Dating

[Girish Beeharry]

Hi,

On Thu, 16 May 1996 ACHARB at MSUVX1.MEMPHIS.EDU wrote:

> Astronomy (and of course astrology) has been a part of Indian society since the
> vedic times. It has been a living tradition which has existed continuously all
> through the ages. The concepts of Nakshtras, tithis, rasis, planets, precession
> of the equinoxes,the days can all be found in the vedas and is certainly older
> than the vedas. There has been a continuous stream of astronomers and their
> works throught the ages,contributing to the pool of knowledge. VedAnga
> jyotisha,sUrya prajnApti, AryabhatIya,Pancha siddhAntika,lIlAvati,have
> incorporated the sidereal astronomy of the vedas. One can not simply discount
> the earlier references quoted in the SiddhantAs, because they are not available
> now and attribute every thing to the Greeks. 

This supports what I said preiously. Unfortunately no one else seems to
want to part with his/her knowledge on this matter! :-)

> 
> In the end it does not really matter who discovered what, because those who
> really discover truth are "rishis", even if they are "yavana". Time and space
> are of not much consequence. But, modern scholarship is hung up on historic
> dates, and if it can not find information regarding dates, it becomes very
> jittery. All kinds of theories are spun, arguments in favor of one or the other
> of these theories are hurled. All that effort can be spent more usefully in
> understanding the ideas.- Narahari Achar

This again brings the matter back to my original query; have people in
Indological studies done work on dating using astronomy? If not, can
someone please tell me whether work is currently being done in this area?

Bye,

Girish Beeharry