बृहत्संहिता (आचार्य वराहमिहिर - स्थापत्य, खगोल, मौसम व जल विज्ञान)

INTRODUCTION We are happy to present by the grace of God this edition of the Brihat Samhita of Sri Varahamihira with an English translation. A look at the table of contents will enable the reader to gauge the wonderful depth and wide range of the author's knowledge. In this monu- mental work which can rightly be called a Magnum Opus, there is no subject which he has not treated of with dignity, beauty and grandeur. This work, in fine, is a valuable encyclopaedia, as it deals with an astonish- ing variety of subjects of exceptional interest and value. Albiruni, the Arabian astronomer who has translated the लघुजातक (Laghu Jataka) of our author into Arabic, eulogises this संहिता (Samhita) for its richness in details. It contains important astronomical data, geographical details, Architecture, Sculpture, Medicine, Psychology, Physiology, Physiognomy, Botany, Zoology, Prosody, figures of speech and other subjects. This work is un- ique in Sanskrit Literature. The author has made it extremely interesting in spite of its dealing with technical subjects. The author is a poet of a high order. We can also observe here clear traces of the influence of the great poet Kalidasa on this author. In fact वराहमिहिर (Varahamihira) must have been an ardent admirer of Kalidasa. This fact probably led people to believe that our author was a contemporary of the illustrious poet. Moreover, in the ज्योतिर्विदाभरण (Jyotirvidabharana), its author, a Kalidasa, says that he wrote it in 3068 of Kali Yuga or 33 B. C. and that he is a contemporary of Varahamihira. This work bears internal testimony of