सिद्धान्तशिरोमणि: गणिताध्याय (भास्कराचार्य - ग्रहगणित, मध्यमाधिकार व स्पष्टाधिकार सटीक)

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first premise was not correct. According to them, some
astronomers having observed the daily motions of the pla-
nets or what is the same the sidereal periods of the planets
to a sufficiently good approximation calculated back or
extrapolated a date on which these planets should have
been in conjunction at the Zero-point of the Zodiac. The
extra-polated date was naturally wrong to some extent be-
cause the sidereal periods found could not but be correct
only to a particular degree of approximation. Thus a little
alteration in the number of sidereal revolutions alone or
the number of days in a Mahayuga made to suit the obser-
ved positions at a particular epoch would be only a tinker-
ing of the problem and not a true solution. Thus Hindu
Astronomy could be saved and its methods could still be
followed provided instead of trying to presume a date at
which all the planets were in conjunction (No doubt in the
long bosom of time, such a presumption also could not be
ruled out) correctly observed positions of the planets by the
help of modern instruments were taken as the basis of an
epoch and thereafter using more correct values of the
constants such as the sidereal revolutions, maximum equa-
tions of centre and maximum Sīghraphala, obliquity of the
ecliptic etc. The second defect cited above thus being
removed, and the original premise being changed, the
methods of calculation still hold good and there would be
no necessity to be going on with tinkerings of the problem.
The Bīja-correction which we are commenting upon
was rightly criticised by Kamalākara as irrational though he
himself fanatically tried to uphold Surya Siddhānta. Even
today there are a good number of the traditional Hindu
Astronomers who do hold that the Sūrya Siddhānta was
revealed to Maya at the end of Kṛtayuga in spite of the
fact that scholars like M. M. Sudhākara Dvivedi pronoun-
ced that it was an extra-polated work shortly after the time
of Brahma-Guptāchārya. It is interesting to note that
Bhāskara, a very rational astronomer, had before him
the verse “त्रिंशत्कृत्वो युगे भानां चक्रं प्राक् परिलम्बते” of the
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