गुप्त अभिलेख संग्रह (जे. एफ. फ्लीट - गुप्त सम्राटों एवं परवर्ती नरेशों के ऐतिहासिक पाषाण व ताम्रलेख)

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS: APPENDIX II. 153

Add this gh. 52, p. 20, to the ghaṭīs and palas only of (a) the abdapa. The result,
vāra 1, gh. 5, p. 48, shews that the 6th mean tithi of Chaitra ended with gh. 5, p. 48, after
sunrise on the following day, Monday, after the day of the Mêsha-Saṁkrānti, Sunday.
This quantity, vāra 1, gh. 5, p. 48, is called the tithi-bhōga, lit. 'the enjoyment or dura-
tion of the tithi;' and it is the end of the tithi-dhruva, increased by one tithi. It is, of
course, a mean tithi. And it shews that days 1, gh. 5, p. 48, had elapsed, from sunrise on
the day of the Mêsha-Saṁkrānti, up to the end of Chaitra śukla 6 as a mean tithi.
We have now to bring into consideration the number of tithis elapsed up to the
commencement of the given tithi. And, in doing this, we must of course take account of
any intercalary month that there may be, preceding the given tithi, in the given year.
In our example, however, the result in (b) the tithi-śuddhi, is less than nineteen tithis.
And a reference to Table VI. p. 22, — which would enable us to determine the inter-
calary month approximately, if there were one, — shews us that there was, therefore, no in-
tercalary month at all in the given year, Śaka-Saṁvat 406 expired. The explanation of
this, is, that, when the tithi-śuddhi is less than nineteen, it shews that the saṁkrānti in
Chaitra occurred within the first nineteen tithis of that month. And, as, generally, the
solar months are longer than the lunar months, the saṁkrāntis of the sun, i.e. his passage
from one sign of the zodiac into the next, occur continuously later in each successive
lunar month. But, when the saṁkrānti in Chaitra falls within the first nineteen tithis,
no saṁkrānti, up to the end of the year, can go beyond the thirtieth tithi of any lunar
month; and, therefore, no month will be intercalary.
Consequently, from the beginning of Chaitra, up to the commencement of the given
tithi, Âshâḍha śukla 12, there had elapsed only the usual number of one hundred and one
tithis; viz. in the bright fortnight of Chaitra, 15; in Vaiśâkha, 30; in Jyêshtha, 30; and
in Âshâḍha, 15 in the dark fortnight, and 11 in the bright.¹ From this number of tithis,
101, we subtract the tithi-dhruva, 5. And the remainder, 96, is the number of tithis
elapsed from the end of Chaitra śukla 5 up to the end of Âshâḍha śukla 11. But the tithi-
bhōga, which we have already arrived at, is the end of Chaitra śukla 6; and the same
number of tithis, 96, expire from the end of Chaitra śukla 6 up to the end of Âshâḍha śukla
12. Therefore, adding to the tithi-bhōga the solar equivalent, now to be introduced, the
result will bring us to the end of the given tithi, Âshâḍha śukla 12.
Turning to Table III. p 14, we find that the equivalent, in mean solar days, of
96 tithis, is days 94, gh. 17, p. 36. And, adding this to the tithi-bhōga, the result, days
95, gh. 23, p. 24, gives the interval that had elapsed, from sunrise on the day of the Mêsha-
Saṁkrānti up to the end of Âshadha śukla 12 as a mean tithi

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¹ We are dealing with a northern date; and that is why the tithis are counted in this way. If we
were dealing with a southern date, the enumeration would be, in Chaitra, 30; in Vaiśâkha, 30:
in Jyêshṭha, 30; and in the bright fortnight of Âshâḍha, 11. The total is the same, 101, since a bright
fortnight is concerned.
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