Ayanamsa

Ayanamsa
Ayanamsa (Sanskrit ayana: ayana "movement" + aa "component"), also ayanabhga (Sk. bhga "portion"), is the Sanskrit term in Indian astronomy for the amount of precession.[1] In astrology, this is the longitudinal difference between the Tropical (Syana) and Sidereal (Nirayana) zodiacs. The above is a modern definition of ayanamsha, based on arguments of Colebrooke, Burgess, etc. But ancient Path taken by the point of vernal equinox along the ecliptic over the past 6000 definition of ayanamsha had no relation with years. precession of equinoxes. Suryasiddhanta (iii, 9-10) defines ayanamsha as the to and fro motion of the circle of asterisms (Nakshatra-chakra or Bhachakra) within a maximum range of + and - 27 degrees at an annual rate of 54". Burgess could not digest the idea of trepidating Nakshatra-chakra, and assumed that some error had creeped in the text. On the basis of this assumption, he advocated the use of precession of equinoxes to define ayanamsha, following the arguments of his predecessors like Colebrooke. They assumed that ancient Indians did not know how to measure precession accurately and therefore invented a wrong concept of trepidating precession. But Bhaskar-ii in Siddhanta Shiromani gives equationjs for measurement of precession of equinoxes, and says his equations are based on some lost equations of Suryasiddhanta plus the equation of Munjaala.

Overview
Ayanamsa is now defined as the angle by which the sidereal ecliptic longitude of a celestial body is less than its tropical ecliptic longitude. Ayanamsa is mostly assumed to be close to be 24 today, according to N. C. Lahiri 23.85 as of 2000. This value would correspond to a coincidence of the sidereal with the tropical zodiac in or near the year 293 AD, roughly compatible with the assumption that the tradition of the tropical zodiac as current in Western astrology was fixed by Ptolemy in the 3rd century. The sidereal ecliptic longitude of a celestial body is its longitude on the ecliptic defined with respect to the "fixed" stars. The tropical ecliptic longitude of a celestial body is its longitude on the ecliptic defined with respect to the vernal equinox point. Since the vernal equinox point precesses westwards at a rate of about 50".29 per year (the rate has been accelerating) with respect to the fixed stars, the longitude of a fixed body defined with respect to it will increase slowly. On the other hand, since the stars "do not move" (this ignores the effect of proper motion) the longitude of a fixed body defined with respect to them will never change. Traditional Vedic astrology (Jyotisha) uses a system of sidereal longitude. When the practitioners of these schools of astrology use modern astronomical calculations to determine the position of celestial bodies, they need to take into account the difference caused by the different reference point used in specifying the longitude, and this they call the ayanamsa. But all orthodox schools of Vedic astrology reject modern astronomy and still base their computations upon traditional texts and treatises, mostly following the Surya Siddhanta or treatises based on it. They use ayanmsa according to Surya Siddhnta, in which ayanmsa rises from 0 to +27 during 1800 years, then decreases to 0 and

Ayanamsa further to -27, thereafter rising again, thus oscillating within a rage of 27 instead of cyclically moving in a circle as modern concept of ayanmsa suggests. Manjula advocated a cyclical concept of ayanmsa, but it could not gain currency among almanac makers. In West Theon (ca. 4th century AD) was the earliest known advocate of Surya Siddhntic type of ayanmsa (although Theon said trepidation varied within a rage of 8 only : Surya Siddhntic trepidation was deduced by multiplying 90 with 0.3, Theon multiplied 27 again with 0.3 to get 8 ). This oscillating type of ayanmsa, known as trepidation, was a favourite of Indian, Arab and European astrologers and astronomers till the time of Copernicus. Modern science does not support the idea of trepidation or oscillating ayanmsa. 499 AD is regarded as the zero date of this type of ayanmsa according to Surya Siddhnta, Aryabhatiya and other ancient treatises. Thus the present value of traditional ayanmsa is nearly +22.64, which is less than modern the value of about +24. After 2299 AD, the traditional ayanmsa will start decreasing from the maximum value of +27, while modern value will keep on increasing. Equations of sunrise and ascendant (lagna) need accurate value of ayanmsa, upon which all important components of religious almanac and horoscopes are based in India. The ayanamsha describes the increasing gap between the tropical and sidereal zodiacs. The ayanamsa, changes continually through the Precession of the Equinoxes at the rate of approximately 50" a year, is currently about 24. Western Astrologers Fagan and Bradley computed it at 24 degrees in 1950; however, there are various values in use in India. While the general consensus is that the star Alcyon represents the first point of Aries, differences arise because of the indefinite ancient boundaries of the constellation of Aries.

Ancient concepts
In the chapter "Direction, Place and Time" (Suryasiddhnta, Ch.iii), E. Burgess writes:

The (Surya Siddhntic) theory which the passage (verses 9-12), in its present form, is actually intended to put forth is as follows : the vernal equinox librates westward and eastward from the fixed point, war Piscium, assumed as the commencement of the sidereal sphere the limits of the libratory movement being 27 degrees in either direction from that point, and the time of a complete revolution of libration being the six-hundredth part of the period called the Great Age (ie, Mahyuga as defined by Burgess in chapter i,15-17, where he gave it a span of 4320000 years), or 7200 years; so that the annual rate of motion of the equinox is 54.

This is the interpretation of existing version of Surya Siddhnta ( ..., SS,iii.9) in the words of E. Burgess, "as it is actually intended to put forth" by all traditional commentators. The moot point is this: Burgess knew the traditional interpretation ( .., i.e. pendulum-like motion of nakshatra orbit itself) , but gave his own meaning based upon modern concept of precession of equinoxes, and tried to create doubts about the authenticity of these verses (iii, 9-12) by putting forth deliberately false arguments. Let us examine Burgess. In verse-9 (Suryasiddhnta, Ch.iii), he translates pari-lambate as "falls back", although he says lambate means "lag, hang back, fall behind" and pari means "about, round about". Therefore, pari-lambate should have been translated as "fall back roundabout" and not merely as "fall back" according to own logic of Burgess. If the circle of asterisms lags roundabout any fixed point (whether Revati or Chitr), it is a to and fro motion as all traditional commentators accepted. Modern concept of precession is something different from the original concept of ayanmsha. Theon in West had mentioned this oscillating motion, Arab astronomers also accepted it, and almost all Europeans accepted it up to Renaissance, after which Hipparchus was rediscovered and modern concept of precession became a well established fact in astronomy. But this concept of equinoctial precession (as well as anomalistic precession) was also known to ancient Indians and Greeks, a fact deliberately ignored by modern commentators. Burgess misquotes Bhskara II, because he relied upon a wrong translation of Bhskara by Colebrooke (As. Res., xii 209; Essays, ii,374, etc.) and did not try to examine Siddhnta Shiromani which was wrongly translated by Lancelot Wilkinson due to Colebrooke's influence. Bhskara II did not give his own opinion at all, and merely quoted Surya Siddhnta and Mujjl (elsewhere Munjla and Manjula), saying Suryasiddhnta gives -30000 revolutions of sampt

Ayanamsa or equinoctial point per Kalpa while ayana has a motion of +199669 revolutions per Kalpa (of 4320 million years). Bhskara's own opinion was that these should be followed, which means both Surya Siddhnta and Mujjla were correct in Bhskara's opinion. Colebrooke, Burgess, Wilkinson, etc. have misquoted Siddhnta Shiromani and created an impression that ancient Indians were inept in astronomical observations, as Whitney shamelessly declared in his prologue to Burgess, but the Hindi translation by Satyadeva Sharm is correct, although he could not get the real meaning. The startling fact is that Siddhnta Shiromani clearly says that "the point of intersection of equatorial plane and ecliptic" (which is the very definition of equinox) has a negative motion of 30000 revolutions per Kalpa according to Suryasiddhnta, while Mujjala's value of ayana's motion is +199669, and both (Suryasiddhnta and Mujjala ) must be added to get the final motion (of the equinox ). Hence, we get +169669 revolutions per Kalpa, which gives (4320000000 / 169669 =) 25461 years per revolution or 50.9 per year, which is very near to modern value of about 50.3 per year for precession of equinoxes. We must not forget that Hipparchus had given a period of 36000 years for precession, which was not corrected by Europeans till the onset of modern age. It is unfortunate that Siddhnta Shiromani is still being misinterpreted by moderners. Bhskara II excluded neither Suryasiddhnta nor Mujjla, but said that both must be used, which is clear from verse 19, where he clearly asks to add Mujjla's ayana-chalam to Suryasiddhntic sampt-chalanam (this sampt-chalanam is anomalistic precession with a period of 144000 years per cycle, against modern value of 136000 years). Another startling fact is that Bhskara II differentiates sampt-chalanam of Suryasiddhnta from ayana-chalanam of Mujjla, and says both must be added before computing phenomena like declension, ascensional differences, etc. But modern commentators like Colebrooke misinterpret Bhskara II deliberately, and imply that sampt-chalanam of Suryasiddhnta quoted by Bhskara II was an erroneous thing which must be forgotten, while ayana-chalanam of Mujjla was a crude approximation of modern precession. But this interpretation is falsified by Bhskara's original verses as shown above. The root of this problem lies in the fact that sampt-chalanam of Suryasiddhnta is a distinct phenomenon from ayana-chalanam of Mujjla according to Siddhnta Shiromani, but readers are not informed of the real meaning of Siddhnta Shiromani and false quotation from Siddhnta Shiromani was quoted by Colebrooke and Burgess (12th verse, chap.iii). Siddhnta-tattva-viveka by Kamlkara Bhatt is a medieval text, which clearly states that Saurpaksha is distinct from Drikpaksha. Saurpaksha (astronomy of bhuvaloka) is Suryasiddhnta as it exists. Drikpaksha (astronomy of Bhooloka or physical/material/sensory world) is that version of Suryasiddhnta which was not preserved because it was useless in astrology. Siddhnta Shiromani uses many concepts of Drikpakshiya astronomy, as the instance cited above proves. Saurpakshiya Suryasiddhnta does not contain any reference to 30000 cylces per Kalpa mentioned by Bhskara II. He was quoting from Drikpakshiya Suryasiddhnta which as a text had been lost; Bhskara II said in his own Vsanbhshya commentary of Siddhnta-shiromani that Suryasiddhnta is not available (anupalabdha) and he was quoting it on the basis of gama. Only its fragments are left, scattered here and there. Modern commentators confuse both variants of Suryasiddhnta. Siddhntatattvaviveka is prescribed in post-graduate (Ganitchrya) syllabus of Sanskrit universities, but no modern commentator has ever tried to translate it or comment on it. According to Bhskara II, negative sampt-chalanam of Drikpakshiya Suryasiddhnta should be added to positive ayana-chalanam of Mujjla to get final Drikpakshiya precession, which is very close to modern value. Ayana-chalanam of Mujjla is also Drikpakshiya, because Saurpakshiya entities are not used in Drikpakshiya astronomy, and vice versa. Mujjla's ayana-chalanam, as mentioned in Siddhnta Shiromani, gives a period of (4320 million / 199669 = ) 21636 years per cycle. Siddhnta Shiromani says that it is ayanachalanam and not precession, precession is obtained after substracting (Saurpakshiya) Suryasiddhntic samptchalanam. If this 21636 year cycle is not precession, what is it? Earth's axis completes one full cycle of precession approximately every 26,000 years (25771.4 precisely at present); see Milankovich cycles. At the same time, the elliptical orbit rotates, more slowly, leading to a 21,000-year cycle

Ayanamsa between the seasons and the orbit. This orbital precession is in the opposite sense to the gyroscopic motion of the axis of rotation (cf. anomalistic precession as distinct from equinoctial precession), shortening the period of the precession of the equinoxes with respect to the perihelion from 26,000 to 21,000 years. (Some NOAA websites give 22000 years instead of 21000.) Ayana-chalanam of Mujjla is not orbital precession, it is the most important of all components of Milankovitch cycles as this Wikipedian definition shown. If we take cue from Siddhnta Shiromani, the aforementioned statement can be rewritten thus: This orbital precession of equinoxes is in the opposite sense to the gyroscopic motion of the axis of rotation, shortening the period of the precession of the equinoxes with respect to the perihelion from 25771 to 21,636 years. Siddhnta Shiromani also says that Mujjla's ayana-chalanam (21,636 years per cycle) is opposite to sampta-chalanam. Bhskara II clearly defines sampta-chalanam as "the point of intersection of equatorial plane and ecliptic" (which is the very definition of equinox). Hence, what Siddhnta Shiromani says is exactly what Milankovitch informs us, the only difference is that Siddhnta Shiromani is misinterpreted and declared to be obscurantist, and the great cycles mentioned in Siddhnta Shiromani is "discovered" by 20th century scientists. But we must remember Bhskara II did not discover these things, he acknowledged Suryasiddhnta and Munjla. Bhskara II knew Drikpakshiya Suryasiddhnta, which has not survived because it was not useful in astrology. In his formula of precession, Bhskara II used a figure 30000 cycles per Kalpa. Bhskara II got an approximate value of 50.9 per year, which was the most precise value before modern astronomy developed in the West. Here is a Puranic verse (cited by Dr Ramchandra Pandey in his commentary on Suryasiddhanta) which proves knowledge of equinoctial precession in Puranic times : ("Uttanpda's son Dhruva is the fixed point in the Heavens, round which all planets including Sun and Moon, but Dhruva himself also moves round.") Round what ? Mt Meru, which is the only fixed point in Cosmos according to Purnic-epic stories. Hence, the Bhachakra also librates with respect to this fixed point Meru. According to Bhskara II, orbital precession is derived by substracting anomalistic precession (sampt-chalanam) from the first component of Milankovitch cycles (Munjla's ayana-chalanam). Bhskara II acknowledged earlier authors. Hence, we must conclude that modern values and concepts of orbital precession, anomalistic precession, Milankovitch cycles, etc. were known to ancient Indians well before Bhskara II. But two things about confusing terminology must be borne in mind : this sampt-chalanam he finally gets by combining the two quantities mentioned above. According to Bhskara II, Suryasiddhntic sampt-chalanam is 30000 per Kalpa. He does not give a name for the term which is finally obtained by combining this sampt-chalanam with Munjla's ayana-chalanam, but the definition he provides for Suryasiddhntic sampt-chalanam is exactly the definition of the final quantity whose name he does not provide. Hence, there were many types of sampt-chalanams !! This is not a case of confusion of terms. It is a result of Saurpakshiya term with Drikpakshiya terms bearing same names but having different magnitudes and sometimes even having difference in basic properties ! Second confusion is due to use of the term ayana-chalanam for Munjla's precession. It is quite distinct from Saurpakshiya Suryasiddhntic ayana-chalanam (trepidation) as mentioned in existing text. Burgess could not digest this theory of libration (oscillation or trepidation, i.e., ayanamsha - motion) and tried to distort the meaning of terms to fit modern view of orbital precession with this Saurpakshiya precession. Bhskara II knew and respected Suryasiddhnta which he cited and used in his computations as shown above, and gave exact value of Drikpakshiya precession. Therefore, it is foolish to impose Drikpakshiya precession (50.9 per year according to Bhskara II, 50.3 really) upon Saurpakshiya ayanamsha (54 per year, oscillating within a range of 27 degrees).

Ayanamsa

References
[1] Monier-Williams (http:/ / lexica. indica-et-buddhica. org/ dict/ lexica), 'm. (in astron.) the amount of precession'

External links
Ayanamsa definitions at Best Knowns (http://en.mimi.hu/astrology/ayanamsa.html) Ayanamsa Calculator (http://www.chennaiiq.com/astrology/ayanamsa_calculator.asp) KP Ayanamsa Calculator (http://www.astrosage.com/kpastrology/ayanamsa.asp)

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Ayanamsa Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=463355516 Contributors: 1ForTheMoney, Astrologist, AvicAWB, Bhaskarsri.pidaparti, BorgQueen, Bsskchaitanya, Bulususastry, Chris the speller, Cminard, Dbachmann, Foothill Phil, HenryLi, Hmains, Jagged 85, Jlittlet, Lumos3, Nlu, Occult wizard, Onebravemonkey, Reaper Eternal, Rudrasharman, Sarajitp, Skapur, Tabletop, Tamfang, TheProject, Vinay Jha, W!B:, Weirpwoer, Xyzzyplugh, 18 anonymous edits

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