History of Science in South Asia (Journal)
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The Astrolabe by Bulhomal and Pīr Bakhsh of 1841 CE: A Unique Testimonial to an Intercultural Collaboration
No full textFrom the middle of the sixteenth century up to the end of the seventeenth, Lahore was the leading centre where Allāhdād and his descendants produced a large number of exquisitely crafted astrolabes, with legends and numerals in Arabic. In the same period, Sanskrit astrolabes with legends in Sanskrit and numerals in Devanagari were made sporadically in Rajasthan-Gujarat region. Then in the eighteenth century, the production of both types of astrolabes ended abruptly for various reasons. Towards the middle of the nineteenth century, however, both these traditions came together in the work of Bulhomal, who created some 27 instruments of diverse kinds.
Entirely different from these is a large astrolabe in the creation of which people of different faiths collaborated. The astrolabe was commissioned by Mawlwī Ghulām Muḥammad, a Sunni Muslim, who held an important position at the court of the Sikh rulers of the princely state of Kapurthala, for the sake of Mubārak cAlī Khān who appears to be a member of an influential Shia Muslim family; it was designed by Bulhomal, a Hindu, and was fabricated by Pīr Bakhsh, a Muslim. Thus this astrolabe is a laudable example of intercultural collaboration.
The present paper offers a full technical description against the background of Bulhomal’s other work.
Review: Dagmar Wujastyk and Christèle Barois (eds.), The Usman Report (1923): Translations of Regional Submissions: (Groningen, Netherlands: Barkhuis & Groningen University Library, 2022)
No full textMaking Gems in Indian Alchemical Literature
No full textThis article examines the practice of producing factitious gems as described in Nityanātha’s Jewel Mine of Mercury (Rasaratnākara), a thirteenth to fifteenth-century alchemical work written in Sanskrit. It queries how this practice fits within the Indian alchemical discipline and explores its possible connections with other artisanal crafts
Review: Minakshi Menon (ed.), Indigenous Knowledges and Colonial Sciences in South Asia: (South Asian History and Culture, special issue, vol. 13, n. 1, 2022)
No full textThree Purāṇic Statements on the Shape of the Earth
No full textThe article analyses an argument given in Jñānarāja\u27s Siddhāntasundara (ca. 1500) on the shape of the earth according to the Purāṇas. The argument involves the use of the word gola, \u27ball, globe,\u27 in the Purāṇas, a Purāṇic statement about the mountain Meru being north of everywhere, and a Purāṇic comparison of the earth to a mirror. The article concludes that Jñānarāja breaks with the Purāṇas as well as the traditional commentaries on these texts, and further suggests that we might have to rethink the dictionary definition of gola
Elements of the Buddhist Medical System
No full textThis article aims to explore the anthropological foundations of early Buddhist medical thought by conducting a comprehensive analysis of Pāli texts and their relationship to the development of Indian traditional medicine, such as Āyurveda. The research investigates the possible existence of an ancient Buddhist medical system and compares it with contemporary medical systems, such as Hippocratic medicine. By examining the Bhesajjakkhandhaka and the Bhesajjamañjūsā, two Pāli texts that discuss medicine, the article seeks to outline the key elements of ancient Buddhist medical conceptions. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of understanding the evolution of Buddhist medical practices and their potential role in defining Indian traditional medicine. The findings could provide a foundation for historians of Indian medicine to delve into even more complex aspects of the medical tradition in ancient Buddhism
Review: James McHugh, An Unholy Brew: Alcohol in Indian History and Religions : (New York, Oxford University Press, 2021)
No full textThe Core of the Non-Universe in Jaina Cosmology as a Cube of Eight Space-Points
No full textAccording to Jaina cosmology, the non-universe is a hollow sphere beyond and exists all round the universe, whose middle region is the horizontal universe resting on a circular disc. The Bhagavatī Sūtra and the Sthānāṅga Sūtra each mention that there is the core of the horizontal universe where a cube of eight space-points is and from those eight space-points ten directions originate. This paper presents a conjectural explanation for understanding that cube. The core of the non-universe is the core of a core-sphere when the core-sphere is formed using n core-circles such that they are stacked up and down in the same order from the nth core-circle to the first core-circle. The upper four points of the cube of eight points form the core of the horizontal universe and the cube of eight points is the core of the non-universe. The nth core-circle becomes the horizontal universe when n is innumerable and the nth core-sphere forms the non-universe when n approaches infinity. This paper also shows that the intermediate and cardinal directions are linear and planar respectively while the zenith and nadir ones are three-dimensional
Calendars, Compliments, and Computations: A Comparative Survey of the Canon in the Persian Zīj of Šāh Jahān and its Sanskrit Translation, the Siddhāntasindhu
No full textVarious studies in recent times have shown how sociohistorical proclivities played an important role in the acceptance or rejection of cross-cultural ideas in Mughal scientific discourses. The cultural patronage of the Mughal courts financed the production and propagation of certain scientific texts deemed intellectually and politically expedient. Among such texts were two seventeenth-century astronomical table-texts, Mullā Farīd\u27s Persian Zīj-i Šāh Jahānī and its Sanskrit translation in Nityānanda\u27s Siddhāntasindhu, both produced at the court of the Mughal Emperor Šāh Jahān.
In this paper, we present, for the very first time, a comparative survey of the canon (text) of these two works to reveal the intimacy between the translated Sanskrit and its Persian original. The paper includes brief biographies of both astronomers, a summary of the salient features of the canons, a description of the manuscripts utilised and our transcription and transliteration schemes, along with a detailed comparison of the individual chapters in these canons. We also provide separate appendices with discussions on select aspects from these chapters. We note that this paper forms the first part in a two-part study, with a second forthcoming paper surveying the tables in these two texts (accompanied with mathematical annotations)
