Hindu critiques of astrology / jyotiSa

[Tony K. Stewart]

Tim,

There is a very interesting dissertation that should be of immediate  
interest (I don't know if it ever became a book):

Barry Steven Friedman, "Negotiating Destiny:  The Astrologer and His  
Art in Bengali Cultural History" (PhD Dissertation, The University of  
Chicago, 1986).

Cheers,

Tony K. Stewart


On Apr 12, 2007, at 11:26 PM, Timothy C. Cahill wrote:

> Greetings!
>     One of my students is interested in researching Hindu  
> perspectives on astrology. He is especially concerned with finding  
> critiques of astrology, astrologers or astronomy.  We've assembled  
> a basic set of readings that will allow him to learn the basics of  
> Indian astronomy/astrology, but I'm not confident that those  
> sources (by D. Pingree, M. Yano, Defouw & Svoboda, D. Knipe, et al)  
> will provide 'insider' perspectives critical of astrology. About  
> the only thing I could think of was Stietencron's article  
> ("Religious Configurations in Pre-Muslim India...) in the  
> *Representing Hinduism* volume, where Somasambhu gives them brief  
> mention.  C. Minkowski's "The Pandit as Public Intellectual" is  
> also on the reading list, and a colleague has pointed me to an  
> article by Judy Pugh in Contributions to Indian Sociology. However,  
> I feel that I've yet to supply my student with a source that  
> documents the type of critique that we get from someone like Martin  
> Luther in Europe.
>
>     This seems like an excellent topic, but I'm a bit stymied! Any  
> help would be much appreciated!  (And apologies for the cross- 
> posting.)
>
> best,
> Tim Cahill