Bharatiya Jyotihshastra (History of Indian Astronomy), translated by R. V. Vaidya v2.c12.s2.t83.2

v2.c12.s2.t83.2

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*.