CHRISTIAN RELIGION IN INDIA. 99 



tirely compiled from ^^arious authors from the west. 

 The greatest part of it is now in my possession, and 

 was procured at Jaypiir by Colonel Collins, resi- 

 dent with SiNDiA. Mr. Davis informs me also, 

 that at the same time the work of Theodosius, on 

 the sphere was translated into Sanscrit. As these 

 thefts are not recorded, the circumstance is hardly 

 known now to any of the natives. Jaya-sinh'a 

 had also an extract made of all the constellations in 

 Senex's celestial planisphere, and instead of 72 aste- 

 risms, he had 144 made out, by splitting all those 

 that would admit of it into two or three new ones. 

 The royal oak of course has found its way there, 

 under the name of M'lda-vrwsha, the radical or 

 primeval tree ; and the Indian is called "Sdrendra, or 

 the chief of archers ; and as the Hindus have no 

 altars, the constellation of that name has been con- 

 verted into a footstool. 



There is a famous astronomer, whose works, or at 

 least part of them, are still extant, well known all 

 over India, and declared to have been a foreigner, as 

 implied by his name of Yavana'cha'rya, or the 

 Grecian philosopher, and who lived, according to tra- 

 dition, a little before the time of Muhamed. The 

 Hindus give the nnme of Yavanas, or Greeks, to the 

 inhabitants of the countries to the west of Ijtdia, 

 probably because the Greeks were once masters of 

 Persia, and afterwards the seat of empire was fixed 

 at Constantinople. From the account they give of 

 him, it does not appear that he was a native of 

 Greece, but only deeply skilled in the learning of 

 the Greeks, having prdbably attended the university 

 at Alexandria. 



They say that he was a Brahmen, born in Arabia. 



H 2 



