Hindu Astronomy is one of the ancient astronomical systems of the world. A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula. ...

The astronomy and the astrology of India is based upon sidereal calculations. The sidereal astronomy is based upon the stars and the sidereal period is the time that it takes the object to make one full orbit around the Sun, relative to the stars. This is considered to be an object's true orbital period. Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut. ... The orbital period is the time it takes a planet (or another object) to make one full orbit. ... For alternate meanings see star (disambiguation) Hundreds of stars are visible in this image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope of the Sagittarius Star Cloud in the Milky Way Galaxy. ... In physics, an orbit is the path that an object makes, around another object, whilst under the influence of a source of centripetal force, such as gravity. ... The Sun is the star of our solar system. ... For alternate meanings see star (disambiguation) Hundreds of stars are visible in this image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope of the Sagittarius Star Cloud in the Milky Way Galaxy. ...

Hindu astronomy

In Hindu Astronomy, the vernal equinox (the First Point of Aries) is often calculated at 23° from 0° Aries (1950 CE), i.e. about 7° Pisces ^[1]. The constellation that marks this vernal equinox is the Uttarabhadra. Illumination of Earth by Sun on the day of equinox The vernal equinox (or spring equinox) marks the beginning of astronomical spring. ... The First Point of Aries, also called the vernal equinox point, is one of the two points on the celestial sphere where the celestial equator intersects the ecliptic. ... Aries (Latin for Ram, symbol , Unicode ♈) is one of the constellations of the zodiac. ... Pisces (, Latin for fish (plural)) is a zodiac constellation which lies between Aquarius to the west and Aries to the east. ... An equinox is one of two opposite points on the celestial sphere where the celestial equator and ecliptic intersect. ...

In the time of the Puranas, the vernal equinox was marked by the Ashwini constellation (beginning of Aries), which gives a date of about 300-500 CE. The Vishnu Purana (2.8.63) states that the equinoxes occur when the Sun enters Aries] and Libra, and that when the sun enters Capricorn, his northern course (from winter to summer solstice) commences, and the southern course when he enters Cancer. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Vishnu Purana is one of the oldest of the Puranas (dating to maybe the 5th century), containing some 23,000 shlokas, presented as a dialogue between Parasara with his disciple Maitreya. ... Libra (, and Latin for balance) is a constellation of the zodiac. ... Capricornus (♑), a name meaning Horned Goat in Latin, is one of the constellations of the zodiac. ... This article or section needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ... Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis. ...

In the Suryasiddhanta, the rate of precession is set at 54" (it actually is 50.3"), which is much more accurate than the number calculated by the Greeks ^[2]. Precession refers to a change in the direction of the axis of a rotating object. ...

The Hindus use a system of 27 or 28 Nakshatras (lunar constellations) to calculate a month. Each month can be divided into 30 lunar tithis (days). There are usually 360 or 366 days in a year. In Astrology the lunar mansions are a division of the Ecliptic similar to the Zodiac. ... In Astrology the lunar mansions are a division of the Ecliptic similar to the Zodiac. ... Look up Month in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In vedic timekeeping, a tithi (also spelled thithi) is a lunar day, or the time it takes for the longitudinal angle between the moon and the sun to increase by 12°. Tithis begin at varying times of day and vary in duration from approximately 19 to approximately 26 hours. ...

It has been argued that Nilakantha Somayaji's (1444-1550) work shows a better equation of the center for Mercury and Venus "than was available either in the earlier Indian works or in the Islamic or European traditions of astronomy till the work of Kepler, which was to come more than a hundred years later."^[3]

Heliocentrism

The earliest traces of a counter-intuitive idea that it is the Earth that is actually moving and the Sun that is at the centre of the solar system (hence the concept of heliocentrism) is found in several Vedic Sanskrit texts written in ancient India. Yajnavalkya (c. 9th–8th century BC) recognized that the Earth is spherical and believed that the Sun was "the centre of the spheres" as described in the Vedas at the time. In his astronomical text Shatapatha Brahmana (8.7.3.10) he states: "The sun strings these worlds - the earth, the planets, the atmosphere - to himself on a thread." He recognized that the Sun was much larger than the Earth, which would have influenced this early heliocentric concept. He also accurately measured the relative distances of the Sun and the Moon from the Earth as 108 times the diameters of these heavenly bodies, close to the modern measurements of 107.6 for the Sun and 110.6 for the Moon. He also described a calendar in the Shatapatha Brahmana. Something is counter-intuitive if it does not seem likely to be true using the tool of human intuition or gut-feeling to perceive reality. ... Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, which are the earliest sacred texts of India,. The Vedas were first passed down orally and therefore have no known date. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Sage Yajnavalkya (याज्ञवल्क्य) of Mithila advanced a 95-year cycle to synchronize the motions of the sun and the moon. ... (10th century BC - 9th century BC - 8th century BC - other centuries) (900s BC - 890s BC - 880s BC - 870s BC - 860s BC - 850s BC - 840s BC - 830s BC - 820s BC - 810s BC - 800s BC - other decades) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Kingdom of Kush (900 BC... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) Events and trends Ruins of the training grounds at Olympia, Greece. ... The Vedas (Sanskrit: वेद) are the main scripture in Hinduism, and are a large corpus of texts originating in Ancient India. ... Shatapatha Brahmana (Brahmana of one-hundred paths) is one of the prose texts describing the Vedic ritual. ...

The Vedic Sanskrit text Aitareya Brahmana (2.7) (c. 9th–8th century BC) also states: "The Sun never sets nor rises thats right. When people think the sun is setting, it is not so; they are mistaken." This indicates that the Sun is stationary (hence the Earth is moving around it), which is elaborated in a later commentary Vishnu Purana (2.8) (c. 1st century), which states: "The sun is stationed for all time, in the middle of the day. [...] Of the sun, which is always in one and the same place, there is neither setting nor rising." The Aitareya Brahmana is the Brahmana associated with the Rigveda in the Shakala school. ... The Vishnu Purana is one of the oldest of the Puranas (dating to maybe the 5th century), containing some 23,000 shlokas, presented as a dialogue between Parasara with his disciple Maitreya. ... The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 100 according the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Indian astronomer-mathematician Aryabhata (476–550), in his magnum opus Aryabhatiya, propounded a heliocentric model in which the Earth was taken to be spinning on its axis and the periods of the planets were given with respect to a stationary Sun. He was also the first to discover that the light from the Moon and the planets was reflected from the Sun, and that the planets follow an elliptical orbit around the Sun, and thus propounded an eccentric elliptical model of the planets, on which he accurately calculated many astronomical constants, such as the times of the solar and lunar eclipses, and the instantaneous motion of the Moon (expressed as a differential equation). Bhaskara (1114–1185) expanded on Aryabhata's heliocentric model in his astronomical treatise Siddhanta-Shiromani, where he mentioned the law of gravity, discovered that the planets don't orbit the Sun at a uniform velocity, and accurately calculated many astronomical constants based on this model, such as the solar and lunar eclipses, and the velocities and instantaneous motions of the planets. Arabic translations of Aryabhata's Aryabhatiya were available from the 8th century, while Latin translations were available from the 13th century, before Copernicus had written De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, so it's quite likely that Aryabhata's work had an influence on Copernicus' ideas. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The chronology of Indian mathematics spans from the Indus Valley civilization (3300-1500 BC) and Vedic civilization (1500-500 BC) to modern India (21st century AD). ... Aryabhata: Statue on the grounds of IUCAAPune. ... Events August - The usurper Basiliscus is deposed and Zeno is restored as Eastern Roman Emperor. ... Events By Place Byzantine Empire Silk reaches Constantinople (approximate date). ... Ä€ryabhatÄ«ya, an astronomical treastise, is the Magnum Opus and only extant work of the 5th century Indian Mathematician, Aryabhatta. ... The ellipse and some of its mathematical properties. ... (This page refers to eccentricity in mathematics. ... Photo taken during the 1999 eclipse. ... An eclipse refers to the phenomenon of one body passing into the shadow cast by another body. ... The French 1999 eclipse An eclipse (Greek verb: ekleipô, to vanish, though it derives from the prefix ex-, away from, and Greek leipein, to leave) is an astronomical event that occurs when one celestial object moves into the shadow of another. ... Graph of a differential equation In mathematics, a differential equation is an equation in which the derivatives of a function appear as variables. ... Bhaskara (1114-1185), also called Bhaskara II and Bhaskara Achārya (Bhaskara the teacher) was an Indian mathematician-astronomer. ... Events January 7 - Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, marries Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor Births Deaths Categories: 1114 ... Events April 25 - Genpei War - Naval battle of Dan-no-ura leads to Minamoto victory in Japan Templars settle in London and begin the building of New Temple Church End of the Heian Period and beginning of the Kamakura period in Japan. ... Gravity is a force of attraction that acts between bodies that have mass. ... The velocity of an object is simply its speed in a particular direction. ... Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ... (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ...

Speed of light

The Indians held the speed of light to be finite. Sayana is claimed to have mentioned the speed of light c, in the following comment he wrote on verse 1.50 of the Rig Veda: The speed of light in a vacuum is an important physical constant denoted by the letter c for constant or the Latin word celeritas meaning swiftness. In metric units, c is exactly 299,792,458 metres per second (1,079,252,848. ... Sayana (सायण) was the great 14th century commentator on the Vedas. ... The speed of light in a vacuum is an important physical constant denoted by the letter c for constant or the Latin word celeritas meaning swiftness. In metric units, c is exactly 299,792,458 metres per second (1,079,252,848. ... The Rig Veda ऋग्वेद (Sanskrit ṛc praise + veda knowledge) is the earliest of the four Hindu religious scriptures known as the Vedas. ...

"Thus it is remembered: [O Sun] you who traverse 2202 yojanas in half a nimesa."

According to Kak these ancient units translate into a speed of 186,536 miles/second, a value amazingly close to the modern value of c of 186,282.397 miles/second. Apparently[4] a similar comment about the speed of light was also made by Bhatta Bhaskara around the 10th century on the Taittiriya Brahmana. As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... The Taittiriya Brahmana (TB) is the Brahmana associated with the Taittiriya shakha of the Black Yajurveda. ...

A yojana is an ancient unit of length used in India: it equals 4 kose. The definition and value of a kose varied depending on region and time period, and the lack of strong standardisation meant that the meaning of "kose" changed from Vedic times to the period of the medieval Islamic empires. However, a practically reliable definition puts each kose at 8000 British yards, making a yojana 32,000 yards or 29,300 metres. The definition of the time unit "nimesa" can be found in Srimad Bhagavatam (III, 11-3 to 10), where it is mentioned that 15 nimesas make 1 kashta, 15 kashtas make one laghu, 30 laghus make 1 muhurta and 30 muhurtas make 1 diva-ratri. A diva-ratri (literally 'day-night') is 24 hours. Which means half a nimesa is 1/405000 day, and 2202 yojanas is about 64,400,000 m. This gives the speed of light to be about 302,000,000 m/s—an amazingly close answer. Å–Å…A yojana is a Vedic measure of distance, possibly somewhere from 5. ... Vedic may refer to: Ancient India the Vedic civilization the Vedas, the oldest preserved Indo-Aryan texts Vedic Sanskrit, their language (see also Vedic meter, Vedic accent, Vedic chant and Shrauta) the historical Vedic religion traditional Hindu culture: Vedic astrology the Ayurveda (Vedic medicine) Ancient Vedic weights and measures modern... This article is about the unit of measure known as the yard. ... The Bhagavata Purana (sometimes rendered as Bhagavatha Purana), also known as the Srimad Bhagavatam, written c. ... The hour (symbol: h) is a unit of time. ...

Calendars

The beginning of the Saptarsi calendar, which is still used in parts of India, is often placed at 3076 BCE, but references by Greek historians (Pliny and Arrian) could possibly indicate an earlier beginning of the calendar at 6676 BCE.^[4]

In the Vedanga Jyotisa, the year begins with the winter solstice.^[5] The Hindu calendars know several year beginnings, and this might also have been the case in the Vedic period.^[6]

Hindu astronomy, Hindu texts and Indian chronology

In discussions of Hindu astronomy, it should be cleanly disambiguated whether actual ancient astronomical (or astrological, a distinction that did not exist in pre-modern India any more than in pre-modern Europe) treatises are discussed, or if archaeoastronomical claims are distilled from alleged codes or statements taken from the Vedas. Astronomical references in Hindu texts may also record older traditions, and wouldn't therefore indicate the date of the text itself.^[7] Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut. ... The sun rising over Stonehenge at the 2005 Summer Solstice Archaeoastronomy (also spelled Archeoastronomy) is the study of ancient or traditional astronomies in their cultural context, utilising archaeological and anthropological evidence. ... The Vedas are part of the Hindu Shruti; these religious scriptures form part of the core of the Brahminical and Vedic traditions within Hinduism and are the inspirational, metaphysical and mythological foundation for later Vedanta, Yoga, Tantra and even Bhakti forms of Hinduism. ...

Rigveda

The samvatsara year in the Rigveda has 360 days and 12 months.^[8]

There are claims, like that of Subhash Kak of an Astronomical Code of the Rgveda^[9] dating the Rigveda to 4000-2000 BCE; Kak's results have been criticized by Plofker^[10] as having "no statistical significance whatsoever", even if overlooking their being based on the structure of the Iron Age shakha (recension) of Shakala rather than the content of the actual Rigvedic texts. Subhash Kak (born March 26, 1947, Srinagar, Kashmir) is Delaune Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Professor in the Asian Studies and Cognitive Science Programs at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. ... Shakha (IAST ), literally branch or limb, is the Sanskrit term for a recension or version of Vedic texts according to a particular school. ... The Rigveda (Sanskrit: , a tatpurusha compound of praise, verse and knowledge) is a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the gods. ...

The Rigveda knows the names of Brhaspati (Jupiter) and Vena (Venus).^[11] It also mentions 34 lights, probably the sun, moon, the 27 naksatras and the five planets.^[12] In RV 5.40.5-9, a solar eclipse is described.^[13][14]

Jacobi has argued that in the Rigveda and Atharvaveda the sun was in Phalguni, and in the Sankhayana and Gobhila Grhyasutra the Full moon was in Bhadrapada during the summer solstice, which would have occured at 4500-2500 BCE.^[15] Jacobi and Tilak have both noted that the terms of the naksatras Mula (root), Vicrtau (dividers) and Jyestha (oldest) suggest that these names originated from a time when Mula marked the beginning of the year, i.e. about 4500-2500 BCE.^[16] Tilak has also noted that the two week long pitrs period after the full moon in Bhadrapada occured at the beginning of the pitryana, which would have been true at about 4500-2500 BCE.^[17] Sutra (सूत्र) in Sanskrit is derived from the verb √siv, meaning to sew. ...

Yajurveda

The sky altar and the sun are described as four-cornered in the Yajurveda 38.20., which could refer to the two solstices and two equinoxes.^[18]

Brahmanas

The visuvant (summer solstice) period is 21 days in Aitreya Br. and 7 days in Pancavimsa Br., the summer solstice being in the middle of the period. ^[19]

The gavam ayana ritual in SB 4.6.2. is based on the motion of the sun.^[20] In Aitreya Br. 2.7., is probably a reference to the rotation of the earth.^[21]

In the Brahmanas, the two solstices divide the year into two times 180 days, and probably into 181 (winter to summer solstice) and 184/5 days.^[22] Subhash Kak has argued that the periods for the solstices described in the Brahmanas would suggest that the perihelion occured before the summer solstice, and that as a consequence the Brahmanas should be dated to 2000-1000 BCE, taking into account that "the measurements in those times were not very accurate".^[23]

Upanishads

The positions of the winter and summer solstice in the Maitrayaniya Brahmana Upanisad (6.14) would correspond to 1660 BCE.^[24]

Grhya Sutras

Jacobi (1909) has noted that the Gryha Sutras mention the dhruva (Polestar), and the Maitrayana Brahamana Upanishad says that even the polestar moves (over a long period of time).^[25] Jacobi argued that these instances preserve memories from ancient times. This article is in need of attention. ...

Vedanga Jyotisa

The positions of the solstices and equinoxes in the Vedanga Jyotisa would correspond to about 1370 BCE,^[26][27][28], although most of the text in its present form is from a later date.^[29] In this text, the sun is very close to the Krittika at the Vernal Equinox.^[30]

It is probable that the Vedanga Jyotisha was written at a latitude of 34 degrees, which would correspond e.g. to Northern India or Babylon.^[31]

Mahabharata

Aryabhata dated the Mahabharata war to 3137 BCE, and Varahamihira to 2449 BCE.^[32] According to the Puranic genealogies, the Mahabahrata War occured at 1924 BCE (1500 years before the Nandas at 424 BCE).^[33]

Naksatras

The Taittiriya Samhita situates 13 1/2 devanaksatras in the northern hemisphere, and 13 1/2 yamanaksatras in the southern hemisphere. According to Kak, this would point to a date of about 2300 BCE.^[34] The Yajurveda (Sanskrit , a tatpurusha compound of sacrifice + veda knowledge) is one of the four Hindu Vedas. ...

Dhanisthta nakshatra

The Hindu astronomer Varahamihira, Garga (quoted by Somakara), the Mahabharata and the Vedanga Jyothish refer to the nakshatra Dhanishta (Shravishta) and thus to an ancient calendar that would have been used in 1280 BCE ^[35]. The Kaushitaki Brahmana and possibly the Atharvaveda refer to a similar calendar ^[36]. The Atharvaveda, the Tandya Mahabrahmana and Laughakshi (quoted by Somakara) may show knowledge of an earlier calendar, but still in the Magha constellation ^[37]. An astronomer or astrophysicist is a person whose area of interest is astronomy or astrophysics. ... Varahamihira (505 – 587) was an Indian astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer born in Ujjain. ... Manuscript illustration of the Battle of Kurukshetra The (Devanagari: ), is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the . ... Jyotisha (, in Hindi and English usage Jyotish) is the Hindu system of astrology, one of the six disciplines of Vedanta, and regarded as one of the oldest schools of ancient astrology to have had an independent origin, affecting all other schools in and around India. ... In Astrology the lunar mansions are a division of the Ecliptic similar to the Zodiac. ... Delphinus, being Latin for Dolphin, is a rather small (ranked 69th) northern constellation very close to the celestial equator. ... Ancient history is the study of significant cultural and political events from the beginning of human history until the Early Middle Ages. ... A page from the Hindu calendar 1871-72. ... The Kaushitaki Brahmana is the Brahmana associated with the Rigveda in the Bashkala shakha. ... The Atharvaveda (Sanskrit: अथर्ववेद, , a tatpurusha compound of , a type of priest, and meaning knowledge) is a sacred text of Hinduism, and one of the four Vedas, often called the fourth Veda. According to tradition, the Atharvaveda was mainly composed by two groups of rishis known as the Bhrigus and the... Regulus (α Leo / α Leonis / Alpha Leonis) is the brightest star in the constellation Leo and one of the brightest stars in the nighttime sky. ...

Krittika constellation

rising of the Pleiades (M45) as seen from Delhi in 800 BC and 2000 BC (click to enlarge).

Still earlier Hindu calendars begin with the Krittikas, thus suggesting that the vernal equinox was in the Krittika constellation at this time.^[38] There are additionally references to the summer solstice in the Magha constellation. This could indicate a date around 2000 BCE. The Shatapatha Brahmana has the Krttikas (the Pleiades) "do not swerve from the east"^[39][40]. This would have been the case with precision at 2950 BCE^[41] and was true also about 2000 BCE^[42], but was still true to within 8-13 degrees (viz., East by north) around 800 BC, the assumed date of the text's composition.^[43] Image File history File links Vedic_pleiades. ... Image File history File links Vedic_pleiades. ... The nakshatra corresponding to the open star cluster Pleiades is known as Krittika in Indian Astrology. ... Shatapatha Brahmana (Brahmana of one-hundred paths) is one of the prose texts describing the Vedic ritual. ... The nakshatra corresponding to the open star cluster Pleiades is known as Krittika in Indian astrology. ... The Pleiades are an open cluster dominated by hot blue stars surrounded by reflection nebulosity The Pleiades (also known as M45 or the Seven Sisters) is an open cluster in the constellation of Taurus. ... ESE also stands for Extensible Storage Engine. ...

The Atharvaveda, the Taittiriya Brahmana, the Shatapatha Brahmana, the Maitrayaniya Upanishad, the Baudhayana Srauta Sutra^[44] and the Vishnu Purana show such a constellation in the Krittika^[45]. Jean Filliozat has argued that similar conclusions can be derived from Buddhist texts, that incorporated material from earlier Hindu texts.^[46] The Atharvaveda (Sanskrit: अथर्ववेद, , a tatpurusha compound of , a type of priest, and meaning knowledge) is a sacred text of Hinduism, and one of the four Vedas, often called the fourth Veda. According to tradition, the Atharvaveda was mainly composed by two groups of rishis known as the Bhrigus and the... The Taittiriya Brahmana (TB) is the Brahmana associated with the Taittiriya shakha of the Black Yajurveda. ... Shatapatha Brahmana (Brahmana of one-hundred paths) is one of the prose texts describing the Vedic ritual. ... The Upanishads (उपनिषद्, Upanişad) are part of the Hindu Shruti scriptures which primarily discuss meditation and philosophy and are seen as religious instructions by most schools of Hinduism. ... The Vishnu Purana is one of the oldest of the Puranas (dating to maybe the 5th century), containing some 23,000 shlokas, presented as a dialogue between Parasara with his disciple Maitreya. ...

Aiyar has argued that in the Maitrayana Brahmana Upanishad the sun was in the Magha during the Summer solstice, which would correspond to the same period when the sun was in the Krittika during the Vernal Equinox.^[47] According to Tilak, the Taittiriya Samhita (7.4.8) has the full moon in the Magha during the winter solstice, which would also be the case at about 2000 - 1000 BCE.^[48] The Yajurveda (Sanskrit , a tatpurusha compound of sacrifice + veda knowledge) is one of the four Hindu Vedas. ...

Additionally, the legend of the cutting off of Prajapati's head could possibly indicate a date when Mrgasisrsa marked the beginning of the year.^[49] Possibly, the beginning of the year was later marked by Rohini.^[50] In Hinduism, Rohini is one of the twenty-seven daughters of Daksha who married Soma. ...

Varaha Mihira

Sir William Jones tried to show, based on information gathered from Varaha Mihira, that Parasara Muni lived at 1181 BCE.^[51] Varahamihira (505 – 587) was an Indian astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer born in Ujjain. ...

Terminology

Look up Altar in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In Hindu mythology, Aja is the son of king Raghu, and thus a scion of the Ikshavaku dynasty, who claimed descent from the sun-God Surya. ... The Sun is the star of our solar system. ... Capricornus (♑), a name meaning Horned Goat in Latin, is one of the constellations of the zodiac. ... The Galileo spacecraft took this composite image on 7 December 1992 on its way to explore the Jupiter system in 1995-97. ... The lunar phase depends on the Moons position in orbit around Earth. ... Asva is a term for horse used in Vedic literature. ... Punarvasu is a Nakshatra in Hindu astronomy, that refers to the two brightest stars in the constellation of Gemini: Castor and Pollux. ... Castor may refer to one of the following. ... In Greek mythology, Pollux or Polydeuces was one of the twin sons of Zeus, see Castor and Pollux Pollux is a bright star in the constellation Gemini. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Rainbow arching over a paddock of cattle Cattle are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Intercalation is the insertion of an extra day, week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons. ... Cassiopeia can refer to: Cassiopeia (or Casseipeia), a queen of Aethiopia in Greek mythology. ... The Five Maha-vratas The Jain monks observe five great vows (vratas): Non-violence (Ahimsa) Truth (Satya) Non-stealing (Achaurya) Chastity (Brahmacharya) Non-possession/Non-attachment (Aparigraha) The vows for the Jain monks, as prescribed by the ancient texts like Acharanga, are quite strict, and have come down to our... Illumination of Earth by Sun on the day of the northern hemisphere winter solstice Illumination of Earth by Sun on the day of the southern hemisphere winter solstice In astronomy, the winter solstice is the moment when the earth is at a point in its orbit where one hemisphere is... // Orion may mean: Astronomy and mythology Orion (mythology) the hunter, from Greek mythology Orion (constellation), a constellation Orion Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Orion Nebula, a nebula also known as M42 Companies Orion (company), supplier of consumer electronics and white goods from Hungary Orion Beer, a... Sirius (α CMa / α Canis Majoris / Alpha Canis Majoris) is the brightest star in the night-time sky, with a visual apparent magnitude of −1. ... A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula. ... Lotus berthelotii, Trailing Lotus Nelumbo lutea, the American Lotus The term lotus has a variety of uses. ... The Sun is the star of our solar system. ... Gemini (Latin for twins, symbol , Unicode ♊) is one of the constellations of the zodiac. ... Bulk composition of the Moons mantle and crust estimated, weight percent Oxygen 42. ... Sirius (α CMa / α Canis Majoris / Alpha Canis Majoris) is the brightest star in the night-time sky, with a visual apparent magnitude of −1. ... The constellation Argo Navis drawn by Johannes Hevelius in 1690 Argo Navis (or simply Argo) was a large southern constellation representing the Argo, the ship used by Jason and the Argonauts in Greek mythology. ... Uttarāyana (उत्तरायण) is the six month period between Makar Sankranti around (January 14) and Karka Sankranti around (July 14), when the Sun travels towards north on the celestial sphere. ... Illumination of Earth by the sun on the northern hemisphere summer solstice The summer solstice is an astronomical term regarding the position of the sun in relation to the celestial equator. ... In astronomy, the vernal equinox (spring equinox, March equinox, or northward equinox) is the equinox at the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere: the moment when the sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading northward. ... Illumination of Earth by the sun on the northern hemisphere summer solstice The summer solstice is an astronomical term regarding the position of the sun in relation to the celestial equator. ...

Seasons

• madhu, madhava in vasanta: spring
• sukra, suci in grisma: summer
• nabha, nabhasya in varsa: rains
• isa, urja in sarada: autumn
• saha, sahasya in hemanta: winter
• tapa, tapasya in sisira: freeze

See also

• Aryabhata
• Yuga
• Indian mathematics
• Jyotish (Vedic astrology)
• Vedic timekeeping
• Hindu calendar
• Chinese astronomy
• Hindu cosmology
• History of astronomy
• Vedic fire altar
• Suryasiddhanta

Aryabhata: Statue on the grounds of IUCAAPune. ... yugas (Devnāgari: युग) In Hindu philosophy the cycle of evolution of life is divided into four yugs (epochs or eras): Satya Yuga or Krita Yuga Treta Yuga Dvapara Yuga Kali Yuga // The spiritual states of civilization in each yuga In Hindu tradition, the world goes through a continuous cycle of... The chronology of Indian mathematics spans from the Indus Valley civilization (3300-1500 BC) and Vedic civilization (1500-500 BC) to modern India (21st century AD). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Hindu metrics of time can be summarized as below. ... A page from the Hindu calendar 1871-72. ... The book Gan Shi Xing Jing (甘石星经) of the Warring States Period (403 BC to 221 BC) is the earliest catalog of stars in the world. ... The Rig Veda questions the origin of the cosmos in: Neither being (sat) nor non-being was as yet. ... Table of astronomy, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia Astronomy is probably the oldest of the natural sciences, dating back to antiquity, with its origins in the religious practices of pre-history: vestiges of these are still found in astrology, a discipline long interwoven with astronomy, and not completely separate from it... Vedic Fire altars (called Agni) were a part of the Vedic religion. ...

Notes

Sayana (सायण) was the great 14th century commentator on the Vedas. ... An intermediate direction or ordinal direction is one of the four compass directions located halfway between the cardinal directions: northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest. ...

References

• S. Kak. "The Speed of Light and Purāṇic Cosmology". In T. R. N. Rao and S. Kak, Computing Science in Ancient India, pages 80–90. USL Press, Lafayette, 1998. Available as e-print physics/9804020 on the arXiv.

Subhash Kak (born March 26, 1947, Srinagar, Kashmir) is Delaune Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Professor in the Asian Studies and Cognitive Science Programs at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. ... arXiv (pronounced archive, as if the X were the Greek letter χ) is an archive for electronic preprints of scientific papers in the fields of physics, mathematics, computer science and biology which can be accessed via the internet. ...

Further reading

• Aiyar, B.V. Kamesvara. 1922. "The Age of the Brahmanas". Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society 12.
• Billard, R. L'Astronomie Indienne. Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient, Paris, 1971.
• Bryant, Edwin (2001), The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture, Oxford University Press
• Koenraad Elst: Update on the Aryan Invasion Debate. 1999.
• Filliozat, Jean. 1969. "Notes on Ancient Iranian and Indian Astronomy." Journal of the K.R. Cama Oriental Research Institute 42:100-135.
• David Frawley. 1991. Gods, Sages, and Kings, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin ISBN 0-910261-37-7
• Kak, Subhash: The Astronomical Code of the Rigveda
• Kramrisch, S. The Presence of Siva. Princeton University Press, Princeton 1981.
• Jacobi, Hermann. 1909. "On the Antiquity of Vedic Culture." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 721-726.
• N.N. Law. 1965. Age of the Rgveda. Calcutta: Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay.
• de Santillana and von Dechend: Hamlet's Mill. Gambit, Boston 1969.
• Seidenberg, A. "The origin of mathematics" Archive for History of Exact Sciences 18: 301-342, 1978.
• Sengupta, P.C. Ancient Indian Chronology. Calcutta: University of Calcutta Press, 1947.
• Sen, S.N., and K.S. Shukla, eds. 1985. History of Astronomy in India. New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy.
• Tilak, Bal Gangadhar: The Orion or Researches into the antiquities of the Vedas, The arctic home in the vedas, Vedic Chronology and Vedanga Jyotisha. Poona: Messrs Tilak Bros.
• Sri Yukteswar Giri. The holy science. Los Angeles, Ca: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1984.

The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture is a book by Edwin Bryant published at Oxford University Press (ISBN 0195137779). ... Dr. Koenraad Elst was born in Leuven, Belgium, on 7 August 1959, into a Flemish Catholic family. ... Update on the Aryan Invasion Debate is a book by Koenraad Elst. ... Dr. David Frawley (born 1950 in Wisconsin, U.S.A.) is currently one of the worlds leading authors on Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Yoga, Ayurveda, and contemporary Indian politics. ... Subhash Kak (born March 26, 1947, Srinagar, Kashmir) is Delaune Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Professor in the Asian Studies and Cognitive Science Programs at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. ... The Astronomical Code of the Rigveda is a book by Subhash Kak (Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi, 2000) that presents long-forgotten regularities in the organization of the Rigveda, connecting the structure to certain numbers in the astronomy-based ritual of the five-layered brick altars of the Vedic times. ... Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856 - 1920), was an Indian nationalist, social reformer and freedom fighter who was the first popular leader of the Indian Independence Movement. ... Priya Nath Karar, known by his monastic name Sri Yukteswar Giri (May 10, 1855-March 9, 1936), was the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda. ...

Translations

• Burgess, Ebenezer (tr.) The Surya Siddhanta. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1989 (1860)
• Kuppanna Sastry, T.S., Vedanga Jyotisha of Lagadha. Indian National Science Academy, Delhi 1985.
• Vidyalankara, V. Satapatha Brahmanastha Agnicayana Samiksa. Bahalgarh, 1985.

External links

• Online course material for InSIGHT, a workshop on traditional Indian sciences for school children conducted by the Computer Science department of Anna University, Chennai, India.
• http://www.bharatvani.org/books/ait/ch22.htm
• http://www.sanskrit.org/Astronomy/Astronomy%20Index.htm
• http://www.jqjacobs.net/astro/aryabhata.html