Census of the Exact Sciences in Sanskrit, Series A v1.c3: Introduction
Census of the Exact Sciences in Sanskrit, Series A v1.c3
- Language
- English
Introduction
v1.c3.1
This is the first installment of a projected *Census of the Exact Sciences in Sanskrit* (hereafter to be referred to as CESS), which will provide all available bibliographical information concerning works in *jyotiḥśāstra* and related fields and biographical information concerning their authors. *Jyotiḥśāstra* is traditionally divided into three *skandhas* or branches: *horā* or genethlialogy and other forms of horoscopic astrology, *gaṇita* or mathematics and mathematical astronomy, and *saṃhitā* or divination. The related fields to which attention is paid in CESS are cosmology and geography (largely of the Jainas) and those aspects of *dharmaśāstra* that involve the determination of the proper times for the performance of ritual acts. It is intended to include all of the works and all of the authors in these subjects that can be identified.
v1.c3.2
CESS will consist of two series: Series A will contain articles on the authors arranged in the order of the Sanskrit alphabet, and Series B articles on the books (mainly in Sanskrit, though some non-Sanskritic Indian material is included) arranged in the same manner. A concluding volume will contain tables of astronomical parameters, genealogical stemmata of authors and scribes, and indices of scribes and of proper names. The core of CESS is formed by the entries in the catalogues listed on pp. 26-32 of this volume, supplemented by printed texts (noted in the articles on the relevant authors and books) and the entries in the bibliography on pp. 4-25 of this volume. As new catalogues of manuscripts, editions of texts, and items for the bibliography are constantly appearing, and as material unwittingly omitted from the present lists will undoubtedly turn up, supplements will be included in the subsequent volumes of CESS. The index in the final volume will, of course, facilitate reference to these supplements.
v1.c3.3
The article on each author will first give as much information as is available on his date, ancestry, locale, religious affiliation, and social position; it will then list his works relevant to *jyotiḥśāstra* and, under each work, list its commentators, its manuscripts and editions, and any discussions of it; finally, there will be given a table of its contents and those passages in it which inform us about the author. In the case of *dharmaśāstra* works dealing with the relationship of astrology to proper human behavior and in the case of texts (mainly Jaina) on cosmology the references are not intended to be complete; it is felt that it is sufficient, by and large, to draw the reader's attention to this extensive material that both depends upon and has influenced *jyotiḥśāstra* proper. The articles on books will either consist of a simple reference to the author, if he is known (he can then be looked up in Series A); or, if he is not known, there will be a full discussion of the date and locale of the work, a table of its contents, and a list of manuscripts, editions, and studies. All references to items in the bibliography, it should be noted, are abbreviated to the name of the author (the first and middle names are represented by initials) followed by the year of publication in square brackets; if the author published more than one item in any particular year, the first in the bibliography will be denoted by an *a* following the date, the second by a *b*, and so on. If a bibliographical item is to be found in one of the supplementary lists, the series letter and volume number (e.g., A 3) in which that supplementary list is found will be prefixed to the code.
v1.c3.4
CESS A 1 contains in their initial form the list of abbreviations of journals and series, the bibliography, the list of manuscript catalogues, and the articles concerning authors whose names begin with *a, ā, i, ī, u, ū, ṛ, ḷ, e, ai, o,* and *au*. It is hoped that Series A can be completed in four more volumes, and Series B in a total of another five or six volumes. There will be an interval of approximately one year between the appearances of successive volumes.
v1.c3.5
There have been two previous attempts to collect information regarding Indian astronomers and astrologers (S. Dvivedin [1892] and S. B. Dikshit [1896]), and one to gather the references to manuscripts (S. N. Sen [1966]). However, none of these approaches the coverage of the present work, or it is to be hoped, its accuracy and usefulness. That usefulness should lie in providing a preliminary exploration and organization of the vast mass of Sanskrit and Sanskrit-influenced literature devoted to the exact sciences (including astronomy, mathematics, astrology, and divination), and in detailing under each item not only what preceding work has been done, but what manuscript material is known to be available for future investigations. It is hoped that the publication of CESS will stimulate future editions and studies of *jyotiḥśāstra*.