A Short History of Hindu Astronomy & Ephemeris

TL;DR

This paper reviews the development of Hindu astronomy from 1500 B.C. to 1200 A.D., correlating ancient concepts with modern astronomy, and summarizes key features, star names, and historical context in a comprehensive manner.

Contribution

It provides a detailed correlation between ancient Hindu astronomical terms and modern terminology, along with a systematic summary of their astronomical knowledge and historical sources.

Findings

Correlated Hindu astronomical terms with modern equivalents.

Summarized Hindu astronomical features and star data.

Presented historical context and sources of Hindu astronomy.

Abstract

We have summarized here the astronomical knowledge of the ancient Hindu astronomers. This knowledge was accumulated from before 1500 B.C. up to around 1200 A.D. In Section \ref{equiv} we have correlated terms used by the Hindu astronomers and their equivalents in modern astronomy. In Section \ref{coord} we have defined the different astronomical coordinate systems and their transformation relations. In Sections \ref{seasons} and \ref{cycles} we have collected the main features of solar and lunar motions in terms of modern astronomical terminology. In Section \ref{stars} we have given the names of the stars mentioned by the Hindu astronomers and their modern names with the present astronomical coordinates. In Section \ref{hist} we have given a short survey of Indian history with emphasis to Hindu astronomy. In Sections \ref{vedas} and \ref{sid} we have given short descriptions of the main sources of Hindu astronomy. In Section \ref{astron} the important features of Hindu astronomy have been described. All through the article we have tried to present the content in tabular forms for ready and unambiguous perception.