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and the oldest of all the modem astronomical works now extant. The Brahrna Siddhanta J^huta, is not, however, the only forgery that has been contrived to serve the like purpose ; for it appears that a spurious or inter- polated Brahma Siddhanta is made to quote Aryab- hatta in several places. Now it is to be particularly remarked, that the quotations made are derived from the spurious Arya Siddhanta above given ; and yet the spurious Arya Siddhanta quotes both Brahma Gupta and the Brahma Siddhanta. Here, then, is a downright contradiction, which is to be accounted for by the forger not having the spurious Arya Sid- dhanta in his possession, and therefore could not foresee that it might ultimately detect him. The passages interpolated were to be found in the Sarva- bhauma, or its commentary, and perhaps in other books. Thus we see how Brahma Gupta, a person who lived long before Aryabhatta and Varaha Mihira, is made to quote them, for the purpose of throwing them back into antiquity. Pulisa is also introdiK^ed for the same purpose. — Now what does all this prove? It proves most certainly that the Brahma Siddhanta cited, or at least a part of it, is a complete forgery, probably framed, among many other books, during the last century by a junta of Brahmins, for the purpose of carrying on a regular systematic im- th^t he had it, becaase it was porposelj placed there for him to find, no doabt, by the person who framed it. More need not be said on the sabject ; this is sufficient Digitized by VjOOQ IC ' OF THE HINDUS. 187 position. Under this view of the case, we need not be surprised at agreements in quotations, respecting the Brahma Siddhanta, said to be found in different books ; for these books themselves may have been forged, or interpolated to answer the purpose in- tended. We see a complete combination throughout, and therefore cannot, surely, place any reliince oa assertions or quotations that are expressly contra- dicted by astronomical facts: and therefore, we must consider that Brahma Gupta, was either a mere modem of last century, or else that the books now attributed to hun, are downright forgeries, either in part or the whole. Mere agreement in quotations, nay, allowing the quotations to be just, and to have been actually in the original, will never make a work or works that are spurious genuine also; for it must be well known, that the {uractice of impostors is to interlard their productions with genuine passages^ in order to give strength to the forgeries, and cause deception. The Brahma Siddhanta being shown to be a forgery, at least in part, from the quotations of the names of Varaha Mihira, Aryabhatta, Pulisa, and others (con* tained, as Mr. Colebrooke says, in the eleventh chapter of that work), any reference made to it to support the authenticity of the Brahma Siddhanta Sphuta, cannot alter the fact of that being also a forgery. The passage referred to by Mr. Colebrooke for this purpose is, however, a mere fiction, intended to convey an idea of the extraordinary antiquity of the Hindu modem systems. The passage is this: — *' The computation of the planets taught by Brahma, which had become imperfect by great length of time, is propounded correct (Sphuta) by Brahma Gupta, son of Jishnu." Digitized by VjOOQ IC 188 THE MODERN ASTRONOMY In the first place, it is acknowledged, on the face of the passage, that the computation of the places of the planets taught by Brahma, became imperfect by great length of time (that is, to give an appearance of antiquity to the system). In the second place, it states that Brahma Gupta propounds them as cor- rect. Then who is the person that states them to have become incorrect? It could not be Brahtna Gupta, since he propounds them as correct ; for the passage does not say that he corrected them : con- sequently, since they are stated to be correct in the time of Brahma Gupta, he must be the identical framer of the system, and of the Brahma Siddhanta containing it, under thefictitious name of Brahma, at is more remarkable is, that " the compu- s propounded correct by Brahma Gupta, the ishnu;" which evidently iappears as if spoken :en by another person, and not by Brahma who would naturally say, " is propounded by me." T all these circumstances, the passage is y a forgery, aind was never written by . Gupta : but whether it has any allusion to the Brahma Siddhanta Sphuta, under the colour of the word Sphiita^ I will not pretend to say; but there is no doubt but that is also a forgery, as I have already stated. The following is another passage quoted by Mr. Colebrooke from this Brahma Siddhantay wherein Brahma Gupta is made to say : " I will refute the errors respecting the Yugas, and other matters, of those who, misled by ignorance, maintain things contrary to the Brahma Siddhanta.'' In the former passage, Brahma Gupta is made to speak in the third person, in this in the first person, which is Digitized by Google OF THE HINDUS. 189 rather inconsistent ; but it does not seem that either should be by him. The latter appears as a passage by some person coming forward to support with all his might, a work already written, under the name of the Brahma Siddhanta; so that it could not be supposed to mean the work in which the passage is found, and of course then unfinished. These two passages alone, I think, would be suffic the forgery, without any other assistan are both said to be taken fiom one ai work, which I call the spurious Brahmc Mr. Colebrooke seems to have beei belief, from the forgeries above mentioned, that an- cient works contained improvements not to be found m more modem ones. It is certainly possible, that an earlier writer may have an improvement in his work, not noticed by a later one who has not seen it, and therefore ignorant of the circumstance : but this cannot possibly be the case where a writer quotes another; for then he knows the whole of the work he cites, and cannot be ignorant of the improvement made: consequently, wherever such circumstances appear, they are sure indications of forgery. Thus, in the spurious Brahma Siddhanta, Brahma Gupta is made to quote Aryabhatta, and also a part of his system. The Arya Siddhanta quoted by him is the spurious one, in which the proportion of the diameter of a circle to its circumference is stated at 20000 to 62832. But Brahma Gupta, in his geo- metry, does not give this proportion, but states it as 1 to the square root of 10, or as 1 to 3.16227, which is a proof that Brahma Gupta, the author of the geometry under his name, never saw the spurious Arya Siddhanta, though he is made to quote that Digitized by Google 190 THE MODERN ASTRONOMY work. The spurious Brahma Siddhanta, togetl^r with the spurious Arya Siddhanta, are doubtless the productions of the last century, at farthest ; but the Brahma Siddhanta, in the state in which it is quoted by Mr. Colebrooke, may be even of the present century. I shall now introduce a passage which Mr. Cole- brooke has brought forward, byway of supporting his opinion respecting the positions of the colures. He says: '* The passage in which this author, Brahma Gupta, denies the precession of the colures, as well as the comment of his scholiast on it, being material to the present argmnent, they are here sub- joined in a literal version." * " The very fewest hours of night occur at the end of Mithuna (Gemini), and the seasons are governed by the sun's .motion. Therefore the pair of solstices appears to be stationary y by the evidence of a pair of eyes'' That is to say, according to this passage of Brahma Gupta, the solstices are always fixed to the beginning of Can- cer and Capricorn, which is strictly true,^ and are so now. Brahma Gupta, by this passage, did not say there was no precession in respect of the fixed stars : all that he meant and declared was, that the solstice was fixed to the beginning of Cancer and Capricorn in the moveable sphere, and had no reference what- ever to the sideral sphere, which is fixed, aiKi the signs of which, beginning with the Lunar Asterism As^iniy have no names, Jbut are expressed numeri- cally; consequently there was not the slightest ground for misunderstanding the meaning of Brahma Gupta, or attempting to give it a turn he never in- tended. He further adds : The commentator (Prithudaca Swami) says : '* Wh(3a * Notes and lUastrations, xxxvL Digitized by Google OF THE HINDUS.