Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra - Volume 1 & 2 by Maharshi Parasara and R. Santhanam and G.S. The Ranjan Publications Edition Various texts attribute the origin of Indian astrology to various gods and Rishis. It is futile to ascertain who was the originator. VarAhamihira documents and pdfs. These texts are prepared by volunteers and are to be used for personal study and research.
Pancha-Siddhantika
- Varahamihira’s Brihat-Samhita; Pampa’s Vikramarjuna Vijaya; Somadeva’s Yashatilaka Aihole prashasti of Pulakesi II (No 22 of the Inscriptions of the Calukyas of Badami) mentions that he conquered the town of Vanavasi which was bound by river Varada.
- Brihat Jataka is a great classic of Vedic astrology composed by The Great Varahamihira, who was the famous astrologer in the court of The Great king Vikramaditya in the year 57BC. He was also a great astronomer and the first one to mention in his work Pancha Siddhantika, based on our ancient Siddhantas, that the ayanamsa, or the shifting of the.
वराहमिहिर Varāhamihira | |
---|---|
Born | 505 CE |
Died | 587 CE |
Occupation | astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer |
Nationality | Indian |
Ethnicity | Indian |
Period | Gupta era |
Subjects | Astronomy, Astrology, Mathematics |
Notable work(s) | Pancha-Siddhāntikā, Brihat-Samhita, Brihat Jataka |
VarāhamihiraYashodharman Vikramaditya of Malwa.
- 1Works
- 3Contributions
Works
He was the first one to mention in his work Pañcasiddhāntikā that the ayanamsa, or the shifting of the equinox, is 50.32 seconds.
Part of |
Rigveda·Samaveda Yajurveda·Atharvaveda |
Shiksha·Chandas Vyakarana·Nirukta Kalpa·Jyotisha |
Rig vedic Aitareya Yajur vedic Brihadaranyaka·Isha Taittiriya·Katha Shvetashvatara Atharva vedic Mundaka·Mandukya Prashna |
Brahma puranas Brahma·Brahmānda Brahmavaivarta Markandeya·Bhavishya Vaishnava puranas Vishnu·Bhagavata Naradeya·Garuda·Padma·Vamana Shaiva puranas Shiva·Linga Skanda·Vayu·Agni·Kurma Matsya |
Ramayana Mahabharata (Bhagavad Gita) |
Manu Smriti Artha Shastra·Agama Tantra·Sūtra·Stotra Dharmashastra Divya Prabandha Tevaram Ramcharitmanas Yoga Vasistha swara yoga·Shiva Samhita Samarsār · Narpatijacharya seven Yamalās Goraksha Samhita Panchadasi·Vedantasara |
Śruti·Smriti |
Hindu texts |
Pancha-Siddhantika
Varahamihir's main work is the book Pañcasiddhāntikā (or Pancha-Siddhantika, '[Treatise] on the Five [Astronomical] Canons) dated ca. 575 CE gives us information about older Indian texts which are now lost. The work is a treatise on mathematical astronomy and it summarises five earlier astronomical treatises, namely the Surya Siddhanta, Romaka Siddhanta, Paulisa Siddhanta, Vasishtha Siddhanta and Paitamaha Siddhantas. It is a compendium of Vedanga Jyotisha as well as Hellenistic astronomy (including Greek, Egyptian and Roman elements).[2] He was the first one to mention in his work Pancha Siddhantika that the ayanamsa, or the shifting of the equinox is 50.32 seconds.
The 11th century Iranian scholar Alberuni also described the details of 'The Five Astronomical Canons':
'They [the Indians] have 5 Siddhāntas:- Sūrya-Siddhānta, ie. the Siddhānta of the Sun, composed by Lāṭadeva,
- Vasishtha-siddhānta, so called from one of the stars of the Great Bear, composed by Vishnucandra,
- Pulisa-siddhānta, so called from Paulisa, the Greek, from the city of Saintra, which is supposed to be Alexandria, composed by Pulisa.
- Romaka-siddhānta, so called from the Rūm, ie. the subjects of the Roman Empire, composed by Śrīsheṇa.
Brihat-Samhita
Another important contribution of Varahamihira is the encyclopedic Brihat-Samhita.It covers wide ranging subjects of human interest, including astrology, planetary movements, eclipses, rainfall, clouds, architecture, growth of crops, manufacture of perfume, matrimony, domestic relations, gems, pearls, and rituals. The volume expounds on gemstone evaluation criterion found in the Garuda Purana, and elaborates on the sacred Nine Pearls from the same text. It contains 106 chapters and is known as the 'great compilation'.
On Astrology
He was also an astrologer. He wrote on all the three main branches of Jyotisha astrology:
- Brihat Jataka - is considered as one the five main treatises on Hindu astrology on horoscopy.
- Laghu Jataka - also known as 'Swalpa Jataka'
- Samasa Samhita - also known as 'Lagu Samhita' or 'Swalpa Samhita'
- Brihat Yogayatra - also known as 'Mahayatra' or 'Yakshaswamedhiya yatra'
- Yoga Yatra - also known as 'Swalpa yatra'
- Tikkani Yatra
- Brihat Vivaha Patal
- Lagu Vivaha Patal - also known as 'Swalpa Vivaha Patal'
- Lagna Varahi
- Kutuhala Manjari
- Daivajna Vallabha (apocryphal)
His son Prithuyasas also contributed in the Hindu astrology; his book Hora Sara is a famous book on horoscopy. Khana (also named Lilavati elsewhere) the medieval Bengali poetess astrologer is believed to be the daughter-in-law of Varahamihir.
Western influences
The Romaka Siddhanta ('Doctrine of the Romans') and the Paulisa Siddhanta ('Doctrine of Paul') were two works of Western origin which influenced Varahamihir's thought, though this view is controversial as there is much evidence to suggest that it was actually Vedic thought indigenous to India which first influenced Western astrologers and subsequently came back to India reformulated.
A comment in the Brihat-Samhita by Varahamihir says: 'The Greeks, though foreign, must be honored since they have shown tremendous interest in our science.....' ('mleccha hi yavanah tesu samyak shastram kdamsthitam/ rsivat te 'p i pujyante kim punar daivavid dvijah' (Brihat-Samhita 2.15)).
Contributions
Trigonometry
Varahamihira's mathematical work included the discovery of the trigonometric formulas
Varahamihira improved the accuracy of the sine tables of Aryabhata I.
Arithmetic
He defined the algebraic properties of zero as well as of negative numbers.[3]
Combinatorics
He was among the first mathematicians to discover a version of what is now known as the Pascal's triangle. He used it to calculate the binomial coefficients.[4][5][6]
Optics
Among Varahamihira's contribution to physics is his statement that reflection is caused by the back-scattering of particles and refraction (the change of direction of a light ray as it moves from one medium into another) by the ability of the particles to penetrate inner spaces of the material, much like fluids that move through porous objects.[7]
1. ^ 'the Pañca-siddhāntikā ('Five Treatises'), a compendium of Greek, Egyptian, Roman and Indian astronomy. Varāhamihir's knowledge of Western astronomy was thorough. In 5 sections, his monumental work progresses through native Indian astronomy and culminates in 2 treatises on Western astronomy, showing calculations based on Greek and Alexandrian reckoning and even giving complete Ptolemaic mathematical charts and tables. Encyclopædia Britannica (2007) s.v.Varahamihira ^
2. E. C. Sachau, Alberuni's India (1910), vol. I, p. 153
See also
- Hora Sara
Notes
Brihat Samhita In Kannada Telugu
External links
- .
- Pancasiddhantika, Brihat Jataka, Brihat Samhita and Hora Shastra Various editions in English and Sanskrit. (PDF)
- The Brihat Jataka (1905) Pdf edition internet archive
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Brihat Samhita In Kannada Telugu
Bhavishya Purana
Introduction
The Bhavishya Purana (Bhaviṣya Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen major works in the Purana genre of Hinduism, written in Sanskrit. The title Bhavishya means 'future' and implies it is a work that contains prophecies regarding the future, however, the 'prophecy' parts of the extant manuscripts are a modern era work. Those sections of the surviving manuscripts that are dated to be older, are partly borrowed from other Indian texts such as Brihat Samhita and Shamba Purana. The veracity and authenticity of much of the Bhavishya Purana has been questioned by modern scholarship, and the text is considered an example of 'constant revisions and living nature' of Puranic genre of Hindu literature.
The text exists in many inconsistent versions, wherein the content as well as their subdivisions vary, and five major versions are known. Some manuscripts have four Parvan (parts), some two, others don't have any parts. The text as it exists today is a composite of material ranging from medieval era to very recent. The available versions of Bhavishya Purana are based on a printed text published during the British colonial era.
The first 16 chapters of the first part of the Bhavisya Purana is called Brahmaparvan. It shows similarities to, and likely borrowed verses from some version of the Manusmriti. However, some of the caste-related and women's rights related discussion in the Bhavishya Purana is egalitarian and challenge those found in the 19th-century published manuscripts of the Manusmriti. The Brahmaparvan part of the Bhavishya Purana includes a 169 chapters compendium of Surya (Sun god) related literature, that overlaps with Zoroastrianism-related views. These Sun-related sections are a notable and important part of the Bhavishya Purana, and it may be related to the migration or interaction between people of Persia and central Asia with those in Indian subcontinent.
The second part of the text, called Madhyamaparvan, is a Tantra-related work. The 'prophecy'-related third part Pratisargaparvan includes sections on Christianity, Islam, Bhakti movement, Sikhism, British rule, and considered by scholars as a 19th-century creation. The fourth part of the text called Uttaraparvan, is also known as Bhavishyottara Purana. This last part describes festivals related to various Hindu gods and goddesses and their Tithis (dates on lunar calendar), as well as mythology and a discussion of Dharma particularly vrata (vow) and dana (charity). The text also has many Mahatmya chapters on geography, travel guide and pilgrimage to holy sites such as Uthiramerur, and is one of the Tirtha-focussed Puranas.
In records of land grants of the fifth century CE verses are quoted which occur only in the Padma, Bhavishya, and Brahma Puranas, and on this basis Pargiter in 1912 assigned these particular Puranas to the early centuries CE. Maurice Winternitz considers it more probable that these verses, both in the inscriptions and in the puranas, were taken as quotations from earlier dharmaśāstras, and thus argues that chronological deductions cannot be made on that basis.
According to Maurice Winternitz, the text which has come down to us in manuscript form under this title is certainly not the ancient work which is quoted in the Āpastambīya Dharmasūtra. A quotation appearing in the Āpastambīya Dharmasūtra attributed to the Bhaviṣyat Purāṇa cannot be found in the extant text of the Purana.
Some manuscripts of the Bhavishya Purana assert that it has five parts (Sanskrit: parvans), but the extant printed editions contain four parts (Brāhma, Madhyama, Pratisarga, and Uttara). These four parts have distinctive content and dating.
The Brahmaparvan contains 215 chapters, the Madhyamaparvan has three sections with a cumulative total of 62 chapters, the Pratisargaparvan has four sections with 7, 35, 32 and 26 chapters sequentially, and the Uttaraparvan has 208 chapters. Some manuscripts of the text do not have these Parvans and have different number of chapters. The Madhyamaparvan part is a Tantra-related work, while the 'prophecy'-related third part Pratisargaparvan is likely a 19th-century creation.
The text is sometimes titled Bhaviṣyat Purāṇa. In the Padma Purana, it is classified in the rajas category, which contains puranas related to Brahma.Scholars consider the Sattva-Rajas-Tamas classification as 'entirely fanciful' and there is nothing in this text that actually justifies this classification.
Despite being labelled a purana or 'tales of ancient times', the work relates only a few legends. It is one of several puranas in which a list of royal dynasties of the 'past' are followed by lists of kings predicted to rule in the future.
Brāhmaparvan
This part of the text has 215 chapters. It covers topics such as rites of passage, ceremonies and feasts. It also covers the duties and rights of women, a discussion on the nature of people and how to identify good and bad characters, and a caste-related discussion. According to Arora, and other scholars, the caste-related and women's rights related discussion in the Bhavishya Purana is egalitarian, similar to those found in Brahma Purana and Vajrasuchi Upanishad, all three of which challenge the views expressed in the Manusmriti.
The Brahmaparvan also includes sections on festival dates and methods for worshipping Brahma, Ganesha, Skanda, and the Nāga. A considerable section deals with Sun worship in a place called 'Śākadvīpa' which may be a reference to Scythia. This overlaps with Zoroastrianism-related views, and may be related to ancient migration or interaction between Persia and central Asia with Indian subcontinent. These chapters are the most comprehensive and important source of sun-worship tradition in India, and may be related to the escape and resettlement of people from Persia into western India during the mid to late medieval era.
Madhyamaparvan
The second part of the Bhavisya Purana has 62 chapters on Tantra.
This is not mentioned in other Indian text, states Hazra, to have been a part of the Bhavishya Purana, and therefore he states that it may be 'a late appendage' abounding in Tantric theories of the 2nd-millennium. However, states Rocher, the tantra sections of this Purana were likely part of the text by about 1500 CE.
Pratisargaparvan
The Pratisarga parvan has 100 chapters, which deal with topics such as the genealogy of the kings and sages, and prophecies. It is written as a universal history with the first and the second chapters (called Khandas) deal with old time, the third part with the medieval, while the fourth deals with the new age. This section has led scholars to question the veracity and authenticity of much of the Bhavishya Purana, and as evidence that the Puranas were not scriptures, but texts that were constantly revised and of living nature, both over time and over geography.
Alf Hiltebeitel, who has translated and summarized this part of the Bhavishya Purana, considers that 1739 marks the terminus a quo (completed after year) for the text's history of the Mughals and the same terminus a quo would apply to Pratisargaparvan's first khanda Genesis-Exodus sequence, and the diptych in the section concerning 'Isha Putra' (Jesus Christ) and Muhammad in its third chapter. Mention of Queen Victoria's Calcutta places the terminus ad quem (completed before year) at mid to late 19th Century. Hiltebeitel states that this part of the Bhavisya Purana was mostly likely composed in the 19th century.
Uttaraparvan
The Uttaraparvan is large with 208 chapters. Though nominally attached to the Bhavishya Purana, is usually considered to be an independent work, also known as the Bhaviṣyottara Purāṇa, and as such is included among the Upapuranas (Lesser Puranas). The Bhaviṣyottara Purana is primarily a handbook of religious rites with a few legends and myths. Rajendra Hazra characterizes it as 'a loose collection of materials taken from various sources' that is lacking in many of the traditional five characteristics of a purana, but which offers an interesting study of vows, festivals, and donations from sociological and religious point of view.
The Bhavishya Purana also includes Mahatmya (travel guides) to pilgrimage sites such as Uthiramerur.
Bhavishya Mahapuran Episodes/Stories
Based on the Kannada translation:
Vyasamaharshi Pranitam Bhavishya Mahapuranam, Brahma Parva, Bhaga 1 – Sanskrit Moola with Kannada arthanuvada vivarane, translated by Pandit B. Channakeshavayya, Asthana Vidvan, Mysore, Shri Jayachamarajendra Grantharatnamala, Number-36, 1946.
Kannada translation of Bhavishya Purana
Click on the links below for the review/download the Kannada Translation of Bhavishya Purana, by B. Channakeshavayya, published in 1946 under the Shri Jayachamarajendra Grantharatnamala in 13 volumes. This Purana was digitized through Sriranga Digital Technologies by Shri Yogananda, Professor of Mathematics, at Shri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, Mysore.
Hindi translation of Bhavishya Purana
- Bhavishya Puran, Hindi Anuvad along with Sanskrit Shlokas
- Kalyana, Geeta Press, Gorakhpur
- Bhavishya Puran, Pratham Khand, Sarala Bhavartha Sahit, by Shriram Sharma Acharya, published by Sanskrit Sanstan, Bareily.
- Bhavishya Puran Bhasha,Translator Pandit Durga Prasad Chaurasia Gaud, Lucknow
English translation of Bhavishya Purana
- Pratisarga Parva - Third Khand by Avinandan Bose
- Pratisarga Parva - IV by Avinandan Bose
Bhavishya Puran Hindi audio book
On Pocket FM
(Thanks to Navya Sree N)