पञ्चसिद्धान्तिका (आचार्य वराहमिहिर - सूर्य, रोमक, पौलिश, वासिष्ठ एवं पितामह सिद्धान्त)

VI.1 VI. VĀS.-PAUL. SIDDHĀNTA – LUNAR ECLIPSE 153
The following is the rationale of the work: The lunar eclipse occurs at the end of full moon-tithi.
At that time, the Sun and the Moon are separated from each other exactly by 6 rāśis. Therefore the
degrees and minutes or, which is the same, the total minutes left over after finding the rāśis at 1800
minutes a rāśi, are the same for both. Therefore they are called sama-liptas, i.e. ‘having equal
minutes’. The solar eclipse is at the end of the new moon-tithi, at which time they are the same even
in rāśi, not to speak of the degrees and minutes, and therefore samaliptas. So, if we know the Sun at
these times, we know the Moon, for, if new moon, they are the same, and if full moon, different by
6 rāśis.
Now, in the Pauliśa the ‘days from epoch’ are found for sunset, and from them the Sun and the
Moon are found for sunset first. (We have already drawn the attention of the reader to this, while
commenting on III.15.) Then, the ending moment of the tithi is calculated by using the difference
of their motions. The Sun’s motion is roughly one minute of arc per nāḍī. Therefore if one minute
per nāḍī of the time from sunset to full moon (we take only the full moon because with new moon
at night there will be no solar eclipse) is added to the sunset Sun, the Sun at full moon is got, and
the Moon is got from it by adding 6 rāśis. Thus the Moon is easily got, for otherwise we must calculate
the Moon’s motion during the interval by proportion from its daily motion, add this to the sunset
Moon, and get the Moon. In the case when new or full moon-tithi ends in the day-time, it is obvious
that the minutes of arc accrued during the interval up to sunset should be deducted from the sunset
Sun, to get the Moon, as a preliminary to computing either the solar eclipse or the lunar eclipse.
The Siddhānta is content with thus getting the Moon roughly, for that will be sufficient considering
the crudeness of its method of computation. If greater accuracy is desired, we must multiply the
difference of the Sun’s daily motion from 60 minutes of arc by the time to go or time gone, and,
taking the product as seconds of arc, subtract or add them, respectively, to the Moon if the daily
motion is less, and add or subtract respectively if greater. The daily motion required for this is given
in III.17, which we have already seen.
TS have understood that the Moon at new or full moon is found here, but not the manner in
which it is done so simply, for they interpret the instruction to mean that the Moon is to be got from
its daily motion by proportion. To obtain this meaning, they make wild emendations of the words.
But we have kept the words mostly as they are, and we can see that they are sufficient to give the
correct idea. For example, in all the three readings, naiṣyāḥ, naiṣṇāḥ and vaiṣṇāḥ (ṣṇaiṣṇāḥ) there is
‘nai’ which therefore must have been in the original word. Therefore, by changing ṣ to ś, we get
naiśyāḥ, meaning ‘belonging to the night’, which so well agrees with the idea. We have changed can-
dram into cāndra for the sake of syntax and agreement with the idea. Between vi and va, we have
introduced vi, thus reading ravi-vivarāt, which is a likely haplographical omission, and get a word
that fits so well with the idea. Taking the meaningless reading, nṛvaśudbhavācca, and keeping as far
as possible to the letters there, we have reconstructed the form as divasodbhavācca, fitting in with the
1a. A.B2.D. नैष्याः; B1.3. नैष्णाः; B3. वैष्णाः;
C. यातैष्या A.B.C.D. नाड्योर्को c. A. नृवशूद्रवाच्च शोध्या; B. स्यु-द्धवाब्धः शोध्याः;
b. A. दयाश्चन्द्रं; B. देयाश्चन्द्रं; (B2. ॰श्चन्द्र) C. See above; D. पाण्डवम्नाश्र शोध्याः
C. दयतस्तत्कला विधोः शोध्याः । D. दयाच्चक्रा- d. A. तत्कालशशिदिनसार्द्धे शशिप्तितः ।
धोनेन्दुरविविवरात् c-d. C. स भवति तत्कालशशी दिवसैष्ये लिप्तिकायुक्तः;
A. समेन्दुरविवरा; B. यमेन्दुरविवरा D. शशिलिप्तः