188 The Adjustment of the Hindu Calendar. [No. 4, 



It is rather improbable that the Hindus would wait for a conjunction 

 of the three to hegiu their observations. Amara Sinha's explanation 

 quite negatives all sueh suppositions, as it is impossible that the moon 

 Lad have the same longitude with the sun and be sti 1 a full moon. 

 To eorreet then the Hindu Almanac, so as not to violate the Hindu 

 idea of Mahdvishuva mesha SankrdnU is utterly impossible. _ The year 

 ffiU st be made to begin at one or the other of two points. It is 

 proposed therefore to begin the eivil year from the vernal equinox or 

 the sign Aries. Though this method enforces the change of the order 

 of the asterisms making Revati ({ Piscium) the first and Acvim 

 the second, we have yet the advantage conferred by European calcula- 

 tion to support our view. On the other hand, the change of the beg.nmng 

 of the year from the vernal equinox to the 13th of April, is a strong 

 recommendation for bringing the initial point of the year to the moment 

 of ecliptic conjunction i. e. on the 21st of April. A change of the 

 order of the asterisms is not new to the castras. Knt.ka (r, Tauri, 

 Pleiades) now third, formerly occupied the position of Acvim. _ 



The Hindu calendar is now in one view 22 days in advance, and in 

 another about 7 days behind the real state of things *«•£*■£ 

 to eiect 21 days from the month Ghaitra and thus to bring the 

 IZtoLsl ^ *ack to the equinoxes. 8£- -ova- 

 tion or correction of the calendar, involves serious difficulties _the 

 olrvaUve habit of the Hindu mind and the confusion in a politic 

 "f view of the dates of payment of rents, & c„ are serious, but 



"^Hiirclulations, owing to the errors of tables made up 

 Borne centuries past are all defective and need correction. But these 

 are secondary to the correction of the year. 



To sound the Hindu opinion on the subject, a circular in Sa.«n 

 was issued by me in October last. There I have quoted most authori 

 Tt "passages showing that such change of the beginning of the yea 

 on a count of the precession of the equinoxes is not contrary to th 

 1 With a Hindu, authority of the f astra is the only argument 



Taroend a partial translation of the principal points of the Sanscrit 



circular. 



The Dharma gastras say— ^ c 



