COMPUTATION OF TIME. 285 



erned by Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and after 

 seven days the sun would again govern the first hour, and 

 the other planets would follow in the same order as before. 

 Thus the days of the week became associated with the 

 names of the planets. 



Although the planetary names were given to the days of 

 the ancient Hindoo week exactly in the same order as ours, 

 their week had a different beginning. They reckoned out 

 Friday to be their first day. The names of the planets in 

 the order of the days were, — 



I. Sovcra.Xenvs. \ 5. JlfanfraJa, Mars.' 



2 Sany, Saturn. 6. Bouta, Mercury. 



3. Addita. the Sun.* I 7. Brahaspati, Jupiter. 



4. Soma, the Moon. 



And the names of the days of their week with the corres- 

 ponding planets and the days of our week, as follows : 



1. Smi.crav2ram, day of Venus," Friday. 



2 Sanyvaram, Saturn. Saturday. 



3. Additavaram. the Sun, Sunday. 



4. Somavaram, the Moon, Monday. 



5. Mangalavaram, Mar3, Tuesday. 



6 Bo7Uavaram. Mercur)', Wednesday. 



7. Brahaspativaram, Jupiter, Thursday. 



It is a remarkable circumstance that the Bramins should 

 have had a week, and that planets should have been con- 

 nected with the days, exactly in the same order as in that 

 of the Egyptians and Greeks, because it has no relation to 

 their apparent magnitudes, their brightness, their distances, 

 or any of their obvious appearances. The coincidence can- 

 not have been the effect of chance, and there seems to be 

 no way of accounting for it but the supposition that the 

 adaptation of the planets to the days must have had a com- 

 mon origin, although it be now impossible to trace it back 

 to its source. The nacshatras, or asterisms, which mark 

 the moon's path in the heavens, twenty-eight in number, 

 have names and presiding deities or resjents ; they have also 

 their emblems or figures. This is their order, according to 

 Mr. Colebrooke : — 



* Tlie 8tin and moon were also called by other itames, and there are 

 varieties of speUtng in the names of the planets. 



