ब्राह्मस्फुटसिद्धान्त (ब्रह्मगुप्त - शून्य, कुट्टक, बीजगणित एवं सम्पूर्ण २१ अध्याय सान्वय सटीक)

6 ASTRONOMY IN ANCIENT NATIONS
the sky referred to gave an approximate date for the formation
of the constellations appears to have beeen first put forward in
1807 by Carl Schwartz, for some time Swedish Consul at Baku.¹
Indo-Greek Contacts
It is highly improbable that before Alexander, there had
been absolutly no contacts between India and the distant nations.
Even in pre-Alexandrian era, there had been such migration is
clearly evinced by the philological and mythological studies. But
we do not possess historic record of it.
The conquests of Alexander the Great made the Greeks
acquainted with the Eastern world, which had up to that
time been visited probably by very few Europeans, and it
likewise spread Greek culture to all the countries which the
victorious Macedonian had been able to reach. The Indian
province of his Empire became independent soon after
Alxander's death, and though the spread of Buddhism in the
third century B. C. checked the progress of Hellenism in
Northern India, the rise of the Greek kingdom of Bactria and
its gradual extension south and east continued for a long time to
keep alive the connection between India and the West. Not
only (as has beeen asserted) the Greek and Indian drama and
architecture have been strongly influenced by Hellenistic and
Indian contacts, it is beyond a doubt that the entire astronomy
of the two great nations is the offspring of these mutual
contacts.
In earliest times astronomy had only been cultivated in
India and in no other country. Some idea had been acquired
during those days of the periods of the Sun and Moon and the
planet Venus and Bṛhaspati (Jupiter), which were used for chrono-
logical purposes, the lunar motions being specially connected with
the proper times for sacrificial acts. The Vedic era was discovered
during this period by Viśvāmitra, and Gārgya enumerated the
Nakṣatras. Lagadha composed his Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa, which is the
first book on astronomy written in human literature. India dev-
eloped her geometry in connection with the construction of sacri-
ficial altars, and its account is found in the Śulba Sūtras of
Baudhāyana, Āśvalāyana and Kātyāyana. Āryabhaṭa laid the
foundations of algebra. One might still say that there is no sign of

1. See, Peter Doig : A concise History of Astronomy, London, 1950.