Utpala, also known as (') was an astronomer from

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

region of present-day India, who lived in the 9th or the 10th century. He wrote several

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

-language texts on astrology and astronomy, the best-known being his commentaries on the works of the 6th-century astrologer-astronomer Varāhamihira.

Date

Utpala dates two of his commentaries on Varāhamihira's works to the year 888 of the ''Shaka kāla''. Assuming that Utpala refers to current year of the

Shaka era The Shaka era (IAST: Śaka, Śāka) is a historical Hindu calendar era (year numbering), the epoch (its year zero) of which corresponds to Julian year (calendar), Julian year 78. The era has been widely used in different regions of the Indian ...

beginning in 78 CE, these works can be dated to 965-966 CE. * For example, a verse in ''Jagac-candrikā'' - his commentary on the ''Bṛhaj-jātaka'' - states that he finished the work on the 5th day of the bright half of the Chaitra month. This day began on Thursday, 9 March 965 CE and ended on Friday. Utpala states that he completed his work on Thursday. * Similarly, a verse in ''Saṃhitā-vivṛti'' - his commentary on the ''Bṛhat-saṃhitā'' - states that he finished it on the 2nd day of the dark half of the Phalguna month. This day began on Wednesday, 10 January 966 CE, and ended on Thursday, 11 January 966 CE. Utpala states that he completed his work on Thursday. These dates align with a list of astronomers that places Utpala in the Shaka year 890 (c. 968 CE); this list was procured by W. Hunter at Ujjain, and published by H.T. Colebrooke. However, there are some problems with placing Utpala around 966 CE: * Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi (died 886 CE) cites a passage (about the third

decan The decans (; Egyptian ''bꜣktw'' or ''baktiu'', " hoseconnected with work") are 36 groups of stars (small constellations) used in the Egyptian astronomy, ancient Egyptian astronomy to conveniently divide the 360 degree ecliptic into 36 parts ...

of Aries) from Utpala's ''Jagaccandrikā''. This means either Utpala copied this passage from an older text, or he lived before 886 CE. * In ''Jagac-candrikā'', Utpala quotes four stanzas from a text that he calls ''Bhaskara-siddhanta''. These stanzas are identical with stanzas 1.9-12 of Bhaskara II's '' Siddhanta Shiromani'', which is dated to the Shaka year 1072 (1150 CE). This is chronologically impossible, as Al-Biruni's ''India'' (c. 1030 CE) mentions Utpala, and Varuṇabhațța's commentary on Brahmagupta's ''Khaṇḍakhādyaka-karana'' (Shaka 962 / 1040 CE) also mentions him. Scholar P.V. Kane suggests that either Bhaskara II took these verses from an earlier writer of the same name (e.g. Bhaskara I), or that a copyist added these verses to a manuscript on Utpala's commentary at a later date. These verses are not found in some manuscripts. This, combined with the absence of the date (Shaka 888) in another manuscript of Utpala's work, led Kane to theorize that Utpala must have flourished no later than c. 850 CE. Historian Ajay Mitra Shastri theorizes that by "Shaka kāla", Utpala means the Vikrama era beginning in 57 BCE, not the Shaka era beginning in 78 CE. Shastri notes that historical Indian texts use the term "Shaka" to denote either the Shaka era, or a

calendar era A calendar era is the period of time elapsed since one '' epoch'' of a calendar and, if it exists, before the next one. For example, the current year is numbered in the Gregorian calendar, which numbers its years in the Western Christian era ...

in general. Moreover, in his commentary on ''Bṛhat-saṃhitā'', Utpala writes: "that time, when the barbarian rulers called Shakas were destroyed by the illustrious Vikramaditya, is known by the name Shaka". Thus, according to Shastri, year 888 of the "Shaka kāla" in the manuscripts of Utpala's work equates to the Vikrama year 888, that is, c. 830 CE. Shastri further notes: * The 5th day of the bright half of the Chaitra month of Vikrama year 888 (current) ended on Thursday, 3 March 830 CE. This aligns with Utpala's statement that he completed ''Jagac-candrikā'' on Thursday. * The 2nd day of the dark half of the Phalguna month of Vikrama year 888 (current) ended on Thursday, 2 February 831 CE. Again, this aligns with Utpala's statement that he completed ''Saṃhitā-vivṛti'' on Thursday. The colophons of some manuscripts claim that he was a relative of Varāhamihira (6th century). For example, a manuscript titled ''Prashna-jnana'' claims that he was a son of Varāhamihira. Some manuscripts of ''Prashna-mahodadhi'' or ''Shat-pancha-shika'', a work by Pṛthuyaśas (the actual son of Varāhamihira), claim that Utpala was the father of Pṛthuyaśas. However, these claims are incorrect.

Residence

None of Utpala's works mention his geographical location. However, Al-Biruni's ''India'' (c. 1030 CE) identifies him as a native of Kashmir. Varuṇabhațța's first commentary on Brahmagupta's ''Khaṇḍakhādyaka-karana'' (1040 CE) also makes a similar statement. This identification is corroborated by the fact that Utpala's works feature several words characteristic of Kashmiri influence. According to Al-Biruni, Kashmir and Varanasi remained the major centres of Hindu learning during his time, amid the disruptions caused by the Islamic conquest of northern India. Several Brahmins from neighbouring regions such as Peshawar took refuge in Adhiṣṭhāna, the capital of Kashmir. Utpala appears to have become an authoritative figure in the astral science among the Brahmins of Kashmir. The opening stanza of Utpala's commentary on ''Laghu-jataka'' invokes Mahadeva, which suggests that he was a

Shaivite Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the supreme being. It is the second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in ...

Works

Utpala's extant works include: * ''Śiṣyahitā'' or ''Hitā'', a commentary on Varāhamihira's ''Laghu-jātaka'' * ''Jagac-candrikā'' or ''Cintāmaṇi'', a commentary on Varāhamihira's ''Bṛhaj-jātaka'' * ''Saṃhitā-vivṛti'', a commentary on Varāhamihira's ''Bṛhat-saṃhitā''; also includes extracts from Varāhamihira's ''Samāsa-saṃhitā'' ** Bhaskara, the son of Kumara of Varsha-ganya family, wrote ''Utpala-parimala'', an abridged version of this commentary * ''Cintāmaṇi'', a commentary on Brahmagupta's ''Khaṇḍakhādyaka'' * ''Yajñeśvamedhikā'', a commentary on Varāhamihira's ''Bṛhadyātrā'' * A commentary on Varāhamihira's ''Yoga-yātrā'' * ''Cintāmaṇi'', a commentary on Varāhamihira's ''Vivāha-paṭala'' * A commentary on Varāhamihira's son Pṛthuyaśas' ''Ṣaṭpañcāśikā'' * ''Cintāmaṇi'', a commentary on Bādarāyaṇa's ''Praśna-vidyā'' * ''Praśna-cūḍāmaṇi'', a 70-verse text on interrogative astrology ** This is the only surviving original text written by Utpala ** Also known by the names ''Āryā-saptati'' (because it contains 70 verses in Arya metre), ''Bhuvana-dīpaka'', ''Jñāna-māla'', ''Praśna-jñāna'', ''Praśnārya'', ''Praśnārya-saptati'', and ''Praśna-grantha'' * Utpala calls it by the name ''Praśna-jñāna'' in the opening and concluding verses, which suggests that ''Praśna-jñāna'' was the original title of the work ** The colophons of some manuscripts suggest that it was a part of a larger work titled ''Jñāna-māla'' * ''Yuddha-jayārṇava-tantra'', on victory in warfare ** The colophon mentions Bhattotpala as its author. ** Known from a Newari script palm-leaf manuscript copied by the astrologer (''daivajña'') Sarvabala in 1270 CE; now at the National Museum, New Delhi ** The work is in form of Shiva's answers to Parvati's questions, and is quoted in Raghu-nandana's ''Jyotiṣa-tattva' Besides ''Saṃhitā-vivṛti'' and ''Praśna-cūḍāmaṇi'', Al-Biruni mentions the following works by Utpala, which are now lost: * ''Rā.h.t.rakaraṇa'', a handbook on astronomy ** Eduard Sachau restores the title as ''Rāhunrā-karaṇa''; Ajay Mitra Shastri suggests this may be an error for ''Rāhu-nirākaraṇa''; David Pingree suggests ''Ārdharātrika-karaṇa'' * ''Karaṇaghāta'' (or ''Karaṇa-pāta''), a handbook on astronomy * A commentary (''Ṭīkā'') on Muñjāla's ''Bṛhanmānasa'' * ''S.rū.dh.w'', a text on astronomy ** The original Sanskrit title of the work is uncertain, but Sachau suggests ''Śrūdhava'', while Pingree suggests ''Sūtra-dhāra''. ** Al-Biruni recommends the metrology described in this work, stating that it had been adopted by "ŚMY", another learned Indian astronomer. In ''Jagac-candrikā'', Utpala quotes verses from another of his lost works, on ''Vastu-vidya'' (architecture). A verse found at the end of some manuscripts of Kalyana-varman's '' Sārāvalī'' suggests that the original text remained incomplete for over three hundred years, before Utpala completed it. The manuscripts of Utpala's surviving works may contain some alterations and omissions by copyists. For example, Al-Biruni attributes a statement about the original name of

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

to ''Saṃhitā-vivṛti'', but this statement is not present in the surviving manuscripts. According to this statement, Multan was originally called Yavana-pura, then Hamsa-pura, then Baga-pura, then Shamba-pura, then Mula-sthana (literally "original place").

Legacy

Modern interpretations of Varāhamihira's works, such as ''Bṛhat-saṃhitā'' and ''Bṛhaj-jātaka'', rely largely on Utpala's explanations. Utpala refers to several earlier commentaries on ''Bṛhat-saṃhitā'', but his commentary is the only one still extant. Utpala quotes several Sanskrit and Prakrit works, which are now lost, including those attributed to the semi-legendary figures such as Garga, Parashara, and Rshiputra.. Utpala is known for quoting six verses from '' Surya Siddhanta'' which are not found in its extant version. These six verses can be found in the 'Introduction' by S.Jain to the translation of Surya Siddhānta made by E. Burgess. As a commentator, Utpala devotes considerable effort to correctly interpret the text, using scientific methods far ahead of this time. He provides variant readings of various terms and refers to the views of the earlier commentators. He identifies some parts of the ''Bṛhat-saṃhitā'' text available to him as later forgeries, and provides reasons for doing so. He admits his lack of expertise at places; for example, while commenting on the ''Gandha-yukti'' section of the ''Bṛhat-saṃhitā'', he states that is not well-versed with the art of hair dyeing and cosmetics, and the reader should consult people skilled in those areas. That said, he lived several centuries after Varāhamihira, and therefore, could not understand certain concepts, leading to deficiences in his commentaries. For example, he wrongly interprets the term ''gana'' (republican states) as ''samūha'' or ''saṇghāta'' (groups). Sometime before 1861, Hendrik Kern (1833-1917) edited Utpala's commentaries on Bṛhatsaṃhitā and Bṛhajjātaka from the manuscripts, at Albrecht Weber's recommendation. He extracted a long list of technical terms from the texts; this list was included in Böhtlingk and Roth's ''Petersburg Sanskrit-Wörterbuch'' (1855-1875) and the Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English dictionary (1872), which became a standard reference for Sanskritists.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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