141 



seven moons each, or sixty rural years. It is 

 known to all the nations, who live on the east of 

 the Indus ; and appears connected with the ap- 

 parent movement of Jupiter in the ecliptic. 

 We have already shown*, that among the Hin- 

 doos the dedecatemorion of the solar zodiac drew 

 its origin from the nacshatras, or from the lunar 

 zodiac, each month taking the name of the lunar 

 mansion, in which the full moon took place. In 

 like manner we have observed, that the indic- 

 tions of twelve years, and the names of the nac- 

 shatras given to these years, relate to the heli- 

 acal rising of Jupiter. We may suppose, that 

 at the remote period when the first astronomical 

 ideas were developed, men were struck at seeing 

 a planet proceed through the twenty-eight lunar 

 mansions nearly in the same number of years, as 

 they observed of lunar revolutions from one win- 

 ter solstice to another. In order to collect these 

 great years of twelve solar years in groups, one 

 of the numbers, which among all nations are 

 made use of as resting points in numeration, 

 must necessarily be employed ; namely 5, 10, or 

 20. The preference would probably be given 

 to the smallest of these numbers ; because 5 x 

 12, or 60, are contained six times in the num- 

 ber 360 ; which served for the division of the 

 circle, on account of the 360 days, which the 



* See vol. xiii, p. 336. 



