Abstract
We will here consider three stanzas from the Pañcasiddhāntikā of Varāhamihira (c. 550 ad), edited by G. Thibaut and S. Dvivedī (1889 ad). These stanzas were examined by us while comparing the astronomical constants of the midnight day-reckoning of Āryabhaṭa I (499 ad), as given by his follower Bhāskara I (629 ad), with those of the old Sūryasiddhānta, as summarised by Varāhamihira. This comparison revealed to us that the astronomical constants ascribed to Āryabhaṭa I’s midnight day-reckoning were in general agreement with those found in Varāhamihira’s version of the Sūryasiddhānta. The differences were, however, found to exist as regards the distances from the Sun at which the planets become visible and as regards the distances and diameters of the Sun and the Moon. It was soon discovered that the differences were not real but were due to the emendations made in the traditional text of the Pañcasiddhāntikā by the editors.
Access provided by Autonomous University of Puebla. Download to read the full chapter text
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Hindustan Book Agency 2019 and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kolachana, A., Mahesh, K., Ramasubramanian, K. (2019). On three stanzas from the Pañcasiddhāntikā. In: Kolachana, A., Mahesh, K., Ramasubramanian, K. (eds) Studies in Indian Mathematics and Astronomy. Sources and Studies in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7326-8_25
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7326-8_25
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-7325-1
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-7326-8
eBook Packages: Mathematics and StatisticsMathematics and Statistics (R0)