8.

The Early Use of Nak~atras

Harry Falk

The orbit of ancient India was not divided into 12 or 360 sections, reflecting months or
days, but into 27 or 28 nak$atras, reflecting the days of a sidereal month. The "or"
already shows that precision was not a major characteristic of that division. The
variance is partly due to those texts which sometimes enumerate 27 and sometimes 28
such nak$atras, the main difference being the last nak$atra called apabhara1Jf, and its
inclusion or not. 1
This variance in numbers has a natural basis. This nak$atra-orbit is meant to
describe the movements of the Moon seen against the background of the stars. Regard-
less of the stellar starting point, we know today that the Moon needs 27.321 solar days
on average to complete a full circuit. This means the 27-fold division of the nak$atras
is a good approximation for one revolution and 27 may be regarded as good for the
following one too, but by the third revolution one needs 28 days in order to return to
the same starting point.
We are used to regarding this nak$atra circle as a first scientific attempt at subdivi-
ding the lunar orbit, one which models the movements of the Sun and the Moon.
The last scholar to deal with this circle was A. Parpola. In his 1994 book, he
proposes that only 24 nak$atras were originally in use and were meant to locate the
position of the Sun during the 24 half-months of the year. Later, these 24 were supplem-
ented by three more, gained through subdividing three of them into purva- and apara-
forms, i.e. into an earlier and a posterior part. This change was necessary, allegedly, to
facilitate a shift from solar to lunar time measurement (Parpola 1994: 204a). Apart from
these three double-names, there is nothing that would point to such a prehistory. When
we see the names for the first time in the literature, all 27 appear together, certainly
reflecting the 27 stations of the Moon.
Faced with the discrepancy between 27 nak$atras and the 27.321 days needed to
make one orbit, we are tempted to think of the ancient Indian star gazer as a person not
primarily interested in precision. Not for a long time do we get fractional values aiming
at describing the real time needed.
There is no doubt that the early circle of nak$atras consisted of actually visible stars
or star groups, their distance from each other displaying a natural variation. Only a few
of these nak~atras can be identified with celestial bodies beyond doubt, indeed only the

1
The various names of the nak$atras as found in Vedic literature as well as their celestial positions are
suitably arranged in Deppert 1977: 378-381.
528 Harry Falk

really bright stars or star groups in the orbit. Among these are Krttika (Pleiades) and
the two Rohi:ryTs (Aldebaran, Antares). Most others are rather ill-defined and their
identification in earlier times seemingly a matter of personal opinion. To do away with
this uncertainty, post-Hellenistic Indian astronomy made attempts to define equal
distances between nak~atras, an attempt which led to starting points in the middle of
star-less fields, not necessarily a sign of progress.
This messy situation is in stark contrast to how ancient Mesopotamia used to
measure the sky, and therefore we are wont to say that the Mesopotamian scientist was
much more advanced than his Indian counterpart.
However, I have the feeling that we are completely on the wrong track when it
comes to looking for evidence of an objective early science. The nak~atra circle must
be seen against the background of Indian popular culture and what it means inside this
setting.
In ancient as well as in present India, the nak~atras define the auspiciousness of the
days during a lunar sidereal month. Each one is presided over by a different deity,
which may be benevolent or malicious. Their sequence is fixed, and therefore a day can
be regarded as auspicious or prone to danger. From the marriage ceremony described
in the Grhyasfitras we know that it should be performed only under positive nak~atras;
some texts mention these by name, as for instance fravar;,a/fr01;a, hasta, mrgasiras or
krttiktift.
Connected with the nak~atras is the story that they represent the daughters of Praja-
pati, the god of creation. The Moon is the bridegroom. Initially, the Moon was living
exclusively in the house of Rohi~I (Aldebaran). After some complaints, Prajapati
forced the Moon to visit all his daughters successively (Deppert 1977: 310; Parpola
1994: 206b). This story has two sides: firstly, it explains why the Moon is travelling,
and then it shows that the conjunction of Moon and nak~atra has a sexual element to it.
Why should that be? Marriage is one of the events most intimately connected with
the nak~atras. In the evening after the marriage ceremony, the couple has to sit outside
the domestic compound. When the stars become visible, someone proclaims the name
of nak~atra in which the Moon resides. When this is done, 2 the bride is supposed to
gaze at the "abiding star", dhruvam. Even if she does not see it, she has to say "I see
it". 3
Three days later the couple is expected to mate, and the child is expected to arrive
ten months later (da§amtisya). Only the number 10, never 9, is given in the Brahm~as4
or Grhyasfitras 5 as the number of lunations corresponding to the period of pregnancy.
All over the world the period of pregnancy lasts on average 267 days, counted from
conception. In the 19th century in Germany the idea abounded that the child is born
either after 9 synodic lunar months (9 x 29.5 = about 266 days) or after 10 sidereal
lunar months (10 x 27.321 =273). In antiquity, Aristotle6 speaks of periods of seven to
eleven months for gestation, with the extremes being exceptions. He may have had

2 prokte nalcyatre, Gobhilagrhyasutra 2.3,6.

3 Pii.raskaragrhyasutra 1.8,20.
4 Satapathabrii.hmat)a 4.5.2.4.
5 E.g. Sii.rrzJchii.yanagrhyasutra 1.19,6; Hirat)yakesigrhyasutra 1.25,1; Bhii.radvii.jagrhyasutra 1.22,7.
6 History of Animals 8,4; 584a-b.
8.a The Early Use of Nak~atras 529

sidereal months in mind, as the references to 10 months given as normal in Plautus

(Cistellaria 162) or Menander (Plocium), as collected by Aulus Gellius (Noctes Atticae
3.16), suggests.
The number 10 in India must likewise refer to sidereal lunar months and would
suggest that people measured the Moon's motion against a fixed stellar starting point.
This use is attested implicitly in the Vedic Grhyasutras, but also in the Yavanajiitaka
5,9 of the third century CE. 7 This is different from today in India, when cycles from
full-Moon to full-Moon define the months and the nak~atras are only relevant with
regard to their auspiciousness.
Did people in ancient India distinguish between different sorts of months? With
regard to gestation or any other period, the number 10 prevails. However, we learn in
the J!.gveda of the siivana month, comprising 30 days, and it seems that there the sidereal
month of 27.321 days played no role at all for the description of the year. However, in
the J!.gveda, and exclusively there, we find a term for the seven forefathers 8 who sacrifi-
ced for the first time9 , helping Indra to "find the Sun", 10 i.e. to find the new-year's day.
These fathers are termed nagagva and dasagva.11 The latter part -gva occurs also in
etagva and atithigva and has received different explanations, 12 which need not distract
us here. More important is that these fathers are called navagva and dasagwi at the
same time; 13 In one instance they are referred to only as navagva, but their period of
effort lasts for 10 months, da§a miisal:z.. 14 This leads me to the assumption that both nava
and da§a are regarded as months and that they are equivalent. There is only one numer-
ical equation which can link the numbers 9 and 10 and the idea of months: 10 times the
Vedic number of days in a sidereal month, 27, leads to 270; and 9 times the number of
days in a siivana month, 30, leads likewise to 270. Whoever is navagva and dasagva
therefore displays some knowledge of the different possible ways to define the revolu-
tions of the Moon.
As a result of this computation, ten became a number representing totality, so far as
the Grhyasiitras were concemed. 15
The tenth day, e.g. is the vijayada§amf day in a 12-day ritual, which itself reflects
the 12 months of the year. The period of pollution after a birth or a death in the family
lasts for 10 days; and many rites for expiation last the same period. Ten, like twelve

7 For its date see Ch.8.d.

s RV 1.62,4; 6.22,2.
9 RV 2.34,12.
10 RV 3.39,5.

11 RV 6.22,2; I 0.14,6.
12 "kommend, von gii, alterm *gvii", H. Grassmann, Worterbuch zum Rig-Veda. 1875; A. Debrunner & J.

Wackemagel, Altindische Grammatik, III, Gottingen 1929/30: 422, navagva, iatagvfn, daiaghva und -gvfn-
"neun-, zehn-, hundertfach", "neun usw. zahlend", with reference to M. Bloomfield, "Contributions to the
interpretation of the Veda", American Journal of Philology 17.1896: 399-437 (422ff.), who showed that go,
"kine", lies behind gva and gvfn; similarly AiGr II,2 Gottingen 1954: 545; P. Thieme, Studien zur indo-
germanischen Wortkunde und Religionsgeschichte (Berichte i.iber die Verhandlungen der Sachsichen
Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, phil.-hist. Klasse 98, Heft 5). Berlin 1952: 67 "zehn Rinder
gewinnend"; accepted by M. Mayrhofer, Etymologisches Worterbuch des Altindorarischen. Heidelberg 1992,
1:478. The notion of "kine" has long since given way to "counting'', at least in compounds including numbers.
13 RV 3.39,5.
14 RV 5.45,7 + 11.
15
I thank David Knipe for this important insight.
530 Harry Falk

(because of 12 months in a year) or three (because of three seasons in a year) comprises

both beginning and end, i.e. it denotes totality. The number is important, not the unit
measured; cf. the Jaiminfyabriihmar:ia 290, where 10 days are equalled to 10 months.
There is no better way to explain the symbolism of the number ten than through
recourse to the ten sidereal months of pregnancy.
How old might this link be? We have seen that in the ~gveda the navagvas and
da§agvas might have been responsible for supervising the period of gestation. After the
~gveda, these terms cease to be used. Were these terms introduced from somewhere
else?
Parpola has tried to prove that the nak~atras date back to Harappan times. He argues
that a term bhekuri, found with variants from the Viijasaneyisarµhitii onwards, was used
for the Apasaras as mistresses of the one Gandharva, has a Dravidian etymology
denoting "morning star". Unfortunately, the texts do not equate the Gandharva with the
full Moon, nor the Apasaras with the 27 nak~atras, nor are the nak~atras related to the
"morning star", i.e. Venus, in any way. The Dravidian background of the Harappan
language is another open question. Parpola also uses the old argument of a linkage of
some stars with the Vernal Equinox, presenting a useful map of the stars as found in
2250 BCE (1994: 202). However, the ~gveda refers to a beginning of a year, and it
refers to spring, but there is no conclusive reference proving that the year was consid-
ered to begin exactly at that equinox.
Despite the indecisiveness of these arguments, the nak~atras may well be older than
the oldest Vedic texts and there is nothing excluding the possibility of their being part
of Harappan culture.
It seems that the observation of the Moon's periods was linked very early with the
period of pregnancy. A certain nak~atra was remembered at the day of marriage, and,
if our reconstruction is correct, the same nak~atra is responsible for the date of birth
after ten revolutions of the Moon. In fact, the day of birth is remembered not as a
number of the 30-day siivana month, as we recall it, but as the nak~atra-day of a lunar
month of 29.5 days, which can stand anywhere, and which can occur even twice in the
same synodic month. This nak~atra-day is to be celebrated as a birthday after one
month, or after six months, four months, every season, or after every month. 16 This
same nak~atra is also used for naming the child at birth, 17 a name which is to be kept
secret (rahasyarµ) according to some old authorities (Parpola 1994: 207). Ten days later
the child is given a second, public name. 18 In other words the nak~atra-names were the
most personal names, kept secret, probably to avoid their misuse in sorcery (Kane 1974:
247).
In later times, such nak~atra-names became quite common and often end in -datta
or -dinna, like pusyadatta, revealing the idea that the child was thought of as having
been "given" to the parents by the nak~atra. Pa~ini (4.3,34), in the fourth century BCE,
rules that any reference to the notion of birth need not be expressly stated in connection
with some nak~atras, so that e.g. ti~a can be used unchanged as a personal name,
implying that its bearer was born under that sign.

16 Agnive~agrhyasutra 2.2,l; Parpola 1994: 207b.

17 Apastambagrhyasutra 6.15,2f.
18 Apastambagrhyasutra 6.15,8.
8.a The Early Use of Nak~atras 531

Nak~atras are, therefore, intimately connected with birth, providing the most
personal name, as if the birth-nak~atra were responsible for the complete period of
gestation. There may have been a time when the computation in 10 sidereal months was
new and sensational. In the Grhyasiitras, however, the dasamasya-period is taken for
granted. At the time of these Siitras the use of savants called dasagvas and navagvas
had long come to an end, individuals who once were able to predict delivery through
their knowledge of the magic coincidence of two multiplications: 9 x 30 and 10 x 27
both yielding 270, the days of gestation. A third way to reach the sum of 270 days is to
add the three days of prescribed celibacy between the marriage ceremony proper and
the night of first passion to the natural gestation period of 267 days.
After the ~gveda, probably everyone knew how to count Moon-nak~atra-constel­
lations from the day of a supposed conception onwards. Ten remained one of those
special numbers symbolizing completeness. This method of counting ten revolutions
against the circle of nak~atras is as good and (im)precise as any modem calculation
done by a Western gynaecologist. Since the question of the date of delivery remained
important to ordinary parents-to-be through the centuries, the nak~atras never became
useless.
Looking at the nak~atras this way explains why in early Vedic times nobody cared
to define the Moon-houses with regard to their exact beginning or length. A look at the
sky during the night of the marriage day three days before conception would show some
bright star near the Moon and it was necessary for the determination of the date of birth
only to keep this one star or constellation in mind, no matter what its name was. The
second thing relevant was whether this nak~atra was regarded as auspicious or inauspi-
cious, and this evaluation certainly made an impression on the minds of the parents.
The problem for astronomers came later, long after the ~gveda, when this simple
sequence of Moon-houses was used by a first group of early scientists to define the year
in the Yajurvedic literature and the Vedangajyoti~a. They took the circle of nak~atras
to describe the orbit, simply because it was already there as common knowledge. They
should have started from scratch, disposing of this popular circle; they would perhaps
have done better to invent something neutral, objective, mathematically sound, but they
didn't. They did that which all of us have done now and then: used one means or idea
simply because it is already there, instead of designing something new which would do
better service to the new project under construction.
Using a circle of 27 or 28 nak~atras as the basis of a description of the lunar orbit
produced nothing but imprecise results, and perhaps prevented Indian star-gazers from
coming close to reproducing the achievements of Mesopotamians in the centuries after
c. -700.
The idea in modem lndological circles that the Vedic Indians did not succeed in
creating an astronomical framework suitable for the reliable description and prediction
of the behaviour of the heavens is correct. However, modem Indology has made the
mistake of simply asking why is it that precise descriptions of the sky such as existed
in Mesopotamia did not exist in Vedic India, and did not start from scratch and ask:
why did the nak~atras not die as an idea when they are so apparently useless for a
scientific astronomer? The answer is that the nak~atras were not invented for or by an
astronomer, but rather reflect the demands of life at very early times, times likely
532 Harry Falk

anterior to our Vedic texts. Knowing the duration of pregnancy and being able to define
the date of delivery by observing the position of the Moon against the stars may be
regarded as a central achievement of early science. The f!.gveda is rather opaque when
speaking of the navagvas and the dasagvas, without explicitly hinting at their field of
knowledge, but we may speculate that it was their duty or a source of income to
supervise the day of delivery for others. Just as Brown has stressed in Ch.2 with regard
to cuneiform celestial divination and its ideal periods, the question to be answered is
not why ancient astral science failed to produce schemes that could predict astronom-
ical phenomena and configurations, but why it is that such systems that were plainly
inadequate when it came to producing accurate predictions of astral behaviour survived
so long. Science only survives if it pays. This branch of astral science was gynaecology,
and it obviously paid its way for some time.
To sum up: the circle of 27 or 28 nak~atras was used by an early group of savants
to define the day of delivery. On the day of the marriage, precisely three days before
the planned conception, the Moon's position needed to be made out and remembered.
When the Moon came close to that nak~atra for the tenth time, delivery was close at
hand. The threefold calculation works with whole numbers, namely 10 x 27, 9 x 30 and
267 + 3. In reality, 10 sidereal months last c. 273.21 days. We see again (cf. Falk 2008)
that the Vedic savants prefer to work with whole numbers instead of odd fractions.

References
Deppert, Joachim
1977 Rudras Geburt - Systematische Untersuchungen zum Inzest in der Mythology der Brtihmanas
(Beitrage zur Sudasienforschung 28). Wiesbaden.
Kane, Pandurang Vaman
1974 History of Dharmastistra. Vol. II, Part/, second edition (Government Oriental Series, Class B, no.
6). Poona.
Parpola, Asko
1994 Deciphering the Indus script. Cambridge.
 The Interactions of
Ancient Astral Science
by
David Brown

with contributions by

Jonathon Ben-Dov
Harry Falk
Geoffrey Lloyd
Raymond Mercier
Antonio Panaino
Joachim Quack
Alexandra van Lieven
Michio Yano

HEMPEN VERLAG
BREMEN 2018
 Bibliografische Information Der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek
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 Contents
Abbreviations ........................................................................ viii

CHAPTERS

Introduction ............. .......................................................................... l

l. Agenda ................................................................................. 8
2. Defming Astral Science ............................................................ 12
3. Astral Science - its constituent parts ............................................. 17
4. Resonances ........................................................................... 27

2 Mesopotamian Astral Science ..................... ............................................... 31

l. Astral Religion, Divination and Magic ............................................ 32
2. Secondary Sources .. ............. ... ............ . ......... ............ . .......... 33
3. Calendrics ......................... ............................................... 34
4. Astral Religion .................................................................... 38
5. Astral Divination .................................................................. 38
6. Astronomy .......................................................................... 43
7. Zodiacal Astrology ................................................................ 49
8. The Best Astronomy ............................................................... 50
9. The Spread of Cuneiform Astral Science - a first overview anticipating ·
some of the conclusions of Ch.6 and Ch.8 ..................................... 52

3 Egyptian Astral Science ....................................................................... 61

3.a Egypt as an astronomical-astrological centre between Mesopotamia, Greece,
and India by Joachim Quack ................................................................ 69
1. The place of astronomy-astrology in Egypt in general ....................... 69
2. The hours of the day and the night .............................................. 79
3. Stellar lore and zodiac ...... ....... ............................................... 81
4. The order and religious identification of the planets ...... ............. ...... 85
5. Theoretical astrology (treatises) ............... ................................. 93
6. The question of the Salmeschiniaka ........................................... 99
7. Practical astrology (horoscopes) ............................................. 100
8. Almanacs, sign-entry tables etc. . ............................................ 103
9. Specifics ......................................................................... 106
10. Traditions of Greeks learning Astral Science in Egypt .................. 107
11. Nechepsos and Petosiris and the beginnings of substantial astrological
treatises in the Greek language .............................................. 110
12. Traces of specifically Egyptian astrological lore in Coptic sources? .... 120
3.b From Crocodile to Dragon - History and Transformations of the Dodekaoros
by Alexandra von Lieven ................................................................. 124

4 West Semitic Astral Science (with Jonathan Ben-Dov) ............................... 138

4.a Babylonian Astral Sciences in West Semitic Sources: The Case of Qumran
by Jonathan Ben-Dov ................................................................... 161
1. Scientific Knowledge as an Ideal in Jewish Apocalyptic Circles ......... 162
2. The Astronomical Book of Enoch ............................................. 163
2.1 The Year in AB ............................................................ 164
ii
2.2 The Sun in AB ............................................................. 165
2.2.1 The Heavenly Gates and the Paths of Heaven .................. 165
Figure 1. The Sun in the three paths (Mu1Apin) and in the
six gates (AB) ................................................................ 165
2.2.2 The Water Clock Model and Length of Daylight ................ 166
2.3 The Moon in AB ........................................................... 167
Figure 2. The path of the Moon on the ecliptic and as projected
on the horizon ................................................................ 168
Figure 3. The Moon in the heavenly gates in a 354-day year ........... 169
2.4 The Stars in AB ......................................................... 171
2.5 The Teaching of AB in Later Literature ............................... 172
2.6 The Motivation for the Writing of AB: Astronomy?
Divination? Calendars? ..................................................... 173
3. Astronomy and Calendars in Qumran Literature ........................... 175
3.1 AB-type Calculations of Lunar Phases ................................. 175
3.2 The Three-year Cycle in 4Q317 'crypticA Phases of the Moon' .... 176
3.4 The 'Sundial' from Qumran .............................................. 178
Figure 4. The Qumran Sundial ............................................... 178
4. Divinatory and Astrological Material from Qumran ........................ 179
4.1 4Q186 Zodiacal Physiognomy .......................................... 180
4.2 4Q318 Zodiology and brontology ....................................... 181
4.2.1 The Selenodromion .................................................... 181
4.2.2 The Brontologion ...................................................... 182
4.3 Birth Omens in Qumran and Contemporary Jewish Literature ...... 182
5. Summary: Enoch, Qumran and the History of Astral Sciences ............ 183
6. The Aramaic Language as a Possible Medium for Babylonian
Astral Sciences .................................................................. 184
References ........................................................................... 186

5 Astral Science in Greek and Latin ........................................................ 192

1. Introduction ...................................................................... 193
1.1 Discoveries in Egypt ...................................................... 199
1.2 New views of cuneiform astral science ................................ 200
1.3 A more critical approach to the claims of later commentators
as to the nature of Graeco-Latin Astral Science ...................... 204
1.4 Early Greek and Latin Arithmetic Astronomy - Eclipse Prediction
and Personal Astrology .................................................... 206
2. Sources for Greek and Latin Astral Science .................................. 224
2.1 Original Sources ........................................................... 224
2.1.1 Artefactualparapegmata ............................................. 224
2.1.2 Horoscopes ............................................................ 227
2.1.3 Theoretical Texts ...................................................... 228
2.1.4 Astronomical Texts .................................................. 229
2.2 Astronomer-Astrologers writing in Greek or Latin ................... 232
Homer/llesiod{fhales ...................................................... 233
Anaximander ............................................................... 234
Cleostratus of Tenedos .................................................... 235
Oenopides of Chius ........................................................ 237
Philolaus/Meton of Athens ............................................... 238
Plato ......................................................................... 240
 iii
Eudoxus of Cnidus ......................................................... 241
Aristotle ..................................................................... 243
Callippus/Autolycus of Pitane ............................................. 245
2.2.1 What characterised Greek astral science, then, on the eve
of the Hellenistic period? ............................................ 245
Euclid ......................................................................... 247
2.2.2 Aratus and Star Lists ................................................. 247
2.2.3 Berossos and Ai-Khanoum .......................................... 249
Aristarchus of Samos ....................................................... 251
Archimedes/Eratosthenes/Sudines ........................................ 253
Chrysippus/Apollonius of Perga .......................................... 254
2.2.4 The 79th chapter of the Yavanajataka ............................. 255
Hypsicles of Alexandria/Epigenes of Byzantium ........................ 258
Hipparchus of Nicaea ..................................................... 259
Posidonius .................................................................. 265
Nechepso-Petosiris ....................................................... 266
Alexander of Ephesus ...................................................... 269
Cicero/Nigidius Figulus/Serapion/ ....................................... 270
Geminus ..................................................................... 271
Viruvius~ivy ................................................................ 273
Thrasyllus/Manilius ....................................................... 274
Pliny the Elder ............................................................. 27 6
Dorotheus of Sidon ........................................................ 277
Critodemus/Menelaus of Alexandria ................................... 280
Theon of Smyrna .............................................................. 281
Vettius Valens ............................................................... 282
Ptolemy (Klaudios Ptolemaios) .......................................... 285
2.2.5 The Mathematical Syntaxis (Almagest) ........................... 287
2.2.6 Tetrabiblos ........................................................... 291
2.2.7 Ptolemy's use of observations ...................................... 298
Galen of Pergamon ........................................................ 301
Hippolytus of Rome ....................................................... 302
Firmicus Maternus ........................................................ 303
Rhetorius of Egypt ........................................................ 306
3. Concluding Thoughts ........................................................ 306
5.a Transmission successes and failures. Methodological issues and the case of
4th century BCE Greek astronomy: A preliminary sketch by G.E.R. Lloyd ........ 313
References ........................................................................... 323

6. Astral Science in the Hellenistic Period ................................................ 324

1. Astral Religion ................................................................ 330
2. Cosmography .................................................................. 335
2.1 Apokatastasis, the Great Year and the Thema Mundi ............... .338
3. Cosmology ..................................................................... 340
4. Astral Mapping (Uranography) ............................................. 346
4.1 Planets ..................................................................... 346
4.2 Stars and Constellations ................................................ 348
4.3 Ecliptic Constellations and Stars and the Zodiac .................. 355
4.4 The Zodiac Norming Points ............................................ 366
4.5 Zodiac Rising-Times .................................................... 371
iv
5. Calendrics ........................................................................... 373
6. Time-Keeping/Instrumentation .............................................. 382
6.1 Water Clock/Clepsydra ................................................ 384
6.2 Gnomon and Sundial ................................................... 386
6.3 Measuring Distances at Night ......................................... 390
7. Astrology ........................................................................ 390
7.1 The Basics of Personal Zodiacal Astrology ........................... 392
7 .2 Key Cuneiform Texts on Babylonian Personal Zodiacal Astrology 396
BM 53282 .................................................................. 396
Proto-Horoscopes ......................................................... 397
NCBT 1231 ................................................................ 399
TU 11 ..................................................................... 400
TU 12 ..................................................................... 401
TU 13 ..................................................................... 405
TU 14 ..................................................................... 408
BM 47494 .................................................................. 411
BM 36609+ ................................................................. 413
7 .3 The Ascendant, Cardines and Places ................................ .414
7.3.1 DETERMINING THE ASCENDANT WITH ARITHMETICAL METHODS 414
7 .3.2 EVIDENCE THE BABYLONIANS DETERMINED THE ASCENDANT 416
7.4 The Geometrical Linking of Signs of the Zodiac and
their Gender ............................................................... 420
7.5 Aspects and other Planet-Planet interactions ....................... .421
7.6 Dodecatemoria and Kalendartexte ................................. . . .422
7. 7 Terms and other subdivisions of the Zodia . ........ .... . .. .. . ...... .425
7.8 Exaltations and Depressions (or Stationary Points?) .............. .427
7.9 Date of Conception ..................................................... .429
7 .10 The Sun- and Moon-Signs ......................................... .430
7.llLots ...................................................................... 430
7.12 Decans .................................................................. 430
7.13 (Planetary-) Houses .................................................. .432
7.14 Length of Life ......................................................... 432
7.15 Astral Omens and Mundane Zodiacal Astrology .................. 434
7.15.1 ECONOMIC PREDICTIONS .. . ...................................... .435
7.15.2WEATHERPREDICTIONS .......................................... 436
7.16 The Values and Order of the Planets ................................. .436
7.17 The Values of the Constellations, Planet-Constellation
Associations and Paranatellonta .................................... .438
7.18 Chronography: Linking Constellations and Zodiacal Signs to
Regions, Lands, Cities, Rivers and Temples ....................... .440
7.19 Catarchic Astrology ................................................... 440
8. Astral magic and medicine ................................................... 443
9. Astronomy ........................................................................ 449
9.1 Observations ............................................................... 452
10. Conclusions ............ . ... .. ................................................... 454

7. Iranian Astral Science ...................................................................... 456

1. The Elamites ...................................................................... 456
2. The Persians ...................................................................... 461
2.1 Persian Astral Science (other than the Calendar) .................... 466
 v
3. The Seleucids .................................................................... 469
3.1 Seleucid-Iranian Astral Science ...................................... .469
4. The Parthians .................................................................. 470
4.1 Parthian Astral Science ................................................. 472
5. The Sasanians .................................................................. 477
7.a On Iran's Role in the Transmission of Ancient Astral Science
and the Ramifications thereof by Antonio Panaino .................................... 482
1. The Problem ..................................................................... 482
2. The Iranian astral divinities and their astronomical role ................. .490
3. The Stars and the Peg of the Sky ............................................. 495
4. The Planets and the Astral Cords of Wind ................................. .497
5. The multicultural legacy of Sasanian astronomy and astrology .......... 500
References ........................................................................... 507

8. Indian Astral Science ...................................................................... 515

1. Pre-c. 550 BCE ................................................................. 515
2. Post-c. 550 BCE ................................................................ 518
3. Sa1J1hitii literature ............................................................... 520
4. Jaina and Buddhist Literature ................................................ 521
5. Siddhiintas ...................................................................... 522
5.1 c. CE 300 .................................................................. 525
5.2 c. CE 400 .................................................................. 525
5.3 c. CE 500 .................................................................. 526
5.4 c. CE 600 .................................................................. 526
8.a The Early Use of Nak~atras by Harry Falk ............................................. 527
References .......................................................................... 532
8.b Alleged Mesopotamian Astrology in India ............................................. 533
1. Introduction ...................................................................... 534
2. Heavenly gods in Mesopotamia and India ................................. 540
3. Namburbi v. Santi ............................................................. 546
4. The Legend of Barlaam and Ioasaph ........................................ 550
5. Planets and their Significance in Indian and Mesopotamian Sources ... 551
6. Comparing Indian and Mesopotamian Compositions Concerned
with Astral Omina ............................................................. 560
7. The Buddhist Condemnation of Divination ................................. 561
8. The Shiji of Sima Qian ........................................................ 566
9. The Venus Omina of the Gargasa1J1hitii ..................................... 570
10. The Siirdulakan:iavadiina .................................................... 577
11. Conclusions - an historical perspective .................................... 580
8.b.i Nak~atras ..................................................................................... 585
1. Differing Aims ................................................................... 592
2. Conclusions ..................................................................... 599
8.b.ii Year, Month, Day .......................................................................... 602
1. The Vedic Years ................................................................. 602
2. Vediingajyoti~a .................................................................. 605
3. The Paitiimahasiddhiinta of the Paiicasiddhiintikii ........................ 606
4. The purpose of the Vediingajyoti~a ........................................... 610
5. The Yuga of the Vediingajyoti~a ............................................. 612
6. The Gaviimayana of the Nidiinasatra and the Vedic origin
of the 5-year Yuga .............................................................. 613
vi
7. The date of the start of the Yuga of the Vedangajyoti$a ................... 615
8. Conclusions ..................................................................... 618
8.b.iii Tithis ..................................................................................... 620
1. Introduction ...................................................................... 621
2. Tithi in the earliest Sanskrit sources, including the Vedangajyoti~a ...... 622
3. Tithi in the Yavanajataka (YJ) with analysis of Ch. 79,
verses 3; 6; 16-18; 21-22; 52-55 ................................................ 628
4. Tithi in the early Siddhantas ................................................... 638
4.1 The current tithi ............................................................ 638
4.2 The number of tithis and days since epoch ........................... 639
5. The 't-unit in Mesopotamia .................................................... 640
6. Conclusions ....................................................................... 642
8.b.iv Muhurta and Na<f.ika ........................................................................ 644
Conclusions ......................................................................... 647
8.c Alleged Mesopotamian Astronomy in India .............................................. 648
1. Introduction ...................................................................... 648
2. Planetary Theory in Ch. 6 of the Gargasarrihita (=GS); in the
Pitamahasiddhanta of the Vi$r,tudharmottarapurarµi (= PS of V),
the Brhatsarrihita (= BS) of Varahamihira, and the
Bhadrabiihusarrihita (= BHS) .................................................. 653
2.1 VENUS ..................................................................... 654
2.2 SATURN .................................................................... 665
2.3 JUPITER ..................................................................... 667
2.4 MARS ....................................................................... 667
2.5 MERCURY ................................................................. 669
3. Planetary Theory in Ch. 79 of the Yavanajiitaka (= YJ) including
analysis of verses 1-2; 23-24; 35-38; 40-48; 56-62 .......................... 674
3.1 SUMMARY OF VJ 79 ..................................................... 677
3.2 AUTHORSHIP AND AIM ................................................ 681
3.3 CHARACTERISTIC PERIODS OF THE PLANETS .................. 687
3.4 EPOCHS? ..................................................................... 690
3.5 SUBDIVISIONS OF THE SYNODIC ARCS .......................... 691
3.6 SOLAR AND LUNAR MOTION ....................................... 698
4. Planetary Theory in the Vasi${hasiddhiinta of the
Pancasiddhantikii (= VS of PS) .............................................. 700
5. Conclusions ..................................................................... 711
8.d The Earliest Greek Astral Science in India ............................................ 712
1. Introduction ...................................................................... 712
2. The Date of the Epoch of the Solar Yuga of Yavanajataka Ch.79 ......... 714
3. The Evidence of the Order of the Planets ................................. 716
4. The Earliest Attestations of the Zodiac and Decans in Indian Sources 719
5. The Evidence of the Termini Technici ....................................... 721
6. Spherical Astronomy in India .................................................. 725
8.e On the Originality of Indian Mathematical Astronomy by Raymond Mercier .... 734
1. Introduction ....................................................................... 734
2. Method of Deviations .......................................................... 734
3. Aryabha~a ....................................................................... 735
Fig. 1 '!'he deviation curves for the canon of Aryabha~a ............... 735
Fig. 2 Aryabha~a. level curves of Qo, (0 1111 00000) ................... 737
3.1 DEVIATION CURVES OF TRUE LONGITUDES .............................. 738
 vii
Fig. 3 Deviations between the true longitudes of Aryabhata, and the
Modem true longitudes, epoch 499 Mar 21, KY+36()()Y ............. 739
Fig. 4 Deviations between the true longitudes of the Almagest, and the modem
true longitudes, centred on the year 141 ................................. 739
Fig. 5 Deviations of the true longitudes of the Sun and Saturn ......... 740
4. Romaka Siddhiinta ............................................................. 740
Table 1: Mean motions in Paiicasiddhiintikiivm.1-8 in revolutions ... 742
Fig. 6 Deviation curves for the Romaka siddhiinta ..................... 743
5. Briihmasphufasiddhiinta ..................................................... 744
Fig. 7 The chronology of the Briihmasphufasiddhiinta ................ 744
Fig. 8 The deviation curves for the Briihmasphufasiddhiinta ......... 745
6. Briihmasphufasiddhiinta + bfja ................................................ 745
Fig. 9 Deviation curves for the Briihmasphufasiddhiinta+Bfja ......... 746
7. Drgga1Jita ........................................................................ 747
Fig. lOa The deviation curves for the Drgga1Jita of Paramesvara ...... 747
Fig. lOb The level curves of Qo for the Drgga1Jita of Paramesvara,
with selection (0111101111) .............................................. 747
8. Dhfvrddhidatantra ............................................................. 748
Fig. 11 The deviation curves for the Dhfvrddhidatantra of Lalla ...... 748
Fig. 12 The level curves of Q for the Dhfvrddhidatantra of Lalla,
selection (1111101111) ................................................... 749
9. Pingree's narrative ............................................................. 750
9.1 BRAHMASPHUTASIDDHANTA .......................................... 751
9.2 PERSIAN OBSERVATIONS OF THE SOLAR APOGEE ........................ 752
9.3 THEUSEOFGREEKTABLESBY ARYABHATA ........................ 753
Table 2: Mean Parameters used by Ptolemy and Aryabhata ............ 754
Table 3: Confirmation of Pingree: Table 1 ................................ 754
Table 4: Corrected version of Pingree: Table 2 ............................ 754
9.4THEDATEOF'ARYABHATAil' ......................................... 756
Fig. 13 Deviation curves of Mahiisiddhiinta .............................. 757
Fig. 14 Deviation curves of Makaranda ................................... 757
9.5 DISCUSSIONOFPINGREE'S WORK ....................................... 758
10. Sidereal Coordinates ...................................................... .. .759
10.1 THEON: MOTION OF THE SOLSTICES ........................... ...... 759
Fig. 15 Deviation curves for Ptolemy +precession (Theon) ............ 760
10.2 THESTANDARDSCHEMEOFTHEMOON ....................... . ....... 761
Fig. 16 Deviation curves for the Standard Scheme of the Moon, together
with that of the Sun from Ptolemy + precession ....................... 762
10.3 GREEK HOROSCOPES ........................... . .... . ......... . ......... 763
Fig. 17 Precession by Theon, with sidereal excesses from horoscopes,
including the almanac of CE 348/9 (P. Heid. Inv. 34) ............... 763
10.4 SIDEREAL HOROSCOPES ............................................... 764
Table 5A: List of horoscope dates from Neugebauer 1975, p181 ...... 764
Table 5B: Supplementary list of horoscopes with sidereal longitudes,
selected from Neugebauer 1975 .......................................... 765
Table 5C: List of horoscopes calculated from Ptolemy's tables,
selected from Neugebauer 1975 .................................. ........ 765
10.5 STOBART TABLES AND BERLIN P.8279 ................................. 765
Fig. 18 Longitude of Mars in Stobart Table C: calculated tropical
longitude,and the dates of entry into successive signs ............... 766
viii
Fig. 19 Longitude of Mars in Stobart Table C: excess oflongitude as
tabulated over the calculated tropical longitude ........................ 766
Fig. 20 Longitude of Mercury in Stobart Table C: excess of longitude
as tabulated over the calculated tropical longitude .................. 767
10.6 PERPETUAL TABLES .....••••.....•.•.•.........•.•..•..... . . •....•.. •. 767
10. 7 THE SIDEREAL ECLIPTIC OF INDIAN ASTRONOMY ..................... 7 68
Fig. 21 Models of precession. Legend: 3 Suryasiddhanta (later),
Karal}ll Tilaka, Tantrasarrigraha, Siddhiintadarpal}ll; 4 Ibn Kammad;
5 Alfonsine; 6 Bhoja, Sripati, Bhaskara II, Amaraja; 7 Parasara;
8 Mahasiddhanta; 9 Karm:za Kalpa; 10 Grahalaghava. The Hipparchian
origin marked by dot at (-127, -9;23) ....................................... 771
Fig. 22. Positions of stars in a, (3 Aries and ~ Piscium, and anti-Spica g.
The alignment circle through the stars is the horizon for the
geographic latitude 36°, which also determines the Indian Zero point
(at the head of AsvinI near~ Psc), where this circle intersects the ecliptic.
At the time of Hipparchus the celestial equator passes nearly through a,
and at the time of Aryabhata the celestial equator passes through the -
Indian origin, near ~ Psc. The equinoctial points 'PH, cpA are for the
epochs of Hipparchus and Aryabhata. ................................... 772
10.8 NAK$ATRA .............................. ................................. 772
11. Conclusion .................................. . ......... . ...................... 773
References ................................ . ............. . . ... .. . .... ......... . ..... 77 4

9. Astral Science in China ..................................................................... 777

9.a The Japanese Iconography of the Decans by Michio Yano ............................. 791
Abstract .............................................................................. 791
1. Introduction ........................... ........................................... 791
2. Going Upstream ................................................................. 792
2.1 von Siebold's Nippon .................................................... 792
2.2 Kakuzen-shou ............................................................. 793
2.3 Mohe zhiguan ............................................................. 794
2.4 Da fangdeng daji jing .............................. . ...................... 795
2.5 Wuxing dayi ............................... ......................... ...... 796
3. Indian decans .................................................................. 796
3.1 Yavanajataka .............................................................. 796
3.2 Brhajjataka ................................................................ 797
4. Conclusion ....................................................................... 798
References ......................................................................... 798
Table 1: Names and translations of the thirty-six animals ...... ........ 799
Table 2: Thirty-six animals in the Kakuzen-shou ........................ 800
Table 3: Twelve Branches and Thirty-six animals ...................... 801
Table 4: Main figures of Indian Decans .. . ................................ 802
Figure 1: The first six images of the thirty-six animals .............. .... 803
Figure 2: The thirty-six animals in the Kakuzen-shou .................. 804
Figure 3: Front and southern sides of Naginata-hoko .................. 805
Figure 4: Three animals in the centre of the southern side .............. 805

10. Final Reflections . ............................................................. . ............ 806

11. Bibliography of Resonances ............................................................. 817

 ix

12. Index ........................................................................................... 865

Texts and Compositions ..................................................................... 884
Key Numerical Values ...................................................................... 891
About the Authors .................................. . ................................................. 894

For abbreviations in:

Assyriology see: http://cdli.ox.ac. uk/wiki/abbreviations_for_assyriology

Egyptology see: http://www.egyptologyforum.org/EEFrefs.html

Biblical Studies see: http://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/myers/intro_abbreviations.pdf

Classical Studies see:

http://classics.oxfordre.com/staticfiles/images/ORECLA/OCD.ABBREVIATIONS.pdf

Iranian studies see: http://www.iranicaonline.org/pages/guidelines-abbrev-joumals

Sanskrit studies see: https://en. wiktionary .org/wiki/Appendix: Sanskrit_abbreviations

Commonly used abbreviations here:

AB = Astronomical Book of Enoch
ACT= Neugebauer, Astronomical Cuneiform Texts in 3 vols.
Ait. Br. = Aitereyabriihmm:za
AOAT =Alter Orient und Altes Testament (Ugarit Verlag: Miinster)
APO = Jones, Astronomical Papyri from Oxyrhynchus
AV = Atharvaveda
BS = Brhatsarrihita
BZ = Butsuzou zui
BHS = Bhadrabahusarrihitii
BPO = Babylonian Planetary Omens - see Reiner and Reiner & Pingree
BRM 4 = Clay 1923
CAD - The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary
CESS = Census of the Exact Sciences in Sanskrit
DN = Dfghanikiiya
DSS = Dead Sea Scrolls
EAT= Neugebauer & Parker, Egyptian Astronomical Texts
EE = Enama Elis
ETCSL = The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian (see Bibliography)
Fs. = Festschrift
G = Gargasarrihitii
GA = GleBmer & Albani 1999 - see Ch.4.a
GD= Weidner Gestirn Darstellungen
GH = Neugebauer & van Hoesen Greek Horoscopes
Gs. = Gedenkschrift
GS = Grhyasutras