The Five Astronomical Canons

processes more or less diverging from those commonly employed. Commentaries probably existed formerly, and possibly exist even now; but we have failed to procure any. The Commentary published in the present volume is an entirely original composition by my Collaborator. A mere translation of the text with notes would, indeed, have sufficed for the European reader; we however, wished to make the results of our labour accessible to Pandits Scholars or learned masters of traditional Indian knowledge also who understand no English. And a full tika A sub-commentary or detailed explanation of a primary text giving full demonstrations in the ordinary Hindu Referring here to the traditional Indian scholastic method style will, in many cases, be useful to the European student also.

The right hand columns of the text give the emended text; the left hand columns the text of the better one of our two Manuscripts which we thought advisable to exhibit in extenso original: "in extenso"; meaning at full length or in its entirety. Some remarks on the Manuscripts and the mode of emendation of the text will be found at the end of the Introduction.

As this preface is signed by myself only, I may, I think, here acknowledge—in a somewhat more explicit way than the mere association of names on the title page is capable of doing—the great obligations under which I am to my collaborator Pandit Mahamohopadhyaya Sudhakara Dvivedi A title of great respect meaning "Greatest among great teachers". His constant assistance was altogether indispensable to me, and all the more welcome as among the Jyautishas Traditional astronomers or astrologers of my acquaintance I know of no other, fully equal to work of this kind and at the same time equally ready to devote himself to a task which in certain aspects is so entirely unremunerative. I may express the hope that the Pandit, who is already so well known for his efforts to spread a knowledge of modern higher Mathematics among his countrymen, will continue to devote a part at least of his learning and talents to the elucidation of the ancient history of science in this country.

I further wish to express my best thanks to the Bombay Government and to Professor R. G. Bhandarkar, who with great liberality have allowed me the use, for lengthened periods of time, of all those Manuscripts in their charge which I required for the present edition. Nor must I omit to record my obligations to Professor G. Buehler to whose activity, when in charge of the search for Sanskrit Manuscripts in parts of the Bombay Presidency, we are indebted for the discovery of the two Manuscripts on which this edition is based.

ALLAHABAD: }
15th December, 1888. }