Download Hariprasad comes from well known Jyotish family in Andhrapradesh

Ayana-Amsa
Vedic times to 21st century – an exciting journey
By
Pidaparty Purna Satya
Hariprasad, India
A
Hariprasad
yana-amsa – ‘Ayana’ in Sanskrit
means movement or change in
position however infinitesimally
small it is; ‘Amsa’ means a part or a small
part however infinitesimally small it is.
‘Ayana-amsa’ is used traditionally and
conventionally in Indian Astronomy to
represent ‘movement of ‘Vishuvaths’.
Vishuvath is ‘Equinox’ in English.
Therefore ‘Ayana-amsa’ is ‘Precession of
Equinoxes’ in English.
comes from well known Jyotish family in
Andhrapradesh. Ancient Hindu Astronomy is in his family for the
last 16 generations. His father ‘Daivajna Bhushana’, ‘Ganita
Kalanidhi’ and ‘Bharati Theerthopadhyaya’ late Sri Pidaparty
Krishnamurty Sastry was well known not only in Andhrapradesh
but across India. In 1934 2nd Karnataka Astronomical Conference
was held under the patronage of the then Maharaja of Mysore – on
scientific system of Panchanga calculation and compilation. His
views were accepted and acknowledged by the then President of
the conference Sir Vepa Ramesam, Judge of the Madras High
Court. Hariprasad’s father studied Hindu Astronomy under the
able guidance of Mahamahopadhyaya Muralidhar Jha in
Varanasi in 1920s. His father’s guru was a student of
‘Mahamahopadhyaya’ Sudhakar Dwivedi. Hariprasad’s father
designed and installed a Sundial near Satyanarayana Swamy
temple in Annavaram, East Godavari in 1943. Although
Hariprasad changed over to the English system of education at the
age of 17, he designed and installed another Sundial in Ashram
Public School, Kakinada in A.P. in 2007 and one more near Sri
Venkateswara Swamy Devasthanam in Dwaraka Tirumala near
Eluru A.P. in 2010. He has adequate knowledge and skill not only
to design and install Sundials of many designs but also rectify those
damaged or showing wrong time, for one reason or the other, such
as Samrat Yantra in Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, or Sundial on
Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari or in Mecca Masjid
in Hyderabad etc. Hariprasad is available at email id:
[email protected]
Vishuvaths are points of intersection of
Celestial Equator and Ecliptic. Equator
(Bhu-madhya Rekha), when extended /
enlarged till it intersects with Ecliptic, is
known as ‘Celestial Equator’. Ecliptic is
‘Kranthi Vrutha’ i.e. Orbit of Sun. These
points of intersection are therefore
imaginary, but assumed great significance
in Indian Astronomy.
There are two Vishuvaths – Points of
intersection – one in the North and the
other in the South. One in the North is
known as ‘Vasantha Vishuvath’ or ‘Vernal
Equinox’ and the other in the South is
known as ‘Sarath Vishuvath’ or ‘Autumnal
Equinox’.
See
picture
below.
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Courtesy: www.shiftoftheage.com
These Vishuvaths or Equinoxes keep moving. This movement is known as ‘Precession’.
This topic became a centre of controversy for a variety of reasons and it is still a hot topic for
discussion among the traditional scholars who are concerned about the subject. Eight
questions that confound their minds may be as follows:
 Was the concept of ‘Precession of Equinoxes’ known to ancient Indian Astronomers? If yes, since
when it was known?
 Is the precession due to movement / trepidation of ‘Equator’ or ‘Ecliptic’? What are the
contributory factors for the trepidation?
 What were the rates of precession as estimated or known to different Indian Astronomers from
time to time?
 What is/was the effect of precession on the duration of a year or vice-versa?
 Is the rate of precession per year constant? What were the different rates of precession, as were
known to the community?
 Is the precession or movement of equinoxes circular or pendular?
 When was the ‘zero’ point (of Ayana-amsa) for precession of equinoxes?
 What is the current status? Is it possible to verify the accuracy of the current status?
A serious attempt is made to collect and place in this paper, all the material known to the
author of this paper and known to the author to be available.
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Let us deal with each question in the same serial order.
1. Was the concept of precession of equinoxes known to ancient Indian
Astronomers? If yes, since when was it known?
T
here is enough evidence to show in ancient Indian scriptures that the concept was
known to Indian Astronomers since Vedic times and that Ecliptic was fixed
resulting in no movement. In reality it is the trepidation of the Equator which
results in ‘Precession of Equinoxes’. Gravitational forces acting on the earth’s rotation cause
trepidation of Earth’s axis and therefore Equator.
“Iyanah krishne dasabhih sahasraih avathamindrah”
- 8-96-13 Rigveda
Meaning: Indra (Vishuvath) moves 15 x 10 x 1000 = 150,000 times in one ‘Kalpa’
(4,320,000,000 years). i.e. in one Mahayuga (4,320,000 years) vishuvath revolves 150 times.
‘Kalpa’ is equal to 1000 Mahayugas.
[Many Western Astronomers, such as Whitney, were of the opinion that ‘Kalpa’ and
‘Mahayuga’ was a creation by Indian Astronomers of recent origin, such as Aryabhata, in the
5th and 6th centuries A.D. They were possibly ignorant of this quote from Rigveda.]
“Thrinsath-kruthyo yuge bhaanam chakram praak parilambathe”
- Sloka 9, Thriprasna-adhikara, (3rd adhyaya) – Surya Sidhantha
Meaning: There form 30 x 20 = 600 right angles. i.e. Vishuvath makes a full circle by
moving backwards 150 times in one Mahayuga. The word ‘Praak’ means backwards. This
gives us 28,800 years to complete one revolution. Duration of terrestrial year may thus be
obtained as 365.2422 mean solar days. Duration of sidereal year may be obtained as 365.2564
mean solar days.
In Vedas, accepted and respected interpretations confirm the following synonyms:
‘Vasanta vishuvath’ = ‘Agni’
‘Sarath Vishuvath’ = ‘Indra’
Sun’s entry (Ravi sankramana) into Karkataka (Cancer) = ‘Mitra’,
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Sun’s entry into Makara (Capricorn) = ‘Varuna’.
‘Vishuvath chalanam’ = ‘Agastya chara’
In Vishnupurana, it was stated that Dhruva did penance (Tapas). Lord Vishnu was pleased
and rewarded his penance stating that ‘Saptarishi Mandalam’ would revolve around Dhruva
once every 26,000 years. (Source: ‘Nakshatramulu’ a book by Gobburi Venkata Ananda
Raghava Rao).
The age of Vishnupurana is not known. The story confirms that the movement of
precession of equinoxes is circular and that it takes 26,000 years to complete the cycle. How
close is the number to the scientific estimate today! One can safely conclude that the ancient
Indian Astronomers were well aware of the concept of ‘Precession of Equinoxes’.
2. Is the precession of equinoxes due to trepidation of ‘equator’ or ‘ecliptic’?
O
nce again, there is enough evidence to show in ancient Indian scriptures that the
Ecliptic is fixed resulting in no movement. In reality it is the trepidation of the
Equator which results in ‘Precession of Equinoxes’. Gravitational forces acting on
the earth’s rotation cause the wobbling of Earth’s axis and therefore trepidation of Equator.
Sathapatha Brahmana (2.1.2) reading:
"Ekam dve threeni chatwariti vaa anyaani
nakshatranyathaita eva bhuyishtha yat krittikaa
Etaa ha vai praachyai diso na chyavante
sarvaani ha vaa anyaani nakshatraani
prachyaih disaschyavante"
confirms that there is no movement in the group of stars called Krithika from the East. This
implies that the Ecliptic is not moving and is static. It is therefore the trepidation in
Equator.
Nakshatreshti (an ancient book) confirms that Krithika star is the first star and Bharani star is
the last star.
In Vayupurana and Matsyapurana it was mentioned that Vishuvath Punyakala occurred when
Ravi (Sun) was in Krithika star and Moon was in Visakha star.
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There are other sources such as Mahabharatha referring to Bheeshma’s choice of date for his
death, Garga Mahamuni’s statements, Varahamihira in Brihatsamhitha (in III-1) etc.
It is the trepidation in the Equator but not in the Ecliptic, which is responsible for Ayanaamsa or Precession of Equinoxes.
Then the next question is what are the factors contributing to the trepidation? Some of the
factors attributed to trepidation are:
The Earth is not round.
Inclination of axis of the Earth
Gravitational forces acting on the Earth, the Sun and the Moon
3. What were the different rates of precession of equinoxes estimated by various
Indian astronomers from time to time?
A
nnual precession of Equinoxes was estimated/calculated by different ancient Indian
Astronomers differently at different times. The following are some selected figures
with brief explanations:
60”.0 per year
Ganesh Daivajna in Graha Laghava 1520 A. D.
Satananda in Bhaswathi 1099 A.D.
Though Ganesha’s estimate was 60”, it was actually 58”.10 based on
estimated duration of a year 365.25856 days.
59”.9 per year
Bhaskaracharya II 1108 A. D.
Munjala 932 A.D.
Though Bhaskaracharya II, estimated 59”.9 as given by Munjala,
actually arrived at 57”.55 using duration of a year as 365.25843 days.
57”.615 per year
Chandrasekhar Singh
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54”.00 per year
Surya Sidhantha at least 2,165,111 years old (500 A.D. according to Western
Astronomers). Though it is known to be 54”.00 per year, it works out to be 58”.68 per
year using duration of a year as 365.25875 days.
50”.0 per year
Varahamihira 505 A.D.
50”.2388 per year
Newcomb 1687 A.D.
46”.5 per year
Parasara
46”.3 per year
Aryabhata 476 A.D.
50”.27 per year
Calendar Reform Committee 1955 A.D.
Source: Proceedings of 2nd Karnataka Astronomical Conference, Mysore – 1934
(except the last item)
(It may be noted that Calendar Reforms Committee’s recommendations
are close to Varahamihira and Newcomb.)
4. What is/was the effect of precession of equinoxes on the duration of a year or
vice-versa?
L
et us look at the duration of a year as estimated by various ancient Hindu
Astronomers or in respected texts:
Text
Vedanga Jyotisha
Days
Hours
Minutes
-----
------
365
6
Romaka Sidhantha*
365
Paulisa Sidhantha*
365
Brahmagupta Sidhantha
365
Brahmasphuta Sidhantha
365
Aryabhateeyam
365
Dwiteeya Arya Sidhantha
365
Prathama Arya Sidhantha
365
Surya Sidhantha*
365
6
Paitamaha Sidhantha*
365
V B Ketkar’s Jyotirganitham
365
Calendar Reform Committee
365
5
6
6
6
6
6
6
55.2
12.0
12.148
12.148
12.50
12.508
12.56
12.6
8
6
5
34.28
9.16
48.768
Source for above data with the exception of last two:
Proceedings of 2nd Karnataka Astronomical Conference, Mysore - 1934
Vedanga Jyotisha, whose author is unknown, was transmitted for the benefit of mankind
through Lagadha Mahamuni. (There is a view that it was authored by Lagadha Mahamuni. But
upon close reading “Lagadhasya Mahatmanah” does not give that interpretation). This is the oldest
Hindu Astronomical Text (full text not available – only some portions are available).
Surya Sidhantha is the second oldest text after Vedanga Jyotisha - Author is unknown. It was
gifted for the benefit of mankind through Mayasura by Surya Bhagwan towards the end of Krita
Yuga i.e. at least 2,165,111 years ago - if it was in this Mahayuga. It is not known, in which
Mahayuga it was gifted. We are currently passing through 28th Mahayuga. Duration of
Mahayuga is 4,320,000 years. Western Astronomers dated SURYA SIDHANTHA as not > 1500
years based on information available to them in various sources. [Moral: We only know what
we know. We do not know what we do not know. We refused to believe that something may
exist beyond what we know. “Kupastha Mandukam” – a frog in the well]
*Varahamihira’s Panchasidhanthika is dated 505 A.D. Varahamihira who assembled five
Sidhanthas is 505 A.D. Five Sidhanthas namely Paitamaha, Vasishtha, Romaka, Paulisa and Surya
Sidhantha cannot be dated 505 A.D.
V B Ketkar’s Jyotirganitham is dated 1937 A.D.
Calendar Reform Committee’s report is dated 1955 A.D.
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What is this ‘duration of the year’? This is the time taken by the Sun to travel from the time it
leaves one Vishuvath, say Vasantha Vishuvath or Vernal Equinox, to the time it reaches the
same Vishuvath or Equinox located at a slightly different location due to precession. This is
known as ‘'Terrestrial year’ or ‘Savana year’. Presently it is estimated at 365.242199 days or 365
days, 5 hours, 48 minutes 45.9936 seconds.
Equinox moves in a direction opposite to the direction of Sun’s movement on the Ecliptic.
Therefore, Rate of annual precession of equinoxes and the duration of the year are inversely
proportional to each other.
5. Is the rate of precession per year constant? What were the rates of precession
known to the community?
A
nnual Rate of Precession is not constant year after year. Changes noticed by
modern scientists are as given below:
50”.279 per year
50”.256 per year
49”.835 per year
49”.391 per year
in 2000 A.D.
in 1900 A.D.
in 0000 A.D.
in 2000 B.C.
Source: Report of the Calendar Reform Committee
6. Is the precession or movement of equinoxes circular or pendular?
T
here is a belief that the movement is pendular. The movement is believed to be
within a range of 54⁰ i.e. 27⁰ on either side. This is based on four verses 9, 10, 11 and
12 in Triprasna Adhikara in Suryasidhantha reproduced below:
Verse 9:
Trimsath kruthyo yugo bhanam chakrath prak parilambathe,
Thatgunath bhudenairbhakthath dyuganath yadavapyathe
Verse 10: Thaddostrighnadasasthamsaa vijne ayanabhidhah,
Thathsanskruthath grahath kranthi chayacharadaladikam
Verse 11: Sphutam driktulyatham gacheth ayane vishuvathdwaye
Prak chakram chlritham heene chayarkath karanagathe
Verse 12: Antharaamsairadhavruthya paschath seshaih thathadhike
Evam vishuvathee chaya swadeshi ya dinardhaja
Dakshinothara rekhayam sa thatra vishuvath prabha
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Asiatic Society, Calcutta (Kolkata) published a book “Suryasidhantha” in English by A. K.
Chakravarty. It is supposed to be a Research Publication. In pages 113, 114 and 115 he
commented on this topic as follows:
“…. The language is cryptic, the principle is contradictory to the text itself and the results
obtained are erroneous. These errors could be easily detected by gnomon shadow. It is now
believed that these verses were interpolated in the text in a later period. Such interpolations
are not uncommon…….”
Sathapatha Brahmanam (2.1.2) quoted earlier in response to Question 2 also supports the
contention that movement is circular and not pendular. “Group of stars under the title
“Krithika” are always on the East and are close to the Ecliptic. In times of Sathapatha
Brahmana this group of stars was close to 0⁰ Latitude. Principal star in the Krithika group is
36⁰ away from the beginning of Ashwini group of stars. If the movement is pendular, this
cannot happen.” Says Dr S Madhavan, Astronomer from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala,
India.
The difference between the durations of Driksidha ‘Nirayana’ sidereal year (per modern
observations) and sidhanteeya ‘Nirayana’ solar year (per SURYA SIDHANTHA) gives us
a difference of arc 8”.5. This difference gets added to annual precession every year. (Please
see the comment below 54”.0 annual precession). That means 50”.27 + 8”.5 = 58”.77 which is
not in conformity with visible reality.
Surya Sidhantha contains ‘Bhaganas’. Bhaganas and Julian days are the same. These
Bhaganas give us the annual precession at 54”. Therefore these Bhaganas are incorrect and
the validity of 54” is questionable.
7. When was the zero point (of ayanaamsa) for precession of equinoxes?
Some of the guestimates are given below:
388 B.C. - Cheiro
317 B.C. - D Davidson
255 B.C. - G Massey
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125 B.C. - Thierens
213 A.D. - C Fagan
285 A.D. - N. C. Lahiri/Calendar Reform Committee
291 A.D. - K P Krishnamurty
490 A.D. - Bhaskaracharya II
498 A.D. - Sepharial
499 A.D. Suryasidhantha, Brahmasidhantha, Somasidhantha, Laghu Vasisthasidhantha,
Vridha vasisthasidhantha, Ganakananda, Thatvaviveka
505 A.D. - Varahamihira
There is no basis to confirm that any one of them is correct or wrong. They are based on the
estimate of annual precession of equinoxes by respective Astronomers. They can at best be
their best guess, because annual precession of equinoxes was not constant in the past and
therefore, by logic, in the future as well. It is futile to dwell on this issue. It is not of great
consequence.
8. What is the current status? Is it possible to verify the accuracy of current
status?
A
s on 1st April 2012, cumulative Precession of Equinoxes was 24⁰ 01’ 57” as given by
Positional Astronomy Centre at Kolkata. The Centre is now continuing the
traditions established by Calendar Reform Committee. Annual Precession, as
determined by this Institution is 50”.27.
I believe it is possible to verify and establish the accuracy through the Satellites and NASA.
Conclusions:
1. Ancient Indian Astronomers were well aware of the Precession of Equinoxes.
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2. Precession is caused by trepidation of Equator and not of Ecliptic. The trepidation is
mainly due to gravitational forces acting on the Earth.
3. Annual rate of precession is not constant. Therefore it is possible only to guess, and not
accurately determine, date of ‘Zero’ Ayana-Amsa.
4. Precession of Equinoxes is Circular and only Circular.
5. Until it is proved otherwise, cumulative precession as on 1st April 2012 is 24⁰ 01’ 57” and
annual rate of precession is 50”.27. They are in conformity with Newcomb, Varahamihira
and Calendar Reform Committee.
References and acknowledgements:
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Rig-veda
Vedanga Jyotisham
Surya Sidhantha
Surya Sidhantha – Asiatic Society, Kolkata
Vishnupurana
Nakshatramulu
Sathapatha Brahmana
Nakshatreshti
Vayupurana
Matsyapurana
Mahabharatha
Brihat-samhitha – Varahamihira
Proceedings of 2nd Karnataka Astronomical Conference – 1934
Report of Calendar Reform Committee
V B Ketkar’s Jyotirganitham
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