﻿XV. 



ON THE 



ASTRONOMICAL COMPUTATIONS 



OF THE 



HINDUS. 

 BY SAMUEL DAVIS, Escu 



Bhagalpur, I $t£> Feb. 17S9. 



IT is, I believe, generally admitted, that inquiries 

 into the astronomy of the Hindus may lead to much 

 curious information, besides what relates merely to 

 the science itself; and that attempts to ascertain the 

 chronology of this ancient nation will, as they have 

 hitherto done, prove unsatisfactory unless assistance 

 be derived from such researches. 



The following communication is not expected to 

 contribute towards so desirable a purpose ; but, with 

 all its imperfections, it may have the useful effect of 

 awakening the attention of others in this country who 

 are better qualified for such investigations, and of in- 

 citing them to pursue the same object more success- 

 fully, by showing that numerous treatises in Sanscrit 

 on astronomy are procurable, and that the Bra': nuns 

 are extremely willing to explain them. As an en- 

 couragement to those who may be inclined to amuse 

 themselves in this way, I can farther venture to de- 

 clare, from the experience I have had, that Sanscrit 

 books in this science are more easily translated than 

 almost any others, when once the technical terms are 

 understood : the subject of them admitting neither 

 of metaphysical reasoning nor of metaphor, but be- 

 ing delivered in plain terms and generally illustrated 

 with examples in practice, the meaning may be well 

 enough made out, by the help of a Pandit r through 

 the medium of the Persian or the Hindi language. 



