Page 701 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

CRITICISM AND SUGGESTIONS 53

Vedanga divides a NakiJhatra into 610 kalas of which the Moon
traverses 603 in a civil day, or 593H in a tithi. Leaving the defici-
ency to be separately collected, the Moon, we might safely say,
changes her Nak~Jhatra on every tithi day; for, as the number
of tithis does not exceed, the error would never amount to a full
NakiJhatra in such a calculation rough as it is. If the Moon's parvan
Nak~hatra be known, we have, therefore, simply to take the next
Nak~hatra for the next tithi and so on. The rule is simple enough.
But simple or otherwise, it has to be derived from the parvan
amshas, according to the method, generally followed in the
Vedanga; and this is what the present verse directs us to do. The
Javadi list of Naklfhatras in the Vedanga is so framed as to secure
a constant equivalence between the amshas and the Nak~hatras
at the end of each parvan ( R. 15; Y. 17 ). If the parvan amshas
are less than 27 they directly indicate the parvan Nak§'hatra in
the Javadi order, while if the amshas are greater than 27, the
remainder left after dividing them by 27, will indicate the parvan
Nak~hatra according to the Javadi list. Now as a necessary result
of the principle adopted in framing the Javadi list, the Nak~hatras
taken in their natural order are separated by 11 places in the
Javadi list, Bharapi in the 12th, the Krittikas in the 23rd, Rohi:.:ti
in the 34th, or deducting 27, in the 7th place; and so on. This ex-
plains the reason of the present rule. For the parvan amshas, cal-
culated according to R. 10 ( Y. 15) and divided by 27, when they
exceed that number, indicate the moon's parvan Nak~hatra accor-
ding to the Javadi list. But on the next tithi day the Moon is in
the next Nak~hatra and so on in succession; and successive Naksha-
tras are represented in the Javadi list by successive multiples of
11, divided by 27 when the multiple is greater than it. Therefore,
if we add 11 per tithi in succession to the parvan amshas, the sum
of both divided by 27, when it exceeds that number, will represent
the successive tithi NakEJhatra of the Moon. It is needless to say
that the Vedanga generally indicates the Nak,hatras by a reference
to the Javadi list, and when such is not the case some express
word is used to mark the exception, as in the verse next here-in-
after discussed.
So far we have examined the verses containing rules for deter-
mining the Moon's various positions. Let us now see how. the
Vedanga determines similar positions of the Sun. R. 10 ( Y. 15 ),
explained in the beginning of this note, enables us to determine