Jai Singh's observatories

[yanom at JPNKSUVX.EARN]

In reply to Shailendra Raj Mehta, who wrote:
 
>I was under the (perhaps
>mistaken) impression that since the time of Aryabhata (5th century AD ?) Indian
>astronomy was uniformly heliocentric. Even one of the ten principal Upanishads
>has a clear reference to heliocentricity which Nehru plays up in his Discovery
>of India.
 
You are mistaken, because Aryabhata is rather exceptional in the
history of Indian astronomy.  All the later scholars had a geocentric
cosmology.  Even the followeres of Aryabhata took much pains to
interprete Aryabhata's words by geocentrci view, just in order to
save the acarya from the accusation.
I wonder which Upanishad has <a clear reference to heliocentricity>.
 
> Or was it
>true that heliocentric thought vanished completely from view by the time of Jai
>Singh.
 
Yes, it is certainly true!
 
Michio YANO, Kyoto Sangyo Univesity, Kyoto, Japan