INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ROORKEE

Indian Astronomy – An overview

Anil Kumar Gourishetty

Dept. of Physics and Centre for IKS

IKS-102: Introduction to Indian Knowledge Systems

2
नासदीय सक् ू त the 129-th sUkta of the 10-th mandala of the Rigveda .
A . L. Basham, from his book entitled ``The Wonder that was India''.

3
Why to study Indian Astronomy?
Astronomy → knowledge about stars, planets, sun, moon, eclipses, comets,
asteroids and meteorites.

Unearthing scientifically, the type of Astronomy that existed in India before the
Common Era →Pre-Aryabhatan astronomy.

Unless this is properly mapped we can not figure out the indigenous roots of
mathematical astronomy in India.

Ancient people certainly knew something about all of the above though not in the
same form or detail as we know them now.

The question remains what did they know, in what detail and when?

Some of these questions have been answered for the siddhāntic astronomy period
of the last nearly two thousand years. This has been possible since several texts of
the period, specifically devoted to astronomy are available for our study.
Courtesy: Prof. R. N. Iyengar, IISc Bengaluru (Retd.)
4
Before Common Era (BCE), we have no well-studied texts other than the Ārca-Yājuṣa-jyotiṣa
(AYJ) of Lagadha which is a mere calendar (circa 1300 BCE) with no mention of eclipses or
planets.

No substantive observational knowledge about eclipses and planets in the Vedic period??

This situation is mainly due to lack of interest and capability to read ancient Sanskrit texts in
the original to discern relevant astronomical information contained therein. Translations can
be stepping stones, but never to be relied as the last word. Even Sanskrit commentaries can
be flawed due to wrong understanding of technical words.

Large varied and diffuse source developed over a span of three to four thousand years BCE.
Hence any discussion on Indian Astronomy before CE has to address the question of
chronology consistent with whatever verifiable information that can be found. Sky pictures,
astral legends and beliefs abound in the above texts. These have enriched the cultural
history of greater India since the most ancient past.

Courtesy: Prof. R. N. Iyengar

5
Work at CAHC, Jain University, Bengaluru

Ongoing front end studies connected with astronomy are:

(a) Vedic Saṁhitā texts describing sky pictures, celestial deities and events following the
adhidaivata-pakṣa perception as in the Nirukta of Yāskācārya. Comparative studies with the
Brāhmaṇa and ancillary texts. Studies on Dhūmaketu, Marudgaṇa, 3339-Viśvedevā and the
Āśvasūkta of the Ṛgveda.

(b) Reconstruction with translation and notes of the Parāśara Tantra prose text following
quotations by later authors (Published in 2013). This text includes several ancient
observational information on comets, planets, eclipses and other natural phenomena
including rainfall and earthquakes. Seasonal observations and the stated first visibility of
Agastya (Canopus) dateable to ~ 1300 BCE

(c) Editing the manuscripts (about ten) of the Vṛddha-gārgīya Jyotiṣa; translation and scientific
study of the astronomical contents. Seasonal observations in this text are dateable to ~1300
BCE and ~500 BCE arising in different chapters. The Mahāsalilaṁ section of the text is
arguably the most ancient Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa, nearer to the Vedas proper.

Courtesy: Prof. R. N. Iyengar

6
(d) Compatibility between the Maitrāyaṇī Āraṇyaka summer solstice at the first
point of Maghā nakṣatra and the equinoctial full moon observations in the
Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa. (~1800BCE). Published recently in IJHS (2023).

(e) Tracing the observation of Dhruva the Pole Star to the constellation Śiśumāra
(Draco) in the Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (~3000BCE). Cultural influence of the fixity and
later movement of the star due to precession in the Maitrāyaṇī Āraṇyaka and the
Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa. Continuity of inherited long term societal memory reaching
present times superposed on the current Pole Star that is different from the one
in the Vedic period.

(f) Within-a-day time measurement methods. Development of the gurvakṣara

audible scale of the siddhānta astronomy from Vedic chanting of the
prātaranuvāka in the Atirātra ritual. Published in IJHS

Courtesy: Prof. R. N. Iyengar

7
Azimuth: Declination of a planet:
Angle between the north vector and the star's Angle from the celestial equator to the celestial
vector on the horizontal plane body on the celestial sphere

8
Longitude and Latitude

9
 The ecliptic or ecliptic plane
It is the orbital plane of Earth around the Sun. From the perspective of an observer
on Earth, the Sun's movement around the celestial sphere over the course of a year
traces out a path along the ecliptic against the background of stars.
The ecliptic is an important reference plane and is the basis of the ecliptic
coordinate system.

By Cmglee, Timwi, NASA - Own work, https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3572/, Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27881844
10
solstices and equinoxes signal the changing of the seasons on Earth

Earth is slightly tilted on its axis as it travels around the Sun → change in
seasons → Different points on Earth receive more or less sunlight at
different times of year
11
Sidereal time is a timekeeping system that astronomers use to locate celestial
objects. Using sidereal time, it is possible to easily point a telescope to the proper
coordinates in the night sky. Sidereal time is a "time scale that is based on Earth's
rate of rotation measured relative to the fixed stars.

Vedanga Jyotisha predicted 23 h 56 min 4.6 s, while the correct value is 23 h 56 min
4.091 s → preciseness of the calculations at that early age.
12
Two solstices in June (20 or 21) and December (21 or 22). → Sun’s path in the
sky is the farthest north or south from the Equator.

A hemisphere’s winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and its summer
solstice the year’s longest.

In the Northern Hemisphere the June solstice marks the start of summer: this is
when the North Pole is tilted closest to the Sun.

The December solstice marks the start of winter: at this point the South Pole is
tilted closest to the Sun

Two equinoxes in March (21) and September (23) → Sun is exactly above the
Equator, which makes day and night of equal length.

Equinoctial: happening at or near the time of an equinox

13
Natural Units of Time: Day, Month, Year
Artificial Units of Time: Hour, Minutes, Seconds, Week, Decade, Century, etc.

Krata Yuga = 1.73 x 106 years (4/10 of a Mahayuga)

Treta Yuga = 1.30 x 106 years (3/10 of a Mahayuga)
Dwapar Yuga = 8.64 x 105 years (2/10 of a Mahayuga)
Kali Yuga = 4.32 x 105 years ( 1/10 of a Mahayuga)

Maha Yuga = 4.32 x 106 years (1/71 of a Manvantar)

Manvantar = 3.08 x 108 years (1/14 of a Kalpa)
Kalpa = 4.3 x 109 years …. Close to the age of earth???

14
Need to keep time for the proper conduct of rituals, calendrical astronomy grew more
sophisticated in the late Vedic period, with the Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa of Lagadha as its representative
text (the first extant Indian scientific text) → 12th and the 14th centuries BCE

Background of Vedanga:
Each Veda has four subdivisions – the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions), the Aranyakas
(text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the Brahmanas (commentaries
on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the Upanishads (texts discussing meditation,
philosophy and spiritual knowledge).

Vedanga is an integral part of the Brahmanas layer of the Vedic texts;

1. Shiksha (śikṣā): phonetics, phonology, pronunciation;
2. Chandas (chandas): prosody; (poetic meters)
3. Vyakarana (vyākaraṇa): grammar and linguistic analysis;
4. Nirukta (nirukta): etymology;
5. Kalpa (kalpa): ritual instructions (standardizing procedures for Vedic rituals)
6, Jyotisha (jyotiṣa): Right time for rituals with the help of position of nakshatras and
asterisms and astronomy

15
Vedanga Jyotisha also discussed solstices (ayanānta) and equinoxes (viṣuva) and uses two
intercalary lunar months (adhikamāsa) to catch up with the solar calendar. In some ways, this
text remains the foundation for India’s traditional luni-solar calendars

“Main characteristics and achievements of ancient Indian astronomy from historical perspectives”, K. S.
Shukla in “History of Oriental Astronomy”, Cambridge University Press (1985)

16
Rigveda

यददन्न््ि्र पथृ ििी दशभन्नु िरहानन विश्िा ततन्त कृष्टयः ।

अत्राह ते मघिन्न्िश्रत
ु ं सहो द्यामनु शिसा बहहणा भि
ु त ् ॥ 1.52.11

नाभयाः। आसीत ्। अ्तररक्षम ्। शीष्णहः। द्ययः। सम ्। अितहत ।

पत्भभयाम ्। भमू मः। ददशः। श्रोत्रात ्। तिा। लोकान ् । अकल्पयन ् ॥ 10.90.14

Describes the universe as infinite and made up of earth, the atmosphere and the sky

Refers to the five planets ( Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn ) as gods and
mention s the Brhsspati (Jupiter) and Vena (Venus) by name.

Mentions the 34 lights (probably refer to the Sun, moon, 5 planets, and ??)

8.58.2; 1.95.3; 1.164.14 Describes the Sun as the sole light-giver of the universe, the
cause of the seasons, the controller and lord of the world

17
Taittiriya-Samhita (branch of Yajurveda):

7.5.23: Fire rests in earth, air in the atmosphere, the sun in the sky, and the Moon
in the company of the naksatras

3.4.7.1: Moon is called Surya Easmi, i.e. one which shines by sunlight

Moon’s path was divided into 27 equal parts, because the Moon takes about 27 1/3
days to traversing it.These parts are called naksatras

Prominent stars of each nakshatra were counted and classified in order of their
brilliance.

18
 Astronomical gifts from the King of Benares to
the Prince of Wales in 1876

Ishwari Prasad Narayan Singh

Pair of morchals (fly
whisks) constructed of A silver-gilt address casket
peacock feathers decorated with Hindu and
zodiac symbols.

Enameled
gold inkstand

A silver and gold perfume holder

Courtesy: https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts/the-extraordinary-gifts-india-gave-to-an-
english-prince-in-1875-1.700205
19
1. DIGANSA-YANTRA: An instrument for finding the degrees of Azimuth of a
planet or star.

2. DHRUVA-PROTA CHAKRA-YANTRA:- An instrument for finding the degrees

of declination of a planet or star.

3. YANTRA-SAMRAT (Prince of Instruments): For finding the distance (in

time) from the meridian and the declination of a planet and star, and of the
sun; and the right ascension of a planet or star.

4. BHITTI-YANTRA (a mural quadrant) .An instrument for finding the sun's

greatest declination and the latitude of the place.

5.VISHUVAD-YANTRA (the Equinoctial circle): An instrument for ascertaining

the distance (in time) of the sun, or of any star from the meridian.

20
The method for finding all these is given in 'The Manamandira Observatory,’
by Pandit Bapu Deva Sastri.

with celestial globe, teaching a class at the Queen's College 1870.

21
6. PHALAKA-YANTRA (invented by Bhaskaracharya). - An instrument for
finding the time after sunrise.

7. CHAKRA-YANTRA: An instrument for finding the altitude and zenith

distance of the sun, and also the longitude of planets.

8 &9. CHAPA-YANTRA (Semi circle) & TURYIA-YANTRA (a quadrant).

Instruments for finding the zenith distance and altitude of the sun.

10. SANKU (Gnomon). From its shadow are ascertained the points of the
compass, the place of the observer including latitude and time.

22
Yantra-samrat (No.3 in the list). It is set Dhruva-prota-chakra-yantra (No.2 in the list).
up in all the Observatories i.e. Chakra-yantra in Jaipur

23
Vishuvad-yantra (No.5 in the list). Now it is
labelled as Nadivalaya-yantra. A larger
specimen can be seen in the Jaipur Observatory

24
 The Armillary Sphere

Prime Vertical, Meridian, Horizon, Equinoctial, Ecliptic.

By the threads that are fastened within the globe, Indian Astronomers
determine the parts of any spherical triangle on the globe.

The detailed account of this instrument may be found in the translation of

the Siddhanta-siromani (by Lancelot Wilkinson).

25
Different culture of scientific studies. Ex: Beautiful astronomy stories
(Vashishtha and Arundhati story via Mizar and Alcor). It is a custom
linking stars and personal life

26
Beginning of Indian Astronomy
In India, the beginnings are not adequately documented. The first ‘astronomical’ objects,
found in the Andamans, belong to the palaeolithic era, some 12,000 years ago;
they are calendar sticks noting the waxing and waning* of the moon by incising daily
notches on a wooden stick.

One of the calendar sticks found in the Andaman islands, apparently recording lunar phases
across several months

27
Some of the rings stone found at Mohenjo-daro, with rows of small drilled holes that
appears to point to the sunset across the year

Courtesy: INDIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENCE (2018) by Vijnana Bharati

28
Patterns of rock art found in Kashmir, such as a double sun or concentric circles, have
convinced some scholars that they were depictions of a supernova and meteor showers
respectively, perhaps witnessed some 7,000 years ago.

The perfect east– west alignment of streets in the same city has been attributed to the sighting
of the star cluster Pleiades (Kṛttikā).

While the above statements remain speculative, it is well recognized that ancient people
everywhere felt a need to relate to the universe by tuning in to the rhythms of celestial
objects.

Rig-Veda → Spoke of a year of 360 days divided into twelve equal parts and used a five-year
yuga (era), probably as a first attempt to reconcile the lunar and solar years (by the addition of
a month after those five years). It clearly recorded a solar eclipse, although in a metaphorical
language

Yajur Veda → a lunar year of 354 days and a solar year of 365 days, and divided the year into
six ṛtus or seasons of two months each. Also, gave the first list of 27 nakṣatras or lunar
mansions, that is, constellations along the path of the moon on the celestial sphere.

29
The 27 nakṣatras, with the earth in the centre

30
The early historical period (3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE)

Marked by astronomical computations based on the risings and settings of planets, their
revolutions, etc.

Jain astronomy also developed in this period, based on a peculiar model of two sets of 27
nakṣatras, two suns and two moons; it nevertheless resulted in precise calendrical
calculations.

This is also the period when huge scales of time were conceived of such as a ‘day of
Brahmā’ (or kalpa) of 4.32 billion years, which curiously comes close to the age of the earth
(4.5 billion years). Of course, there are much longer time scales to be found in Jain texts
and in the Purāṇas.

While some scholars have discerned Babylonian and Greek influences at play during this
and the next periods, the issue remains open.

Nevertheless, such influences seem clear enough in the introduction of the seven-day week
a few centuries BCE. Note that the late Vedic India divided the month only into two lunar
fortnights or pakṣa, one light and one dark), and of the zodiac of 12 signs (rāśi), first
recorded in the Yavanajātaka
31
Sidhantic Era (3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE)

There are many gaps in our knowledge after the above period and before the start of what
has been called the golden age of Indian mathematics and astronomy.

Beginning in the 5th century CE, this is the Siddhāntic era, when texts called siddhāntas were
composed — a Sanskrit word meaning ‘principle’ or ‘conclusion’, but which applies here to a
collection of conclusions or a treatise. Their chief characteristics were the use of
trigonometric methods and epicyclic models for the computations of planetary positions.

Āryabhaṭa I (born 476 CE) → working near what is today’s Patna → Āryabhaṭīya → concisely
but systematically with developments in mathematics and astronomy.

It discussed units of time and features of celestial sphere, described the earth as a rotating
sphere hanging in space, and produced a table of the planets’ mean positions.

Also gave a correct explanation for both lunar and solar eclipses, and stated that the
diameter of the earth is 1,050 yojanas (defining the yojana as 8,000 average human heights
or about 13.6 km); this is close to the actual dimension, though 12% too large. (His
diameters for the planets and the sun are however much too small.)

32
 Courtesy: Prof. Michel Danino,
compiled from various sources

some of India’s astronomers / mathematicians. Their dates of birth as well as their place of
birth or work are often approximate. Note that many more names, from Baudhāyana
(~ 600 BCE) to Śrīdhara (~ 800) or Āryabhaṭa II (~ 950), simply cannot be placed on the
map, as the texts are silent on their location
33
Many brilliant astronomers followed, dealing with issues of coordinate systems, time
measurement and division, mean and true positions of celestial bodies, and eclipses.

Varāhamihira, Āryabhaṭa’s contemporary, composed in 505 CE a collection of five

astronomical texts prevalent during his time; one of the five texts, the Sūrya Siddhānta, was
revised later and became a fundamental text of Indian astronomy;

two others expounded the principles of Greek astronomy. Varāhamihira extensively

discussed the revolutions of planets, eclipses, and the zodiac, often with an astrological
background.

Bhāskara I (b. 600 CE), the earliest known exponent of Āryabhaṭa I, provided a very useful
elucidation of Āryabhaṭa’s astronomy, besides improved calculation methods

34
A manuscript of a passage of Brahmagupta’s Brahmasphuta Siddhānta.
(Courtesy: Bombay University Library)

35
Not possible without a strong tradition of observation

22nd chapter of Brahmagupta’s magnum opus, the Brahmasphuta Siddhānta’ → variety of

astronomical instruments, most of which could be easily made by any good craftsman:

Water clock (ghaṭī yantra): Bowl with a small hole at the bottom, which would sink in
exactly 24 minutes (a ghaṭī) if placed over water;

Gnomon ( a short stick kept vertically for the study of the motion of its shadow);

a graduated disk or half-disk; and

a scissor-like pair acting as a compass.

These instruments and the computational techniques applied to them were both adopted
by later scholars, beginning by Lalla of the 8th century.

36
Some of the instruments described by Lalla for astronomical observations.
(Courtesy: S hekher Narveker)
37
Brahmagupta → Authored a manual of astronomical calculations which remained popular
for centuries → Testified by Al-Biruni, the Persian savant who came to India in the 11th
century as part of Mahmud of Ghazni’s entourage → Translated texts by Varāhamihira
and Brahmagupta into Arabic or Persian.

Bhāskara II (b. 1114) OR Bhāskarāchārya → Important innovations to both astronomical

and mathematical techniques → mean and true positions of planets, the triple problem
of time, direction and place, the risings and settings and conjunctions of the planets,
eccentric and epicyclic theories for their motions of planets, and a large number of
astronomical instruments.

Astronomer’s fame → Accurately predict the occurrence, nature and duration of eclipses,
and numerous inscriptions record a king’s reward to such an astronomer.

Another interface was architecture, and many temples show clear astronomical
alignments with events such as the sunrise at solstices and equinoxes.

38
Inscription of 1128 CE recording King Ratnadeva’s donation of a village to astronomer
Padmanābha for predicting a total lunar eclipse. Over 350 such inscriptions, from 440
to 1859, have been traced out. (Courtesy: B.V. Subbarayappa)

39
The Sringeri temple, whose mandapa is dedicated to the twelve rāśis or signs of the
zodiac; some of the pillars are aligned to the sunrise on the two solstices.
(Courtesy: B.S. Shylaja)

40
The Kerala School

No progress in Indian astronomy and mathematics after Bhāskara II????

‘Kerala School of astronomy and mathematics’ flourished from the 14th to the 17th century,
when networks of knowledge transmission in north India were severely disrupted in the wake of
repeated invasions.

Parameśvara (c. 1362-1455) → 30 works; founder of the dṛk system, which improved
computations of eclipses and the positions of the planets and proved to be very popular.

He emphasized the need to regularly correct formulas to bring them closer to actual
observations, and was said to have studied eclipses and their parameters over a period of years.

Nīlakaṇṭha Somayājī (1444-1545) → Tantrasaṅgraha, carried out a major revision of the older
Indian planetary model for the inferior planets, Budha (Mercury) and Śukra (Venus), and
described them, along with Maṅgala or Kuja (Mars), Bṛhaspati or Guru (Jupiter) and Śani (Saturn),
as moving in eccentric orbits around the sun → Remarkable → Nīlakaṇṭha preceded Copernicus
(1473-1543), the propounded of the heliocentric theory in Europe. It seems unlikely, however,
that Indian heliocentrism directly influenced European advances in the field.

41
Other Post-Siddhāntic Developments

Complex interface with Islamic astronomy took place, which, among other benefits, brought
instruments such as the astrolabe to India.

The famous and massive yantramantra or Jantar Mantar observatories built in the early 18th
century by the Maharaja of Jaipur, Sawai Jai Singh (1688-1743), represent a convergence
between Indian, Arabic and European astronomy.

In a general way, Indian astronomers were more interested in efficient methods of

computation than in theoretical models. Some of the techniques used to calculate planetary
positions and eclipses yielded remarkably precise results

Impressed by their speed, European astronomers such as Le Gentil, a French savant who
stayed in Puducherry for two years to observe a solar transit of Venus in June 1769

Traditional tables and even calculation methods survived well into the nineteenth century
(witness the case of the Odiya astronomer, Sāmanta Candraśekhara Simha, who was
completely insulated from European astronomy and authored in 1869 a voluminous
Siddhānta),

42
Panchanga

Year,
Aayana
Ritu,
Maasa,
Paksha Methods to calculate panchanga is given in video files link
Day
Tithi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJgYviGcX6
Nakshatra g&list=PLZ83joYJYmWR8dUgfxbcKFgxbCOaKw
Yoga 91J&index=1
Karana

43
धन्यवादााः

44