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They, therefore, do not point out the age of the book in which they are given, which may be very modern, 'but oftly refer to the epoch of the change in the Hindu astronomy : so that whatever antiquity may be feigned to a Hindu book containing the positions of the stars thus given, or the same order of the mansions, we may be certain that it has been written since the introduction of the modem astronomy. So far^ therefore, the table of mansions maybe of use in limiting the utmost age of a book, when we have no other means to fix or determine its real date. Having thus explained the Lunar Asterisms, it will be now proper to add a few remarks on the signs, both in the Hindu and tropical spheres. I have already noticed, that the Hindus, for some cen- turies anterior to A. D. 538, adopted the tropical sphere; or that in which the sign named Aries, Digitized by Google OF THE HINDUS. 103 always begins at the vernal equinoctial point, and which probably they received from the west. In A.D. 538, they changed their method, and intro- duced the sideral sphere now in use, which they di- vided into twelve signs of two Lunar Asterisms and a quarter each, the first of which always begins with Aswini, and therefore fixed, in respect of the Lunar Asterisms ; but the tropical signs, which they found necessary still to retain for a variety of purposes, continually filing back in respect of the others, by reason of the precession, it became, therefore, ne- cessary to distinguish them firom each other, in order to guard against confusk)n or uncertainty : this was effected by retaining thenames Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, &c. exclusively for the signs of the tropical sphere, and the new skleral signs, to be only numerically expressed or designated. Thus, suppose the sun's place was 9' 6° 4' 30", it would be immediately understood that this was in the sideral sphere, reckoning fix)m the beginning of Aswini, and not from Aries, or the vernal equinoctial point. For, if the latter was intended, it would be expressed thus : Capricomy 6^ 4' 30", or else by the words with the precession added, when the name of the sign was not used. This method was also adopted in Europe about 150 years ago, when some astronomers had introduced the sideral sphere, making 7 Arietis the commencement, and firom which star the precession was reckoned, as by the Hindus, from the beginning of Aswiru^ The Hindu astronomers employ the tropical sphere to this day for many purposes. By the sun's longitude in the tropical sphere, or from the beginning of Aries, is determined his declination and right ascension, length of the day and night, times of sun's rising and Digitized by Google 104 THE MOJDERN ASTRO'NOMY setting, &c. together with the times of the heliacal and cosmical risings and settings of the stars, nati- vities, and a great many other circymstances known to astronomers. I have been more particular on this head, perhaps, than may appear necessary to the real astronomer; but my reason and excuse for it is, that in no part of the Hindu astronomy has arisen so much error and confusion as on this very point. The astronomical system above explained, is by some attributed to Brahma, by some to Brahma Acharya, and by others to Brahma Gupta, the whole of which names, I apprehend, belong to one and the same individual, and that individusd to be Brahma Gupta. For the system is given in the SiddharUa Siromani, said to be by Bhaskara Acharya, and ac- knowledged to be from Brahma Gupta ; and the same conclusion is supported by the authority, of other writers, notwithstanding the opinion of the commentator on the Surya Siddkanta, that Brahma Gupta borrowed his system from the Vishnu Dkar- mottara Purana^ an opinion which can be of no weight whatever ; because, it is the wish of every Hindu y to make the world believe in the great : anti- quity of their Puranas : though in fact none of them are ancient, and some of them not a hundred years old. Brahma Gupta's system maybe contained in the Vishnu Dharmottara Pur ana ^ but it does not follow from thence that he borrowed it from that work ; on the contrary, it is more reasonable to sup- pose that the author of the Vishnu Dharmottara Pu- rana borrowed it from him. But be this as it may, the question who was the author of it, is not of the slightest importance ; nor do I care or concern myself about who was the au- thor : my object alone was to determine, from astro- Digitized by Google OF THE HINDUS. 105 nomical data, the antiquity of the system, which, I believe, I have sufficiently and satisfactorily ef- fected. The object of the author of the system, whoever he may have been, was evidently to substitute in the room of the former periods (the four ages and nine patriarchal periods, or Manwantaras), the immense periods of his own system, and thereby give the ap- pearance of the most profound antiquity to the Hindu people, then* history, their arts, and their sciences, far beyond any other nation or people on the face of the earth, as may be seen by the following passage in the Commentary on the Surya Siddhanta, wherein Ganesa is made to say : " The planets were right in the computed places in the time of Brahma Acharya, Vasishtha, Casyapa, and others, by the rules they gave; but in length of time they differed, after which, at the close of Satya age (2,163,101 years before Christ), the sun revealed to Meya a comput- ation of their true places. The rules then received answered during the Treta (1,296,000 years), and Dwdpar (864,000 years), as also did other rules formed by the Munis during those periods. In the beginning of the Kali Yuga (3101 B.C.) Parasara's book answered ; but Aryabhatta, many years after, haviiig examined the heavens, found some deviation, and introduced a correction of bija. After him, when further deviations were observed, Durga, Sinha Mi- hira, and others, made corrections. After them came the son of Jistnu, and Brahma Gupta, and made cor- rections. After them, Kesava settled the places of the planets ; and sixty years after Kesava, his son Ganesa made corrections." — As. Res. vol. ii. p. 243. The object of this mqst absurd passage is, first, to give an appearance of immense antiquity to their Digitized by Google 106 THE MODERN ASTRONOMY astronomy, their history, and consequently them- selves as a people; secondly, to throw back into antiquity Aryabhatta, Durga Sinha, Varaha Mihira, and others, by placing Brahma Gupta as posterior to all these; which, however, is shown to be felse in the very beginning of the book, where the author enumerates the astronomers whose works he con- sulted, in the order of their antiquity, thus : Brahma Gupta, Aryabhatta, Varaha, Lalla, &c. The real times of Aryabhatta and Varaha Mihira will be shown from their own works, in the third and fourth sections : so that the above passage must be an im- position, if Brahma Gupta was the author of the system above given, or lived at the time when it was framed. In feet, there is no imposition too gross or absurd that a Hindu will not employ to gain his ends, if he can effect it by that means. We see that by means of this system of Brahma (invented in A.D. 638), and of various passages like the above, inserted in books with a view to support it, the real Hindu history and chronology have been completely destroyed; so tliat Yudhisht'hira, Parasara, Garga, and others, who lived from about 540 to 576 B.C. were thrown back into antiquity about 2600 years more : * Rama, who was bom in the year B.C. 961, was thrown back up- wards of 867,000 years before the Christian era, and IkswaTcu, the first king, who began his reign in the year 1628 B.C. was thrown back upwards of2,163,000 years B.C.; for such was the change made by this system in the chronology and history of the Hhidu^. But to carry all this into effect, many things were * This b the canse why the reigns of the kings from 640 B. C. to 299 B. C. are ot distinguished from the rest that followed. See pp. 77, 78. Digitized by Google OF THE HINDUS. 107 necessary. In the first place, it was requisite that all their ancient books on astronomy, history, &c.