171 
Parasurama derives its name from a prince, who is supposed 
to have reigned 1176 B.C., the epoch being 7th August, 
3537 Jul. Per., or 1925 Kal-yug. This era is reckoned in 
cycles of 1000 years. The commencement of the 977th 
year of the 3d cycle concurs with the 14th Sept. A.D. 1800. 
The cycle of Jupiter is supposed by many to be one of 
the most ancient modes of reckoning time, not only in India, 
but in Asia generally : in the former, it is comparatively of 
modern introduction (A.D. 965-6,) v. Prinsep. I.e. p. 29 ; 
but it has been known in China from time immemorial, 
where it partakes of the same peculiarity as on the continent 
of India, of having separate names for each year of the 
cycle. 
From the difficulty of ascertaining the extent to which 
the more modern of the Hindoo astronomers were indebted 
to their more ancient predecessors, it is impossible at 
present to determine how many of the doctrines which 
their works contain are entirely original. This will be 
easier, when we possess more translations, and are able to 
trace opinions to earlier sources, even from hints in works 
on other subjects. In the mean time it may be stated that 
the Hindoos were early acquainted with the spherical 
figure of the earth, and that they conceived it to be 
self-balanced in space. And though, like the Greeks, they 
had their epicycles and eccentrics, and there are coincidences 
in their system of calculating the inequalities of the sun, 
moon, and planets, they yet seem to have been ignorant of 
the modifications made in those hypotheses by Ptolemy. 
They knew that the moon revolves once a month on her 
axis; and that she was distant from the earth 220,184 
geographical miles, which is 20,000 less than has been 
determined by European astronomers. To find the latitude 
of a place, they observed the length of the shadow of a 
perpendicular gnomon, when the sun is in the equator : and 
