Bharatiya Jyotihshastra (History of Indian Astronomy), translated by R. V. Vaidya v2.c12.s2.t71.2

v2.c12.s2.t71.2

Although the great drawback of Kamalākara has been pointed out above, his works contain many new things not to be found in the earlier works. They are :—He has stated that the place of the pole star does not remain fixed owing to the precession of the equinoxes. Similarly, that the pole star which we see at present is not situated exactly at the pole (of the equator) and its place is found to have changed when observed early at night and late in the latter part of the night. He says that it is the view of the Greeks that the major part of the earth's surface is under water and only a minor part outside it. The distance, in degrees, of a place from any meridian, in the east-west direction, which is now known as longitude, was termed by him as Tulāṃśa and he has given a list of latitudes and longitudes of 20 cities as below on the assumption that Khāladātta, a city on the equator, was the Prime Meridian :—