1847.] 



171 the Indian Zodiac. 



153 



Karkinos the crab ; is in all kulTra : the plain Sanscrit word for 

 the crab.-'' 



Leon, the lion, is uniform in all, Leya. Parthenos the virgin ; par- 

 thona, Partheya, and PardhSna. 



Zygus, the scales ; jiika in four mss. and jnaka in a fifth. 

 Scorpios, Korpya, korp, Koppyar. 



Toxicos, the archer, is uniformly Taukshica — which may also be 

 written Tauxicah. 



Aigokeros, the seagoat, is uniformly written akokero. 



Hydrochoos, Aquarius, is written Hridroga ; in all but Mr. 

 Whish's copy. 



Ichthyes, the fishes. Isthusi, Aschsthaisih. These words resem- 

 ble the dative, ichthusi. In three manuscripts this word is abandon- 

 ed : being hard to express in Sanscrit characters. 



The three manuscripts I have consulted are ancient : the first 

 quoted is perhaps two hundred years old : it is one of those received 

 * last year from the Honorable Company's Library in London. The 

 other two are perhaps half as old : they belonged to my own col- 

 lection. All three are written on palm leaves. The verses are 

 familiarly known to most of the Bramins who have had occasion 

 to study astrology. 



Mr. Whish also cites a Sanscrit verse which mentions the Sun, 

 Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus (called in Greek Helius, 

 Hermes, Ares, Zeus, Kronos and Aphrodite) by the names Heli, He- 

 ma, Arab, Jyok, K5nah, and Asphujit. In the Brihajjatacam I have 

 read this verse : which deviates only in one name, reading (in 558) 

 Jyos for Zeus. This is a yet more apt coincidence. 



Having satisfied myself that Mr. Whish's quotations from the as- 

 trological treatises are veracious, I shall close this paper with a que- 

 ry regarding the names of the days of the week. It is well known 

 that among the Hindus Sunday is called the day of the Sun ; Mon- 

 day the day of the Moon ; Friday the day of Venus ; Saturday the 

 day of Sani (Saturn) and so forth : precisely agreeing with European 

 names : and the same names appertaining to the same days. 



* This word Kulira though uniformly written in all the manuscripts, seems an error 

 for Karkina : it is the only Sanscrit name used in this verse instead ol" a Greek name : 

 the metre (Arya vrittam) cow use Karkina (a dactyl) in the third seat; and cawio/ use 

 the (amphibrach) Kulira in irregular seats : viz. 1st, 3d, 5th, 7th. See Colebrooke's Essay 

 on Sanscrit Poetry, vol. 2, p. 72 note. Captain Jorvis in his volume on Weights and Mea- 

 sures, Bombay 1836, page 132, has pointed out these Greek words in the Sanscrit canons. 

 He seems to have read Kurku, which, if correct, is more like the Greek word. 

 \ . U 



