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Varāhamihira
Varāhamihira ( 505 – 587), also called Varāha or Mihira, was an ancient Indian astrologer, astronomer, and polymath who lived in Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh, India). He was born at Kapitba in a Brahmin family, in the Avanti region, roughly corresponding to modern-day Malwa (part of Madhya Pradesh, India), to Adityadasa. According to one of his own works, he was educated at Kapitthaka. The Indian tradition believes him to be one of the "Nine Jewels" (Navaratnas) of the court of ruler Yashodharman Vikramaditya of Malwa. However, this claim appears for the first time in a much later text and scholars consider this claim to be doubtful because neither Varahamihira and Vikramaditya lived in the same century nor did Varahamihira live in the same century as some of the other names in the "nine jewels" list such as the much older Kalidasa. Varāhamihira's most notable works were the ''Brihat Samhita'', an encyclopedic, Quote: " ..the new temples and inconography, the science of arch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brihat Jataka
''Brihat Jataka'' or ''Brihat Jatakam'' or ''Brihajjatakam'' (Sanskrit: बृहज्जातकम्), is one of the five principal texts written by Varāhamihira, the other four being ''Panchasiddhantika'', ''Brihat Samhita'', ''Laghu Jataka'' and ''Yogayatra''. It is also one of the five major treatises on Hindu predictive astrology, the other four being ''Saravali'' of Kalyanavarma, ''Sarvartha Chintamani'' of Venkatesh, ''Jataka Parijata'' of Vaidyanatha and ''Phaladeepika'' of Mantreswara. The study of this classic text makes one grasp the fundamentals of astrology. Structure ''Brihat Jataka'' is considered a standard textbook on Vedic astrology, and sometimes described as "India's foremost astrological text". The work covers the wide and complex range of predictive astrology. The brevity employed in its composition is noteworthy. In an article titled "On the Authenticity of the (Modern) Brhat Parasara Hora Sastra" published in the July and August 2009 issues of ''Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Axial Precession
In astronomy, axial precession is a gravity-induced, slow, and continuous change in the orientation of an astronomical body's rotational axis. In the absence of precession, the astronomical body's orbit would show axial parallelism. In particular, axial precession can refer to the gradual shift in the orientation of Earth's axis of rotation in a cycle of approximately 26,000 years.Hohenkerk, C.Y., Yallop, B.D., Smith, C.A., & Sinclair, A.T. "Celestial Reference Systems" in Seidelmann, P.K. (ed.) ''Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac''. Sausalito: University Science Books. p. 99. This is similar to the precession of a spinning top, with the axis tracing out a pair of cones joined at their apices. The term "precession" typically refers only to this largest part of the motion; other changes in the alignment of Earth's axis—nutation and polar motion—are much smaller in magnitude. Earth's precession was historically called the precession of the equinoxes, because ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gupta Period
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Golden Age of India by historians. The ruling dynasty of the empire was founded by the king Sri Gupta; the most notable rulers of the dynasty were Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Skandagupta. The 5th-century CE Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits the Guptas with having conquered about twenty-one kingdoms, both in and outside India, including the kingdoms of Parasikas, the Hunas, the Kambojas, tribes located in the west and east Oxus valleys, the Kinnaras, Kiratas, and others.Raghu Vamsa v 4.60–75 The high points of this period are the great cultural developments which took place primarily during the reigns of Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Kumaragupta I. Many Hindu epics and literary sources, such as Mahabharata and Rama ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paulisa Siddhanta
The Pauliṣa Siddhānta (literally, "The scientific-treatise of Pauliṣa Muni") refers to multiple Indian astronomical treatises, at least one of which is based on a Western source. "'' Siddhānta''" literally means "doctrine" or "tradition". It is often mistakenly thought to be a single work and attributed to Paul of Alexandria (c. 378 CE). However, this notion has been rejected by other scholars in the field, notably by David Pingree who stated that "...the identification of Paulus Alexandrinus with the author of the ''Pauliṣa Siddhānta'' is totally false". Similarly, K. V. Sarma writes that it is from a Greek source, known only as Pauliṣa. The Alberuni wrote that the Siddhanta is based to the teaching of a Greek named Paulus. The earlier Pauliṣa-siddhānta dates from the third or fourth century, and the later Pauliṣa-siddhānta from the eighth century. Similar to the Yavanajātaka ("The Sayings of the Greeks"), the Pauliṣa Siddhānta is an example of Hellenis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hellenistic Astronomy
Greek astronomy is astronomy written in the Greek language in classical antiquity. Greek astronomy is understood to include the Ancient Greek, Hellenistic, Greco-Roman, and Late Antiquity eras. It is not limited geographically to Greece or to ethnic Greeks, as the Greek language had become the language of scholarship throughout the Hellenistic world following the conquests of Alexander. This phase of Greek astronomy is also known as Hellenistic astronomy, while the pre-Hellenistic phase is known as Classical Greek astronomy. During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, much of the Greek and non-Greek astronomers working in the Greek tradition studied at the Museum and the Library of Alexandria in Ptolemaic Egypt. The development of astronomy by the Greek and notably Hellenistic astronomers is considered to be a major phase in the history of astronomy. Greek astronomy is characterized by seeking a geometrical model for celestial phenomena. Most of the names of the stars, planets, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surya Siddhanta
The ''Surya Siddhanta'' (; ) is a Sanskrit treatise in Indian astronomy dated to 505 CE,Menso Folkerts, Craig G. Fraser, Jeremy John Gray, John L. Berggren, Wilbur R. Knorr (2017)Mathematics Encyclopaedia Britannica, Quote: "(...) its Hindu inventors as discoverers of things more ingenious than those of the Greeks. Earlier, in the late 4th or early 5th century, the anonymous Hindu author of an astronomical handbook, the ''Surya Siddhanta'', had tabulated the sine function (...)" in fourteen chapters.Plofkerpp. 71–72 The ''Surya Siddhanta'' describes rules to calculate the motions of various planets and the moon relative to various constellations, diameters of various planets, and calculates the orbits of various astronomical bodies. The text is known from a palm-leaf manuscript, and several newer manuscripts. It was composed or revised c. 800 CE from an earlier text also called the ''Surya Siddhanta''. The ''Surya Siddhanta'' text is composed of verses made up of two lines, each ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Infobox writer may be used to summarize information about a person who is a writer/author (includes screenwriters). If the writer-specific fields here are not needed, consider using the more general ; other infoboxes there can be found in :People and person infobox templates. This template may also be used as a module (or sub-template) of ; see WikiProject Infoboxes/embed for guidance on such usage. Syntax The infobox may be added by pasting the template as shown below into an article. All fields are optional. Any unused parameter names can be left blank or omitted. Parameters Please remove any parameters from an article's infobox that are unlikely to be used. All parameters are optional. Unless otherwise specified, if a parameter has multiple values, they should be comma-separated using the template: : which produces: : , language= If any of the individual values contain commas already, add to use semi-colons as separators: : which produces: : , ps ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vasishtha Siddhanta
Vasishtha Siddhanta is one of the earliest astronomical systems in use in India, which is summarized in Varahamihira's Pancha-Siddhantika (6th century). It is attributed to sage Vasishtha Vasishtha ( sa, वसिष्ठ, IAST: ') is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vashishtha an ... and claims a date of composition of 1,299,101 BCE. The original text probably dated to the 4th century, but it has been lost and our knowledge of it is restricted to Varahamira's account. Alberuni ascribes the work to Vishnuchandra. There is a modern work bearing the title ''Vasishtha Siddhantika''. Albrecht Weber, The History of Indian Literature, p. 258; Romesh Chunder Dutt, A History of Civilization in Ancient India, p. 209 References {{astronomy-stub Hindu astronomy Indian astronomy texts Ancient Indian astronomical worksa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vedanga Jyotisha
Vedanga Jyotisha (), or Jyotishavedanga (), is one of earliest known Indian texts on astrology (''Jyotisha''). The extant text is dated to the final centuries BCE, but it may be based on a tradition reaching back to about 700-600 BCE. The text is foundational to Jyotisha, one of the six Vedanga disciplines. Its author is traditionally named as Lagadha. Textual history The dating of the ''Vedanga Jyotisha'' is relevant for the dating of the Vedic texts. The ''Vedanga Jyotisha'' describes the winter solstice for the period of ca. 1400 BCE. This description has been used to date the ''Vedanga Jyotisha''. According to Michael Witzel, the question is "whether the description as given in the Jyotisha is also the date of the text in which it is transmitted. It is written in two recensions – Rigveda recensions and Yajurveda recensions. Rigveda recensions and Yajurveda recensions have same verses except for eight additional verses in the Yajurveda's one". T. K. S. Sastry and R. Koch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ayanāṃśa
''Ayanamsa'' (: ), also ''ayanabhāga'' (), is the Sanskrit term for many systems used in Hindu astrology to account for the precession of equinoxes.Barbara Pijan, https://barbarapijan.com/bpa/Amsha/Ayanamsha.htm There are also systems of ayanamsa used in Western sidereal astrology, such as the Fagan/Bradley Ayanamsa. Overview There are various systems of Ayanamsa that are in use in Hindu astrology (also known as Vedic astrology) such as the Raman Ayanamsa and the Krishnamurthy Ayanamsa, but the Lahiri Ayanamsa, named after its inventor, astronomer N.C. Lahiri, is by far the most prevalent system in India. Critics of Lahiri Ayanamsa have proposed an ayanamsa called True Chitra Paksha Ayanamsa. There are other existing ayanamsa such as Raman, Pushya Paksha, Rohini, Kërr A.I, Usha Shashi and Chandra Hari. The use of ayanamsa to account for the precession of equinoxes is believed to have been defined in Vedic texts at least 2,500 years before the Greek astronomer Hipparchus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minute And Second Of Arc
A minute of arc, arcminute (arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of one degree. Since one degree is of a turn (or complete rotation), one minute of arc is of a turn. The nautical mile (nmi) was originally defined as the arc length of a minute of latitude on a spherical Earth, so the actual Earth circumference is very near . A minute of arc is of a radian. A second of arc, arcsecond (arcsec), or arc second, denoted by the symbol , is of an arcminute, of a degree, of a turn, and (about ) of a radian. These units originated in Babylonian astronomy as sexagesimal subdivisions of the degree; they are used in fields that involve very small angles, such as astronomy, optometry, ophthalmology, optics, navigation, land surveying, and marksmanship. To express even smaller angles, standard SI prefixes can be employed; the milliarcsecond (mas) and microarcsecond (μas), for instance, are commonly used in astr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equinox
A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and set "due west". This occurs twice each year, around 20 March and 23 September. More precisely, an equinox is traditionally defined as the time when the plane of Earth's equator passes through the geometric center of the Sun's disk. Equivalently, this is the moment when Earth's rotation axis is directly perpendicular to the Sun-Earth line, tilting neither toward nor away from the Sun. In modern times, since the Moon (and to a lesser extent the planets) causes Earth's orbit to vary slightly from a perfect ellipse, the equinox is officially defined by the Sun's more regular ecliptic longitude rather than by its declination. The instants of the equinoxes are currently defined to be when the apparent geocentric longitude of the Sun is 0° a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
