Bill Mak
Needham Research Institute, Cambridge, Needham Research Institute, Department Member
- Linguistics, History of Ideas, Buddhism, Buddhist Studies, Indian studies, Buddhist Philology, and 27 moreSanskrit language and literature, History of Astronomy, Sinology, Theravada Buddhism, History of Astrology, Sanskrit Grammar and Linguistics, Buddhist Sanskrit, Jyotisha/Indian Astrology, History of Hong Kong, Contemporary Buddhism In Diaspora, Philosophy Of Religion, History of Mathematics, Religion and Politics, Asian Studies, Japanese Studies, Indology, Syriac Christianity, Chinese Religions, Sanskrit, Cultural Astronomy, Astronomy, Esperanto, Silk Road Studies, Hong Kong, Persian Literature, History of Science, and Botanyedit
- Bill Mak is a researcher and writer, currently based in Cambridge, specializing in Buddhist philology, history of science, and Chinese and Indian astral science.edit
This working paper examines the textual and archeological evidences that point to the presence and activities of Indians and Buddhists, foreign and local, in the southern coastal region of China during the first millennium CE. In... more
This working paper examines the textual and archeological evidences that point to the presence and activities of Indians and Buddhists, foreign and local, in the southern coastal region of China during the first millennium CE. In particular, the various accounts connected to the monk Pui To (Beidu) and the port of Tuen Mun (Tunmen) are closely examined. Instead of treating these accounts as isolated occurrences that took place at the peripheries of Imperial China, I attempt to situate them within a broader framework of cultural and commercial exchange between China and South and Southeast Asia connected through the maritime network.
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During the Tang period (618-907 CE), a considerable number of Persian nobles sought refuge in China after the collapse of the Sasanian empire in 651, and their distinctive cultural identity was held in high esteem by some Chinese elites.... more
During the Tang period (618-907 CE), a considerable number of Persian nobles sought refuge in China after the collapse of the Sasanian empire in 651, and their distinctive cultural identity was held in high esteem by some Chinese elites. In contrast to Indians who also came into China during and before this time and whose influences were largely mediated through the Buddhist religion, Persians tended to be prominent in the secular fields of astronomy, medicine, and commerce. This paper examines the history of Persian astronomers in China from the Tang period by contextualising their presence within the broader picture of knowledge transfer in Eurasia, focusing on these Persian astronomers’ lives, works, and interaction with the Chinese. Although their impact on Chinese astronomy and culture appear to be small, their tradition was later seen by the Perso-Islamic astronomers in China from the Yuan period (1271-1368 CE) onward as the antecedent to their astral science, exemplified by works such as the Ming Translation of An Astral Treatise (Mingyi tianwenshu 明譯天文書) and the Huihui Canon (Huihui li 回回曆).
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The Yavanajātaka, attributed to the Greco- Indian Sphujidhvaja, is one of best-preserved specimens of Greco-Indian astral treatises composed around the middle of the first millennium CE. It belongs to a subset of Jyotiṣa literature known... more
The Yavanajātaka, attributed to the Greco- Indian Sphujidhvaja, is one of best-preserved specimens of Greco-Indian astral treatises composed around the middle of the first millennium CE. It belongs to a subset of Jyotiṣa literature known as horaā (horoscopy) with notable foreign influences associated with the Yavanas (Greeks). The extant recension of the text contains about 2270 verses. It deals with various topics in horoscopy and other indigenous forms of astral divination, with content that provides a reflection of the Indian society at the time of its composition. Although the Yavanajātaka was known to Indian astronomers from at least the seventh century, the Yavanajātaka does not appear to have been widely circulated. Interest in this text was generated among Indian and western scholars since the late nineteenth century, and in particular through the meticulous studies by David Pingree during the second half of the twentieth century.
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The paper examines the history of Aquilaria from different cultural sources of different periods, and how they shaped the narratives of Hong Kong, one of the most iconic cities in Asia. From the British colonial description of Hong Kong... more
The paper examines the history of Aquilaria from different cultural sources of different periods, and how they shaped the narratives of Hong Kong, one of the most iconic cities in Asia. From the British colonial description of Hong Kong as a ‘barren rock’ to the more recent rediscovery of the Chinese accounts of pre-colonial Hong Kong as a thriving trading hub of aromatics, our understanding of Hong Kong and its role in the region depended heavily on researchers’ understanding and interpretation of historical sources. The aromatic tree was widely transplanted and cultivated in South China, to the extent that for nearly a millennium it was considered an indigenous produce, albeit exotic in origin. Looking further beyond China, Indian records reveal a vast, ancient global network of trade of exotic goods and aromatics. More enigmatic is the evidence that suggests Southeast Asia might be the true origin of Aquilaria, with an enduring connection with the southern coast of China.
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During the first millennium CE, three ancient civilizations, China, Greece, and India, all had a unique and highly developed body of astral science that exerted great influences on the rest of the ancient world. The interaction among... more
During the first millennium CE, three ancient civilizations, China, Greece, and India, all had a unique and highly developed body of astral science that exerted great influences on the rest of the ancient world. The interaction among these bodies of knowledge is well documented in some cases and less so in others. In the cases of Greece and India, the Greeks or yavanas in India brought about the development of Greco-Indian astral science that became the foundation of classical Indian siddhānta astronomy and genethliacal astrology. For China and India, Indian astral science mediated by Indian and Central Asian Buddhists led to the formation of the East Asian Buddhist astral science, reaching as far as Japan in the form of sukuyōdō 宿曜道. As for Greece and China, the interaction between Greek and Chinese astral sciences is less well understood and awaits a thorough investigation. Given the scope of the topic and the technicalities involved, I would give only examples of interaction from the periods that I consider to be representative.
Full paper at: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004511675
Full paper at: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004511675
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The role of the Paitāmahasiddhānta in early Indian astronomy has been a subject of ongoing debate. According to Pingree, the Paitāmahasiddhānta in nine chapters found in the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa is the “basic text” of the school of... more
The role of the Paitāmahasiddhānta in early Indian astronomy has been a subject of ongoing debate. According to Pingree, the Paitāmahasiddhānta in nine chapters found in the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa is the “basic text” of the school of Brāhmapakṣa, which belongs to the earliest stage of the “Greek Period” in Indian astronomy ca. 400 CE; this work was known to Āryabhaṭa, and was furthermore the source of Brahmagupta’s Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta. Against these claims were van der Waerden and others, who consider the text to postdate the Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta and thus play no such role in the history of Indian astronomy. Central to the problem, however, is the critical text of the Paitāmahasiddhānta itself, which has not been edited and examined in its entirety. This paper provides a preliminary investigation into the questions of chronology and intertextuality surrounding this text by providing a critical edition and translation of the first two hitherto unedited chapters of the Paitāmahasiddhānta in the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, which were overlooked by Pingree on account of their “corrupt,” non-astronomical content.
Full Paper:
https://www.sciamvs.org/2021.html
Full Paper:
https://www.sciamvs.org/2021.html
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Since Pingree's 1978 publication of his work on the Yavanajātaka, the text had established itself as one of the most important historical documents in various fields of Indology, from the history of mathematics and astral science, to... more
Since Pingree's 1978 publication of his work on the Yavanajātaka, the text had established itself as one of the most important historical documents in various fields of Indology, from the history of mathematics and astral science, to Indian chronology and historical contacts among ancient cultures. A number of Pingree's discoveries concerning the text were widely quoted by scholars in the past decades. These discoveries may be summarised as follows: The Yavanajātaka was an astrological/astronomical work composed in 269/270 CE. by Sphujidhvaja, an Indianised Greek who lived in the realm of the Western Kṣatrapas. The work was a versification of a prose original in Greek composed by Yavaneśvara in Alexandria in 149/150 CE. The work, though highly corrupted and clumsily expressed, contains algorithms of "ultimately Babylonian origin"; and the earliest reference to the decimal place-value with a symbol for zero (bindu).
China, India, and Iran – Scientific Exchange and Cultural Contact through the First Millennium CE 2021 NRI-AIIT-FAMES Workshop Cambridge, U.K. October 8-9, 2021 Beside keynote speech by Prof. Samuel Lieu on the "Names of China,"... more
China, India, and Iran – Scientific Exchange and Cultural Contact through the First Millennium CE
2021 NRI-AIIT-FAMES Workshop
Cambridge, U.K.
October 8-9, 2021
Beside keynote speech by Prof. Samuel Lieu on the "Names of China," fifteen scholars will present their papers on a wide range of topics, from languages, astronomy, mathematics, metallurgy, materia medica, to material culture, all related to the scientific exchange and cultural contact between China, India, and Iran through the first millennium CE.
2021 NRI-AIIT-FAMES Workshop
Cambridge, U.K.
October 8-9, 2021
Beside keynote speech by Prof. Samuel Lieu on the "Names of China," fifteen scholars will present their papers on a wide range of topics, from languages, astronomy, mathematics, metallurgy, materia medica, to material culture, all related to the scientific exchange and cultural contact between China, India, and Iran through the first millennium CE.
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Scholars have generally opined that the extant recension of the Gārgīyajyotiṣa (G1) contains materials dated to as early as the first century C.E., coinciding with the period of Indian astronomy we know very little about. The name Garga... more
Scholars have generally opined that the extant recension of the Gārgīyajyotiṣa (G1) contains materials dated to as early as the first century C.E., coinciding with the period of Indian astronomy we know very little about. The name Garga and astral works attributed to this author were known to the Chinese before the sixth century C.E. The decipherment of this partially edited text by an international team of scholars has been ongoing since 2017. An unusual feature of G1 overlooked by previous scholars is that the first Aṅga, titled “Karmaguṇa” (“constituents of ritual acts”) has a different character when compared to the subsequent ones in terms of structure, format, and content. While a detailed analysis is possible only when a complete critical edition of G1 is produced, some of the salient differences may be readily discerned based on our preliminary examination of the text.
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Among the sixty-four aṅgas of the large recension of the Gārgīyajyotiṣa (also known as the Gargasaṃhitā), celestial omens and planetary science (including astrology and narrative) occupy the greatest portion of the text. Some of these... more
Among the sixty-four aṅgas of the large recension of the Gārgīyajyotiṣa (also known as the Gargasaṃhitā), celestial omens and planetary science (including astrology and narrative) occupy the greatest portion of the text. Some of these materials are widely cited later on in works such as Varāhamihira's Bṛhatsaṃhitā as well as Buddhist works such as the Śārdūlakarṇāvadāna and Amoghavajra's Xiuyao jing, and are considered some of the oldest sources of early, pre-siddhāntic Indian astral science. In this paper, I shall highlight some of the unique characteristics of the unedited chapters of the work where such materials are found, with focus on the planetary science and the methods of time-reckoning.
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Among the Indic Buddhist texts that carry a conspicuous planetary theme is the Grahamātṛkādhāraṇī, a short ritual text that enjoyed great popularity in North India, Central Asia, and Tibet throughout the latter half of the first... more
Among the Indic Buddhist texts that carry a conspicuous planetary
theme is the Grahamātṛkādhāraṇī, a short ritual text that enjoyed great
popularity in North India, Central Asia, and Tibet throughout the latter
half of the first millennium. Traces of the practice can still be found
among the Newar Buddhists in Nepal to the present day. This paper
first examines the historical transmission of this text, followed by a
comparison with the astral materials found in other Buddhist and non-
Buddhist sources, with the aim to understand how the cosmos was envisioned by the early Buddhist writers and what the motivation behind
such astral practice was.
theme is the Grahamātṛkādhāraṇī, a short ritual text that enjoyed great
popularity in North India, Central Asia, and Tibet throughout the latter
half of the first millennium. Traces of the practice can still be found
among the Newar Buddhists in Nepal to the present day. This paper
first examines the historical transmission of this text, followed by a
comparison with the astral materials found in other Buddhist and non-
Buddhist sources, with the aim to understand how the cosmos was envisioned by the early Buddhist writers and what the motivation behind
such astral practice was.
Research Interests:
"The Treatise on the Astral Science of the Buddhist Land" by the Japanese scholar-monk Entsū 円通 (1754-1834) is a work that deals with various topics concerning the astronomical knowledge transmitted from China, and the Islamic and... more
"The Treatise on the Astral Science of the Buddhist Land" by the Japanese scholar-monk Entsū 円通 (1754-1834) is a work that deals with various topics concerning the astronomical knowledge transmitted from China, and the Islamic and European (Dutch Learning) traditions, and comments on them from the point of view of the “Buddhist Land,” or in other words, the Buddhist texts. While the “Buddhist Land” may be understood as equivalent to India, the Buddhist texts Entsū cited are numerous and their content heterogeneous, containing different and at times incompatible theories. How then did Entsū synthesize the Indian astral science in his Treatise based on the Buddhist texts and the astronomical references found in other historical works? To what extent did Entsū succeed in representing Indian astral science as it was? This paper focuses on these two questions in an attempt to understand the “Indian astral science” in Entsū’s astral masterpiece against the broader background of reception/rejection of European cosmology and astronomy in nineteenth century Japan.
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Greco-Babylonian astral science had a wide dissemination throughout Eurasia during the first millennium CE. The traditional model proposed by Neugebauer, Pingree and Yano revealed how certain unique astronomical and astrological ideas... more
Greco-Babylonian astral science had a wide dissemination throughout Eurasia during the first millennium CE. The traditional model proposed by Neugebauer, Pingree and Yano revealed how certain unique astronomical and astrological ideas spread unilaterally to India and China under different guises. This paper proposes an supplementary model where scientific notions exemplified in culturally hybrid astral texts such as the Yavanajātaka, Gārgīyajyotiṣa, Xiuyao jing 宿曜經, and Qiyao rangzai jue 七曜攘災決, are treated as conglomerates of smaller packages of knowledge rather than texts representing unique monolithic traditions. These bodies of foreign knowledge invariably interacted with the indigenous systems, in India and China where an astronomical tradition was already firmly established and a process of negotiation thus ensued. Different strategies were developed to absorb certain aspects of the foreign knowledge into the indigenous ones.
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Among the earliest surviving Greco-Indian jyotiṣa (astronomical/astrological) texts, the Vṛddhayavanajātaka is the most expansive, containing over four thousand verses. Although the content of the work is devoted mainly to horoscopy, that... more
Among the earliest surviving Greco-Indian jyotiṣa (astronomical/astrological) texts, the Vṛddhayavanajātaka is the most expansive, containing over four thousand verses. Although the content of the work is devoted mainly to horoscopy, that is, prognostication based on the astronomical configuration of planets and zodiac signs, the Vṛddhayavanajātaka is nonetheless an important source for the study of the history of science of India and its cultural history, in particular, its interaction with the Hellenistic world during the early centuries of the Common Era. In 1976, David Pingree published a critical edition of the work in two volumes, to be followed by a third volume of the discussion and analysis of the text which never materialized. The present work attempts to fill this gap by providing an overview of the work, together with an English translation of its first two chapters.
http://www.billmak.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Mak-2018-2.pdf
http://www.billmak.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Mak-2018-2.pdf
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Latest research on one of the oldest Indian treatises on the Astral Science
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Yusi jing聿斯經 is a title attributed to a handful of foreign astral treatises widely mentioned in Chinese historiographical works since the late first millennium. Its historical presence and scope of influence are attested by the references... more
Yusi jing聿斯經 is a title attributed to a handful of foreign astral treatises widely mentioned in Chinese historiographical works since the late first millennium. Its historical presence and scope of influence are attested by the references and citations found in documents from Dunhuang, China and Japan. Based on the extant materials, scholars have suggested the classical Greek genethliacal astrology exemplified by Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos to be its source and that the Christians of the East-Syrian Church were responsible for its transmission. Unfortunately, only fragments of the text survived and there have been no attempts to examine the content of the text itself. In this paper, I will examine a text titled Xitian yusi jing西天聿斯經found in the Xingxue dacheng星學大成 (“Grand Compendium of Astral Studies”), a Ming anthology of astral treatises. The content, authorship and putative sources of this text, as well as its relation with the Yusi jing will be discussed. In addition, an edition and English translation of the text, together with a comparison with Dorotheus’ Carmen Astrologicum and other works are provided.
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Since its discovery by scholars in the late nineteenth century, the last chapter of Sphujidhvaja's Yavanajātaka has been known as one of the earliest extant specimens of Indian astronomical works composed in Sanskrit. Subsequently, thanks... more
Since its discovery by scholars in the late nineteenth century, the last chapter of Sphujidhvaja's Yavanajātaka has been known as one of the earliest extant specimens of Indian astronomical works composed in Sanskrit. Subsequently, thanks to David Pingree's 1978 edition of the text, this chapter became widely recognized as one of the earliest Greek astronomical texts translated into Sanskrit, revealing the remarkable connection between the Greco-Babylonian astral science and the Indian one. However, some of Pingree's claims had been disputed by scholars and Pingree's reading and interpretation of the primary materials have been challenged by scholars such as Shukla (1989) and Falk (2001). In the light of the discovery of a new Nepalese paper manuscript and some other additional materials, some of the lacunae may now be filled and the additional variant readings have given us further clues to an improved interpretation of the text. The present study provides a summary of all the new findings concerning the last chapter of the Yavanajātaka, together with a revised, annotated critical edition.
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This paper examines the astral knowledge of the East Syriac Christians in China (formerly known as Nestorians) and its development from the Tang Dynasty onward. In particular, I will focus on the process of transmission of Hellenistic... more
This paper examines the astral knowledge of the East Syriac Christians in China (formerly known as Nestorians) and its development from the Tang Dynasty onward. In particular, I will focus on the process of transmission of Hellenistic astral science from the Near East via the Silk Road and Central Asia to East Asia, as well as the role of the Christians of the Church of the East, including most notably the Sino-Persian Li family, in disseminating foreign astronomical knowledge throughout China during the late first millennium AD. Among the most important sources is a text titled Yusi jing, translated from an unknown language into Chinese some time after the seventh century AD. An examination of its content reveals a striking resemblance to Dorotheus' Carmen Astrologicum (first century AD). Subsequently, the text went through a long course of transformation and sinicisation, and had wide influence to the evolution of Chinese astrological and mantic science (fate calculation) through the second millennium AD. As it will be demonstrated, the eastward transmission of Greco-Persian astral science was a part of the greater picture of the circulation of knowledge in Eurasia during the first millennium AD.
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In February 1942, two months after Japan occupied Hong Kong, Utsuki Nishū, a Nishihonganji priest with a remarkable track record of international collaboration and a professor of English at the Ryūkoku University in Kyoto, was transferred... more
In February 1942, two months after Japan occupied Hong Kong, Utsuki Nishū, a Nishihonganji priest with a remarkable track record of international collaboration and a professor of English at the Ryūkoku University in Kyoto, was transferred to the missionary unit of his temple and later dispatched to the former British colony. Utsuki then began his career as a representative of the local chapter of Nishihonganji, and was entrusted by the Japanese military government with oversight of local Buddhist affairs. Like many of his progressive co-religionists from the late-Meiji/Taishō period, Utsuki was keen to share his vision of brotherhood and solidarity with his fellow overseas Buddhists in the newly-minted Great East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. As the brutality of the Pacific War continued, leading ultimately to the defeat of Japan, the gap between Chinese and Japanese Buddhism proved to be too wide to be mended, and Utsuki’s vision untenable. The legacy of Utsuki’s effort nonetheless survived, most notably in the formation of the Hong Kong Buddhist Association, as well as the beginning of a long process of reconciliation between Chinese and Japanese Buddhists.
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This paper attempts to compare the astronomical content of the Chinese Buddhist texts with the extant Indian astronomical works in Sanskrit, and to thereby analyze the development of Indian astronomy from a historical and text-critical... more
This paper attempts to compare the astronomical content of the Chinese Buddhist texts with the extant Indian astronomical works in Sanskrit, and to thereby analyze the development of Indian astronomy from a historical and text-critical perspective. Based on this analysis, the author points out that Indian astronomy may be divided largely into three periods: 1) Old (Vedic period to 3rd century CE); 2) Transitional (ca. 6th century), and; 3) New (8th century onward). Within the Chinese Buddhist corpus, each of these three periods is characterized by different equinoctial coordinate (vernal equinox), astral system and descriptions of asterisms and planets and so on. This paper focuses in particular on the Mahāsaṃnipātasūtra which demonstrates the transitional nature of Indian astronomy between the 4th and 6th century and how such transformation might have taken place.
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Among the bodies of auxiliary knowledge Buddhist missionaries brought to East Asia which had a lasting impact to the local cultures was the astral science. It comprises a broad range of related subjects such as cosmology, astronomy,... more
Among the bodies of auxiliary knowledge Buddhist missionaries brought to East Asia which had a lasting impact to the local cultures was the astral science. It comprises a broad range of related subjects such as cosmology, astronomy, metrology, calendrics, astrology and the worship of astral deities. The great interest in the subject is evinced by the fact that detailed accounts of these subjects found their way into a number of key Sanskrit Mahāyāna texts, as well as their Chinese translations such as the Śārdūlakarṇāvadāna, the Mahāsaṃnipātasūtra and Amoghavajra's Xiuyao jing. A comparison of the early Indian astral science and its East Asian version however reveals some key differences. In this paper, I will examine these differences and influences which may be attributed to Central Asian and other non-Indian sources.
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Research Interests: Jyotisha/Indian Astrology, History of Astronomy, History of Astrology, Religion and ritual in prehistory, Astral Magic, and 8 moreRitual (Anthropology), Archaeology of Ritual and Magic, Archaeology of Ritual, Greek ritual, religion, and mythology (especially catasterism myths), ancient astronomy, and religious timekeeping, Ancient Indian astral science, Astral Magic, Medieval Astrology and Magic, Indo Greek Culture and History, and Yavana settlements in ancient South India
(In Esperanto) The Learning and Teaching of Esperanto in Asia -- How to speak fluently and enable others speak fluently?
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In this paper, the source and construction of the Mantra of Pu’an, one of the most popular Buddhist mantras in sinicized Sanskrit, attributed to the twelfth century Zen Master, are examined. Although the language of the mantra was... more
In this paper, the source and construction of the Mantra of Pu’an, one of the most popular Buddhist mantras in sinicized Sanskrit, attributed to the twelfth century Zen Master, are examined. Although the language of the mantra was described as “bastard Sanskrit,” the construction of the mantra is clearly modeled on Sanskrit phonetics, as well as the content of a textbook on Sanskrit orthography known as Xitan zhang or “Chapter of Siddham” which was widely circulated in Central Asia and China during the first millennium. Furthermore, the mantra is shown to be connected with Dharmkṣema’s translation of the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra where the Sanskrit alphabet was described, and also the tradition of religio-magical chanting of the Arapacana alphabet described in the Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra. Ultimately, to complete the process of sinicization, the Mantra of Pu’an was written down, canonized in one of the Chinese Tripiṭakas and even “resanskritized” with Chinese pronunciation, which was thought to be authentic and authoritative.
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Since its discovery by scholars in the late nineteenth century, the last chapter of Sphujidhvaja's Yavanajātaka has been known as one of the earliest extant specimens of Indian astronomical works composed in Sanskrit. Subsequently, thanks... more
Since its discovery by scholars in the late nineteenth century, the last chapter of Sphujidhvaja's Yavanajātaka has been known as one of the earliest extant specimens of Indian astronomical works composed in Sanskrit. Subsequently, thanks to David Pingree's 1978 edition of the text, this chapter became widely recognized as one of the earliest Greek astronomical texts translated into Sanskrit, revealing the remarkable connection between the Greco-Babylonian astral science and the Indian one. However, some of Pingree's claims had been disputed by scholars and Pingree's reading and interpretation of the primary materials have been challenged by scholars such as Shukla (1989) and Falk (2001). In the light of the discovery of a new Nepalese paper manuscript and some other additional materials, some of the lacunae may now be filled and the additional variant readings have given us further clues to an improved interpretation of the text. The present study provides a summary of all the new findings concerning the last chapter of the Yavanajātaka, together with a revised, annotated critical edition.
Research Interests: Sanskrit language and literature, Jyotisha/Indian Astrology, History of Astronomy, Indian ancient history, Sanskrit Philology, and 4 moreGreek ritual, religion, and mythology (especially catasterism myths), ancient astronomy, and religious timekeeping, Indology, Ancient Indian astral science, and Indian Astronomy
The pursuit of a pure and refined language, hence saṃskṛtam (sam “completely”, + kṛ “to do”), by the ancient Indians, was motivated by a practical concern that the Vedas would be efficacious only when properly enunciated. As a result, a... more
The pursuit of a pure and refined language, hence saṃskṛtam (sam “completely”, + kṛ “to do”), by the ancient Indians, was motivated by a practical concern that the Vedas would be efficacious only when properly enunciated. As a result, a highly sophisticated science of phonetics was developed to ensure that the Vedic texts and mantras were correctly pronounced and transmitted. This was the prime motivation for the analysis and arrangement of the Sanskrit syllables, which became in turn the basis for the construction of the written alphabet.
When the Indic languages were first introduced to China through the translation of Buddhist texts starting from the first century ce, the Chinese were fascinated by the Sanskrit language and its alphabet. This fascination continued for centuries in China up to the present day, despite Sanskrit as a language itself was largely forgotten. In this paper I shall examine the Sanskrit alphabet, how it was conceived by the Indians and how it underwent a series of transformation in the Chinese minds as it was absorbed into the East Asian culture.
When the Indic languages were first introduced to China through the translation of Buddhist texts starting from the first century ce, the Chinese were fascinated by the Sanskrit language and its alphabet. This fascination continued for centuries in China up to the present day, despite Sanskrit as a language itself was largely forgotten. In this paper I shall examine the Sanskrit alphabet, how it was conceived by the Indians and how it underwent a series of transformation in the Chinese minds as it was absorbed into the East Asian culture.
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Since Pingree's 1978 publication of his work on the Yavanajātaka, the text had established itself as one of the most important historical documents in various fields of Indology, from the history of mathematics and astral science, to... more
Since Pingree's 1978 publication of his work on the Yavanajātaka, the text had established itself as one of the most important historical documents in various fields of Indology, from the history of mathematics and astral science, to Indian chronology and historical contacts among ancient cultures. A number of Pingree's discoveries concerning the text were widely quoted by scholars in the past decades. These discoveries may be summarized as follows: The Yavanajātaka was an astrological/astronomical work composed in 269/270 CE. by Sphujidhvaja, an "Indianized Greek" who lived in the realm of the Western Kṣatrapas. The work was a versification of a prose original in Greek composed by Yavaneśvara in Alexandria in 149/150 CE. The work, though highly corrupted and clumsily expressed, contains algorithms of "ultimately Babylonian origin" and the earliest reference to the decimal place-value with a symbol for zero (bindu).
Pingree's discoveries were based largely on readings from the last section of the Yavanajātaka, described by him as "Chapter 79 - Horāvidhiḥ", an exposition of mathematical astronomy. In the recent years, scholars including Shukla (1989) and Falk (2001) pointed out some major flaws in some of Pingree's interpretations and reconstitution of the text. However, further progress of a proper reevaluation of the controversial contents of this chapter has so far been hampered by the lack of a better manuscript. In 2011-2012, additional materials including a hitherto unreported copy of the Yavanajātaka became available to the present author. This paper will therefore be the first attempt to reexamine Pingree's key interpretations of the Yavanajātaka, focusing on this last chapter, in the light of the new textual evidences.
Published in History of Science in South Asia. Full text (pdf) see link.
Pingree's discoveries were based largely on readings from the last section of the Yavanajātaka, described by him as "Chapter 79 - Horāvidhiḥ", an exposition of mathematical astronomy. In the recent years, scholars including Shukla (1989) and Falk (2001) pointed out some major flaws in some of Pingree's interpretations and reconstitution of the text. However, further progress of a proper reevaluation of the controversial contents of this chapter has so far been hampered by the lack of a better manuscript. In 2011-2012, additional materials including a hitherto unreported copy of the Yavanajātaka became available to the present author. This paper will therefore be the first attempt to reexamine Pingree's key interpretations of the Yavanajātaka, focusing on this last chapter, in the light of the new textual evidences.
Published in History of Science in South Asia. Full text (pdf) see link.
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Paper presented at the International Symposium on Astral Sciences, January 24, 2019, IIT Bombay, India
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Among the Indic Buddhist texts which carry a conspicuous planetary theme is the Grahamātṛkādhāraṇī, a short magical ritual text which enjoyed great popularity in North India, Central Asia and Tibet throughout the latter half of the first... more
Among the Indic Buddhist texts which carry a conspicuous planetary theme is the Grahamātṛkādhāraṇī, a short magical ritual text which enjoyed great popularity in North India, Central Asia and Tibet throughout the latter half of the first millennium; traces of the practice can still be found among the Newar Buddhists in Nepal in the present day. In this paper, I first examine the historical transmission of this text, followed by a comparison with astral materials found in other Buddhist and non-Buddhist sources, with the aim to understand how the cosmos was envisioned by the early Buddhist writers and the symbolic meaning the planets represent.
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Six Kyoto University researchers from different fields of science and humanities have an open discussion on the concept of "truth" and the challenges they encounter in the pursuit of knowledge.
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Among the sixty-four aṅga-s of the large recension of the Gārgīyajyotiṣa (also known as the Gargasaṃhitā), celestial omens and planetary science (including astrology and narrative) occupy the greatest portion of the text. Some of these... more
Among the sixty-four aṅga-s of the large recension of the Gārgīyajyotiṣa (also known as the Gargasaṃhitā), celestial omens and planetary science (including astrology and narrative) occupy the greatest portion of the text. Some of these materials are widely cited later on, in works such as Varāhamihira's Bṛhatsaṃhitā as well as Buddhist works such as the Śārdūlakarṇāvadāna and Amoghavajra's Xiuyao jing, and are considered some of the oldest sources of early, pre-siddhāntic Indian astral science. In this paper, I shall highlight some of the unique characteristics of the unedited chapters of the work where such materials are found, with focus on the planetary science and the methods of time-reckoning. In addition, I shall evaluate Pingree's claims of the Babylonian origin of these materials, which Pingree translated partially but did not publish an edition of the original Sanskrit text at the time of the publication in the 1980s.