1868.] The Adjustment of the Hindu Calendar. 185 



Thus the Hindus bring forward the year one whole day every fourth 

 year nearly or 289 days in 1192 years. The system involves the 

 error of the Julian year, which outruns the Hindu solar year (as well 

 as the European solar year with the Gregorian correction) by nearly 

 10' 44" or two days 23' 33" in 400 years ; 



The annual variation of the equinoxes is according to the Surya 

 Siddlmnta about 54". The position of the initial point of the year 

 with reference to the equinox on the 13th of April, 1867, is found 

 from the following proportion given in the Siddhanta. 



(1577917828 clays) the number of days in a great Yuga is to (600) 

 the number of revolutions in it, as (1814605) the sum of the days 

 elapsed since the last epoch of conjunction, is to the number or frac- 

 tion of revolutions elapsed. This is Rev. 248° 23' 59".7. The 

 hhuja or sine of this, is its supplement 68° 23' 59". 7 for reducing the 

 supplement to an arc of 27°, which is done by multiplying it by 3 and 

 dividing by 10, we get the ayandnga, the actual distance of the initial 

 point of the sphere from the equinox 20° 31' 11" 9. 



One of the apparent reasons for the Surya Siddhanta's not introduc- 

 ing this correction in the calculations is, because the author of the work 

 supports the theory of libration. The colures therefore falling back 

 with respect to the fixed stars in round numbers 50" annually, the 

 Hindu system slowly advances beyond the true vernal equinox. 



The initial point of the year is called the MaUvishuva mesha 

 Sankrdnti, the vernal equinoctial transit of the sun to Aries. As 

 shown before, this moment is no longer the equinoctial point, but is 

 removed from it by a period of about 22 days. To this period adding 

 the distance of the present initial point from p Arietis as calculated 

 before, seven days, we get the actual distance of the fi Arietis from the 

 equinox, the difference between the sign and the constellation Aries. 

 The numerical value of this is about 30 and, assuming 50" in round 

 numbers being the numerical value of the precession of the equinoxes, 

 we find that about 2260 years before the present time, the Hindu year 

 began with the vernal equinox, and the ecliptic conjunction of the 

 sun with Acvini happened at about the same time, or 300 B. C. is 

 the latest period to which the Hindu observations can be referred. 

 It is well to add that such determination of the dates of the Surya 

 fciddhanta, and the Hindu observation depends decidedly on partial rea- 



