imported>Waked Bold Ambushed: Sharma, Misra

2021-08-01T13:46:29Z

Sharma, Misra

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{{Short description|6th-century author of Bṛhatsaṁhitā}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=300
| image1 = 6th-century Brihat Samhita of Varahamihira, 1279 CE Hindu text palm leaf manuscript, Pratima lakshana, Sanskrit, Nepalaksara script, folio 1 talapatra from a Buddhist monastery, 1v, 2r 2v leaves.jpg
| image2 = 6th-century Brihat Samhita of Varahamihira, Hindu text copied and preserved in a Jain temple, paper manuscript, Sanskrit, Devanagari script, incomplete folio 1r 1v 2r leaves.jpg
| image3 = 6th-century Brihat Samhita of Varahamihira, Bhattotpala commentary manuscript, Chapter 3, Sanskrit, Grantha script, palm leaf 1 2r 2v.jpg
| footer = Varahamihira wrote the ''Brihat samhita'', an influential encyclopedic text in Sanskrit. This text exists in many Indian scripts, and was copied, preserved in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples and monasteries.
}}
{{Infobox writer 
| name = Varāhamihira
| birth_date = 505 CE
| birth_place = [[Ujjain]]
| death_date = 587
| death_place = [[Ujjain]]
| period = [[Gupta period|Gupta era]]
| subject = Encyclopedia
| notableworks = Pancha-Siddhāntikā, Brihat-Samhita, [[Brihat Jataka]]
}}

'''Varāhamihira''' ({{circa}} 505 – {{circa}} 587),<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3CPwAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT61|title=The Development of Mathematics Throughout the Centuries: A Brief History in a Cultural Context|page=61|author=Brian Evans|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|date=24 February 2014|isbn=978-1118853979|quote=Varahamihira, a mathematician born around 505 CE and died 587 CE, who was also known for innovation with Pascal's triangle.}}</ref> also called '''Varāha''' or '''Mihira''', was an ancient Indian astrologer, astronomer, and polymath who lived in [[Ujjain]] (Madhya Pradesh, India). He was born at [[Kayatha]],<ref name="Sharma & Misra">{{cite book|authors=RK Sharma & OP Misra|title=Archaeological Excavations in Central India: Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh|year=2003|isbn=81-7099-874-3|publisher=Mittal Publication|location=New Delhi|language=en}}</ref> in the [[Avanti (India)|Avanti region]], roughly corresponding to modern-day [[Malwa|Malwa (part of Madhya Pradesh, India)]], to Adityadasa. According to one of his own works, he was educated at Kapitthaka.<ref name=MacTutor>{{MacTutor Biography|id=Varahamihira}}</ref> The Indian tradition believes him to be one of the "Nine Jewels" ([[Navaratnas]]) of the court of ruler [[Yashodharman]] Vikramaditya of Malwa.<ref>{{cite book |title=History of Indian Literature |page=46 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publications |date=2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Kālidāsa: His Art and Culture |page=15 |author=Ram Gopal |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |date=1984}}</ref> However, this claim appears for the first time in a much later text and scholars consider this claim to be doubtful because neither Varahamihira and Vikramaditya lived in the same century nor did Varahamihira live in the same century as some of the other names in the "nine jewels" list such as the much older [[Kalidasa]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Moriz Winternitz|author-link=Moriz Winternitz|title=History of Indian Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ql0BmInD1c4C|year=1985|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0056-4|pages=45–47}}</ref>

Varāhamihira's most notable works were the ''Brihat Samhita'', an encyclopedic<ref name="Glucklich2008">{{cite book|author=Ariel Glucklich|title=The Strides of Vishnu: Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KtLScrjrWiAC |year=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-971825-2|pages=10, 123–126}}, Quote: "[...] the new temples and inconography, the science of architecture, the enormous encyclopedia the Brihat Samhita of Varahamihira [...]"</ref> work on architecture, temples, planetary motions, [[eclipse]]s, timekeeping, astrology, seasons, cloud formation, rainfall, agriculture, mathematics, [[gemology]], perfumes and many other topics.<ref name="Grattan-Guiness2016">{{cite book|author=Ivor Grattan-Guinness|title=Companion Encyclopedia of the History and Philosophy of the Mathematical Sciences: Volume Two|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZptYDwAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-134-88832-0|pages=954–956}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Varahamihira|author2=M Ramakrishna Bhat|title=Brhat Samhita of Varahamihira|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7VR8iriWmzUC&pg=PA960|year=1996|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1060-0|pages=549–561, 737–738, 874–876}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Varahamihira|author2=M Ramakrishna Bhat|title=Brhat Samhita of Varahamihira, Part 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y_c7atbRFDQC|year=1996|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1060-0|pages=1–19}}</ref> According to Varahamihira, in some verses he was merely summarizing earlier existing literature on astronomy, ''Shilpa Sastra'' and temple architecture, yet his presentation of different theories and models of design are among the earliest texts that have survived.<ref name="Bühnemann2003">{{cite book|author=Michael Meister|editor=Gudrun Bühnemann|editor-link=Gudrun Bühnemann|title=Maònòdalas and Yantras in the Hindu Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQf2m8VaC_oC |year=2003|publisher=BRILL Academic |isbn=90-04-12902-2|pages=251–260}}</ref><ref name="Rao1985">{{cite book|author=T. A. Gopinatha Rao|title=Elements of Hindu Iconography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MJD-KresBwIC |year=1985|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0878-2|pages=25, 58–59}}</ref> The chapters of the ''Brihat Samhita'' and verses of Varahamihira were quoted by the Persian traveler and scholar [[Al Biruni]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Varahamihira|author2=M Ramakrishna Bhat|title=Brhat Samhita of Varahamihira, Part 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7VR8iriWmzUC&pg=PA960|year=1996|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1060-0|pages=960–961}}</ref>

Varāhamihira is also credited with writing several authoritative texts on astronomy and astrology. He learned the Greek language, and praised the Greeks (''Yavanas'') in his text for being "well trained in the sciences". Some scholars consider him to be the strong candidate as the one who understood and introduced the zodiac signs, predictive calculations for auspicious ceremonies and astrological computations.<ref>{{cite book|author=Moriz Winternitz|author-link=Moriz Winternitz|title=History of Indian Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ql0BmInD1c4C|year=1985|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0056-4|pages=685–697}}</ref><ref>David Pingree (1963), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/228540 Astronomy and Astrology in India and Iran], Isis, Vol. 54, No. 2, University of Chicago Press, pp. 229-246</ref><ref name="Sarma2184">{{cite book | last=Sarma | first=K. V. | title=Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures | url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediahis00seli | url-access=limited | chapter=Varāhamihira | publisher=Springer Netherlands | location=Dordrecht | isbn=978-1-4020-4559-2 | doi=10.1007/978-1-4020-4425-0_9604 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediahis00seli/page/n2193 2184]–2185|year=2008|editor= Helaine Selin }}</ref>

==Works==
{{Hindu scriptures |Hindu astrology}}

===''Pancha-Siddhantika''===

Varahamihira's main work is the book ''{{IAST|Pañcasiddhāntikā}}'' ("[Treatise] on the Five [Astronomical] [[Siddhanta|Canons]]") dated ca. 575 CE, which gives us information about older Indian texts which are now lost. The work is a treatise on mathematical astronomy and it summarises five earlier astronomical treatises by five authors, namely the ''[[Surya Siddhanta]]'', ''[[Romaka Siddhanta]]'', ''[[Paulisa Siddhanta]]'', ''[[Vasishtha Siddhanta]]'' and ''Paitamaha Siddhanta''. It is a compendium of [[Vedanga Jyotisha]] as well as [[Hellenistic astronomy]] (withGreek, Egyptian and Roman elements).{{efn|1=The Pañca-siddhāntikā ("Five Treatises"), a compendium of Greek, Egyptian, Roman and Indian astronomy. Varāhamihira's knowledge of Western astronomy was thorough. In 5 sections, his monumental work progresses through native Indian astronomy and culminates in 2 treatises on Western astronomy, showing calculations based on Greek and Alexandrian reckoning and even giving complete Ptolemaic mathematical charts and tables.<ref>{{cite web |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |year=2007 |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9074832/Varahamihira |title=Varahamihira}}</ref>}} Varahamihira was the first one to mention that the [[Ayanāṃśa]], or the [[Axial precession|shifting]] of the [[equinox]], is 50.32 [[Minute and second of arc|arc seconds]] per [[year]].

: They [the Indians] have 5 Siddhāntas:
:* Sūrya-Siddhānta, the ''siddhānta'' of the Sun, thought to be composed by {{IAST|Lāṭa}}deva, but actually composed by ''[[Mayasura]]'' also known as [[Mamuni Mayan]] as stated in the text itself.
:* ''Vasishtha-siddhānt''a, so called from one of the stars of the Great Bear, composed by Vishnucandra,
:* ''Paulisa-siddhānta'', so called from Paulisa, the Greek, from the city of Saintra, which is supposed to be Alexandria, composed by Paulisa.
:* ''Romaka-siddhānta'', so called from the Rūm, ie. the subjects of the Roman Empire, composed by Śrīsheṇa.
:* ''Paitahama-siddhānta''.

===''Brihat-Samhita''===

Another important contribution of Varahamihira is the encyclopedic ''Brihat-Samhita''. Although the book is mostly about divination, it also includes a wide range of subjects other than divination. It covers wide-ranging subjects of human interest, including astronomy, planetary movements, eclipses, rainfall, clouds, architecture, growth of crops, manufacture of perfume, matrimony and domestic relations. The volume expounds on gemstone evaluation criterion found in the ''Garuda Purana'', and elaborates on the sacred Nine Pearls from the same text. It contains 106 chapters and is known as the "great compilation".

===On Astrology===
[[File:Varahamihira's Brihajjataka, Sanskrit, Nepalaksara script, manuscript copied in 1399 CE, Kathmandu.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|right| Varahamihira's ''Brihajjataka'' is a Sanskrit text on predictive astrology based on the Vedic Astrology system. The above manuscript was copied in Nepal in 1399 CE in the Nepalaksara script, and is now in the Cambridge University Library.]]

'''Hora Shastra''' or '''Brihadjathaka''' is a most acclaimed astrological work by Mihira. It is mostly in code language. More than a dozen commentaries have been written for this work. The Kerala School of Astrology is mainly based on the ''Brihadjathaka''.

His son ''Prithuyasas'' also contributed to Hindu astrology; his book ''[[Hora Sara]]'' is a famous book on horoscopy. [[Khana (poet)|Khana]] (also named Lilavati elsewhere), the medieval Bengali poet astrologer, is believed to be the daughter-in-law of Varahamihira.

==Influences==

The ''[[Romaka Siddhanta]]'' ("Doctrine of the Romans") and the ''[[Paulisa Siddhanta]]'' were two works of Western origin which influenced Varahamihira's thought. The ''Paulisa Siddhanta'' is often mistakenly thought to be a single work and attributed to [[Paul of Alexandria]] (c. 378 CE).<ref>{{cite book|last = McEvilley|first = Thomas|author-link = Thomas McEvilley|title = The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies|publisher = Allworth Press|date = November 2001|isbn = 978-1-58115-203-6|page=385}}</ref> However, this notion has been rejected by other scholars in the field, notably by [[David Pingree]] who stated that "...the identification of Paulus Alexandrinus with the author of the ''Pauliśa Siddhānta'' is totally false".<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Pingree |title=The Yavanajātaka of Sphujidhvaja |volume=Vol. 2 |series=[[Harvard Oriental Series]] |year=1978 |pages=437–438}}<br />{{cite book |first=David |last=Pingree |title=The Later Pauliśa Siddhānta |publisher=Centaurus 14 |year=1969 |pages=172–241}}</ref> Number of his writings share similarities with the earlier texts like ''[[Vedanga Jyotisha]]''.<ref>{{cite book |title=The chronology of ancient India: beginning of the Sat Yuga, Dwaper, Treta, and Kali Yuga with date of Mahabharata |page=63 |publisher=Sanjay Prakashan |author=Velandai Gopala Aiyer}}</ref>

A ''Bṛhat-Saṃhitā'' verse (adhyāya II, śloka 14), reads: म्लेच्छा हि यवनास् तेषु सम्यक् शास्त्रम् इदं स्थितम् । ऋषिवत् तेऽपि पूज्यन्ते किं पुनर् दैवविद् द्विजः ॥, romanized as ''mlecchā hi yavanās teṣu samyak śāstram idaṃ sthitam, ṛṣivat te’pi pūjyante kiṃ punar daivavid dvijaḥ.'' (“The Yavanas are of low origin. When this science (''sic'') has come to stay with them and when such shastras are worshipped as sages, how much more should an astrologer of the Brahmin origin be?”<ref name="brihat">[https://archive.org/details/Brihatsamhita/mode/2up Brihat Samhita of Varaha Mihira], archive.org, Sanskrit with English translation by Panditabhushana V. Subrahmanya Sastri and Vidwan M. Ramakrishna Bhat. 1946: Bangalore. p. 19</ref>

A comment to that verse, quoting Garga, an earlier astronomer, says: "The Greeks, though [[mleccha|barbaric]],<ref>{{cite web |website=Sanskrit Dictionary |url=http://www.sanskritdictionary.com/?iencoding=iast&q=म्लेच्छ&lang=sans |title=Definition of म्लेच्छ |author= Monier-Williams }}</ref> must be honoured since they have shown tremendous interest in our science....."

==Contributions==

===Trigonometry===
Varahamihira improved the accuracy of the sine tables of [[Aryabhata]].

===Combinatorics===
He also records the first known 4×4 magic square{{citation-needed|date=July 2021}}.

===Optics===
Among Varahamihira's contribution to physics is his statement that reflection is caused by the back-scattering of particles and refraction (the change of direction of a light ray as it moves from one medium into another) by the ability of the particles to penetrate inner spaces of the material, much like fluids that move through porous objects.<ref name=SCS>{{cite web |website=Science, Civilization and Society |url=http://www.es.flinders.edu.au/~mattom/science+society/lectures/illustrations/lecture14/varahamihira.html |title=Varahamihira}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Hora Sara]]
*[[List of Indian mathematicians]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/brihat-samhita The Brihat-samhita; complete translation by N. Chidambaram Iyer] Online edition with glossary
*[http://www.wilbourhall.org/index.html#panca Pancasiddhantika, Brihat Jataka, Brihat Samhita and Hora Shastra] Various editions in English and Sanskrit. (PDF)
*[https://archive.org/details/brihatjataka00varaiala The Brihat Jataka (1905)] Pdf edition internet archive
{{Jyotish Vidya}}
{{Indian mathematics}}
{{Indian astronomy}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varahamihir}}
[[Category:505 births]]
[[Category:587 deaths]]
[[Category:6th-century Indian mathematicians]]
[[Category:Medieval Indian astrologers]]
[[Category:6th-century Indian astronomers]]
[[Category:6th-century astrologers]]
[[Category:6th-century Indian writers]]

Varāhamihira - Revision history

imported>Waked Bold Ambushed: Sharma, Misra