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Bharatiya Jyotihshastra (History of Indian Astronomy), translated by R. V. Vaidya v2.c12.s2.t83: Yajñeśwara alias Bābā Jośī Roḍe

Bhāratīya Jyotiḥśāstra (History of Indian Astronomy), translated by R. V. Vaidya v2.c12.s2.t83

Language
English

Yajñeśwara alias Bābā Jośī Roḍe

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BRIEF ACCOUNT

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His gotra was Śāṇḍilya, his father’s name was Sadāśiva and that of his grand father, Rāma. He was the grandson (daughter’s son) of Ciṇtāmaṇi Dikṣit of Sātārā. When British rule was established in Mahārāṣṭra, a Sanskrit College was founded in Poona, and Yajñeśwara was a teacher* of astronomy there up to September 1838 (Śaka 1760). From what date he was there, is not known. The chief Paṇḍit and astronomer, Subājī Bāpū, of the Sanskrit School at Sihore, in Malwa, had compiled a small work entitled Siddhānta Śiromaṇi Prakāśa in which he presented a comparative study of the mythological views about astronomy, those of the Sanskrit astronomical siddhānta works, and those of Copernicus. R.B. Godbole, author of the Modern History of India (Marāṭhī) writes that Yajñeśwara had compiled the work, “Jyotiḥ-Purāṇa- Virodha Mardan” in refutation of the work of Subājī Bāpu while Major Candy has observed that Yajñeśwara was very intelligent and learned, but a very bigoted champion of the mythological doctrine. But there is still another work ‘Avirodhaprakāśa’ by Nīlakaṇṭha, in which it has been shown that there is no contradiction between the teaching of the Purāṇas and those of the science of astronomy. Wilkinson, the Political Agent of Sihore, had a sound knowledge of Indian astronomy. He had got Siddhānta Śiromaṇi, printed at Calcutta in 1841 A.D. (Śaka 1763). It was on his advice that Subājī Bāpū compiled another work “Avirodhaprakāśa viveka” (Śaka 1759) in order to refute the arguments advanced in “Avirodhaprakāśa”, and sent it to Bābā Jośī at Poona, and Bābā Jośī endorsed the views of the author, as can be seen from the relevant correspondence published in the original by the author of the Gaṇakatarangiṇī*.

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∗ Mr. Chaplain, Commissioner of Southern Division, founded the Poona Sanskrit College in 1821 A.D. Afterwards the College underwent such a complete transformations in 1851 A.D. that it may as well be regarded to have ceased to exist. (See Report of the Board of Education, for 1840, 41, 51 & 52.)

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The following are the works by Yajñeśwara :—His commentary, Yantrarāja Vāsanā, on the work, Yantrarāja, belongs to Śaka 1764. He has also written Anubhāvikā, a commentary on Golānand by Cintāmaṇi Dīkṣit. The commentary, Maṇikānti, on Laghu Cintāmaṇi, compiled by some Yajñeśwara may probably be the work of this very author. These works show that Yajñeśwara had a sound knowledge of Siddhānta works. He has referred to his work entitled, Praśnottarmālikā in his commentary on Golānand.

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Nīsimha, alias Bāpūdeva, Birth Śaka 1743

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Brief Account

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Bāpūdeva was one of those learned men who lived after the establishment of the British rule in India and who were proficient both in the Indian and Western systems of astronomy and mathematics. He was a Rīgvedī Citpāvan Brāhmaṇa, originally a resident of Tonke, on the bank of Godāvarī in Ahmednagar district. He was born on the 6th lunar day of the bright half of Kārtika in Śaka 1743 (i.e. 1st November, 1821). His father’s name was Sitārām and mother’s name Satyabhāmā. He received his elementary education in a Marāṭhī School at Nagpur, and in the same city he studied Bhāskara’s Līlāvatī and Bījagaṇita, under the guidance of Dhuṇḍhirāja, a Kānyakubja Brāhmaṇa scholar. In Śaka 1760, L. Wilkinson, the Political Agent at Sihore, was impressed by Bāpūdeva’s proficiency in Mathematics and took him to the Sanskrit College (Pāṭhśālā) at Sihore for further study. Here he studied Geometry and other branches of mathematics under the care of Sewā Rām. Afterwards, on Wilkinson’s recommendation, he was appointed a teacher of Geometry in the Sanskrit College at Vārāṇasī in Śaka 1763 (i.e. 1841 A.D.) From that day he lived at Vārāṇasī till his death. He became the Head Teacher of mathematics in the same College. He retired from service in Śaka 1811. Afterwards, he died in the month of Vaiśākha in Śaka 1812, at the age of 69.

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¹ * Śivalal Pāṭhak of Vārāṇasī had compiled a work entitled Siddhānta Manjuṣā, which was meant to refute the arguments of the Avirodhaprakāśa. Similarly, Bālakṛṣṇa, a disciple of Śivalal’s younger brother had written a work “Duṣṭa-mukha-capetikā”. Both these (works) had been compiled before Śaka 1759.

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A number of students received their training under his supervision. He became an Honorary member of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland in 1864 A.D. and that of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1868 A.D. In 1869, he was made Fellow of the Calcutta University. He was also a Fellow of the Allahabad University. In 1878, he received the title of C.I.E., and in 1887 that of Mahāmahopādhyāya from the British Government on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the Queen Empress. The ruler of Jammu once awarded him a cash prize of Rs. 1,000 - for having correctly predicted a lunar eclipse.

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The works compiled by him were :—(1) First chapter of Geometry (2) Part of a work on Trigonometry (3) The controversy about the Sāyaṇa-system (4) A brief account of the teachings of ancient astronomers (5) Eighteen questions on strange subjects with their answers. (6) Tattvaviveka parikṣā (7) A description of the instruments at Mān Mandir. (8) Arithmetic. All these works, both small and large are written in Sanskrit and all of them have been printed. In addition to these he wrote (i) 20 verses to explain the theory of Calculus, (ii) some formulae of spherical trigonometry (iii) useful notes on the study of siddhānta works (iv) The Chedyaka, useful for Yantrarāja, and (v) the Laghu-Śaṅku-chinna-kṣetra-guṇa. These have not been printed. His Hindi works on Arithmetic, Algebra and Astrology have been printed. He examined the English translation of the Golādhyāya from Siddhāntaśiromaṇi by L. Wilkinson, and he himself translated the Sūrya Siddhānta. Both these works were prepared under the supervision of Archdeacon Pratt and printed in 1861-62. He also published with critical notes the Gaṇita and Gola, parts of Bhāskara’s Siddhānta Śiromaṇi, in Śaka 1788 and the work Līlāvatī in Śaka 1805.*

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Every year Śaka 1797 to 1812, he used to publish an almanac with the help of the Nautical Almanac. A description of the Almanac will appear further in the course of our study of Pañcāṅga. He did not, however, compile any work on the method of the computing the Pañcāṅga.

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NILĀMBAR ŚARMĀ, Śaka 1745.

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He was a Maithili Brāhmaṇa, residing at Pāṭaliputra (Patna), four miles from the confluence of the Ganges and the Gaṇḍakī. His father’s name was Śambhu Nāth. He studied under the care of his elder brother, Jeevanāth, and later on for some days in the Vārāṇasī Sanskrit College. He was the Head astronomer at the court of Śiva, King of Alwar. He died at Vārāṇasī in Śaka 1805.

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He compiled a work ‘Gola Prakāśa’ in Sanskrit in the western style. Bāpūdeva printed it at Vārāṇasī in Śaka 1793. It contains five chapters. The following subjects are dealt with in it :—The conception of sines, the theory of (plane) trigonometry and spherical geometry, and the theory of spherical trigonometry and problems. This work is very useful for those who do not understand English. He has written a commentary on some sections of Bhāskara’s works. His elder brother Jeevanāth, wrote a commentary on Bhāskara’s Bījagaṇita and astrological works like Bhāva Prakāśa.

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∗ This account is based mainly on the Gaṇakataraṅgiṇī.

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VINĀYAK alias KERO LAKṢMAṆ CHHATRE, Birth Śaka 1746.

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Brief Account.

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Keropant Nānā was one of the renowned scholars who were proficient in Western learning and who flourished after the British rule became established in Mahārāṣṭra. He was particularly proficient in mathematics, astronomy and nature study. There is a coastal village, named Nāgāon, in Aṣṭāgar Prānt, about 26 miles to the south of Bombay. He was born there in May 1824. He was a Rīgvedī Citpāvan Brāhmaṇa, belonging to the Kāśyap gotra. He completed his studies of the English language and through that medium, the study of Western sciences at the Elphinstone Institute of Bombay. He was a pet student of Prof. Arlibar.

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In the year 1840 A.D. an Observatory was built at Colaba, Bombay, to observe the celestial phenomena and to test the effects of magnetic attractions. When it was inaugurated by Prof. Arlibar, he appointed Keropant as an Assistant there. Later, on 7th June, 1851, the Poona Sanskrit College was converted into the Poona College; and after some months, Keropant was appointed Assistant Professor to teach mathematics and natural Sciences to the Marāṭhī section and the Normal School. He used to teach these subjects in the College through Marāṭhī as well as English. Later on, the Normal School section was separated from the College, and he worked as a teacher, and later on, he worked for some years more as Superintendent of the School. The Institution was also known in those days as Vernacular College. (It is at persent known as the Training College). In those days he used to lecture also in the Engineering College on the subject of Natural Science. Some time during this period he was the Head Master of the English School at Ahmednagar. In 1865, he was appointed a Professor of Mathematics and Natural Science at the Poona College, where he used to teach these subjects through English. The College, later on came to be known as the Deccan College. He retired from service in 1879 A.D. He was, at that time, drawing Rs. 1,000 per mensem and he received a pension of Rs. 5,000 per year, the maximum which a ‘Native’ could receive in those days. In 1877, he received from the British Government the title of ‘Rao Bahadur’ on the occasion of the Delhi Durbar. He died on 19th March, 1884, at the age of 60. He was popularly known as ‘Nānā. His lifelong scholarly habits and his inmate goodness were the most notable and praiseworthy among his many fine qualities.

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Works.

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About Śaka 1772, Nānā compiled in Marāṭhī, a work entitled, Grahasādhanācī Koṣṭake (Planetary Tables) with the help of French and English works on astronomy, and published it in Śaka 1782, (1860 A.D.)*. There was no such work compiled before, either in Marāṭhī or Sanskrit, and hence it renks very high among works of similar nature.

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*Kṛṣṇaśāstrī Godbole writes that it was compiled on the basis of a work published by R. S. Vince in 1808 A.D.

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In this work, the length of the year is assumed to be the same as the Sūrya Siddhānta; and the positions and motions of planets have been adopted on sāyana basis. Hence, the planets' places calculated from this work are tropical or sāyana. The author has assumed Zeta Piscium to be the junction star of Revatī. It coincided with the vernal equinox in Śaka 496. We are asked to find the nirayaṇa places of planets, by assuming the ayanāṃśa to be zero in that year, and by applying the ayanāṃśa correction to the sāyana positions at the rate of 50″·1 per annum. The whole process amounts to the adoption of the correct length of the sidereal year, viz., 365ᵈ-15ᵍ-23ᵖ. Adopting this length of the year and 50″·2 as the annual rate of precession, Keropant Nānā began to publish since Śaka 1787 a separate almanac with the help of the Nautical Almanac. The late Ābāsāheb Paṭwardhan gave him very valuable help. It was due to his encouragement that the above work could be compiled and the almanac was published from year to year. The almanac was naturally entitled by Nānā as ‘Pātwardhanī Pañcāṅga’. The positions of planets calculated from Nānā’s work is fairly accurate; but the work and the Patwardhanī Pañcāṅga are not now in use, and it may safely be said that no one follows the almanac. This almanac will be described in more details further on.

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Nānā compiled a work on the calculation of tithis on the lines of the Tithi Cintāmaṇi. It has been printed in Vārāṇasī. No one could be found in this province to print it. It is almost unknown in this province, and this work as well as the Grahasādhanācī Koṣṭake are both out of print at present. The Graha Sādhana has not adopted the purely sidereal year and the places of planets are sāyana. Hence, the work, as it stands, is of no use in directly computing a Pañcāṅga belonging to any of the schools, viz. nirayaṇa according to the Grahalāghava, purely nirayaṇa or purely sāyana. Besides this it requires the use of logarithms and trigonometry; and hence, the orthodox astronomers, are unable to make calculations from the work; and it is doubtful if even half a dozen persons could be found among the newly educated people who could calculate from it.

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Nānā wrote two books for Marāthī schools. They are:—(i) Physics and (ii) Arithmetic. Mahārāṣṭra can boast of thousands of people who could be called his disciples, direct or by tradition.

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VISĀJĪ RAGHUNĀTHA LELE, Birth Śaka 1749.

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Brief Account.

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One of the most talented and ingenious astronomers that ever flourished in our country, Lele was born at Nasik, on Friday, the tenth lunar day of the dark half of Śrāvaṇa, in Śaka 1749 (i.e. 1827 A.D.), the ascendant at birth being Capricorn. He was a citpāvan Brāhmaṇa of the Hiranyakeśī Branch of Kāśyap gotra. In his childhood he received some education in the Marāthī school at Nasik till he was 11, where he learnt arithmetic up to fractions, and he received some lessons in Sanskrit while residing with his maternal uncle. This was the only education imparted to him by teachers, but owring to his perseverance and intelligence he was able to solve mathematical problems that would baffle even University graduates in spite of their background of English education.*

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∗ Lele was known to me personally and throughc orrespondence. Most of this account has been written on the basis of this personal contact. A sketch of his life was published in the October 1888 issue of the monthly journal Balbodh.

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Having passed some years in some trivial employment, he went to Gwalior about Śaka 1782. He was there employed in the Revenue Department and the Accounts Department of Scindia Govt. His Bālbodh and Moḍī handwriting was excellent. He was also very good at map drawing; and not a single mistake was ever found to have crept into his accounts. Having put in 33 years service he retired about Śaka 1816 and he died at Gwalior in his 69th year, on Friday the 6th lunar day of the dark half of kārtika in Śaka 1817.

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Sāyana Pañcāṅga

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Many persons feel that the almanac should be sāyana. Many must have felt and did actually feel thus before Lele. The thought naturally crossed Lele's mind and he was convinced that the ‘sāyanapañcāṅga, alone could be said to be in conformity with the tenets of religion. For some days, he used to compile a sāyanaalmanac for practical use with the help of the Grahalāghava, and later on with that of the Nautical Almanac. But he did not get any opportunity for publishing it for some years. He had acquired a working knowledge of English that enabled him to compute figures from the Nautical Almanac. Keropant began to publish an accurate nirayaṇa almanac from Śaka 1787 (i.e. 1865 A.D.). From that year Lele carried on a controversy with Keropant through the press under the nom-de-plume “Sphuṭavaktā Abhiyogī”, (candid combatant) in order to convert Keropant to the Sāyana view. Keropant remained indifferent and Lele, finding that he (Keropant) did not appear to be impressed by the importance of publishing a sāyana pañcāṅga, which would conform to the tenets of religion, began to publish independently a sāyanaalmanac with the help of other co-workers from Śaka 1806. We shall have to revert to this almanac later on in the chapter on Pañcāṅga.

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Lele did not compile any work from which to compute a sāyanapañcāṅga, and hence, the task of popularizing it is a matter depending upon outside factors.

Cites (8)