Jyotihshastra: Astral and Mathematical Literature c10.s1.1

c10.s1.1

Though various normal Sanskrit dictionaries contain definitions of terms used in astronomy and astrology (e.g., a large part of the first *khaṇḍa* of Amarasimha’s Liṅgānuśāsana), very few specialized dictionaries of such terms were produced. It appears that the only one describing the traditional Sanskrit vocabulary is Haridatta’s Gaṇitanāmamālā,¹⁹ of which the earliest dated manuscript was copied in 1697. Kṛṣṇadāsa,²⁰ a protégé of Akbar, wrote a Pārasīprakāśa²¹ in about 1575. This work consists of two parts: a Persian-Sanskrit dictionary (including terms relating to the heavens, to the directions, and to time), and a Persian grammar in Sanskrit. This, however, was entirely insufficient for translators of Persian astronomical and astrological works into Sanskrit; so, in 1643, Mālajit,²² who received the title Vedāṅgarāya from Shāh Jahān, wrote his Pārasīprakāśa at Śrīsthala in Gujarāt. In consideration of the numerous translations made from Persian and Arabic, both in the Mughal period and before, one must conclude that many other aids were available. The one that we are definitely informed of is the bilingual Muḥammad Ābidda who assisted Nayanasukhopādhyāya; and it should also be noted that many Persian technical terms used by al-Qūshjī are given their Sanskrit equivalents in the Hayatagrantha.