[INDOLOGY] Unit of time in premodern Indian system of time units.

[rajam]

Dear Harry, 

I’m a bit confused about the terminology used here in this discussion — kalā ?  kāla ? 

In Tamil … they mean / signify different things. 
 
kalā — relates to the phases of the moon; extended meaning being 'art/artistic'

kāla — relates to Time 

Regards,
rajam  


> On May 4, 2025, at 9:10 AM, Harry Spier via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
> 
> Thank you Bill,
> Exactly what I needed. A quick glance shows there is variation in the definition of kalA.  Very useful is the index where I can see all the references to kalA.
> Much appreciated.
> Harry Spier
> 
> 
> On Sun, May 4, 2025 at 10:11 AM Bill Mak <bill.m.mak at gmail.com <mailto:bill.m.mak at gmail.com>> wrote:
> Dear Harry,
> 
> This should be of help to you.
> 
> Hayashi, Takao. 2017. “The Units of Time in Ancient and Medieval India.” History of Science in South Asia 5 (1): 1–116. doi:10.18732/h2ht0h <https://doi.org/10.18732/h2ht0h>.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Bill
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Bill M. Mak, PhD
> 
> Professor of History of Science
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> 
> 
>> On 3 May 2025, at 19:44, Harry Spier via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:
>> 
>> Dear list members,
>> I've been asked to confirm the meaning of kalā in the premodern  Indian system of time units. 
>>  According this wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_units_of_time <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_units_of_time>
>>  referring to the  Sūrya Siddhānta, 1 kalā = 30 kāṣṭhā approximately equal to 48 seconds but I've also been told that 1 kalā  is about one hour of the western time units. Can someone confirm the meaning of  kalā in the Indian system of time units . Was there more than one system of time units in general use in premodern India?
>> Thanks,
>> Harry Spier
>> 
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