Vedanga Jyotisha (), or Jyotishavedanga (), is one of earliest known Indian texts on

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

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Jyotisha Jyotisha or Jyotishya (from Sanskrit ', from ' “light, heavenly body" and ''ish'' - from Isvara or God) is the traditional Hindu system of astrology, also known as Hindu astrology, Indian astrology and more recently Vedic astrology. It is one ...

''). The extant text is dated to the final centuries BCE, but it may be based on a tradition reaching back to about 700-600 BCE. The text is foundational to Jyotisha, one of the six

Vedanga The Vedanga ( sa, वेदाङ्ग ', "limbs of the Veda") are six auxiliary disciplines of Hinduism that developed in ancient times and have been connected with the study of the Vedas:James Lochtefeld (2002), "Vedanga" in The Illustrated Enc ...

disciplines. Its author is traditionally named as Lagadha.

Textual history

The dating of the ''Vedanga Jyotisha'' is relevant for the dating of the Vedic texts. The ''Vedanga Jyotisha'' describes the winter solstice for the period of ca. 1400 BCE. This description has been used to date the ''Vedanga Jyotisha''. According to Michael Witzel, the question is "whether the description as given in the Jyotisha is also the date of the text in which it is transmitted. It is written in two recensions – Rigveda recensions and Yajurveda recensions. Rigveda recensions and Yajurveda recensions have same verses except for eight additional verses in the Yajurveda's one". T. K. S. Sastry and R. Kochhar suppose that the ''Vedanga Jyotisha'' was written in the period that it describes, and therefore propose an early date, between 1370 and 1150 BCE.

David Pingree David Edwin Pingree (January 2, 1933, New Haven, Connecticut – November 11, 2005, Providence, Rhode Island) was an American historian of mathematics in the ancient world. He was a University Professor and Professor of History of Mathematic ...

dates the described solstice as about 1180 BCE, but notes that the relevance of this computation to the date of the ''Vedanga Jyotisha'' is not evident. The estimation of 1400-1200 BCE has been followed by others, with Subbarayappa adding that the extant form can possibly be from 700-600 BCE. Other authors propose a later composition. Santanu Chakraverti writes that it has been composed after 700 BCE, while

Michael Witzel Michael Witzel (born July 18, 1943) is a German-American philologist, comparative mythologist and Indologist. Witzel is the Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University and the editor of the Harvard Oriental Series (volumes 50–80). Witz ...

dates it to the last centuries BCE, based on the style of composing. According to Chakraverti, its description of the

winter solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winter ...

is correct for ca. 1400 BCE, but not for the time of its composition after 700 BCE. This may be due to the incorporation of late Harappan astronomical knowledge into the Vedic fold, an idea which is also proposed by Subbarayappa. Michael Witzel notes:

Editions

* Yajus recension, Rk variants and commentary of Somākara Śeṣanāga, edited: Albrecht Weber,
Über den Vedakalender Namens Jyotisham
', Berlin 1862 * Yajus recension, non-Yajus verses of Rk recension, edited: G. Thibaut, "Contributions to the Explanation of the Jyotisha-Vedánga", ''Journal of the Asiatic Society'' Bengal Vol 46 (1877), p. 411-437 *Hindi translation: Girja Shankar Shashtri, Jyotisha Karmkanda and Adhyatma Shodh Sansthan, 455 Vasuki Khurd, Daraganj, Allahabad-6. *Sanskrit Commentary with Hindi Translation: Vedā̄ṅgajyotiṣam: Yajurvedināṃ paramparayā''gatam vistr̥tasaṃskr̥tabhūmikayā. On Vedic astrology and astronomy; critical edited text with Hindi and Sanskrit commentaries. With appendies including Vedic calendar as described by Lagadha for his time. By Lagadha, Ācārya-Śivarāja Kauṇḍinnyāyana, Pramodavardhana Kaundinnyayana, Sammodavardhana Kauṇḍinnyāyana, Somākara

References

Sources

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External links

TSK Sastry translation, edited by KV Sarma
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