Neelakantha (Hindu astrologer)

Nila-kantha ( IAST: Nīlakaṇṭha) was a 16th-century astrologer and astronomer ('' jyotishi'' or ''daivajña'') and Sanskrit writer from the Mughal Empire of present-day India. He was a royal astrologer to emperor Akbar, and contributed to ''Todarananda'' (c. 1572 CE), an encyclopedia sponsored by Akbar's minister Todara-malla. He wrote '' Tajika-Nilakanthi'' (1587 CE), the most popular work on the Tajika astrology, and possibly compiled ''Prashna-tantra'', a work on interrogational astrology, based on an earlier text.

Biography

Nilakantha came from a family of astrologer-astronomers that belonged to the Gargya- gotra (clan), and originated from Dharmapura, a town located on the banks of the Narmada River in central India. The earliest known member of this family is his grandfather, Chintamani. Nilakantha was a son of Ananta and his wife Padmamba. Ananta wrote ''Kamadhenu-tika'' (a commentary on Mahadeva's ''Kamadhenu'') and ''Jani-paddhati'' (or ''Jataka-paddhati'').

Nilakantha and his brother Rama settled in Kashi, where they composed several works on astrology and astronomy. The town was under the administration of the Mughal emperor Akbar's minister Todara-malla (Todar Mal), and Nilakantha rose to the position of a royal astrologer (''jyotisha-raja'') in Akbar's administration. Balabhadra, a student of Rama, describes Nilakantha as "the crown jewel in the circle of astrologers", and quotes him extensively in his ''Hayana-ratna'' (1649).

Nilakantha's brother Rama wrote ''Rama-vinoda'' (1590), ''Muhurta-chintamani'' (1600), and a commentary titled ''Pramitakshara'' on the 1600 text. Nilakantha's son Govinda (born 1659) wrote ''Piyusha-dhara'' (1603), ''Rasala'' (1622), and ''Bhava-vivrti''. Govinda's son Chintamani wrote ''Sammati-chintamani'' (1661).

Works

''Todarananda'' sections

In the 16th century, the Mughal Emperor Akbar's minister Todaramallla sponsored the compilation of ''Todarananda'' (''Ṭoḍarānanda'', or ''Todaranandam''), the most extensive encyclopedia of science from pre-modern India. Nilakantha contributed to multiple sections (''saukhyas'') of this work, including ''Jyautisha-saukhya'' (on jyotisha); two sections on muhurta - ''Vivaha-saukhya'' and ''Vastu-saukhya''; and other sections on various dharma-shastra branches - ''Vyavahara-saukhya'', ''Samskara-saukhya'', and ''Samaya-saukhya''.

The ''Jyautisha-saukhya'', completed in 1572, discusses omens (''samhita''); astronomy, possibly including mathematics (''ganita''); and natal astrology ('' hora'').

''Tajika-Nilakanthi''

Nilakantha's '' Tajika-Nilakanthi'' ( IAST: Tājikanīlakaṇṭhī) is a work on Tajika, the Sanskritized Perso-Arabic astrology tradition. The work contains two volumes:

* ''Samjna-tantra'' (''Saṃjñā-tantra''), introduction to the fundamental principles and terminology of Tajika
* ''Varsha-tantra'' (''Varṣa-tantra''), a compendium of techniques for annual prognostication

These two volumes appear to have been composed as semi-independent works, and contain overlapping content, including passages repeated verbatim. Nilakantha completed the second volume of this work in 1587, and the book became the most popular work on the Tajika astrology.

An analysis by Ola Wikander and Martin Gansten suggests that the ''Shodasha-yogadhyaya'' (''Ṣoḍaśayogādhyāya'') chapter of ''Samjna-tantra'' is based on far older sources, and this may be true of the entire book. However, the phrasing appears to be Nilakantha's original. It is possible that ''Samjna-tantra'' and ''Varsha-tantra'' were the titles of two earlier texts written by the 13th century writer Samara-simha, and along with ''Prashna-tantra'', were collectively known as ''Tājika-shastra'' (''Tājikaśāstra'').

In the 17th century, Vishva-natha Daivajna wrote a commentary titled ''Prakashika'' (''Prakāśikā'') on ''Prashna-tantra''.

''Prashna-tantra''

Nilakantha may or may not have been responsible for the compilation of ''Prashna-tantra'' ( IAST: ''Praśna-tantra''), a work on interrogational astrology. This work exists in two versions: some earlier sources have mistakenly attributed its authorship to Nilakantha, considering it as the third volume of ''Tajika-nilakanthi''. Alternative titles for the book include ''Prashna-kaumudi'' (''Praśnakaumudī''), ''Jyotisha-kaumudi'' (''Jyotiṣakaumudī''), or ''Prashna-prakarana''.

Research by Martin Gansten (2014) shows that the original ''Prashna-tantra'' was written by Samara-simha in the 13th century, largely based on Sahl ibn Bishr's 9th century text ''Kitāb fi l-masa'il wa-l-ahkam''. Nilakantha or one of his students may have compiled the hybrid version of ''Prashna-tantra'' to complement the two volumes of ''Tajika-Nilakanthi'', by including excerpts from other texts to the original work. These other texts include mainly non-Tajika Sanskrit works such as Bhattotpala's ''Prashna-jnana'', Padma-prabha-suri's ''Bhuvana-dipaka'', Narayana-dasa Siddha's ''Prashna-vaishnava'', Prthyu-yashas's ''Shatpanchashika'', Varaha-mihira's ''Brhadyatra'', Ramachandra's ''Samara-sara'', Yaska's ''Nirukta'', ''Prashna-chintamani'', ''Prashna-dipaka'', ''Prashna-pradipa'', ''Trailokya-prakasha'', and ''Jnana-muktavali'', among others.

In the 17th century, Vishva-natha Daivajna wrote a commentary on ''Prashna-tantra''.

References

{{Jyotish Vidya

Indian astrologers
Hindu astrologers
16th-century astrologers
16th-century Indian astronomers
16th-century Indian writers
Sanskrit writers
Mughal Empire people
Writers from Varanasi
Indian male writers