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Indian Calendar and Festivals Through Al-Bīrūnī S Eyes
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East-West Encounter
in the Science of Heaven and Earth
天と地の科学──東と西の出会い
Edited by Tokimasa Takeda and Bill M. Mak
武田時昌 麥文彪 編
Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University
京都大学人文科学研究所
天と地の科学扉.smd Page 1 19/03/18 14:44 v3.40
ICTSA2017の参加者
Attendees of ICTSA 2017
京都大学理学研究科セミナーハウスにて（小田木洋子撮影）
天と地の科学扉.smd Page 2 19/03/18 14:44 v3.40
Table of Contents
Introduction
Tokimasa Takeda…v
Introduction
Bill M. Mak…ix
Part I
The Unusual Babylonian Astronomical Diary -99C in Light of Late Babylonian and
Syriac Astronomical and (Anti-)Astrological Texts
Yasuyuki Mitsuma…3
Greco-Babylonian Astral Science in Asia: Patterns of Dissemination and Trans-
formation
Bill M. Mak…14
Analyzing the Sine Computations in an Anonymous Commentary on Parameśvaraʼs
Goladīpikā 2
Sho Hirose…35
Maṇḍalavākyas: An Intermediate Numerical Table Used in the Computation of
Planetary Longitudes
Venketeswara R. Pai…50
Indian Calendar and Festivals through al-Bīrūnīʼs Eyes
Noémie Verdon…63
The Encounter and Crossover of Astronomical Knowledge from East and West in Late
Ming China
Keizo Hashimoto…82
Western Learning, Examinations, and Neo-Confucianism: A Study of Astronomy in
Ying Huiqianʼs Xingli dazhong
Chu Pingyi…98
Integrating Human with Heaven through Numbers: Xue Fengzuoʼs Confucian Scientific
System
Zhu Haohao and Chu Longfei…113
“Heaven vs. Empire”: Astronomical Reform of the Chosŏn Dynasty in the
Mid-Seventeenth Century
Lim Jongtae…132
ʻInversed Cosmographsʼ in Late East Asian Cartography and the Atlas Production
Trend
Vera Dorofeeva-Lichtmann…144
The Two Worlds of the Geneva Sphere: Heaven and Earth in a 17th Century Japanese
Model of the Cosmos
Christopher Cullen…175
Seismology in Meiji Japan: Emergence of Historical Earthquake Studies
Kazuyuki Ito…207
Part II
The Concept of Planets in the Pre-Qin Period of China: The Pre-history of the Chinese
Theories of Planetary Motion
Tokimasa Takeda…225
─i─
Formation of the Dual View of ʻHunʼ and ʻPoʼ in the Chunqiu Zuoshi Zhuan
Bai Yunfei…248
A Study of the Daily Revolution of ʼXingʼ and ʼDeʼ in the Mawangdui “Xingde”
Sei Ogura…263
The Calendar and Chronology of the Astronomical Chapter of the Huainanzi
Keizo Hashimoto…278
The Text of Lingtai Biyuan
Ayano Takahashi…300
Indian Astrology and the Xiuyao jing
Michio Yano…316
Notes on the Manuscripts of the Xiuyao jing Belonging to Four Temples in Japan
Takao Hayashi…334
The Construction of the Minase Imperial Villa and the Thinking Behind its Choice of
Location and Design
Hiroaki Toyoda…349
Deciphering Aristotle with Chinese Medical Cosmology: Nanban Unkiron (Yunqi
Theory of ʻSouthern Barbariansʼ) and the Reception of Jesuit Cosmology in 17th Century
Nagasaki
Ruji Hiraoka…396
The Reception of the Sumeru Cosmology and the Sumeru Model in Japan
Hiroko Shimizu…408
Two Diagrams of Kawabe Shinʼichi: A View on his Shuhi Sankei Zukai (Zhoubi Suanjing
Tujie)
Hiroyuki Kobayashi…421
The Indian Astronomy in Entsūʼs Bukkokurekishōhen (Astral Compendium of the
ʻBuddhist Landʼ)
Bill M. Mak and Masahiro Ueda…441
Analyzing the Early 19th Century Geomagnetic Declination in Japan from Inoh
Tadatakaʼs Santou-Houi-Ki
Motohiro Tsujimoto…458
On the Buddhist Planisphere Ryoyo Unsen Ryakugi, in Comparison with the Heitengi by
Yoshitaka Iwahashi and the Shijitsutosyogi by Kaiseki Sata
Seiji Umebayashi…483
─ ii ─
目 次
序文
武田時昌…v
序文
麥文彪…ix
第1部
特異なバビロン天文日誌-99C：後期バビロニア語およびシリア語の天文学・占星術
（批判）テクストとの比較から
三津間康幸…3
アジアにおけるギリシャ・バビロニア天文学について ── 流布と変容 ──
麥文彪…14
パラメーシュヴァラの『ゴーラディーピカー 2 』への匿名の註釈における半弦の計算に
ついて
廣瀬匠…35
マンダラヴァーキャ：惑星の経度の計算に使用される中間数値表について
Venketeswara R. Pai…50
アル・ビールーニの作品におけるインドの暦法と宗教儀礼
Noémie Verdon…63
『崇禎暦書』の宇宙と星座
橋本敬造…82
西学・科挙と新儒教：應撝謙の『性理大中』における天文学について
祝平一…98
「以數合天」
：薛鳳祚の儒術科学を論じる
朱浩浩・褚龍飛…113
天と国：17世紀中頃の朝鮮王朝における改暦
林宗台…132
『天下図』と『式盤』
：近世東アジアにおける地図とその生産の動向
Vera Dorofeeva-Lichtmann…144
ジュネーブ天儀の二つの世界：17世紀日本の宇宙モデルにおける天と地
Christopher Cullen…175
明治期日本における地震学
伊藤和行…207
第2部
先秦の惑星観 ── 五星運動論形成前史
武田時昌…225
『春秋左氏伝』における魂魄二元的な見方の萌芽
白雲飛…248
帛書『刑徳』乙篇の刑徳小遊
小倉聖…263
『淮南子』天文訓 ── その暦法と紀年法
橋本敬造…278
『霊台秘苑』のテキストについて
髙橋あやの…300
インド占星術と『宿曜経』
矢野道雄…316
宿曜経写本覚書 ── 真福寺写本と古一切経写本 ──
林隆夫…334
─ iii ─
後鳥羽上皇の水無瀬離宮（水無瀬殿）の構造とその選地設計思想について
豊田裕章…349
アリストテレスを運気論で読み解く ──『南蛮運気論』と17世紀長崎における西学理
解 ──
平岡隆二…396
須弥山説受容と須弥山儀
清水浩子…408
川辺信一の 2 枚の図 ──『周髀算経図解』考
小林博行…421
『仏国暦象編』におけるインド天文学について
麥文彪・上田真啓…441
伊能忠敬『山島方位記』に基づく19世紀初頭の日本附近の地磁気偏角
辻本元博…458
「兩曜運旋略儀」について ── 岩橋嘉孝「平天儀」、佐田介石「視實等象儀」との比較
を通して ──
梅林誠爾…483
─ iv ─
序 文
本論文集は、欧文（第 1 部）と和文（第 2 部）の 2 本立てであり、欧文は麥文彪氏、和文は
私が編集を分担した。欧文論文は、2017年10月25-28日に白眉センター、宇宙ユニットとの共
催で実施した「天と地の科学──東と西の出会い」（East-West Encounter in the Science of
Heaven and Earth）を総合テーマとする大規模な国際シンポジウムの参加者が発表原稿をも
とに修正、加筆したものである。第 2 部の辻本元博氏の論文もそれに該当する。
それを除く和文論文は、私が京大人文研にて主宰する拠点共同研究班（
「東アジアの自然学
と宗教文化」班（期間：2015年 4 月-2017年 3 月）、「東西知識交流と自国化─汎アジア科学文
化論」班（期間：2017年 4 月-2020年 3 月、通称は科学史研究会）の班員による研究成果報告
集である。執筆者の多くは、『仏国暦象編』の会読メンバーである。その他、藪内スクールの
高弟、橋本敬造氏には、欧文、和文の両方に寄稿してもらった。考古学者の豊田裕章氏は田中
淡氏が2005年から2010年に主宰していた生活空間研究会（
「伝統中国の生活空間」班）以来の
班員であり、早稲田大学の大学院生、小倉聖氏は最も若い新参者で、研究班から分立した読解
ワークショップである中国占術研究会の主力メンバーである。
『仏国暦象編』の読書会は仏教天文学研究会と読んでいるが、もともとは同志社大学理工学
研究所の宮島一彦、林隆夫両氏が2003年度に部門研究「アジアにおける自然科学の伝統」の一
環として始まったものである。2012年 3 月に宮島氏が、2015年 3 月に林隆夫氏が定年退職した
ために、2015年 4 月に組織した「東アジアの宗教文化と自然学」共同研究班（班長：武田時昌、
副班長：麥文彪）に引き継ぎ、通算して第153回目となる2017年 3 月 9 日に全 5 巻の読解を終
結させた。その後、
『仏国暦象編』の前半部は宮島一彦氏、後半部は矢野道雄氏を中心に訳稿
を整理して出版することになった。また、仏教天文学の理論的基礎を提供した『宿曜経』の読
書会を立ち上げ、日本中世の写本を校合しながら現代語訳を試みている。
国際シンポジウムの開催や人文研での『仏国暦象編』の会読は、京都大学第 5 期白眉研究者
として 5 年間の任期で特定准教授となった麥文彪氏を2014年 9 月より人文研に受け入れたこと
に始まる。2017年度の国際シンポジウムに先立ち、2015年 6 月17日-19日に「古今の宇宙観」
を総合テーマとするアジア伝統科学国際ワークショップ2015を開催した。その会議は、藪内清
博士を追悼するものであった。2000年 6 月 2 日に逝去されて以来、命日の前後には弟子による
追悼会（藪談会）を行うついでに、しばしば東洋の天文暦学または科学史関連の講演会を企画
してきたが、大がかりな国際ワークショップは初めての試みだった。しかも、インド、イスラ
ムの研究者にも参加を呼びかけ、公開講座の特別講師に国立天文台名誉教授・国際天文学連合
会長の海部宣男氏を招聘して催すなど、多彩な内容で大盛況だった。
成功を収めた要因は、麥文彪氏の尽力によるところが大であるが、麥氏が所属する白眉セン
ターとともに、宇宙ユニット（宇宙総合学研究ユニット）との連携によって現代天文学の専門
─v─
家である准教授の磯部洋明氏（現在は総合生存学館准教授）
、RA の玉澤春史氏がスタッフに
加わり、部局横断的なイベントだったことも特筆される。宇宙ユニット（正式名：宇宙総合学
研究ユニット）とは、
「宇宙総合学研究ユニットは、宇宙に関連した異なる分野の連携と融合
による新しい学問分野・宇宙総合学の構築を目指して、2008年に設置された組織」（HP より
抜粋）である。
2017年度の国際シンポジウムは、そのワークショップの拡大版であり、宇宙総合学研究ユニ
ット長で理学研究科教授の家森俊彦氏に委員長をお願いし、山田慶兒先生を顧問に担ぎ出した。
山田先生は、藪談会には毎回参加されていたが、日文研を退職されてから図書室には時折来ら
れているものの、科学史研究会や講演会からは遠のいておられていたが、この国際会議にはひ
ょっこりと姿を見せられたので、私にはそれだけで大きな成果を得た気分になった。
国際シンポジウムの総合テーマで、本論文集のタイトルとなった「天と地の科学」は、編者
2 人の興味が重なり合うことで発案されたものである。中国や日本に開花した伝統科学文化の
構造的な把握には、個別的、離散的に研究がなされている境界の垣根を取っ払う必要があり、
イスラム、インドを含む汎アジア的な見地を導入すべきであるというのが、 2 人の共通認識で
あった。その見地から東西の知識交流をめぐる文理横断的な国際集会を企画するに際して、麥
文彪氏が総合テーマを前回の宇宙論からどの方向に広げますかと尋ねてきたので、現今では天
文学と地理学は別々の領域であるが、かつては一対であり、相補的な自然探究がなされたこと
に着眼してはどうかと提案したら、すぐさま同意が得られた。
実のところ、天文と地理を一対とする研究アプローチは、私が院生時代に大阪大学教授（当
時）の海野一隆氏に教示されたものである。私が人文研の科学史研究会に参加するようになっ
たのは、博士課程に進学した1983年 4 月であるが、海野一隆氏は帰りの道が同じ方向だったの
で、しばしば同行させてもらった。市バスと阪急電車を乗り継いで、長岡天神駅で降りるまで
の約 1 時間、とても楽しい語らいタイムで、古代史の謎に大胆な仮説とかを交えた教室では聴
けない個人レッスンだった。印象的だったのは、調査旅行の体験談であるが、地球儀があると
必ず天球儀がセットになっているように、大地を見ないで天空だけを眺めていてはわからない
と、温和でにこやかな表情でさらりと手厳しい批判をされた。海野氏の地図、地球儀を通して
見た東洋の文化交渉史が実証的でかつ視野の広いのは、紙の表面に描かれた図像や文字情報だ
けを考察しているだけではなく、天と地の間に成立している時空を眺めているからである。
そのような多角的、複眼的な見方は、汎アジアというもう一つのコンセプトにも言えること
である。私が人文研科学史研究会で最初に発表した論文「緯書暦法考」は、中国古代の暦運説
に関するものであったが、それに対する班長の山田慶兒先生の講評は示唆的であった。
「その
ような考え方は、中国だけにあると思っているかもしれないが、他の地域、別の文明圏にも実
は多様にある。そのことを知っていて書くのと、そうでないのとでは全然ちがう」とコメント
された。つい最近に一緒に会食した時にも、とある近刊書を評して同じような趣旨の言葉をお
っしゃった。科学史、科学思想史の研究は、天と地、東と西、昔と今を相対化し、複合的な文
化事象として構造的に把握することが肝要なのである。
麥文彪氏との共同作業によって実現した 2 度の国際会議や本論文集は、人文研科学史研究会
─ vi ─
の学問的伝統を受け継ぐものである。それに 1 つ狙いを加えるとすれば、中堅、若手の科学史
研究者による国際研究ネットワークの新たな構築である。戦後70余年、団塊の世代が定年を迎
えてどの分野でも世代交代の時期である。とりわけ科学史研究は停滞気味で人材が不足してお
り、中堅、若手の研究者が離散的、個別的な研究を強いられている。そのことを鑑み、これま
でも中国、韓国との国際交流を推進してきたが、今回は欧米からも多数の参加者があり、しか
もインド、イスラムを含めた国内外の研究者が一堂に会する場を設けることができたのは、き
わめて有意義であった。
ところで、『仏国暦象編』は日蓮宗から天台宗に改宗した釈円通が1810年に著したものであ
るが、我々が強い関心を抱いているのは、東西、新旧の宇宙論が衝突し、ユニークな形で交雑
しているからである。18世紀後半から19世紀にかけて、科学革命によってグレードアップした
西洋の数理天文学の導入が本格化する。それ以前には、イエズス会宣教師や西学啓蒙家が著し
た『乾坤体義』『天経或問』または『乾坤弁説』などがあったが、その宇宙論は、キリスト教
の伝道という縛りがあるためにアリストテレス系宇宙論を中心とする中世色を色濃く残してお
り、コペルニクス、ケプラーの名前が登場するものの、チコ・ブラーエの折衷的な宇宙モデル
が中心であった。ところが、清の高宗の時代になると、日月に関してケプラーの楕円運動説を
取り入れた1742年に『暦象考成後編』が成立した。日本にもすぐに舶載され、麻田剛立とその
弟子によって研究され、寛政暦（1797年に完成、翌年から1842年まで施行）への改暦の数理的
基盤を提供した。その一方で、オランダとの通商により、最新の科学理論を概説した蘭書がも
たらされ、科学革命の成果をダイレクトに学べるようになった。宇宙論については、本木良永、
志筑忠雄ら蘭学者がニュートン力学に依拠する太陽中心説（地動説）を紹介するに至る。
仏教の場合、教理体系の基盤には須弥山説があるため、大きなダメージを蒙った。そこで、
円通は、仏教擁護の立場から西洋の天文説に反駁を加え、須弥山説が正当であることを論証し
ようとする。その徹底した批判の鉾先は、古代中国の蓋天説、渾天説などの宇宙構造説にも及
ぶ。その議論は、現代天文学の立場から見れば科学的根拠を欠いた暴論に映るが、仏教経典に
説かれた天文暦術に精通したうえに、梅文鼎の『暦学疑問』や志筑忠雄の『暦象新書』などを
通して東西の宇宙論にそれなりの理解を示しており、反西洋主義的な排斥論のなかでは異彩を
放つ。円通は、『仏国暦象編』の後半部において、仏教経典に記載された所説を整理して古代
インド起源の天文暦法（梵暦）を体系化し、仏教再建を目的とする梵暦運動を積極的に展開す
る。その主張は、西洋の新知識に圧倒されていた近世仏教に宗派を超えて大きな影響を与え、
幕末から明治に至る護法運動に数理的基盤を提供する。天台宗、浄土真宗などの仏教徒は、西
洋の天文理論を批判的に取り込んで須弥山説に新解釈を試みるなど、欧米科学知識の伝播に反
作用的な役割を果たした。従来の科学史研究では、発展史観による近代科学の系譜化という見
地で、先駆的な発明、発見の業績史を祖述してきた。しかしながら、円通やその追随者の梵暦
運動は、伝統科学の立場から東アジアの近代化を眺める必要性を言い立てている。
自然探究の学問において、異郷からもたらされた典籍、文物や情報は常に刺激的であり、時
には大きなブレイクスルーを誘発した。とりわけ、宇宙論、自然観、生命観等の重要概念の変
遷には、異なる文化圏との抵触、受容、移植がエポックメーキングな役割を果たしてきた。中
─ vii ─
国において、インド、イスラム、ヨーロッパなどの西方世界からもたらされた科学技術は、理
論的変革をもたらすほどに大きな作用を発揮した。また、韓国、日本やベトナムには中国をフ
ィルターとした形で伝播し、それぞれに異なる自国化の道を辿った。近世日本では、新興の大
陸文化を受容しながら、さらにイエズス会宣教師やオランダから直接に科学知識を導入したこ
とによって、ハイブリッドな独自の近世科学文化を開花させた。現在、科学史研究会で推進す
る共同研究は、そのような東西の知識交流と自国化について具体的様相を探り、近代合理主義
の発展史観から距離を置いて汎アジア的な視座から多角的に考察することで伝統科学文化を文
化複合体として構造的に把握することを究極の目的とするものである。
1995年に信州大学から人文研科学史研究室の准教授として着任してすぐに科学史読書会を立
ち上げたが、それ以来、中国、日本の多種多様な科学史基礎文献を会読してきた。天文暦学関
連では、『霊験』
『乙巳占』
『大唐陰陽書』
『天経或問』『天方性理』
『暦学疑問』『乾坤弁説』『暦
象新書』『新修五星法』などである。本論文集の執筆者である小林博行氏、高橋あやの女史は、
『暦学疑問』
『霊験』の訳注担当者であった。また、橋本敬造、矢野道雄両氏は、当初からの会
読メンバーで、本論文集の欧文論文においても、投稿論文の査読による採否の審査を引き受け
てもらった。宮島一彦氏を含めた藪内スクールの高弟三氏に指導的な役割を担ってもらえたこ
とが、長期に亘って科学史研究会、読書会を継続的に行えた要因である。藪内先生時代からの
班員である相川佳予子、森村謙一、坂出祥伸諸氏も毎回参加しており、東アジア科学史研究に
おける若手育成の希有な場であることも附言しておきたい。
それらの研究成果や訳稿をまとめた専著は公刊できないでいたが、定年 1 年前にしてようや
く本論文集の出版に漕ぎ着けることができ、怠慢を恥じつつも大きな喜びを感じている。研究
会、読書会の参加者、特別講師の諸氏に、ここに感謝の意を表したい。 2 度の国際研究集会や
本論文の執筆者には、これからの科学史研究を担う中堅、若手の研究者が数多く含まれている。
今後において、京大人文研科学史研究室を 1 つの拠点として、いや人文研という枠組みから飛
び出て、国際色豊かな研究集会や研究論文集が続出することを願うばかりである。
なお、本論文集を刊行するに際して、京都大学文学研究科非常勤講師の上田真啓氏には、校
正原稿の取りまとめなどの編集作業を大いに手伝ってもらった。ここに心より感謝申し上げる。
また、創栄図書印刷の日置高義氏には、論文集の企画の段階からいろいろと無理な注文をお願
いしたのにも関わらず、多大なご尽力を賜った。思えば、元共同工業印刷の編集者で、現在は
ミネルヴァ書房で働く前田晋氏に日置氏に紹介してもらうところから、出版企画はスタートす
る。前田、日置両氏は、昔ながらの見識と気骨のある編集者である。近世以降に盛んになる出
版文化の蔭には、必ずそのような有識の協力者、仕掛け人がいたのであるが、お二人との出逢
いがなければ、人文研拠点研究経費の出版助成にエントリーしてみようという意欲は湧かなか
ったにちがいない。お世話になった両氏に、深謝の意を表する。
二〇一九年二月十日
京都大学人文科学研究所 武田時昌
─ viii ─
Preface
The idea of an interdisciplinary project on the topic of “Overlapping cosmologies” was first
proposed to me by Professor Tokimasa Takeda over a conversation in 2014. It was then my
fifth year in Japan, having completed my JSPS post-doctoral program with Professor Michio
Yano at Kyoto Sangyo University on the topic of “A Re-Examination of Indian Astral Science
as Seen from Chinese Sources.” I was afterward very fortunate to be accepted as a fellow of
the Hakubi Project, a visionary program at Kyoto University that aimed to foster and support
young researchers to develop new research “paying no heed to disciplinary or geographic
boundaries.” Professor Takeda was my host at the Institute for Research in Humanities
(Jinbunken), Kyoto University for the five-year Hakubi project, whose goal was to examine the
historical development of the astral science in antiquity from an Asian perspective. Given my
training in linguistics, Buddhist studies and Indological studies, I have always been interested
in questions concerning the transmission of knowledge across cultural and linguistic
boundaries. Some of these questions are: Could scientific knowledge be generated
independently and simultaneously within different cultures? How did the scientific revolution
in Europe take place in the sixteenth century and what was the role of non-Western
knowledge in scientific advancement? Why did science and technology in the East stagnate
despite China being the global leader in scientific innovation and technology up to the middle of
the second millennium (the “Needham Question”)? What was the role of foreign knowledge in
the East and what are the historical lessons to be learned? To answer these questions, we need
the insight of scholars from various fields of both science and humanities backgrounds, with the
breadth of historical knowledge as well as familiarity with a vast geographical area of great
linguistic and cultural diversity.
Such daunting project would not have been possible without the groundwork already laid
down by generations of past scholars, and here in Japan in particular, by those who carry on
the legacy of Professor Kiyosi Yabuuti, eminent historian of exact science at Kyoto University.
In 2012, Professor Yano introduced me to the “Buddhist Astronomical Research Group” 仏教
天文学研究会, (in short, Buttenken) a long-running monthly seminar organized by Professor
Kazuhiko Miyajima and Professor Takao Hayashi, both of Doshisha University, to examine the
Bukkokurekishōhen 佛 國 暦 象 編 of the Edo Buddhist scholar-monk Entsū 円 通, a late-
eighteenth century Buddhist treatise in Chinese on various traditions of astral science in an
attempt to defend the Buddhist cosmology. The seminar ran continuously for over thirteen
years and the reading of the five-fascicled work completed in March, 2017 at the 153rd
─ ix ─
meeting. During the last two years of the research group after the retirement of the two
founding members, I had the honor of carrying on the work here at Kyoto University, thanks to
the support of two JSPS grants (JSPS KAKENHI Grant 15K01118, “Overlapping cosmologies
of Asia,” and JSPS International Collaborative Research Accelerator Grant 15KK0050) and also
Professor Takedaʼs concurrent seminar (東アジアの宗教文化と自然学) at the Jinbunken. It
was during the long hours of mindful reading and discussion with the dozen scholars from this
research group (many of whom were members of the Yabuuti School), that many new ideas
connected to this project were born. Leaving aside the question of boundaries which seemed to
blur continuously as we put them under scrutiny, the picture that emerged was one of dynamic
interchange, as concurrent systems of thoughts and knowledge constantly vied for dominance.
The astral science, being the foremost science of its time in the East as in the West, was no
exception. During this competitive exchange, sometimes the locals won, sometimes the
foreigners. In some cases, new ideas were generated. However, in most cases, different ideas of
the world and the universe ran parallel against each other in their respective milieux, linguistic,
cultural, religious or social. The result is indeed one of “overlapping cosmologies” as there is no
better way to characterize an intellectual environment where diverse ideas from different
places coexist and at times collide against each other, whether it was Tang China, Edo Japan,
or our world today.
With the encouragement of Professor Takeda, I organized an international workshop titled
“Traditional Sciences in Asia 2015: An Interdisciplinary Investigation into Overlapping
Cosmologies” (IWTSA 2015) アジア伝統科学国際ワークショップ2015：古今の宇宙観 (17-19
June, 2015). The event was jointly sponsored by three academic units in Kyoto University:
Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, History of Science Laboratory, Institute for Research in
Humanities, and Unit of Synergetic Studies for Space (USSS). The workshop, which featured
presentations by fifteen scholars and two public lectures including one by Professor Norio
Kaifu, President of the International Astronomical Union, turned out to be a tremendous
success. The collegiality and the very positive experience of the scholars prompted us to
organize similar events, where scholars from very different backgrounds interested in topics
related to “overlapping worldviews, cosmologies and sciences” could have the opportunity to
engage in stimulating dialogues.
In 2016, during my nine-month visit to the U.S. for a collaborative research with Professor
Alexander Jones of ISAW, New York University, and Professor John Steele of Brown
University, I was able not only to connect with many international scholars, whose works
closely connected to my own research on the transmission of Greco-Babylonian astral science
in India and China, but also for me to introduce to the international scholarly community some
of the latest and highly innovative research projects undertaken by scholars in China and
Japan. One result was the international conference “Cosmos, East and West: Astral Sciences in
─x─
South and East Asia and their Interaction with the Greco-Roman World,” held at the New
York University (27 February, 2017), which I organized in collaboration with Professor Lillian
Tseng. Another fruit was the “International Conference on Traditional Sciences in Asia:
East-West Encounter in the Science of Heaven and Earth” (ICTSA 2017) アジア伝統科学国際
会議2017：天と地の科学──東と西の出会い, the Proceedings of which is now in your hands.
The international conference ICTSA 2017, held under the banner of “Kyoto University
International Symposium,” welcomed over eighty participants from Japan and overseas,
including India and other Asian, North American, and European countries. Two keynote
speeches were made by Professor Christopher Cullen of Needham Research Institute and the
University of Cambridge, and Professor Krishnamurti Ramasubramanian of IIT Bombay. The
sessions were divided into eight panels, covering the astral science from various regions
including West, South, and East Asia, as well as thematic topics such as visualization and
transmission, mapping heaven and earth, and modern geosciences. In total, over thirty panel
and poster presentations were delivered.
The conference was made possible only by many forms of support, including a large
supporting team, both external and internal, and I fear that I cannot express enough thanks to
every single deserving friend. Our four international co-organizers included Indian Institute of
Technology Bombay (IITB), Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG), Max-Planck Institute for
the History of Science (MPIWG), and the SPHERE-ERC SAW project (France). Thanks go to
Professor Iyemori Toshihiko, Director of the Synergetic Studies of Space, for accepting the role
of Chairperson of the Conference Organising Committee. Dr. Marcus Werner, a fellow Hakubi
Fellow, played a key role in developing the program of the conference. Masahiro Ueda
(Conference Secretariat), Yoko Odagi, and Harufumi Tamazawa worked incessantly during
the year leading up to and during the conference. We were extremely fortunate to receive the
support of the international symposium funding of Kyoto University, which was the main
sponsor of the event. Professor Takeda as the Vice Chairperson of the conference helped to
secure additional financial and institutional support from the Jinbunken. Further support was
provided by the Hakubi Center and the World Data Center for Geomagnetism, under the
leadership of Professor Masao Mitsuyama and Professor Iyemori respectively here at Kyoto
University, and the Kyoto Convention & Visitors Bureau (MICE).
The current Proceedings includes twelve English papers presented at ICTSA 2017,
selected and reviewed by our scientific committee, together with fourteen Japanese papers by
members of Buttenken at the recommendation of Professor Takeda. I would like to express my
gratitude to Professor Christopher Cullen, Professor Keizo Hashimoto, Professor Michio Yano,
Professor John Steele and Dr. Marcus Werner for ensuring the content of the English papers
meet the highest academic standard. Last but not least, special thanks go to Mr. Masahiro
Ueda, who provided not only the editorial support for the publication, but also for most of the
─ xi ─
office support during this five-year project.
Bill M. Mak 麥文彪
Kyoto, Japan
13th January, 2019
śāke 1940 pauṣamāse śuklapakṣe 7 ādityavāsare
戊戌年臘月初八日曜日於京都
─ xii ─
Indian Calendar and Festivals through al-Bīrūnīʼs Eyes
Noémie Verdon
Abstract
The article presents the way in which al-Bīrūnī described the Indian
calendrical system through three of his works, Al-ātār al-bāqiya, Tafhīm, and
Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind and how his knowledge evolved depending upon his
sources of information. The interest of al-Bīrūnī in the Indian calendrical
system led him to enumerate more than thirty Indian religious festivals fixed
by the movements of the moon and the sun. The objective of this article is to
offer an overview of these festivals as listed and described by him in his Taḥqīq
mā li-l-Hind. This overview leads to some observations with regard to
al-Bīrūnīʼs sources of information for his description of these religious
celebrations. It appears that he chiefly based his depiction on oral reports. This
orality is seen by the way in which Indic terms have been transliterated by
al-Bīrūnī into Arabic. This article also highlights the connection between some
categories of festivals celebrated by his Indian informants and the society he
encountered in South Asia. A large variety of festivals were practiced as
rituals, ranging from Dīpāvali and Śivarātri, to Tīj festivals, via celebrations
dedicated to Brahmins and ancestors.
Key words: al-Bīrūnī, calendar, festivals, religious history, Hinduism
1. Introduction
Since his earliest works, the scholar al-Bīrūnī (973-ca. 1050 CE) had contributed to the
history of science. The present article discusses the Indian calendrical system as it has been
described by him in his Chronology of Ancient Nations (Al-ātār al-bāqiya, 1000 CE), Tafhīm
(Elements of Astrology, 1029 CE), and his monograph on India (Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind, ca. 1030
CE). It connects essential discrepancies in these descriptions to the type of sources al-Bīrūnī
used, as well as his motives, when composing each of these three works.
The article further focuses on the Indian festivals which al-Bīrūnī lists in a chapter of the
Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind 1. A phonetic analysis of the way in which he transliterated the names of
1
The full title of this work is Fī taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind min maʿqūla maqbūla fī l-ʿaql aw mardūla (Research
on what the Indians say, both what is acceptable by reason and what is not).
─ 63 ─
the festivals from Indic languages into Arabic reveals that most of the information found in this
chapter is based on his interactions with the Indians. It also appears that at times he
complemented his oral sources with his theoretical knowledge on Indian calendrical system
and history. His descriptions remain however relatively concise and do not generally include
much mythological description. They are mostly confined to determining the astronomical
moments when the festivals occur, their objects of worship, and the way they were observed.
Whereas a few celebrations enumerated by al-Bīrūnī are easily identifiable, many others are
difficult to recognize. The present article also attempts to establish the identity of some of
them.
Further, calendars and religious festivals constitute a practical aspect of astronomy,
closely connected to the society. In his chapter of the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind, al-Bīrūnī displays a
society observing religious festivals mainly fixed by lunar dates. In addition, a large variety of
objects of worship were celebrated. However, thanks to the identification of some festivals, it
appears that the cults of the goddesses, of Brahmins and of ancestors constituted an integral
part of this society. The presentation of these festivals by al-Bīrūnī also highlights the
importance of the participation of women in the religious calendar. The present article
attempts to situate some of these festivals in a socio-historical context.
2. Indian calendrical system
In Al-ātār al-bāqiya, al-Bīrūnī provides tables with Indian months, planets, and zodiacal
signs with their names directly transliterated from Sanskrit2. In an interesting passage of the
same book, he offers us a general description of the Indian calendrical system3, which is
described as being chiefly based on the cycles of the moon and on its observation. There, he
also states that the Indians “calls the leap year adhimāsa” ( )4,
whereas the Sanskrit term means and refers to an “additional month.” The system described
by al-Bīrūnī in this passage also includes four types of periods, or measures: 1) the solar year
( ), 2) the middle year ( ), 3) the lunar year ( ), and 4) the
lunar year in use ( ). The calculations of each of the four periods are
explained by al-Bīrūnī and depend upon solar and lunar movements. In Indian astronomy, they
correspond respectively to the solar measure (sauramāna), the civil measure (sāvanamāna),
2
Carl Edward Sachau, Al-ātār al-bāqiya ʿan il-qurūn al-ḫāliya. Taʾlīf Abī al-Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn
Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī al-Khawārizmī. Chronologie orientalischer Völker von Albêrûni (Baghdad: Maktaba
Al-Mutannā, 1963 [1923]), pp. 71; 192-3; Carl Edward Sachau, The Chronology of Ancient Nations. An English
Version of the Arabic text of the Athâr-ul-bâkiya of Albîrûnî or “Vestiges of the past” (London: W. H. Allen & Co,
1879), pp. 83; 172-3.
3
Sachau, Al-ātār al-bāqiya, pp. 12.19-13.10; Sachau, The Chronology, p. 15.
4
Sachau, Al-ātār al-bāqiya, p. 13.1-2.
─ 64 ─
Indian Calendar and Festivals through al-Bīrūnīʼs Eyes
the lunar measure (cāndramāna) and the measure of the lunar mansion (nākṣatramāna).
According to al-Bīrūnī, the third measure corresponds to a complete revolution of the moon,
while the fourth measure to the twelve occurrences of the new moon5.
Al-Bīrūnīʼs description found in the first part of this excerpt originates from hearsay, as he
acknowledges the absence of reliable informants on the subject. The second part dealing with
the four types of periods is based on the Kitāb al-Ġurra by Abū Muḥammad al-Nāʾib al-Āmulī
who draws from Yaʿqūb Ibn Ṭāriq, as indicated by al-Bīrūnī. This book has not been identified
yet. The name of Yaʿqūb Ibn Ṭāriq is closely associated with that of al-Fazārī. They were both
prominent scholars working on Indian astronomy at the Abbasid court during al-Manṣūrʼs rule
(754-775 CE). Al-Fazārī contributed to the Arabic translation of two Sanskrit works by
Brahmagupta (early 7th century CE, Bhillamāla): the Zīğ al-Arkand, related to the
Khaṇḍakhādyaka; and the Sindhind (or al-Sindhind), based, at least partly, on the
Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta6. Yaʿqūb Ibn Ṭāriq composed a Zīğ (astronomical table) and two
works entitled Tarkīb al-aflāk (Composition of the Spheres, 777-778) and Kitāb al-ʿilal (The
Book of the Reason) which included Indian elements, drawn from the Sindhind and al-Arkand,
as well as Iranian concepts. In several passages of Al-ātār al-bāqiya, al-Bīrūnī refers to these
two works translated from Sanskrit7. Thus, these were sources available to al-Bīrūnī in the
year 1000 CE, for him to discuss the Indian calendrical system.
In the Tafhīm, a textbook on astrology composed in the year 1029 CE, al-Bīrūnī remains
relatively concise on the Indian calendrical system. He provides the Sanskrit names for the
days8. He mentions that the days of the week have the devas ( ) as their guardians, without
9
however specifying the names of the guardians . He also provides the Sanskrit terms of the
Indian months relatively accurately10. He explains that the Indians use an intercalary or
additional month in their calendar, as he did in Al-ātār al-bāqiya. According to him, the Indians
call the leap year by two terms, malamāsa ( ) and adhimāsa11. Thus, al-Bīrūnī
reproduces the same error in the Tafhīm and in Al-ātār al-bāqiya12. He discusses the same
5
See below p. 5.
6
N. A. Baloch, Ghurrat al-Zijat or Karana Tilaka. A Handbook of Astronomy by Biyajanand of Benares.
Translated from the Original into Arabic with an Exposition of the Underlying Principles by Abu al-Raiḥān
Muhammad b. Ahmad Al-Beruni (Hyderabad: Sind University Press, 1973), p. 19; “Sindhind”, Encyclopaedia of
Islam (2nd ed.), BrillOnline, accessed November 2017; “Zīdj”, Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.), BrillOnline,
accessed November 2017.
7
Sachau, Al-ātār al-bāqiya, pp. 9.15-8; 25.12-3; 26.18-20; 274.13-6; Sachau, The Chronology, pp. 11; 29; 31;
266.
8
Ramsay A. Wright, The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology by Abū l-Rayḥān
Muḥammad bin Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī. The Translation facing the Text by R. Ramsay Wright (London: Luzac & Co,
1934), p. 165.
9
Wright, The Elements, p. 170.
10
Wright, The Elements, p. 166.
11
Al-Bīrūnī specifies that adhimāsa belongs to the literary language.
─ 65 ─
four types of measures in the Tafhīm, which he described in Al-ātār al-bāqiya. In the two
books, the account is relatively concise and lacks description. In contrast to Al-ātār al-bāqiya,
however, in the Tafhīm, al-Bīrūnī provides us with an approximate Arabic transliteration of
the Sanskrit terms of these four measures13.
Al-Bīrūnīʼs knowledge on the Indian calendrical system in the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind is far
more developed and specific than in the two other works, as he not only provides the names of
the days, months, and planets, but also describes the two halves of the year and the seasons14,
the divisions of the months and their dominants15. He offers a detailed account of the months,
their calculation and the related terminology16, and dedicates a chapter of his book to describe
the fast days17. He also revises his previous definition of adhimāsa, stating in this book that it
refers to the leap month18.
Further, in his Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind, al-Bīrūnī devotes an entire chapter to the four types
of measures (māna or and pramāṇa or ) and exposes them at length in relationship
to the Indian calendar. He first notices that the previous account by Yaʿqūb Ibn Ṭāriq is not
only unexhaustive, but also lacks correct terminology, and then explains the specific functions
of the four periods, i. e., the solar measure (sauramāna or ), the civil measure
(sāvanamāna or ), the lunar measure (cāndramāna or ) and the measure of
the lunar mansion (nākṣatramāna or ) in a relatively detailed way19.
In the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind, al-Bīrūnī also enumerates calendars beginning with different
months in various regions of early medieval India20. Although the exact location of the places
mentioned by al-Bīrūnī is problematic21, this account informs us on the beginning of the year in
use within a relatively limited territory: the month Bhādrapada in a region adjacent to Kashmir
(Kanīr); Kārttika near Taxila (between Bardarī and Mārīkala); Mārgaśirṣa in Nīrahara
(beyond Tākeshar and Lohāwar), Lamghān, Sind, Kanauj, and Multan22. It also shows that the
people of Multan adopted later Caitra as the first month of the year, starting from the new
moon.
12
See above p. 3.
13
Wright, The Elements, p. 169.
14
Abū l-Rayḥān Muḥammad bin Aḥmad Al-Bīrūnī, Fī taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind min maqūla maqbūla fī l-ʿaql
aw mardūla (Hyderabad: Daʼirat al-Maʼarif il-Osmania Publications, 1958), pp. 299.18-302.2; Carl Edward
Sachau, Alberuniʼs India. An Account of the Religion, Philosophy, Literature, Geography, Chronology,
Astronomy, Customs, Laws and Astrology of India about AD 1030 (New Delhi: Low Price Publications, 1888b),
I, pp. 356-8.
15
Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, p. 302.2-3 and table; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, I, p. 358.
16
Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, pp. 291.2-295.4; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, I, pp. 346-50.
17
Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, p. 483.15-486.6; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, II, pp. 175-8.
18
Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, p. 358.3-11; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, II, p. 20.
19
Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, pp. 297.9-299.17; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, I, pp. 353-6.
20
Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, p. 347.7-18; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, II, pp. 8-9.
─ 66 ─
Indian Calendar and Festivals through al-Bīrūnīʼs Eyes
Despite the variety described by al-Bīrūnī, his report shows that Caitra was used as the
first month of the year in Kashmir and Multan. According to the same passage, the Indian
astronomers begin the year with Caitra as well. It is possible to know the Indian calendrical
system that was conveyed to al-Bīrūnī through the Sanskrit astronomical literature he had
read, and by his Indian informants, when he composed the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind. Al-Bīrūnī
begins his record of the religious festivals with the śuklapakṣa (bright fortnight) of Caitra
(March-April)23. Further, he reports that the months are divided into halves starting with the
new moon and that the Viṣṇudharma, i.e., the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, places the śuklapakṣa
as the first half of the Indian months24. In another passage of the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind,
al-Bīrūnī also equates the first day of Jyaiṣṭha with the new moon of Jyaiṣṭha, thus indicating
the beginning of the month25. These few examples thus suggest that the system had the year
start with the śuklapakṣa of Caitra and was thus amānta (new moon ending). In addition,
according to a dating found in a bilingual inscription, the calendar in use in Peshawar─a region
visited by al-Bīrūnī─in the early 11th century CE would follow the amānta system, too26.
Lastly, in general, al-Bīrūnīʼs account reveals that the Śaka Era was the common era used in
Sanskrit astronomical sources and by Indians thinkers27.
21
Sir Henry Miers Elliot and John Dowson, History of India as Told by its own Historians. The
Muhammadan Period. Vol. II (Delhi: Low Price Publication, 2008 [1869]), pp. 273; Alexander Cunningham, The
Ancient Geography of India. Vol. I. The Buddhist Period, Including the Campaigns of Alexander and the Travels
of Hwen-Thsang (London: Trübner & Co, 1871), p. 111; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, I, pp. 302-3; II, p. 360; Nundo
Lal Dey, The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India (Delhi: Low Price Publications, 1927), pp.
15; 135; Clifford Edmund Bosworth (ed.), Ḥudūd al-ʿālam. The Regions of the World. A Persian Geography. 372
A.H. - 982 A.D. Translated and explained by V. Minorsky (London: Luzac & Company Ltd, 1970 [1937]), pp.
72; 91; 209; 249-50; 252-3; Narendra Nath, Bhattacharyya, The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Early
Medieval India (Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd, 1999 [1991]), pp. 81-2; 226.
22
Robert Sewell and Śaṅkara Bālakṛshṇa Dīkshita, The Indian Calendar with Tables for the Conversion of
Hindu and Muhammadan into A.D. Dates, and Vice versa. With Tables of Eclipses Visible in India by Dr. Robert
Schram (London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co. Ltd, 1896), p. 32.
23
Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, p. 486.9-15; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, II, p. 178, cf. Table 1.
24
Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, p. 302; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, I, p. 358; Gonda 1951: 111.
25
Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, p. 487.13; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, II, p. 179.
26
Abdur Rehman, “The Zalamkot Bilingual Inscription,” East and West, vol. 48, No. 3 (1998): 473. On the
calendrical systems used in India, and specifically in Kashmir, see M. Yano, “Calendar and Related Subjects in
the Nīlamatapurāṇa”, in A Study of the Nīlamata. Aspects of Hinduism in Ancient Kashmir, ed. Y. Ikari (Kyoto:
Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University, 1994), 223-236.
27
In the Tafhīm: Wright, The Elements, p. 173; in al-qānūn al-Masʿūdī: Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, II, pp.
359-61; Kennedy, Stewart Edward, Engle Susan and Wamstad Jeanne. “The Hindu Calendar as Described in
Al-Bīrūnīʼs Masudic Canon,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 24, No. 3, (1965): 275; in the Taḥqīq mā
li-l-Hind: al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, pp. 344.17-347.5; 347.20-348.1; 384.14-387.1; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, II, pp. 5-9;
50-2. On Indian eras, see S. K. Chatterjee and Apurba Kumar Chakravarti, “Indian Calendar from Post-Vedic
Period to AD 1900”, in History of Astronomy in India, ed. S. N. Sen and K. S. Shukla (Delhi: Indian National
Science Academy, 1985): 297-303.
─ 67 ─
3. The festivals
In Al-ātār al-bāqiya, al-Bīrūnī describes the vernal and autumnal equinoxes as important
festivals among the Indians28. There are no other Indian festivals described in this text.
Al-Bīrūnī does not provide the Indian names of the two festivals but describes the rituals. At
the vernal equinox, sun is worshipped, ritual fires and prayers are performed to the fathers and
to the beyond world. At the autumnal equinox, devotees exchange presents, visit their temples
in the morning, and go out to their parks. The object of worship is time as well as a god called
Allah by al-Bīrūnī. His knowledge of these two celebrations is mainly based on his readings,
such as al-Sindhind or other Zīğ translated from Sanskrit.
In the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind, al-Bīrūnī dedicates an entire chapter entitled “On the feasts
and festivals” ( ) to the enumeration of several Indian festivals29. The
present section chiefly draws information from this chapter and focuses on the origin of his
sources. In his list of festivals, al-Bīrūnī does not provide the festivals according to the numbers
of tithi-s (lunar day) divided into two fortnights, but according to thirty lunar days of the
month30. In an article on the Indian religious festivals written in 1847, Horace Hayman Wilson
calculated the days in the same manner. In his description, the system is however pūrṇimānta
(full moon ending)31. A recent ethno-historical survey on the Nepali new year, Bisket Jātrā,
done by the present author revealed that the two fortnights are generally counted together by
the local community, that is with thirty numbers instead of fifteen each. In the following table,
the fortnights have been separated and their corresponding tithi-s have been calculated32.
Further, whereas S. K. Chatterjee and Apurba Kumar Chakravarti propose a numbering of the
tithi-s according to which the full moon day is the fifteenth tithi and the new moon day the
thirtieth33, al-Bīrūnīʼs record diverges from procedure of calculation in that he considered the
new moon as the first day of a month. The list provided in this article is rather schematic and
follows al-Bīrūnī. Lastly, in al-Bīrūnīʼs account, Bhādrapada (August-September) succeeds
Āśvayuja (September-October). The usual order has been reproduced in table 1, which
summarizes otherwise the festivals as they were described by al-Bīrūnī.
Al-Bīrūnī only mentions the name of Jīvaśarman, as a source of information for the
28
Sachau, Al-ātār al-bāqiya, p. 274.13-16; Sachau, The Chronology, p. 266.
29
Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, pp. 486.7-92.9; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, pp. 178-85.
30
Whereas al-Bīrūnī is aware of the concept of tithi, he does not use it here for locating the festivals
throughout the year.
31
Horace Hayman Wilson, “The Religious Festivals of the Hindus,” The Journal of Asiatic Society of Great
Britain and Ireland, vol. 9 (1847): 60-110.
32
Correspondences with al-Bīrūnīʼs calculations have been specified whenever required.
33
Chatterjee and Chakravarti, “Indian Calendar,” p. 272.
─ 68 ─
Indian Calendar and Festivals through al-Bīrūnīʼs Eyes
Table 1. Indian Festivals in the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind
nos tithis Festivalʼs names and descriptions
Caitra ( ), śuklapakṣa (March-April)
1) 2 Agdūs ( ); victory of a Kashmiri king named Muttai ( ) over the Turks.
2) 11 Hindūlī-caitra ( ); to Vāsudeva ( ); gathering in his temples (devagṛha;
); public and private rituals (idolʼs display and swinging).
3) 15 Bahand ( ); full moon; dedicated to women; husbands give presents1.
Caitra, kṛṣṇapakṣa
4) 6 (or 7) Caitra-ṣaṣṭhī ( ); to Bhagavatī ( ); ablutions and alms2.
Vaiśākha ( ), śuklapakṣa (April-March)
5) 3-4 Gaurī-tṛtīya ( ; to Gaurī ( ) and to women; women practice ablution, alms,
swinging, worship of the idol by lighting of lamps in front of it, fasting during the 3rd tithi and
eating during the 4th.
6) 10-15 Brahmins are invited by kings; they perform great fire rituals and sacrifices in sixteen
different places and four different groups related to the four Vedas3.
7) no tithi Vasanta ( ); vernal equinox; Brahmins are guests; in Vaiśākha.
Jyaiṣṭha ( ), śuklapakṣa (May-June)
8) 1 New moon; propitiation for good crops.
9) 15 Rūpa-pañca ( ); full moon; dedicated to women4.
Āṣāḍha ( ) (June-July); month dedicated to almsgiving, called āhārī ( ), vessels ( ) are
renewed.
Śrāvaṇa ( ), śuklapakṣa (July-August)
10) 15 Full moon; banquets to Brahmins5.
Bhādrapada ( ), śuklapakṣa (August-September)
11) 1-15 Pitṛpakṣa ( ); distribution of alms for the fathers; moon stands in Magha ( )
nakṣatra.
12) 3-4 Harbālī or Haryālī ( ); women practice different kinds of rituals (offerings, ablutions);
related to agriculture.
13) 6 Gāihatta ( ); banquets6.
14) 8 Dhruva Gṛha ( ); ablutions; fertility; propitiation for procreation and health7.
15) 11 Barbata ( ); Brahmins produce threads and worship Vāsudeva8.
Bhādrapada ( ), kṛṣṇapakṣa; the fortnight is dedicated to children.
16) 1-7 Karāra ( ); seven days to honour children; playing with animals; men practice rituals.
17) no tithi Gūnālahīd ( ); celebrates the birth of Vāsudeva ( ); joyful playing; moon stands
in Rohiṇī ( ) nakṣatra; lasts three days in Bhādrapada.
18) 11-12 Festival in Kashmir and in the region of Swāt; to Mahādeva ( ); related to water9.
Āśvayuja ( ), śuklapakṣa10 (September-October)
19) 8 (or 9?) Mahānavamī ( ); to Bhagavatī ( ); sucking of sugar cane, offerings and killing of
young goat ( )11; moon stands in Mūla ( ) nakṣatra12.
20) 15 Puhāī ( ); to Vāsudeva; wrestling; playing with animals; moon stands in Revatī ( )
nakṣatra.
─ 69 ─
Āśvayuja ( ), kṛṣṇapakṣa
21) 1 Alms to Brahmins13.
22) 8 Āho/ū ( ); to Aśoka ( ); wrestling; moon stands in Punarvasu ( ) nakṣatra14.
Kārttika ( ), śuklapakṣa (October-November)
23) 1 New moon; Dīpāvali ( ); to Lakṣmī ( ); exchanges of gifts; joyful playing;
ablutions; lightening lamps; sun marches in Libra ( ).
Kārttika ( ), kṛṣṇapakṣa; women are embellished during the dark fortnight.
24) 15 Full moon; banquets.
Mārgaśīrṣa ( ), śuklapakṣa (November-December)
25) 3-4 Guvāna-bātrīj or Guvāna-bātīj ( ); to Gaurī ( ); 3rd tithi: women perform
rituals and gather in houses of the rich ones; display of silver idols; 4th tithi: alms giving.
26) 15 Full moon; festival dedicated to women.
Pauṣa ( ), śuklapakṣa (December-January): most days of this month the Indians prepare a sweet dish
called pūhaval ( ).
27) 8 Aṣṭakā ( ); offerings made from spinach (Artiplex Hortensis) to Brahmins.
Pauṣa ( ), kṛṣṇapakṣa
28) 8 Sāgārtama ( ); they eat turnips.
Māgha ( ), śuklapakṣa (January-February)
29) 3-4 Māhatrīj or Māghatīj ( ); to Gaurī ( ); 3rd tithi: women perform rituals and gather
in houses of the rich ones; rituals with cold water; 4th tithi: alms giving15.
30) 15 Cāmāha ( ); full moon; lighting of fire in elevated places.
Māgha ( ), kṛṣṇapakṣa; during the entire month, women wash themselves with cold water.
31) 8 Mānsartagu ( ) or Māhā(t)ana ( ); reception of guests and banquets16.
32) 15 Last day of the month; ritual bathing at the end of the day17.
Phālguna ( ), śuklapakṣa (February-March)
33) 8 Pūrārtaku ( ); preparation of food for Brahmins.
34) 15 Odād ( ), Dhola or Dahula ( ); full moon; lighting of fires in low places; festival for
women ( )18.
Phālguna ( ), kṛṣṇapakṣa (February-March)
35) 1 Śivarātri ( ); to Mahādeva ( ); during the whole night; offerings of perfumes and
flowers19
36) 8 Pūyattana ( ); eating of special type of food (rice, butter and sugar)20.
37) no tithi Sāmbapur zātra ( ); celebrated in Multan; sunʼs cult; determination of the date
based on the Khaṇḍakhādyaka ( )21.
1
According to Sachau, this festival is the same as Vasanta. Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, II, pp. 179; 397.
2
Al-Bīrūnī gives day twenty-two of Caitra for this festival, which would correspond to the seventh tithi of kṛṣṇapakṣa.
3
No specific name is given to this festival by al-Bīrūnī.
4
The reading is taken from Sachauʼs edition in this place (Sachau, Taḥqīq, p. 288.7-8. The Hyderabad edition has
(yanja; Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, p. 487.15). This festival was not identified.
5
This day is a fast day in Somnath according to another passage of the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind (Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, p.
485.9-10; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, II, p. 176). Al-Bīrūnī does not specify any name for this festival. Today, the festival
known as Rakṣa Bandhan (Skt: rakṣabandhana) is celebrated during the full moon of Śrāvaṇa.
6
In this place, Sachauʼs translation is questionable as a missing portion of text has been complemented by him based on
Gardīzī (Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, II, p. 397).
7
Today a festival of propitiation occurring at the eight tithi of the śuklapakṣa of Bhādrapada is known in Nepal as
─ 70 ─
Indian Calendar and Festivals through al-Bīrūnīʼs Eyes
Guhyeśvarī Jātrā (Anderson The Festivals, p. 190-3). However, it is doubtful that this Nepali festival is connected with the
one enumerated by al-Bīrūnī. In addition, the Arabic reading is uncertain.
8
The Arabic word barbata was translated as Parvatī by Sachau.
9
Al-Bīrūnī numbers the days twenty-six and twenty-seven. He relies on Jīvaśarman and unnamed Kashmiris.
10
This month is Āśvina.
11
Sachau translates “they [...] kill kids” (Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, II, p. 180).
12
Al-Bīrūnī explains in another passage of the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind that this day is a fast day dedicated to Bhagavatī, the
fast being stopped after the moon rises (Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, p. 485.11-12; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, II, p. 177).
13
Al-Bīrūnī gives here day number sixteen.
14
This tithi corresponds to day number twenty-three of the complete month.
15
Hyderabad edition reproduces a lacuna based on the manuscript (al-Bīrūnī 1958: 491.4). I follow here the reading in
Sachauʼs edition (Sachau, Taḥqīq, p. 290.4).
16
Al-Bīrūnī gives number twenty-three for this day.
17
This day corresponds to number twenty-nine according to al-Bīrūnī.
18
According to Sachau, this festival corresponds to Holi (Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, II, p. 398). Although it is difficult to be
certain of this identification, according to the Bhaiṣyapurāṇa, Holi occurs at this very date (Anderson, “The Indian Spring
Festival”, p. 70).
19
This tithi corresponds to day number sixteen according to al-Bīrūnī.
20
Al-Bīrūnī gives number twenty-three for this day.
21
Śāmbapura corresponds to Multan according to Dey (Dey, The Geographical Dictionary, p. 176).
description of one festival (no. 18), the one occurring in Kashmir and Swāt valleys. Despite his
silence about the origin of his sources, it is possible to deduce that al-Bīrūnī chiefly relied on
ethnographical sources in this passage, i.e., oral accounts and perhaps his observations. First,
his silence would be natural, if he had no sources other than ethnographical.
Further, al-Bīrūnī provides us with the names of the festivals in Arabic transliterations
betraying one or several original vernacular Indic languages for the terms. Carl Edward
Sachau (1888a) and Suniti Kumar Chatterji (1951) provided valuable works on the
transliteration of Sanskrit terms into Arabic by al-Bīrūnī. There are, in their views, some
patterns in the transliteration from Indic languages into the Semitic alphabet which indicate
the oral origin of the terms. Such patterns are particularly evident from al-Bīrūnīʼs list of
festivals.
The Arabic letter -h- ( ) can originate from the Sanskrit phoneme -gh- or from any
sibilant. For instance, the names of three festivals occurring during the month of Māgha can be
read through this pattern of transliteration. The name māhatrīj ( ) (no. 29) probably
stands for māgha-trīj or māgha-tīj, the name cāmāhah ( ) (no. 30) for cā-māgha, and
34
māhātana ( ) (no. 31) for māghāṣṭamī . This interpretation is reasonable as the three
festivals indeed occur during the month of Māgha. While māhatrīj can thus directly be
translated as “third [tithi] of Māgha” (māgha-tīj), māhātana may stand for the “eighth [tithi]
of Māgha” (māghāṣṭamī). The term cā-māgha could stand as an abbreviated form of caturdaśī
māgha, i.e., “the fourteenth [tithi] of māgha”35. The Sanskrit voiced gutturals -g- and -gh- are
often transliterated by al-Bīrūnī by the Persian letter -g- ( ), as in gītā ( ) or laghu ( ),
34
The phonetical transformations of -tīj- or -tṛtīya- into -trīj-, and of -aṣṭamī- into -atana- are explained
below p. 9. See Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, II, p. 398.
35
Other cases of strong reduction are seen below p. 9.
─ 71 ─
as noticed by Sachau36. However, in this case, the original -gh- would have been transliterated
in a different way. This different phonetic transliteration may be simply due to the oral nature
of al-Bīrūnīʼs sources of information in this specific passage.
Interestingly, in the same passage, al-Bīrūnī writes the name of the same month by using
the Persian letter -g- ( ), i.e., (māga). It is not a surprise as al-Bīrūnī also knew the
Sanskrit name of this month, at least since the compilation of Al-ātār al-bāqiya. At the time, he
had indeed read this name in its Arabic transliterations from Indian astronomical texts
available to him through their Arabic translations. Later on, probably sometime after 1017 CE,
he consulted Indian astronomical sources in their Sanskrit original versions. The difference in
the two spellings of the month Māgha, i.e., (māga) and (māha), could thus indicate
two different types of sources, textual and oral, which al-Bīrūnī used side by side.
A second pattern of transliteration recurrent in this passage is the transformation of an
original sibilant into the Arabic phoneme -h- ( ). For instance, the personal name Aśoka,
which is transliterated in two different ways by al-Bīrūnī in the same passage (no. 22). The
two spellings are āšoka ( ) and āho/āhū ( )37. The second spelling is due to the
modification of the sibilant into -h- and a strong final abbreviation, while the former reading
constitutes a very close transliteration from the Sanskrit original. Al-Bīrūnī is thus able to give
a rather orthodox transliteration of the personal name of the king in his description of the
festival, and at the same time provides the name of the festival in a transliteration betraying a
vernacular pronunciation of the same term but derived from the Sanskrit aśoka. Thus,
al-Bīrūnī, after having heard the name of the festival from oral informants, complemented the
description of the festival with his own theoretical knowledge. If this is so, he would not have
been, however, aware of the original meaning of the name of the festival, i.e., the personal name
Aśoka, as he keeps the vernacular name.
The term āhārī/ā ( ) designates the month Āṣāḍha ( ) according to al-Bīrūnīʼs
account. The term āhārī/ā underwent two phonetic modifications exposed in detail by Sachau
and Chatterji, i.e., the sibilant -ṣ- became the aspirate -h- and the dental voiced retroflex -ḍh-
became the liquid -r38. In the same way as with the terms aśoka and māgha, al-Bīrūnī makes
use of two different spellings of the same term. Whereas the Arabic āhārī/ā ( ) betrays a
transliteration based on a local and regional oral report, the term Āṣāḍha ( ) was known by
al-Bīrūnī through different types of textual sources. Al-Bīrūnī, however, does not seem to have
been aware that āhārī/ā ( ) constituted another vernacular pronunciation for the month
36
Carl Edward Sachau, Indo-Arabische Studien zur Aussprache und Geschichte des Indischen in der ersten
Hälfte des XI. Jahrhunderts (Berlin: Verlag des Königl. Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1888a): 14.
37
Sachau, Indo-Arabische Studien, p. 27.
38
Sachau, Indo-Arabische Studien, p. 27; Suniti Kumar Chatterji, “Al-Bīrūnī and Sanskrit,” Al-Bīrūnī
Commemoration Volume. A.H. 362-A.H. 1362 (Calcutta: Iran Society, 1951): 93.
─ 72 ─
Indian Calendar and Festivals through al-Bīrūnīʼs Eyes
Āṣāḍha.
The next pattern of transliteration is the transformation of the original Sanskrit cluster of
consonant -ṣṭ- into -rt- or -tt-39. In our passage, the name of five festivals, occurring on the
eighth (aṣṭamī) tithi of the fortnight, undergo these changes: sāgārtama ( ) for
sāgāṣṭamī (no. 28), mānsartagu ( ) for māṃsāṣṭaka (no. 31), pūrārtaku ( ) for
pūrāṣṭaka (no. 33), pūyattana ( ) for pūyaṣṭamī (no. 36) and māhāt(t)ana ( ) for
40
māghāṣṭamī (no. 31) . The transformation of the cluster -ṣṭ- into the doubled consonant -tt-
echoes the phonetic change occurring between Sanskrit and some Middle Indic languages.
Interestingly, only one festival, occurring during the śuklapakṣa of Pauṣa (no. 27), is named
aṣṭakā by al-Bīrūnī.
Three festivals which occur on the third tithi of a śuklapakṣa have the second component
of their name abbreviated from the Sanskrit tṛtīya: gaurī-tri ( ) (no. 5); guvāna-bātrīj
( ) (no. 25) and māgha-trīj ( ) (no. 29). For Sachau, the first example
41
presents a strong reduction of the final sound . The two other cases appear to represent a sort
of intermediary step, with the group of letters -trīj, standing between the Sanskrit tṛtīya and
the Hindustani term tīj (fem. ), i.e., the third tithi.
Lastly, another recurrent phonetic change consists in a strong reduction of a wordʼs sound,
generally the final one. Some examples from our passage are the following: muttai ( ) for
Muktāpīḍa, āho/ū ( ) for aśoka, gaurī-tri ( ) for gaurī-tṛtīya, cāmāha/ā ( ) for
42
caturdaśī-māgha .
In this context, the term puhāī ( ) (no. 20) is in most likelihood an abbreviated form of
some Sanskrit original, although the latter is not determined yet. The question of the origins of
some finals in the Arabic transliteration is particularly problematic. According to Sachau, a
final sound transliterated -ā- ( ) can constitute a strong reduction of the original phonemes
-ka-, -kā- or -kī-, but could also stand for -ī-, -aya- or -eya-, as for instance in āhārī/ā ( ),
rohiṇī ( ), mahānavamī ( ), revatī ( ), malaya ( ), āgneya ( ). As
for the final -wa- ( ), it could correspond to -aya- as well as -ava- (udaya, ; kaulava
43
) . It can also represent a final -o- or -ū-, as in āho or āhū ( ) for āšoka ( ).
Lastly, as an introduction to the list of festivals, al-Bīrūnī states that a festival is termed
zātra ( ), i.e., yātrā. Chatterji writes that pronouncing -j- for the Sanskrit -y- is a common
39
Sachau, Indo-Arabische Studien, p. 31; Chatterji, “Al-Bīrūnī and Sanskrit,” p. 92.
40
Sachau explains that an original labial nasal -m- is in some rare cases transliterated by the nasal dental
-n- ( ) too (Sachau, Indo-Arabische Studien, p. 24; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, p. 398). See also Wilson, “The
Religious Festivals,” pp. 7-77; Wilson, Essays and Lectures Chiefly on the Religion of the Hindus. Vol. II (London:
Trübner & Co, 1862), pp. 181-82.
41
Sachau, Indo-Arabische Studien, p. 29.
42
On the strong reduction, see also Chatterji, “Al-Bīrūnī and Sanskrit,” p. 93-4.
43
Sachau, Indo-Arabische Studien, pp. 26; 41; 43; 46.
─ 73 ─
process in Indic vernacular dialects, while Sachau explains that the Indic phoneme -j- can be
transformed into the sound -z- by a Persian pronunciation44. In the light of the above
discussion, the differences between al-Bīrūnīʼs transliteration and the original Sanskrit yātrā
may very well reflect a process in the transmission of the original phoneme into its Arabic
transliteration, which took place by way of intermediary languages: first al-Bīrūnī heard a
vernacular form of the Sanskrit yātrā, i.e., jātrā, which he then converted with a Persian letter
based on his linguistic background, so that the word became zātra. Further, the Sanskrit term
yātrā literally signifies ʻgoingʼ, ʻjourneyʼ, ʻ[religious] processionʼ, or ʻfestival.ʼ Al-Bīrūnī defines
the word as meaning ʻthe course of a travel under auspicious [circumstances]ʼ (
). This definition resembles an interpretation of the term communicated to
al-Bīrūnī orally, rather than through a textual source.
Lastly, the question of the place where these festivals were celebrated arises. Except for
Kashmir, Swāt and Multan (nos. 1, 18 and 37), al-Bīrūnī does not specify the region in which
the festivals were celebrated. This observation suggests that the rest of his description does
not apply for Swāt, Kashmir, and Multan. In this context, it is noteworthy to recall that he did
not visit the valley of Kashmir by the time he compiled the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind, but most
probably stayed in the regions of Gandhāra and Punjab. Further, in general, in his book on
India, al-Bīrūnī was able to collect information about Multan, Kashmir, and other places of
India thanks to travellers whom he had met. In the case of Kashmir and Multan, al-Bīrūnī often
mentions Jīvaśarman and Durlabha respectively45. These two figures are unidentified yet, but
they were both Indian authors whose books al-Bīrūnī appears to have consulted and from
whom he drew information on the two places, as well as on Indian astronomy and calendars. It
is also interesting to note that al-Bīrūnī provides more details on history and mythology, when
dealing with the festivals of Kashmir and Multan.
It is likely thus that whereas al-Bīrūnī may have relied on sources of information other
than ethnographical─direct observations and oral report─to inform his readers about the
festivals happening in Kashmir and Multan, the origin of his information concerning the other
festivals was strongly based on oral accounts by local people which al-Bīrūnī would have met
in the regions he visited himself, by travellers coming from other parts of early medieval India,
or through his observations.
To sum up, it appears that words belonging to several Indic languages were transliterated
by al-Bīrūnī in his report of the religious festivals in the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind. Sanskrit was one
44
Sachau, Indo-Arabische Studien, p. 16; Chatterji, “Al-Bīrūnī and Sanskrit,” p. 92. On the transformation of
the long final Sanskrit phoneme -ā- in al-Bīrūnīʼs rendering, see Sachau, Indo-Arabische Studien, p. 41.
45
Al-Bīrūnī clearly states that Kashmir was unreachable to him (Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, p. 16.17-8; Sachau,
Alberuniʼs India, I, p. 22). On the mentions of his interactions with people of Multan, see Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, pp.
170.4-5; 347.15-8 and Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, I, p. 211; II, p. 9. On Jīvaśarman and Durlabha, see Al-Bīrūnī,
Taḥqīq, pp. 128.17; 489.10; 490.1; 348.6; 388.11 and Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, I, pp. 164; 181; 182; II, pp. 9; 54.
─ 74 ─
Indian Calendar and Festivals through al-Bīrūnīʼs Eyes
of them and al-Bīrūnī had indeed access to a large amount of Sanskrit literature46. As for the
other languages, some of them must have been vernacular ones close or identical to Sindhi and
Punjabi47. In the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind in general, the co-existence of different original Indic
spellings of the terms transliterated from Sanskrit to Arabic is detectable. In this passage, this
phenomenon is particularly prevalent; which shows that al-Bīrūnī relied a great deal on oral
reports to establish the list of the festivals and of their names, while he had also included at
times elements drawn from written sources.
4. Festivals in the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind and society
Al-Bīrūnī enumerates festivals which could not be identified (numbers 1 to 3, 6, 8 to 10, 13
to 16, 18, 20 to 22, 25, 31, and 36). Festival number 6 occurs during the last five days of the
śuklapakṣa of Vaiśākha, when Brahmins perform great fire rituals. Al-Bīrūnī also explains with
regard to this festival that it is connected to the four Vedas. Number 9 designated as
rūpa-pañca ( ) by al-Bīrūnī occurs at the full moon of Jyaiṣṭha. A festival with the
name gāihatta ( ) (no. 13) takes place on the sixth day tithi of the śuklapakṣa of
Bhādrapada. The first part of its name may be related to the Sanskrit term go, meaning cow,
which might have been known to al-Bīrūnī under a local pronunciation (Hindustani: gāʾī, ,
; Sindhi: gāĩ, ; Nepali: gāi ). The second part of it (-hatta) could stand for different
original Indic word, as the initial -h- and the doubled -t- may both come from several Sanskrit
original sounds48. Al-Bīrūnī only explains that devotees enjoy food during this festival
( )49.
Numbers 14, dhruva gṛha ( ), and 15, barbata ( ), respectively occurring on
the eighth and eleventh tithi-s of the śuklapakṣa of Bhādrapada are also not identified50.
Number 16, karāra ( ) is a festival in honour of children which takes place during the first
days of the kṛṣṇapakṣa of Bhādrapada (August-September), while puhāī ( ), occurring on
the full moon of Āśvayuja (September-October) is dedicated to Vāsudeva. The festival termed
cāmāha ( ) by al-Bīrūnī occurring on the fifteenth tithi of the śuklapakṣa of Māgha
(January-February). As aforementioned, the term may constitute an abbreviated form of the
Sanskrit caturdaśī-māgha51. It has been also possible to gather data and information regarding
46
Ajay Mitra Shastri, “Sanskrit Literature Known to al-Bīrūnī,” Indian Journal of History of Science, vol. 10,
No. 2 (1975): 111-38.
47
Sachau, Indo-Arabische Studien, p. 37; Chatterji, “Al-Bīrūnī and Sanskrit,” pp. 93-4.
48
Sachau Indo-Arabische Studien, pp. 29; 31; Chatterji, “Al-Bīrūnī and Sanskrit,” p. 93.
49
The reason why Sachauʼs translation, i. e., “people give food to those who are in prison” (Sachau,
Alberuniʼs India, II, p. 180), diverges extensively from the original is unclear.
50
According to Sachau, however, the Arabic transliteration barbata stands for the Sanskrit Pārvatī (Sachau,
Alberuniʼs India, II, p. 181).
─ 75 ─
some other festivals, chiefly thanks to Wilsonʼs, Sachauʼs, and Chatterjiʼs works52.
Several festivals occurring at lunar dates are dedicated to female deities. This reflects the
inclination of a society practicing the cults of the Goddessʼ cult and thus following a form of
Śaktism, whose importance gradually increased during the second half of the first millennium
in South Asia53. Devotees often worship goddesses by animal and vegetarian offerings to obtain
protection from disease, epidemies, or famines, as well as to pacify them and/or to symbolise
the victory of good forces over evil ones54.
Three festivals listed in the above table are dedicated to Gaurī, Gaurī-tṛtīya ( ) (no.
5), Guvāna-bātrīj ( ) (no. 25) and Māhatrīj ( ) (no. 29). The dates when
these three festivals occur are respectively on the third tithi-s of the śuklapakṣas of Vaiśākha
(April-March), Mārgaśīrṣa (November-December), and Māgha (January-February). The
Nīlamata- and Brahma-purāṇas describe rituals of the Gaurī-tṛtīya festival which occurs on
the third day of the śuklapakṣa of Māgha55. Both textual references concur with al-Bīrūnīʼs
testimony. These dates also correspond to some extent with todayʼs practices. Festivals, lasting
a few days and known under the generic term of tīj (i.e., tṛtīya tithi), are celebrated in different
places of the Subcontinent on the third tithi of the fortnight. For instance, in Nepal, the festival,
designated as Tīj, Tīj Brata, or Tīj Vrata, takes place from the third to the fifth tithi of the
śuklapakṣa of Bhādrapada (pūrṇimānta system) and is observed by women who fast and
perform ritual bathing56. Whereas the modern festivals are generally celebrated today during
the months of July and August, in al-Bīrūnīʼs account these festivals are scattered throughout
the entire year. The tīj festivals are particularly observed by married women in honour of
Pārvatī, who represents the absolute loyalty of a woman to her husband, due to her myth and
to the rituals performed by women during her festivals57. According to al-Bīrūnīʼs account, the
cult of Gaurī, i.e., a form of Pārvatī also referred to as Umā, was also performed particularly by
women.
Another festival, called Harbālī ( ) (no. 12) by al-Bīrūnī and occurring on the third
51
See above pp. 8; 10.
52
The analysis below rules out the three festivals occurring in Kashmir, Swāt valley and Multan, as they
may not constitute events which are described by al-Bīrūnī based on his ethnographical observations.
53
Mandakranta Bose, Women in the Hindu Tradition. Rules, roles and exceptions (London/New York:
Routledge, 2010), pp. 25-26. See also Gavin Flood, “The Śaiva Traditions.”, in The Blackwell Companion to
Hinduism, ed. Gavinf Flood (Oxford/Malden: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2003).
54
David Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses. Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition (Delhi:
Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2005 [1987]), pp. 204-5.
55
“Kashmir”, Encyclopaedia of Hinduism, BrillOnline, accessed April 2018.
56
Mary M. Anderson, The Festivals of Nepal (London: G. Allen & Unwin, 2005 [1971]), pp. 116-20;
Jean-François Véziès, Les fêtes magiques du Népal (Paris: Editions Cesario Rancilio, 1981), pp. 82-90. See also
Véronique Bouillier, “Si les femmes faisaient la fête... a propos des fêtes féminines dans les hautes castes
indo-népalaises,” LʼHomme, vol. 22, No. 3 (July-Sept. 1982): 101-104.
57
Bose, Women in the Hindu Tradition, pp. 28-9.
─ 76 ─
Indian Calendar and Festivals through al-Bīrūnīʼs Eyes
tithi of the śuklapakṣa of Bhādrapada (August-September), follows the same pattern as those
dedicated to Gaurī. The Arabic transliteration harbālī probably stands for hariyālī or
haritālika; which is another term for tīj.
Furthermore, two festivals of the above table are dedicated to Bhagavatī: Caitra-ṣaṣṭhī
( ) (no. 4) and Mahānavamī ( ) (no. 19). In the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind, al-
Bīrūnī describes the goddess as the sister or counterpart of Vāsudeva (“ ” )58 and as
one of the seven mātṛkās, or mothers59. Bhagavatī is an epithet of Durgā, although al-Bīrūnī
himself does not give this information60. The first festival which al-Bīrūnī mentions is
caitra-ṣaṣṭhī occurring on day twenty-two of Caitra (March-April) according to al-Bīrūnī.
This would correspond to the seventh tithi of kṛṣṇapakṣa. However, the Arabic term used here
is a transliteration of the Sanskrit ṣaṣṭhī, meaning sixth. The difference between al-Bīrūnīʼs
designation of the festival as ṣaṣṭhī and the calculation of the tithi in Table 1 is unclear, but it
might be explained by an omitted tithi (ūnarātra or kṣayadina), due to which the seventh day
becomes the sixth (ṣaṣṭhī). However, this festival occurred on the sixth or seventh tithi of the
kṛṣṇapakṣa of Caitra. The identity of this festival is uncertain, but it might correspond to todayʼs
celebration known as the small Durgā Pūjā. This festival dedicated to Durgā and her
manifestations occurs during Caitra today and lasts for ten days.
The festival Durgā Pūjā, also known as Navarātri (nine nights), is mentioned by al-Bīrūnī
under the name Mahānavamī. It occurs, according to his account, on the eighth tithi of the
śuklapakṣa of Āśvayuja (September-October). Today, this festival, which is of great
importance in India and Nepal, starts on the first day of the śuklapakṣa of the same month and
finishes on the eighth tithi of this fortnight. It celebrates the victory of the goddess Durgā over
the buffalo-demon Mahiṣa, and falls at the end of the rainy season, right before the autumnal
harvest. For eight days and nine nights, devotees perform rituals and worship the several
manifestations of the Goddess (devī). In South India, at Vijayanagara from the 14th to the 16th
centuries CE, as well as in Mewar (Rajasthan) in the 19th century, Durgā Pūjā was celebrated
as Mahānavamī 61. Further, in todayʼs Nepal, during this festival known as Dasaĩ, the day of the
58
Sachau translates the sister of Mahādeva, although the two Arabic editions read Vāsudeva. Sachau,
Alberuniʼs India, II, p. 180; Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, p. 487.19; Carl Edward Sachau, Kitāb taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind min
maqūla fī ʿaql aw mardūla li-Abū l-Rayḥan Muḥammad bin Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī. Alberuniʼs India. An Account of
the Religion, Philosophy, Literature, Chronology, Astronomy, Customs, Laws and Astrology of India about A.D.
1030 (Frankfurt: Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, 1993
[1887]), p. 288.10.
59
Al-Bīrūnī, Taḥqīq, pp. 91.17-92.1-4; Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, I, pp. 119-20.
60
In places where the name Bhagavatī appears in the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind, Sachau added in his translation
the term Durgā.
61
Christopher John Füller, The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 2004 [1992]), pp. 106-27. See also George Michell, “The Mahanavami Festival at
Vijayanagara,” India International Centre Quarterly, vol. 19, No. 3 (1992): 150-61.
─ 77 ─
eighth tithi and the following night up to the ninth tithi constitute the climax of the festival62;
which may explain why al-Bīrūnī positions this festival on the eighth tithi, i.e., aṣṭamī, and at
the same time designates it under the name Mahānavamī, literally the ʻgreat ninthʼ.
Lastly, al-Bīrūnīʼs account indicates that sacrifices are performed during this festival.
Nowadays, Durgā Pūjā is one of the rare festivals during which animal sacrifices are
performed, as its Nepalese version shows.
Another important festival dedicated to a goddess is Dīpāvali, commonly known as Dīvālī
or the festival of lights. Its main object is Lakṣmī, the consort of Viṣṇu, symbolising prosperity
and wealth. Closely following Durgā Pūjā, Dīpāvali also represents a seasonal pivot of the year,
corresponding to the actual harvest times and preparation of the soil for the next crop. It also
celebrates victory of light over darkness and includes various rituals63.
Another specific category of festivals is recognizable from the enumeration given by
al-Bīrūnī. There is a series of celebrations falling on the eighth tithi and which are related to
food: aṣṭakā ( ) (no. 27), sāgārtama ( ) (no. 28), mānsartagu ( ) or māhāt
(t)ana ( ) (no. 31), pūrārtāku ( ) (no. 33), pūyattana ( ) (no. 36). All these
festivals occur between the months of Pauṣa (December-January) and Phālguna
(February-March). Wilsonʼs work written in the mid-19th century is useful in this context.
The author lists several celebrations which are held on the eighth day of a fortnight, be it
bright or dark. He records the festival māṃsāṣṭaka, happening on the eighth tithi of the
kṛṣṇapakṣa of Māgha, which in most likelihood corresponds to al-Bīrūnīʼs mānsartagu
( ) (no. 31). During this day, Wilson reports that the offering of flesh is made to the
pitṛ-s, i.e., ancestors. His account, in the same way as that of al-Bīrūnī, reveals that several
dates falling on the eighth tithi are celebrated with similar rituals, i.e., offering of food items or
water64. In addition, whereas Wilson specifies that these festivals are dedicated to the pitṛ-s,
al-Bīrūnī indicates that two of them honour Brahmins.
However, apart from māṃsāṣṭaka, it is difficult to identify these festivals listed by
al-Bīrūnī with those described by Wilson. Wilson remarked about māṃsāṣṭaka that “[t]he
institution appears to have been part of the ancient ritual, and to have fallen into comparative
neglect” (Wilson, Essays, p. 182). This remark, if true, would partly explain the contrast
between al-Bīrūnīʼs account which reports five of these festivals and todayʼs customs in which
these festivals are not prevailing anymore.
Further, festival number 11 is called pitṛpakṣa ( ), lasts an entire fortnight, i.e.,
62
Anderson, The Festivals, pp. 142-55; Véziès, Les fêtes magiques, pp. 62-71.
63
See for instance P. K. Gode, “Studies in the History of Hindu Festivals─some notes on the History of
Divālī (sic) Festival (between c. A.D 50 and 1945),” Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, vol.
26, No. 3/4, (July-Oct. 1945): 216-62.
64
Wilson, “The Religious Festivals of the Hindus,” pp. 76; 86-7; 90; Wilson, Essays, pp. 181-2; 201-2; 208-9.
─ 78 ─
Indian Calendar and Festivals through al-Bīrūnīʼs Eyes
during the śuklapakṣa of Bhādrapada (August-September) and is dedicated to the fathers and
ancestors. Al-Bīrūnī also mentions a festival known to him as Gūnālahīd ( ) (no. 17),
celebrating the birth of Vāsudeva, i. e., Kṛṣṇa. He places it during the last three days of
Bhādrapada, i.e., the last three tithis of the kṛṣṇapakṣa. The birth of Kṛṣṇa is known today as
Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī or Kṛṣṇa Jayanti. It is generally celebrated on the eighth tithi of the
kṛṣṇapakṣa of Bhādrapada in the pūrṇimānta system in northern India and Nepal65. The festival,
Śivarātri ( ) dedicated to Mahādeva ( ), i.e., Śiva (no. 34), is celebrated during the
night following the full moon day of Phālguna (February-March), that is the first night of
kṛṣṇapakṣa of the month according to al-Bīrūnī. In todayʼs northern India, the festival Mahā
Śivarātri is celebrated the thirteenth night of the waning moon of Māgha (March-April) in the
pūrṇimānta system.
Lastly, four festivals listed by al-Bīrūnī appear to correspond to Spring festivals:
Hindulī-caitra (no. 2), bahand (no. 3), Vasanta (no. 7), and Odād or Dhola (?) (no. 34).
Classical Sanskrit literature records several festivals celebrating Spring and/or the vernal
equinox, some of which are still performed in India today. The exact dates of these festivals
vary according to the texts and regions, while the term Vasantotsava, literally meaning Spring
Festival, may have included the celebration of Holi66. Without a thorough investigation into the
question, it is difficult to ascertain which one exactly al-Bīrūnī refers to in his list.
Lastly, thirty-seven festivals are recorded by al-Bīrūnī and most of them occur at, start
with, or terminate at lunar dates: eleven for the full moon (pūrṇimā), six for the new moon
(amāvāsyā), four for the third tithi (tṛtīya), eight for the eighth tithi (aṣṭamī). Whereas the
aṣṭamī tithi is celebrated in śuklapakṣa as well as in kṛṣṇapakṣa, tṛtīya tithi, or tīj, is constantly
observed during the śuklapakṣa and dedicated to feminine deities, mostly to Gaurī. Only one
solar date occurs in al-Bīrūnīʼs account, that is the vernal equinox, celebrated by the Spring
Festival named Vasanta. One date is described by al-Bīrūnī as a lunar and a solar event, the
Dīpāvali, which occurs at the new moon of Kārttika when the sun enters Libra. No specific
pattern related to the object of worship, the ritual practices, or the goal of the festivals emerges
from al-Bīrūnīʼs descriptions. The objects of worship are also various, for instance Vāsudeva
(Kṛṣṇa), Gaurī, Bhagavatī, Brahmins, women, Pitṛs (fathers), as are the types of rituals
performed, i.e., fasting, offering, sacrifice, special type of food, display of idol, ritual bathing,
ablution, lighting of lamps, ritual fire, and almsgiving. In addition, as an introduction to the list of
the festivals, al-Bīrūnī briefly mentions that mostly women and children perform the festivals.
Lastly, al-Bīrūnī describes festivals which are still counted among todayʼs important
65
See for instance Anderson, The Festivals, pp. 105-11 and Véziès, Les fêtes magiques, pp. 40-5.
66
Leona Anderson, “The Indian Spring Festival (Vasantotsava): One or Many?”, Annals of the Bhandarkar
Oriental Research Institute, vol. 69, No. 1 (1988): 63-4. See also Wilson, “The Religious Festivals of the Hindus”,
pp. 97-108; Wilson, Essays, pp. 222-43, and Sachau, Alberuniʼs India, II, p. 397.
─ 79 ─
pan-Indian festivals, such as Mahānavamī, i.e., Durgā Pūjā, Dīpāvali, Vasanta, and Śivarātri.
5. Concluding remarks
The presentation of the Indian calendrical system and festivals as transmitted by al-Bīrūnī
displayed an evolution of his knowledge on the topic. The information provided in Al-ātār
al-bāqiya was relatively limited and superficial as compared with that given in the Taḥqīq mā
li-l-Hind. Al-ātār al-bāqiya was compiled in the year 1000, i.e., before al-Bīrūnī approached
Indian culture and science closely. His account is based on Arabic sources and al-Bīrūnī
conveyed his knowledge on Indian calendrical system in Al-ātār al-bāqiya accordingly. It is
also pertinent to note that the purpose of this book was to present eras, histories, calendars of
several important civilisations of the time, not only of India.
Twenty-nine years later, al-Bīrūnī composed the Tafhīm. At this time, he had already
been in the Indian territory, chiefly western Punjab, Gandhāra, and possibly Sind. He had
directly interacted with Indians, such as Brahmins, astronomers and travellers. However, the
information given by him regarding the Indian calendrical system is rather scant. This work is
a handbook on astrology and is generally considered to target a non-specialist readership. The
full title of the work meaning Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology
indicates the didactic and practical goal of the book. Given this observation, it is natural that
al-Bīrūnī remained brief on the Indian calendrical system and astronomical concepts in the
Tafhīm.
As expected, in the Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind whose objective is to discuss at length Indian
traditions and sciences, the topic is much developed. Al-Bīrūnī included new material, such as
numerous Sanskrit works, as well as oral sources of information. The three works thus used
different kind of sources and opted for different approaches. With regard to the festivals, a
similar contrast between the information drawn from Al-ātār al-bāqiya and the Taḥqīq mā
li-l-Hind can be observed. In the former, only two Indian festivals connected to solar
movements are described, i.e., the vernal and autumnal equinox. The Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind
offers a long list of festivals, which for the most part fall on lunar dates. This contrast is due to
the type of sources al-Bīrūnī used for compiling each of the works.
In addition, al-Bīrūnīʼs account of these Indian festivals indicates that his information is
essentially based on his interactions with Indians and, perhaps, on his observations. Tracing the
origin of his information in the context of the Indian festivals is particularly interesting, as it
enables us to associate some religious inclinations with the local communities which he actually
met in the early 11th century CE in the north-western Subcontinent. It has been possible to
determine some ritual practices, such as Durgā Pūjā, Dīpāvali or Śivarātri, the goddessesʼ cults,
celebrations honouring the Vedas, the ancestors, Brahmins, and several Spring Festivals. Thus,
─ 80 ─
Indian Calendar and Festivals through al-Bīrūnīʼs Eyes
through his interest in the Indian calendrical system, al-Bīrūnī offered us a portrait of a
composite and complex religious calendar of the society he met. Some of the festivals remained
unidentified and future research on the subject may lead to a better understanding of this
society.
Abbreviations
Al-ātār al-bāqiya Al-ātār al-bāqiya ʿan il-qurūn al-ḫāliya
Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind Fī taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind min maʿqūla maqbūla fī l-ʿaql aw mardūla
Tafhīm Kitāb al-tafhīm li-awāʾil ṣināʿa al-tanğīm
─ 81 ─
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