Calendrical Terminology in the Early Vedic Astronomical Treatises of the Jyotiṣavedāṅga

Abstract

Knowledge of Vedic time reckoning was preserved in the Ṛk- and Yajurveda recensions of the Jyotiṣavedāṅga. Most of the verses of the two treatises convey the same meaning and provide a lecture on the measurement of time and its division. Some basic mathematical operations are also applied in order to calculate specific data important for the performance of Vedic ritual. This paper discusses some of the stanzas and examines the terminology applied for the sake of time reckoning.