1877.] 
421 
explanations of the Jyotisha-Veddnga. 
exactly 13f clays. The reading of Y. does not afford any satisfactory 
sense ; it is interesting only as a proof of the heavy corruptions which the 
text of the Jyotisha has sustained. Somakara’s explanation of “uttamani” 
is, owing to the bad state of the MSS., unintelligible ; but that it cannot 
have any value appears from his stating that the sun remains in one nak- 
shatra thirteen days only. 
I proceed at once to the verse which follows next in the Yajus recen¬ 
sion, not because the matter it treats of is akin to that of verse 39, but be¬ 
cause it contains a similar dangerous corruption and again illustrates Soma¬ 
kara’s untrustworthiness. The verse runs as follows : 
airf I 
TOr ^ n 
vj ^ 
Somakara’s commentary on this verse, as far as it can be made out, is as 
follows: 
*?^<t Wrr OTcT rT^F 
I ^ i ?r^ *r<§ir*T 
3 
| rTrr: | ^rTT?R VRHT 
(?) ^Tf^mfrJTX^f ^frT I rf^r ?I<T 
f^SX^f^-JTTiTT: V | ^ ^ (?) ^f*rT | Xf% (?) 
fcf^frT fWTi^T f^T V^f«T I ^T^ri I 
The verse clearly contains a rule for finding the relative length of day 
and night for any nycthemeron during the year. The elements for this 
calculation are given to us in the well-known verse of the Jyotisha, which 
fixes the length of the shortest and the longest day of the year (v. 8) : 
“ The increase of the day and the decrease of the night during the 
northern progress of the sun is one prastha of water ; the reverse is the 
case during the southern progress; a period of six muhurtas (is the result) 
during one progress.” 
Therefore, the length of a nycthemeron being 30 muhurtas (see above) 
the shortest day is twelve muhurtas, the longest eighteen. Reasoning from 
these data only and not taking into account that in reality the day does not 
become longer by an equal portion at all times between the winter solstice and 
the summer solstice, we have the following simple calculation. The day in¬ 
creasing by six muhurtas in one ayana = 183 days, it increases in one day 
by t ®3 = -g^ muhurtas. Therefore, to find the length of any day be¬ 
tween the winter solstice and the summer solstice, take the number of this 
day reckoning from the winter solstice and multiply it by two, divide the 
product by sixty-one and add the result to twelve, i. e., to the number of 
muhurtas of the shortest day ; the same rule applies to the days after the 
