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The Meridians of Reference of Indian Astronomical Canons

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

Raymond Mercier
Raymond Mercier*
Affiliation:
Southampton University, Southampton, S09 5NH, England

Abstract

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The canons of Sanskrit astronomy depend on mean motions which are normally postulated to refer to the central meridian of Ujjain. The present work is a statistical analysis of these mean motions designed to discover the optimum position of the meridian, by comparison with modern mean motions. This follows earlier work done by Billard in determining the optimum year. The results confirm that from the time of Aryabhata all the canons were referred to meridians lying well within India, and in many cases clearly identifiable with Ujjain within the statistical bounds.

Type
Ancient Elements and Planetary Models
Information
International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 91: History of Oriental Astronomy , 1987 , pp. 97 - 107
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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