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

III.35 III. PAULIŚA-SIDDHĀNTA 73
connected with particular nakṣatras. For e.g. as the Moon of the fifteenth tithi in Caitra is near Hasta
or Citrā, the Moon of navamī, six days before, is near Punarvasu or Puṣya, because the tithi, the day
and the nakṣatra, have approximately the same duration. In the same way, as the Moon of the 15th
tithi of Śrāvaṇa is near Śravaṇa, the Moon at Śravaṇa Bahula Aṣṭamī, eight days after that, is near
Rohiṇī, which is also a thing well known. Now, when the months (synodic) are 'tied' to the nakṣatras
as mentioned, there will be this conformity. But the months are kept tied to the nakṣatras if the solar
year is sidereal, and not tropical like that of the Romaka, i.e. if the solar year begins as in all other
Siddhāntas with a fixed point on the ecliptic like the first point of Meṣa, and not the movable vernal
equinox, the so called First Point of Aries, as in the Romaka or the new Indian Rashtriya Panchang.
As the difference between the two points (i.e. the ayanāṃśa) increases, the above mentioned con-
formity will gradually decrease and when the ayanāṃśa accumulates to 30° the full moon of the first
month will fall in the Phalgunis instead of near Citrā and though called Caitra the first month will
really be ‘Phālguna’. This non-conformity has already happened in the Rashtriya Panchang, with the
ayanāṃśa more than twenty degrees now. If it accumulates to 6 nakṣatras, (i.e. 80°) the full moon of
the first month, still called Caitra, will be in the nakṣatras Punarvasu or Puṣya, though the month
will really be Pausha. Thus Punarvasu connected with the Navamī of the real Caitra will occur at
the full moon of the so called Caitra of the Romaka (or the Rashtriya Panchang). The Navamī of the
new Caitra, occurring 6 days before the full moon day, will occur in Apabharaṇī, 6 nakṣatras earlier.
When a situation thus arises contradictory to their belief, people will realise that the sidereal year
is the proper thing and discard the Romaka.
Incidentally we may mention that the same confusion will arise in following the Rashtriya
Panchang also. One thing we want to say here. We do not deny that the tropical year best suits civil
purposes, but a luni-solar calendar based on the sidereal year also will suit our religious purposes
best. Therefore they have to be kept apart. (A civil calendar based on the tropical year, we already
have in the Christian Calendar we have been following, which is practically worldwide. As for the
defects in it, the ‘Calendar Reform’ will take care of it, while in making this reform we have taken
a step in isolating ourselves.) One thing could have prevented the confusion. If they had adopted
the seasonal-month-names like Madhu, Mādhava etc. preserved for us in the Vedas (vide III. 25)
instead of trying to fit in the sidereal luni-solar-calendar months, Caitra, Vaiśākha, etc., this confusion
would have been avoided and they would not have simply added one more to the one hundred
contradictory Panchangs already extant.
To continue: We shall compute after how many years the exposure of the Romaka, as mentioned
by the author, would happen. The ayanāṃśa was zero at the author's time, as we have shown on
several occasions. We must calculate when it accumulates to 6 nakṣatras. The Siddhāntas of the
author's time use a sidereal year of days, 365-15-31 nearly, and the tropical year of the Romaka is
days 365-14-48 (See VIII. 1). Therefore, the Romaka year begins earlier by 43 vināḍis, every year,
and this is equivalent to the rate of ayanāṃśa per annum, 42", nearly. If ayanāṃśa to become 42"
takes one year, to become 6 nakṣatras it will take, 6 × 800 × 60 divided by 42 = 6857 years nearly.
It is this that is given by the author as 6855 in the previous verse explained.
कालाऽपेक्षा विधयः श्रौताः स्मार्ताश्च तदपचारेण ।
प्रायश्चित्ती भवति द्विजो यतोऽतोऽधिगम्येदम् ॥ ३६ ॥
36. All the injunctions of the Vedas and Smṛtis are based on the proper time,
and by not performing the rites at those times the performer, especially a twice-born,