1867.] Proceedings of tlie Asiatic Society. 173 



Postulate regarding a partial eclipse of the sun on Sunday in the 

 Krishna Paksha, or dark half of the moon in the month of Chaitra, 

 when the sun was entering the northern hemisphere, the moon being 

 in the Nakshatra Aswini ; recorded on a grant of land on copper by 

 Janamajaya, the son of Parikshita : published p. 44, Vol. 6, Bengal 

 Asiatic Researches, 1809. 



The words of the text are " Chaitramasa Krishna" or the dark half of 

 the month, and as Chaitra answers to the month between 15th March 

 and loth April, the dark half would seem to imply the time of 

 new moon for that month, at which time only could an eclipse of 

 the sun happen ; and this would be in March or early in April 

 the dark half of the moon being then turned towards the earth, 

 and within the limits of the 17th in the Lunar Nodes : as a solar 

 eclipse only can happen when the moon's latitude, as observed 

 geometrically, is less than the sum of the hemidiameters of the 

 sun and moon combined ; because the course of the moon in its 

 path being oblique to that of the sun, makes an angle of 5° 35". 



Now in examining into the date of the eclipse named in the 

 text, and working out the dominical letter and Epact according to 

 the tables in the prayer-book as well as those given by Fergusson, it 

 would seem to have been that named in Fergusson's astronomy at page 

 217, in Strack's Catalogue of Eclipses as having been observed at Con- 

 stantinople on the 3rd April, A. D. 889 ; the record of the Hindu plates 

 states that the moon was in the Nakshatra Aswini, which answers to 

 the zodiacal sign Aries, and which would also coincide with the 

 month " Chaitra," or between the 15th March, and 15th April, as 

 the sign Aswini or the horse's head comprised a portion or period of 

 the Zodiac — a little over 13 days — the dark shadow of the moon, 

 and ergo, the sun would therefore be in Aswini on the 3rd April, 

 the sun having entered the Northern Hemisphere, or the first 

 star of Aswini on the 22nd March, coincident or nearly so with 

 the sign of Aries, and quitted Aswini on the 4th April, to enter 

 Bhaiani. 



I have calculated all the other eclipses of the sun, happening 

 between the 22nd and 31st March from the year 1261 down to 

 1699, twelve in number, or during the period of Aswini path, 

 but not one of these happened on a Sunday, and no solar eclipse 



