English
That is to say, the longitude, reckoned from the beginning of Aswini, to the point in the ecliptic cut by the circle of latitude, which he makes . . 80° 39' 11* Making a difference between the points of the ecliptic cut by the circle of de- clination and that of latitude . 6 20 49 The true longitude of the star from the beginning of Aswini being thus determined, he then adds the pre- cession of the equinoxes, down to the end of the year 4601 of the Kali Yuga (A.D. 1500) 16° 10' 59", the sum gives the longitude of the star in A.D. 1500, reckoned from the vernal equinoctial point, equal to 96° 50' 10' He then determines the sun's longitude at the cosmical and heliacal rising of the star at Benares, where the length of the equinoctial shadow is found to ' be 6 50"= 5.75, or latitude north . 25° 36' 8" He makes the cosmical rising, when the sun's longitude was . . . 4" 16° The heliacal rising at . . . 4 25 36 9 All of which are reckoned from the vernal equinoctial point, or beginning of Aries, and not from the begin- ning of the Hindu sphere. Digitized by Google OF THE HINDUS. 177 It is, however, to be observed, that there is an error in the computed longitude of Canapus used, which affects all the calculations connected with it. The longitttde of Canopus in A.D, 1500, at the end of the year 4601 of the Kali Yuga, by European Tables, was . . 3* B"" 1' 30* But by the Hindu computation, it was ^ only 3 6 50 10 Difference, the latter too little by 0 1 11 20 Which must, of course, affect the results of the cal- culations. In A.D. 1500, the latitude of Canopus was ..... . 75° 51' 0" The right ascension . . . 93 12 3^ The declination . . • . 52 26 0 And the obliquity of the ecliptic . 23 30 22 If we now take the latitude of Benares at what the Hindus state it, from the length of the equinoctial shadow, as 25 36 8 The cosmical rising of Canopus in A. D. 1500, will come out . . 4* 17° 6' 34* Differing from the Hindu computation by . . . . • . 0 1 6 34 THE SPURIOUS ARYA SIDDHANTA. This trifling production, has been substituted in the place of the real one, now suppressed (see Sec. III.) : but notwithstanding all the care that has been taken to prevent detection, appears to be a forgery of very modem date. In this, as well as in the works above mentioned, care had been taken that the positions of the planets at the epochs as- sumed, should be made to agree with the times; for A A Digitized by Google 178 TH MODERN ASTRONOMY they discovered, from the circumstances of the Pa- rasara Siddhanta (given in Sec. IIL)> that pretending a book to be ancient would not alone be sufficient, as it would be liable to be detected by the positions of the planets not agreeing with such pretended an- tiquity, but to a more modem period, the time when the work was actually. written; and therefore, in computing the places of the planets for forged epochs of antiquity, they perceived the necessity of computing from some tables the actual .positions for the time. It is not, however, on the mere position of the planets alone that we are to depend ; for these may be so accurately determined for the. time, by computation, as completely to baffle all our attempts in detecting the fraud. We are, therefore, to have - recourse to other means, and to consider every cir^t cumstance that serves to point out the work to be more modern than the period to which imposition has referred it, as we have done with the books above mentioned, which, by means of the cosmical risings of Canopus, are decisively proved to be forge- ries in respect to their dates, epochs, names, &c. ^ The revolutions of the planets given in the spurious Arya Siddhanta, have no affinity whatever with those given in the real Arya Siddhanta: they appear to have been computed from those given in the Surya Siddhanta. The revolutions of the planets given in the Surya Siddhanta, answered when that work was written ; but in process of time, they were found to require corrections, to make them agree with the actual positions of the plsaiets corresponding to the time ; so that about 260 or 300 years ago, it was found necessary to make the following corrections, which the Hindu astronomers call by : — Digitized by Google OF THE HINDUS. 179 Mercvry Venas Man Japiter SatotB Sao Moon — — ApogM Node i r "lO rerdatioM in 4120000 jean, sabtnetiTe from 179S7060 IS ditto 70S2S76 0 2396892 8 S64220 12 additiTe to . . . . 146568 0 4S20000 0 5776S3S6 4 svbtnctiTefrom 48820S 4 ...% additlveto..,, 2S22S8 the revolutions on the right hand of the page, being those given in the Surya Siddhanta, for 4320000 years. The Surya Siddhanta, from wrhat is shown in Section II. appears to have been written about the year A. D. 1091 ; therefore, in framing numbers to answer for a period anterior to A.D. 1091, we would apply the corrections vsrith a contrary sign, thus : the number of revolutions of Venus in 4320000 by the Surya Siddhanta iz 7 022S7 6 ; but this number in modern times (about A.D. 1560), required to be diminished by 12, to render the result correct : con- sequently, in going back from A.D. 1091, the num- ber would require to be increased, instead of dimi- nished; so that, if the distance of time was the same, the number would come out 7022376 + 12 = 7022388, which is the number given in the spurious Arya Siddhanta. Other means, such as European or Mahomedan tables, might have been also used for the more effectual conecting the numbers ; but this explanation is sufficient. The follovnng Table exhibits (he numbers, ac- cording to the Surya Siddhanta and the spurious Arya Siddhanta, with their differences. Surya Siddhanta. Sun, 4320000 Moon, 57753336 — Apogee, 488203 — Node, 232238 Spurious Arya Siddhanta. 4320000 difference 0 57753336 . . 0 488219 . . + 16 232226 . . — 12 Digitized by Google 180 THE MODERN ASTRONOMY Snrya Siddhanta. Spurious &rya Siddbanta. Mercury 17937060 . . 17937020 diff. — 40 Venus, 7022376 . 7022388 . , + 12 Mars, 2296832 . . 2296824 . . — 8 Jupiter, 364220 364224 . . + 4 Saturn, 146568 146564 . , — 4 From this table it will readily appear, by the dif- ferences in the numbers, that the spurious Arya Siddhanta^ is placed several centuries anterior to the Surya Siddhanta^ which work, however, is quoted by the former, as also Brahma Gupta and the Brahnrn Siddhanta. The date given to it is the year 3623 (rf the Kali Yuga, or A.D. 622, which is 16 years before the sideral form now in use was introduced* All these facts, I think, are sufficient, nowithstanding all the care that has been taken to prevent detection, to show it to be a mere modern imposition. The first thing that strikes a person, on looking over this trifling work, is the order in which the planets are named, being the same . as in the Euro- pean or Mahomedan books of astronomy, and con- trary to tlie universal practice of all other Hindu astronomers, who arrange the names of the planets in the same order, as they are expressed by the days of the week ; that is, the sun, moon. Mars, Mercury^ Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. Whereas the writer of this spurious production, names them in the following order: the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn ; or reversing it, by be- ginning with Saturn. From which circumstance I think it may be naturally inferred, that some Euro- pean or Mahomedan tables had been employed in the framing of its numbers, or at least in correcting them, and perhaps by European hands. Indeed, for some years past, many things have appeared, as if Digitized by Google OF THE HINDUS, 181 written by Hindus, in which the assistance at least of Europeans appears conspicuous ; such as the vaccine innoculation. Sir Isaac Newton's method of fluxions, &c. &c.