochal positions are definitely true for the day of tne true Aries Ingress and they agree* for the most part with the figures obtained after applying the corrections (given on page 78) to mean places calculated from the Sūrya Siddhānta, given in the Pañca Siddhāntikā of Varāha. From this it is proved beyond doubt that the planetary positions cited cy Bhāsvatī are those obtained by applying the Varāha’s corrections to the places derived from the original Sūrya Siddhānta. The annual motions of planets are also given in the same way.

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True Aries Ingress

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The calculation of mean places, according to this work, is based, not on ahargaṇa but on ‘varṣagaṇa’ (i.e. the number of years elapsed), and it has already been pointed in the discussion on Kamalāmārtaṇḍa (page 107) that this method is very convenient. All other Karaṇa works which advocate the calculation of mean places from ‘varṣagaṇa’ start with the moment of mean Aries Ingress ; but this work starts with the moment of the true Aries Ingress. In preparing his plenary tables Keropant has based the calculation of the planet’s places on the true Aries Ingress.

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Centisimal System

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Śatānanda’s work has one more speciality, viz. that he has adopted a centisimal system, for starting the epochal positions and the multipliers and divisors required in the calculation of the motions of planets. In doing so he has mentioned the positions and motions of the Sun and the Moon in terms of Nakṣatras and those for Mars and other planets in terms of Rāśis (Signs). The author quotes two examples of this. The rate of annual motion of the moon has been given as 995 5/8. These are centisimal parts. This number, divided by 100, would give the required number of Nakṣatras. This would give 995 5/8 x 800 / 100 = 7966 1/2 minutes = 4s 12° 46' 40." The adoption of the motion in centisimal units such as 995 5/8 involves much less labour than that involved in adopting the motion in terms of signs, degrees, etc. Another example. The epochal position of Saturn is given as 594. This is given in terms of signs. The figure 594 when interpreted as so many centisimal units would give 594 / 100 = 5° 28' 12'

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∗ The ahargaṇa for verifying the epochal position given in Bhāsvatī as calculated from the epoch of) Pañca Siddhāntikā comes to 216962. One can easily see how labrious it would be to do the multiplication and divisions with this figure. If on the other hand the work had given the rates of annual motion, the basic figure would have been (1021—427)=594 and the planetary calculation would have been far more easy.

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This system is somewhat similar to the present decimal system. One cannot say if the author of this Karaṇa work adopted the name Śatānanda because he loved the Śatāṃśa (centisimal) system.

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Contents

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The Bhāsvatī consists of the following eight Adhikāras (chapters)—(i) ‘tithi dhruva’ (ii) ‘grahadhruva’ (iii) true tithi (iv) true places of planets (v) three problems (vi) lunar eclipse (vii) solar eclipse and (viii) graphs. These consist of about 60 verses in all in different metres.

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Bhāsvatī has assumed Śaka 450 as the zero precession year, and 1' as the annual rate of precession.

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Commentaries

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There is a commentary on Bhāsvatī written in Śaka 1417 by Aniruddha of Vārāṇasī from which it appears that there were many other commentaries on it written before. Mādhava’s commentary was written about Śaka 1442. He was a resident of Kanauj, (Kānyakubja). Another commentary was written by Gaṅgādhara in Śaka 1607. There is yet another commentary dated about Śaka 1577. Colebrooke says that Balabhadra’s commentary was written in Śaka 1330. From the catalogue* of Sanskrit books prepared by Aufrecht, the title of this commentary appears to be Bālabodhinī. According to Aufrecht’s Catalogue there are following additional commentaries on Bhāsvatikaraṇa :—Bhāsvatikaraṇapaddhati ; Tatvaprakāśikā by Rāmakṛṣṇa ; Bhāsvatikararaśmyudāharaṇa by Rāmakṛṣṇa ; Udāharaṇa by Śatānarda ; Udāharaṇa by Vṛndāvana. Similarly, there are commentaries by Acyutabhaṭṭa, Gopāla, Cakravipradāsa, Rāmeśwara, Sadānanda and a “prākṛt” commentary by Vanamāli.

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Most of these commentators hail from Northern India. It shows that Bhasvatikaraṇa was well known on that side. It is not at present known there, nor did I come across a reference to it in any other work.

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KARAṆOTTAMA Date

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This Karaṇa work has been mentioned at several places by Mahādeo in his commentary on Śrīpati Ratnamālā. Mahādeo quotes from this Karaṇa on precession. “Śaka vasutryambara candra hīnaḥ”, which means, “Śaka diminished by 1038”. Similarly, he quotes also the following lines from it :— (i) “kalā rūpā yātāḥ karaṇasaradaḥ sa śatayutā” and (ii) “Karaṇottamādau cāpyāyanāmśā daśasamkhyāḥ”, meaning (i) The precession in Kalās (minutes) is 600, equal to the years elapsed before the date of (compilation of) the Karaṇa and (ii) the ayanāmśas adopted by the Karaṇottama at its beginning are ‘ten’. This clearly shows that the work, Karaṇottama, was compiled in Śaka 1038. That Śaka 438 was taken to be zero precession year, and that the annual rate of precession was 1′. A statement from the Tājakasāra (Śaka 1445) viz that the places of planets should be calculated from Sūryatulya, Karaṇottama or Rāja Mṛgāṅka has already been given on page 41. Out of those Sūryatulya a might have been a work following the Saurapakṣa ; Rājamṛgāṅka has alreadey been shown to Brahmapakṣa. Hence, it seems that the third, Karaṇottama, probably belonged to Āryapakṣa ; that it was in use in Śaka 1445, is obvious from the Śaka year of Tājakasāra. I have not read or heard of the work being available in use anywhere at present.

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∗ The German Oriental Society has published at Leipzig in the year 1891, a very big extensive catalogue of Sanskrit books (Catalogus Catalogorum) prepared by a Germano scholar. Theodor Aufrecht, on the basis of 56 long lists of Sanskrit books, 19 of which Contained particulars of books at different places in Europe and 37 of those available in India.

Cites (7)