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Could the “case for Revising the Date of Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa” be flawed?

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Abstract

In “A case for Revising the Date of Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa” Narahari Achar (Indian J Hist Sci 35(3):173–183, 2000) has proposed a date of 1800BCE for the composition of Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa and the star δ Cap as yogatārā of nakṣatra Śraviṣṭhā. The study presented here demonstrates that neither a unique epoch of Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa nor a unique yogatārā of nakṣatra Śraviṣṭhā can be determined with the criteria proposed by Narahari Achar. Moreover, the proposed yogatārā does not satisfy the configuration of celestial objects at the start of a yuga described in Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa.

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Abbreviations

AB :

Aitareya Brāhmaṇa

KS :

Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā

KB :

Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇa

MS :

Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā

TB :

Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa

RV :

Ṛgveda Saṃhitā

RJ :

Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa; Ṛgvedic recension

YJ :

Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa; Yajurvedic recension

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Acknowledgements

This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France. This analysis has also used data obtained via HORIZONS Web-Interface, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA. I would like to thank Patrick Wallace (of TPOINT SOFTWARE) for the Positional Astronomy Software SLALIB, used in this analysis.

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  1. Stoke Lodge, 10 Royal Crescent, Sandown, Isle of Wight, PO36 8LZ, UK

    Prabhakar Gondhalekar

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  1. Prabhakar Gondhalekar
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Correspondence to Prabhakar Gondhalekar.

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Gondhalekar, P. Could the “case for Revising the Date of Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa” be flawed?. Indian J Hist. Sci. 56, 14–19 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43539-021-00001-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43539-021-00001-5

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