Varhamihira (Devanagari: Varaha or Mihira, was

) (505587), also called

an Indian astronomer, mathematician,

and astrologer who lived in Ujjain. He is considered to be one of the nine jewels (Navaratnas) of the court of legendary ruler Vikramaditya (thought to be the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II Vikramaditya)

How Varaha Mihira got his name "Varaha.":

Mihira was a Brahmana, the son of Aditya Dasa, from the region of Avanti, near present day Ujjain, in Western India. He was instructed in astrology by his father and was a devout worshipper of Surya Narayana, that is, Krsna who manifests as the Sun. By performing severe austerities to please Surya Narayana, Mihira got blessed with knowledge of ganita, hora, and samhita. In Eastern India( especially in Bengal and Orissa) folk-tales present him as the husband of Khana, an outstanding female exponent of Hindu astrology whose aphoristic sayings (Vachanas) are widely prevalent among rural people even today. Mihira was one of the Nine Gems, navaratna, in the court of the great king, Vikramaditya of Ujjain. He was greatly honored by the king for his vast learning and correct predictions. Once, after the birth of the King's son Mihira was asked to make predictions about the prince's future. Going into meditation after studying the chart Mihira "observed that a serious and irremediable danger beset the path of the longevity of the royal child and that he would be killed by a varaha, or boar, on a particular day in a certain month of his 18th year and no human remedies could save the prince from the jaws of death." Having learnt of this danger to his son from his most reliable of court astrologers, Vikramaditya consulted with Bhatti, his Chief Minister. It was decided that a special palace would be constructed with stupendous walls 80 feet high. Ten thousand elite troops would patrol both inside and outside the property as well as in the palace. Such careful watch was taken of

the palace that not even a cat or rat could enter the compound what to speak of a wild boar. Every precaution was taken and the prince was under constant guard and practically under house arrest, he was not allowed to leave his compound for any reason. In fact he was ensconced on the seventh floor and not allowed to go to a lower floor. The precautions were so thorough that they boasted that the prince may die but certainly not by the agency of a varaha. After such security measures were put into place Mihira was asked if he would like to reconsider his former prediction. He emphatically stated that there was nothing that could save the boy. As the date grew near he was again asked to reconsider, and again gave the same reply. Tension began to mount, not so much for the sake of the boy but for the reputation of Mihira. His detractors thought that Mihiras reputation exceeded his ability, and though the boy might die, the possibility of it be caused by a boar was so remote that Mihira would be publicly disgraced. Even his friends, who had implicit faith in him and knew of his great abilities, had doubts as to how his prediction would be successful, because it was impossible for even a rat to move about undetected in that palace. On the fateful day Vikramaditya held court. Reports were brought to him every hour on the safety and health of the Prince, now 18 years old. All the chief pandits were assembled as well as the navaratnas, the nine greatly learned men, of the King's court. The whole city was waiting for the result of Mihira's prediction. Would it come true or not? The time of death had been fixed at 5:00 PM in the afternoon. The King, though a great admirer of Mihira, was beginning to doubt Mihira's abilities. With a condescending smile he addressed Mihira, did he still want to maintain his previous prediction that the boy should be killed by a wild boar this afternoon. Did any new calculation possibly change his mind, would the child just die, this was possible, but death by a wild boar would be impossible. The King suggested that Mihira gracefully back down from his former stance, without losing face. The King vowed that if the impossible happened he would give Mihira the highest honour and bestow on him the golden and be-jewelled Royal

ensign or emblem, the Varaha, wild boar, that was currently on his crown and transfer it to Mihira's head-dress and that for posterity he would henceforth be given the title Varaha Mihira. Everyone applauded the King. All eyes focused on Mihira. He rose and gave a speech in which he deprecated his own learning, that unfortunately no great rishis such as Vasishta were present to reverse the karma of the Prince. He took a vow that if his prediction failed he would never practice astrology again, he would never enter the court of the king, and indeed, would leave Ujjain altogether and go deep into the forest to practice tapasya, austerities, till his last day. But Mihira stated that indeed the death would come true as predicted, there could be no thwarting of fate and the Prince would be killed by a boar. He then calmly sat down. In the afternoon at 2:00 PM the King again convened his court. Senior military commanders came every half hour with news of the Prince. He was hale and hearty. Everything was going smoothly. The King had given orders that the guard be on the highest alert and was confident that no harm could befall his son. But Mihiracarya was totally calm, how could this be so, in only a few hours his prediction would be proven wrong, yet he was still placid. Time went on, a half hour after the appointed time of death a guard reported that there was no disturbance in the Prince's palace. Mihira calmly told the King that the boy had already died at the appointed time and they should go see for themselves. Just then another guard came to report that all was still peaceful in the palace. On the way to the palace other guards confirmed that all was quite and calm at the palace. It was now about 6:00 PM and the King told Mihira that his prediction must have been wrong because nothing at all wrong had been reported, he couldn't believe that his officers were liars. Mihira replied: "Victorious Monarch! the prince has died at the hour, minute, and second, I have named and none of your watchmen has noticed it. It is a sad event no doubt but it has happened and your son is lying

dead in a pool of blood, unnoticed by his watchmen and personal companions, and you will see the truth of my prediction. Let us go and examine. On entering the palace they noticed on every floor that peace and calm prevailed. On the 7th floor they found a dozen or so of the Prince's friends engaged in assorted games such as chess. When the Emperor made inquiries about the Prince, they all replied that he had been playing with them a little while ago and that he was quite hale and hearty and that he had just gone out to take some air on the open terrace of the 7th floor. Mihira said: "The Prince must be lying dead in a pool of blood caused by the injuries of a boar, and if you go to the terrace you will be shocked to find him dead as predicted by me. This wonderful prediction is not mine. My knowledge is too humble and too limited to make such inconceivable and surprising predictions. I have made all my predictions under the guidance of Surya Narayana. Could such predictions inspired under His grace ever fail?" They all went to the terrace and saw with horror and sorrow the Prince lying dead on a cot in pool of blood. He was disfigured by the iron hooves of the artificial boar-the Royal Emblem-that was attached to the flag staff. Everyone was thrown into simultaneous gloom and ecstasy by the successful prediction. Vikramaditya awarded Mihira with the Royal Emblem and he was hence forth called Varaha Mihira. The Prince's death had transpired in the following way. At about 4:00 PM, the Prince, who had been playing with his friends, began to feel a sort of oppression in his chest and giving over his cards to a nearby friend asked him to play in his place. He then rose without complaint and went out to the terrace. A tall flag staff, emblem of Royalty, rose high in the air, it had an artificial boar attached to its top. As this emblem of royalty was affixed to all important turrets and towers of all the Emperor's palaces no one took any notice of them. Near the flag staff was a cot with soft cushions for the Prince to take rest whenever he

felt fatigued. The Prince feeling tired while playing games with his friends came to lay down in the cool air. At 5:00 PM precisely, a very strong gust of wind knocked loose the iron boar. This fell down onto the Prince who was lying on his back. The hooves struck severely against his breast and stomach and the tusks struck his head and mouth. The Prince lost copious amounts of blood and died immediately. The mattress on the cot absorbed the sound of the crash so no one heard it fall. And as the Prince would often go to the terrace, and as the game was very absorbing, no one noticed the Prince's absence.

When did he Live:

In the Panchasiddhantika there occurs the following sloka:

Meaning: Sapta seven, vi two, Veda four (makes 427), S sakhyaReckoning or counting from , kaklam Saka era, Apasya Having left , completed, caitra caitra month, ukla the Briogth or light half of the lunar month, di Beginning , primordial, arddh - half, stama setting, bhnau sun, yavanapur - the city of Yavanapuri, SaumyaBuddha the planet mercury, Divasa - day

Deduct the number of years 427 of the Saka era elapsed, (i.e. deduct 427 from the number of years in Saka era,for which we are calculating the Ahargana the ahargana is analogous to the Julian day count at the beginning of the bright half of Chaitra , when the sun has half set at Yavanapuri at the beginning of Wednesday. This means that Varaha Mihira compiled the Panchasiddhantika in the 427th Year of the Saka

Kala .This leaves us the task of deciphering thebeginnning of the Saka era. However , loosely speaking there are 3 Saka eras which were in use during that time The Sakanripa Kala year of King Kurash II(Cyrus) son of Kambujia (Cambyses) of the Aryamanush or HaxaManish dynasty of Parasikam (Persia) The Vikram saka year (57 BCE) The Salivahana Saka year (78 CE) In order to deduce this we need to refer to the other work that he wrote , the Brihat Samhita, 3rd sloka of the 13th Adhyaya (Chapter)

The Seven sages (Ursa Major the Great Bear) were stationed in the Asterism Magha, when King Yudhistira was ruling the earth. The commencement of the Saka era took place 2526 years after the regnal period of that monarch. We know that Yudhistira of the Pancha Pandava won the Mahabharata war during (3102 +_ 36) and then ruled for 36 years up too 3102 BCE. Twenty five years after Kaliyuga began, when, Yudhistira left the world in 3076 BCE. (the starting year of the Saptarishi calendar or the Laukika or Kashmirabdham) the Saptarishi Mandalam was in the Magha constellation, as per the astronomical data, and Varahamihira states that the Saka era he is referring to started 2526 years after this, which puts us at 550 BCE. So the Saka era he was talking about must have been The Sakanripa kala of King Kuru (Kurush) of Persia. So now we are ready to determine the date that Varaha was talking about as being 550-427 = 123 BCE. The Sakanripa kala didnt find much usage after the Persians lost control of the territories they had gained during the reign of Kurush. This sloka from the Brihat Samhita is mentioned also in Kalhanas Rajatarangini. The Rajatarangini was written in 1148 CE, This quote occurs in the 56th sloka of the 1st Taranga. The confusion regarding the different Saka eras was created by the British, by their hopeless mangling of the chronology starting with the Misinterpretation of the Greek where they concluded that Megasthenes was the synchronism29

ambassador to the court of King Chandragupta Maurya, whereas he was most likely an ambassador to the court of the Gupta empire According to the British chronology, According to their chronology, the Vikram Saka is named after a King who was not yet born.

Works of Varaha Mihira:

Major Works: Panchasiddhantika Brihajjataka Yatra Yogayatra Vivahapatala Brihat Samhita Minor Works: Horapanchahotrya Panchapakshi Bahvascharyajataka Bahuchodya Vatakanika Prashnamahadadhi Prashnachandrika Daivajnavallabha Yavanajataka Angachudamani Jatakarnavasangraha or Chayadhikara Satpanchasika Shringaratarangini Panchasiddhantika is a compendium of the basic principles of the five schools of astronomy. Brihajjataka, also known as Varahahorashastra or Varahamihirahorashastra, is an authoritative manual on productive astrology. An abridged version of Brihajjataka, called Laghujataka, is also available.

Yatra, in two versions, deals the auspicious timing for undertaking a successful journey. The complete text is known as Brihadyatra, Mahayatra or Yakshyesvamed - huya Yatra. It is augments with rich, ornate poetry and presents valuable information about cultural conditions in ancient India. Vivahapatala deals with astrological considerations for selecting a successful couple as well as determining the auspicious time for marriage. It has been commented upon by Utpala. It has two recensions, Brihadvivahapatala and Laghu Vivahapatala. Brihat samhita also known as Varaha samhita, is his magnum opus in 106 chapters, and has two versions. In Brihat Samhita varahamihira shows himself as a master of learning of his day in wide fields of knowledge, and thoroughly skilled in language and metre, not at times without a real touch of poetic ability. The minor works are also of considerable significance. For Example, Horapanchahotrya deals with astrological consideration for architectural undertakings; Panchapakshi is a manual for divination; Bahvascharyajataka is a digest of Greek astrology; Prashnachudamani is a treatise on divination; Angachudamani deals with physiognomy; Jatakarnavasangraha is a compendium for drawing the horoscope of a new-born baby.

Pancha-siddhantika:
The Panchasiddhantika is a summarisation of five siddantic texts that were known to varahamihira. These are

Surya Siddhanta, Romaka Siddhanta, Paulisa Siddhanta, Vasishtha Siddhanta, Paitamaha Siddhantas.

Of these five, according to varahamihira himself, the last two give unreliable results the second and the third are not so incorrect and the first one is best among them.

Surya Siddhanta:
The Surya Siddhanta is a Siddhanta treatise of Indian astronomy whose authorship is disputed. Varahamihira in his Panchasiddhantika contrasts it with four other treatises, besides the Paitamaha Siddhantas (which is more similar to the "classical" VedangaJyotisha), the Romaka Siddhantas (directly based on Hellenistic astronomy) and the Vasishta Siddhanta. Citation of the Surya Siddhanta is also found in the works of Aryabhata. The work referred to by the title Surya Siddhanta has been repeatedly recast. There may have been an early work under that title dating back to the Buddhist Age of India (3rd century BC). The work as preserved and edited by Burgess (1858) dates to the Middle Ages. Utpala, a 10th century commentator of Varahamihira, quotes six shlokas of the Surya Siddhanta of his day, not one of which is to be found in the text now known as the Surya Siddhanta. The present Surya Siddhanta may nevertheless be considered a direct descendant of the text available to Varahamihira. It has rules laid down to determine the true motions of the luminaries, which conform to their actual positions in the sky. It gives the locations of several stars other than the lunar nakshatras and treats the calculation of solar eclipses. as well as solstices eg.summer solstice 21/06 The table of contents in this text are: 1. The Motions of the Planets 2. The Places of the Planets 3. Direction, Place and Time 4. The Moon and Eclipses 5. The Sun and Eclipses

6. The Projection of Eclipses 7. Planetary Conjunctions 8. Of the Stars 9. Risings and Settings 10. The Moon's Risings and Settings 11. Certain Malignant Aspects of the Sun and Moon 12. Cosmogony, Geography, and Dimensions of the Creation 13. The Gnomon 14. The Movement of the Heavens and Human Activity Methods for accurately calculating the shadow cast by a gnomon are discussed in both Chapters 3 and 13.

Time Cycles:
The astronomical time cycles contained in the text were remarkably accurate at the time. The Hindu Time Cycles , copied from an earlier work, are described in verses 1123 of Chapter 1 : 11. That which begins with respirations (prana) is called real.... Six respirations make a vinadi, sixty of these a nadi; 12. And sixty nadis make a sidereal day and night. Of thirty of these sidereal days is composed a month; a civil (savana) month consists of as many sunrises; 13. A lunar month, of as many lunar days (tithi); a solar (saura) month is determined by the entrance of the sun into a sign of the zodiac; twelve months make a year. This is called a day of the gods. 14. The day and night of the gods and of the demons are mutually opposed to one another. Six times sixty of them are a year of the gods, and likewise of the demons. 15. Twelve thousand of these divine years are denominated a caturyuga; of ten thousand times four hundred and thirty-two solar years

16. Is composed that caturyuga, with its dawn and twilight. The difference of the krtayuga and the other yugas, as measured by the difference in the number of the feet of Virtue in each, is as follows: 17. The tenth part of a caturyuga, multiplied successively by four, three, two, and one, gives the length of the krta and the other yugas: the sixth part of each belongs to its dawn and twilight. 18. One and seventy caturyugas make a manu; at its end is a twilight which has the number of years of a krtayuga, and which is a deluge. 19. In a kalpa are reckoned fourteen manus with their respective twilights; at the commencement of the kalpa is a fifteenth dawn, having the length of a krtayuga. 20. The kalpa, thus composed of a thousand caturyugas, and which brings about the destruction of all that exists, is a day of Brahma; his night is of the same length. 21. His extreme age is a hundred, according to this valuation of a day and a night. The half of his life is past; of the remainder, this is the first kalpa. 22. And of this kalpa, six manus are past, with their respective twilights; and of the Manu son of Vivasvant, twenty-seven caturyugas are past; 23. Of the present, the twenty-eighth, caturyuga, this krtayuga is past.... When computed, this astronomical time cycle would give the following results:

The average length of the tropical year as 365.2421756 days, which is only 1.4 seconds shorter than the modern value of 365.2421904 days (J2000). This estimate remained the most accurate approximation for the length of the tropical year anywhere in the world for at least another six centuries, until Muslim mathematician Omar Khayyam gave a better approximation, though it still remains more accurate than the value given by the modern Gregorian calendar currently in use around the world, which gives the average length of the year as 365.2425 days.

The average length of the sidereal year, the actual length of the Earth's revolution around the Sun, as 365.2563627 days, which is virtually the same as the modern value of 365.25636305 days (J2000). This remained the most accurate estimate for the length of the sidereal year anywhere in the world for over a thousand years.

The actual astronomical value stated for the sidereal year however, is not as accurate. The length of the sidereal year is stated to be 365.258756 days, which is longer than the modern value by 3 minutes 27 seconds. This is due to the text using a different method for actual astronomical computation, rather than the Hindu cosmological time cycles copied from an earlier text, probably because the author didn't understand how to compute the complex time cycles. The author instead employed a mean motion for the Sun and a constant of precession inferior to that used in the Hindu cosmological time cycles.

Planetary diameters:
The Surya Siddhanta also estimates the diameters of the planets. The estimate for the diameter of Mercury is 3,008 miles, an error of less than 1% from the currently accepted diameter of 3,032 miles. It also estimates the diameter of Saturn as 73,882 miles, which again has an error of less than 1% from the currently accepted diameter of 74,580. Its estimate for the diameter of Mars is 3,772 miles, which has an error within 11% of the currently accepted diameter of 4,218 miles. It also estimated the diameter of Venus as 4,011 miles and Jupiter as 41,624 miles, which are roughly half the currently accepted values, 7,523 miles and 88,748 miles, respectively.

Trigonometry:
The Surya Siddhanta contains the roots of modern trigonometry. It uses sine (jya), cosine (kojya or "perpendicular sine") and inverse sine (otkram jya) for the first time, and also contains the earliest use of

the tangent and secant when discussing the shadow cast by a gnomon in verses 2122 of Chapter 3: Of [the sun's meridian zenith distance] find the jya ("base sine")

and kojya (cosine or "perpendicular sine"). If then the jya and radius be multiplied respectively by the measure of the gnomon in digits, and divided by the kojya, the results are the shadow and hypotenuse at mid-day. In modern notation, this gives the shadow of the gnomon at mid-day as

and

the

hypotenuse

of

the

gnomon

at

mid-day

as

where

is the measure of the gnomon,

is the radius of the gnomon, is the

shadow of the gnomon, and

is the hypotenuse of the gnomon.

Calendrical uses:
The Indian solar and lunisolar calendars are widely used, with their local variations, in different parts of India. They are important in predicting the dates for the celebration of various festivals, performance of various rites as well as on all astronomical matters. The modern Indian solar and lunisolar calendars are based on close approximations to the true times of the Suns entrance into the various rasis. Conservative "panchang" (almanac) makers still use the formulae and equations found in the Surya Siddhanta to compile and compute their panchangs. The panchang is an annual publication published in all regions and languages in India containing all calendrical information on religious, cultural and astronomical events. It exerts great influence on the religious and social life of the people in India and is found in most Hindu households.

Romaka Siddhanta:
The Romaka Siddhanta (literally "Doctrine of the Romans") is an Indian astronomical treatise, based on the works of the ancient Romans.[1] "Siddhanta" literally means "Doctrine" or "Tradition". It follows the Yavanajataka ("Saying of the Greek") as an example of the transmission of Western astronomical knowledge (especially the Alexandrian school) to India during the first centuries of our era. The Romaka Siddhanta was particularly influential on the work of the Indian astronomer Varahamihira. It is the only one of all Indian astronomical works which is based on the tropical system. It was considered as one of "The Five Astronomical Canons" in Indian in the 5th century.

Paulisa Siddhanta:
The Paulisa Siddhanta (literally, "Doctrine of Paul") is an Indian astronomical treatise, based on the works of the Western scholar Paul of Alexandria (c. 378 CE).[1] "Siddhanta" literally means "Doctrine" or "Tradition". It follows the Yavanajataka ("Saying of the Greek") as an example of the transmission of Western astronomical knowledge (especially the Alexandrian school) to India during the first centuries of our era. The Paulisa Siddhanta was particularly influential on the work of the Indian astronomer Varahamihira. It was considered as one of "The Five Astronomical Canons" in India in the 5th century.

Vasishta Siddhanta:
Vasishtha Siddhanta is one of the earliest astronomical systems in use in India, which is summarized in Varahamiras Pancha-Siddhantika (6th century). It is attributed to sage Vasishtha and claims a date of composition of 1,299,101 BCE.[1] 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.

Paitamaha Siddhanta:
Paitamaha Siddhanta is one of the earliest astronomical systems in use in India, which is summarized in Varahamihiras Pancha-Siddhantika. It is the precursor to Aryabhatas astronomy, for it is so acknowledged by Aryabhata at the end of his Aryabhatiya.

Brihat Samhita:
Brihat-Samhita. Brihat-Samhita is a 6th century Sanskrit encyclopedia by Varahamihira of including astrology, wide ranging subjects of human rainfall, interest, clouds, planetary movements, eclipses,

architecture, growth of crops, manufacture of perfume, matrimony, domestic relations, gems, pearls, and rituals. The volume expounds on gemstone evaluation criterion found in the Garuda Purana, and elaborates on the sacred Nine Pearls from the same text. It contains 106 chapters and is known as the "great compilation". The importance of Brihatsamhita lies in the classification of the different types of comets/meteors etc and also in the metereological observations. It throws light on some ancient practices like watching the migratory birds for coming of the monsoons which brings the ships and the bounty and also the rainy season and fertility of soil. India being an agricultural economy and economy based on trades through sea routes (via the trade winds) depended upon such observations for her yearly planning .

Brihat Jataka:
1. May the Sun give us speech, who by his light illumines the Moon,(#) who is the path of those who have no rebirth, who is the Atma of those who know the Atma, who is the Deva worshipped in sacrificial rites, who is the Lord of the Devas and of the Lights of the sky, who is the Author of the origin, growth and annihilation of the worlds, who is sung in the Vedas in various ways, who is possessed of many rays and who forms the Lamp of the three worlds.

"The rays of the Sun falling on the watery Moon remove the darkness of the night (on Earth) just in the same way as light reflected from a mirror (placed in the Sun) removes the darkness (from) within a room." And in the Vedas we find the Moon briefly defined as follows:

2. According to some, the word 'hora' is a corruption of the word 'Ahoratri', the first and last letters (syllables) being dropped. The science (of horoscopy) treats of the effect of the good and bad deeds (karma) of men in their previous births. 3. The (twelve) signs of the Zodiac, commencing with the first point of aries and of Aswani, and consisting, each, of nine stellar quarters and forming a circle, are respectively the head, face, breast, heart, belly, navel, abdomen, genital organ, two thigs, two knees, two ankles and the two feet of Kalapurusha. (The terms) Rasi, Kshetra, Graha, Riksha, Bhavana, are synonymous terms.

4. Sign Pisces is of the shape of two fish; sign Aquarius is of the shape of a man with a (water) pot; sign Gemini is of the shape of a man and woman, (the former) with a stick and (the latter) with a lyre, both seated in one seat; sign Sagittari is of the shape of a man who in his lower parts is a horse; sign Capricorn is of the shape of a crocodile with the face of a deer; sign Libra is of the shape of a person with scales (in his hand) ; and sign Virgo is of the shape of a virgin in a boat with crops (in one hand) and a light (in the other). The other signs resemble in shape the different creatures denoted by their names. The dwelling places of several signs are places appropriate to several creatures. 5. Mars, Venus, Mercury, the Moon, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Saturn and Jupiter are respectively the lords of the Signs, and of the Navamsas and the Dwadasamsas; and the several signs (of the Zodiac beginning from Aries) commence respectively with the Navamsas of mesha, Makara, Tula and Kataka Mars is the lord of Mesha and Vrischika. Venus is the lord of Vrishabha and Tula, Mercury is the lord of Mithuna and Kanya. Jupiter is the lord of Meeua and Dhanus. Saturn is the lord of Kumbha and Makara. The Moon is the lord of Kataka, and the Sun is the lord of Simlia.

The signs Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Sagittari and Capricorn are known as the night signs; with the exception of Gemini, they rise with their feet. The other signs rise with their heads (c) and are powerful by day , The two fish rise by both (head and foot).

WESTERN INFLUENCES
It is a facile assumption that Occidentalists make based on phonetic similarity to the words Rome and Paul that the Romaka Siddhanta should be translated as the "Doctrine of the Romans" and the Pulisa Siddhanta should be regarded as the "Doctrine of Paul" . But the Pulisa Siddhanta looks a lot like another Siddhanta of Indian origin and talk about Yugas and timescales that are nowhere else to be seen in any Greek document of that vintage. Furthermore the author of the Romaka Siddhanta is frequently mentioned as one Srisena. It is assumed that his work is based on Roman rather than Greek sources. But there is no valid reason for doing so since there is no evidence that the Romans had anything to teach the Indians . A remark in the Brihat-Samhita by Varahamihira says: "The Greeks, though impure, must be honored since they were trained in sciences and therein, excelled others....." ("mleccha hi yavanah tesu samyak shastram kdamsthitam/ rsivat te 'p i pujyante kim punar daivavid dvijah" (Brihat-Samhita 2.15)).But it is a definite leap in faith to assume he was equating Yavanas with Greeks, There are sufficient reasons as we have said already to assume that Varahamihira was not referring to Greeks when he was talking about Yavanas.

VARAHAMIHIRAS QUOTES ON ASTRONOMY

Varahamihira mentions various aspects of astronomy, that an astronomer should have command of , in order to qualify as an astronomer. He must know the divisions of the heavens and the skies and of time , in ages, years, half years, seasons, months, , half months. He must know there are 4 kinds of months, solar , civil, sidereal, and lunar, and how it happens that there are added months and subtractive days. He must be able to explain in what respect the reckoning after solar time shows similarity or difference compared with lunar, sidereal and civil reckoning of time and to what use each of these is adopted or not. And when there is a discrepancy between the siddhantas, he must be able to prove experimentally, by means of the agreement between the shadow and the clepsydra, between observation and calculation, at what moment the sun has reached the soisticial point, at how many ghaiikas the sun enters the prime vertical. He must know the cause of the swift and slow motion, the northern and southern course and the moving mean epicycle of the sun and other planets. He must tell the moment of commencement and separation, the direction, measure, duration, amount of obscuration, colour and place of the eclipses of the sun and moon, also the future conjunctions and hostile encounters of the nine planets. He must be skilful in ascertaining the distance of each planet from the earth expressed in yojanas; further the dimensions of their orbits and the distance of the places on earth in yojanas. He ought to be clever in geometrical operations and in the calculation of time in order to determine the form of earth, the cycle of the circuit of the asterisms etc., the depression of the pole, the diameter of the day, circle, the ascensional differences in time, the rising of the signs, the gharikas corresponding to the shadow of the gnomon and such like processes. All things which are perceived by the senses are witness in favor of the globular shape of the earth, and refute the possibility of its having another shape

Regarding the positions of the objects on the surface of the earth and its natural attractive power, he said, Mountains rivers, trees, cities, men and angels, all are around the globe of the earth. And if Yamakoti and Rum (cities) are opposite to each other, one could not say, one is low in relation to the other, since the low does not exist. How could one say of one place of the earth that it is low, as it is in every particular identical with another place on earth and one place could as little fall as any other. Everyone speaks of himself with regard to his own self. I am above and the others are below, whilst all of them are around the globe like the blossoms springing on the branches of a Kadamba tree. They encircle it on all sides, but each individual blossom has the same position as the other, neither the one hanging downward, nor the other standing upright. For the earth attracts that which is upon her; as it is the below towards all directions and heaven is the above towards all directions. Varahamihira, however, regarded the earth as an immovable sphere fixed at the centre of the universe, around which the sun, the moon, and other planets revolved. If the earth had motion, he wrote, A bird would not return to its nest as soon as it had flown away from it towards west. In later times, Alberuni expressed his opinion of Varahamihira as follows: Varahamihira seems sometimes to side with the Brahmanas to whom he belonged and from whom he could not separate himself. On the whole, his foot stands firmly on the basis of truth and he clearly calls out the truth.

Some

more

Trigonometric

results

attributed

to

Varahamihira:

He not only presented his own observations, but embellished them in attractive poetic and metrical styles. The usage of a large variety of meters is especially evident in his Brihat Jataka and Brihat-Samhita.