पञ्चसिद्धान्तिका (आचार्य वराहमिहिर - सूर्य, रोमक, पौलिश, वासिष्ठ एवं पितामह सिद्धान्त)

XV.29 XV. SECRETS OF ASTRONOMY 291

26. If we determine the Day-lord from the half-setting of the Sun every day, there is neither traditional authority nor reasoning to support this.

27. Even in quite adjacent places, in one place there is sun-rise or sun-set, and not in the other, day-time in one place and night in the other, and vice versa. Thus, there is confusion among people in the matter of the Lord of the day.

होरावार्ता(प्ये)वं यस्माद् होरा दिनाधिपस्याद्या | तस्याऽपरिनि(ष्ठा)ने होराधिपतिः कथं भवति || २८ ||

अविचार्यैवं प्रायो दिनवा(रे) जनपदः प्रवृत्तोऽयम् | स्फुटतिथिवि(च्छे)दसमं युक्तमिदं प्राहुराचार्याः || २९ ||

28. The matter of determining the Horā-lord also is in the same mess. When the Day-lord is not determined, how can the Horā-lord be determined?

29. Without giving a thought to all these difficulties, people generally use the name of the Day-lord in their daily routine, (and get on with their work). Learned authorities say that the best thing would be to use the true tithi, (lunar day) and its parts for daily intercourse (as for fixing a definite point of time etc.)

What is meant is as follows:- Sun-rise etc. may vary from place to place, according to the local time. But the lunar day is the same for every place on the earth. So this can fix a point of time without any ambiguity. We learn that the ancient Babylonians used the lunar day as the unit of time, just as we use the solar day.

In the above verses VM indulges in a lot of discussion about Horā-lord, Day-lord, etc. But these are only matters of convention, and astrologers and governments can agree upon some convention to avoid difficulties, e.g. do we not have the standard mean time for our daily dealings.

26a. B. ॰र्धस्तमयात् 27b. A.B. निशा दिनपतिः 28a. A. वार्त्ताध्येवं; B. वत्ताप्येवं (B3. ॰र्त्ता॰) b. B. ॰दिवस यदि B. दिनाधिपत्यं A2. ब्रूमः A2. क्वचिक्वचित् b. B. ॰धिपश्वाद्याः c. B. नाप्तं वाक्यं c. A.B. स्थानं c. A. निष्ठाने; B. निष्ठाने d. A. नवयुक्तिः; B.C.D. न च युक्तिः d. D. व्याकुलमेव 29a. U. अविदित्वैवं B. ॰दन्यास्तः; U. ॰दप्यस्ति b. A. वारौ; B1.2. वारै; B3. वारैः c. B. स्फुरतिथि A.B1.3. विच्छेद d. B1. राचार्योः

[इति पञ्चसिद्धान्तिकायां वराहमिहिरविरचितायां ज्योतिषोपनिषन्नाम पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः ||]¹ Thus ends Chapter Fifteen on ‘Secrets of Astronomy’ in the Pañcasiddhāntikā composed by Varāhamihira

1. Col.: A.B.D. ज्यो (A1. ज्यौ) तिषोपनिषत् पञ्चदशो (B. दशमो) ध्यायः | C. इति ज्योतिषोपनिषन्नाम पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः ||