Chapter on Mean Motions

Page 5

The mention of the "bright half" is used to exclude the dark half. The author is clarifying why the text specifies the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha) of the month Chaitra. Here, supporting evidence from Vedic and Smriti texts should also be applied:

"That which is the New Moon of the month of Vaishakha, on that day one should establish the sacred fires; it coincides with the Rohini constellation and enters the three-fold latter half of the month. One should perform the ancestral rites (Shraddha) in the latter half, etc."

Smriti passages should be applied in this manner. Now, it is said:

"Thus he says, the first night of the year is the Full Moon of Phalguna; that which is the latter is the last, and that which is the former [is the first]."

If it is argued that this too is a Vedic statement, then the Full Moon of the former Phalguna cannot possibly be the end of the month. This is because on the second day, the status of being in the month of Phalguna is not contradicted. The text states: "The first night of the year is the Full Moon of Phalguna, which is the latter." Therefore, its status as the beginning can be stated in this way, as both dates belong to Phalguna. This much is understood: the Phalguna Full Moon has passed, but the month of Phalguna has not yet ended. In this situation, the beginning is determined by considering the remaining statements where there is no contradiction; it cannot be imagined here by one's own will. By the mention of "in Lanka," it is indicated that while it is noon in one place, it is sunset there, midnight elsewhere, and at another place, a time exceeding one hundred and eight minutes original: "eight ghatikas over a hundred". Since the progression of time and the day begins differently, the separate mention of months and years is to establish their commencement, such as the rainy season beginning in Shravana.

Scholarly Commentary: At the Beginning of Creation Srishtyadi-kala, starting from the bright half of Chaitra Chaitra-shukla-pratipada, from the time of sunrise in Lanka on the day of the Sun (Sunday), the days, months, years, Yugas, and Kalpas all commenced simultaneously. The division of all-pervading time, which is without beginning or end, into days, months, years, Yugas, and Kalpas is made for the sake of worldly transactions. The "commencement" of these divided parts of time at the Beginning of Creation refers to their manifestation at a single point in time. Similarly, at the end of creation (the time of dissolution), these divided parts of time come to an end. Following this logic, the introductory writing "of time which is without beginning or end" is proven to be rational. Otherwise, how could the commencement of all-pervading time be logically explained? Bhaskaracharya A famous 12th-century Indian mathematician and astronomer also, in the Siddhanta Shiromani Bhaskara's crown jewel of astronomical treatises, says something similar to what was stated by Brahmagupta A 7th-century astronomer: "From the sunrise in the city of Lanka, on that very day, it first occurred," etc. || 4 ||

Now the progression of this time, which is beginningless and endless, is described.

Hindi Commentary: From the first day of the bright half of Chaitra, from the time of sunrise in Lanka on Sunday, at the beginning of creation, the day, month, year, Yuga, and Kalpa all began at the same time. Here, the division of all-pervading time (which has no beginning and no end) has been made for worldly use through days, months, years, Yugas, and Kalpas. The progression of these divided parts of time occurs at a single point in time at the beginning of creation, and at the end of creation (dissolution), those times end. Accordingly, writing "of time which is without beginning or end" in the introduction is logically consistent. If this were not the case, then for all-pervading time...