Astronomy in India

Astronomy was born before mathematics, for you don't need maths to look up and
observe the sky.
In India, astronomy focussed on observing the periodicity of the phases of moon,
north-south movement of sun, identifying constellations, planet movements etc.
India saw growth of calendrical astronomy because of the need to keep time for the
proper conduct of rituals.

Beginings
First astronmical objects found in India = Calendar wooden sticks to note waxing and
wanning of moon=> Found in Andaman (12000 yrs old), of palaeolithic era.
Kashmir rock arts (7000 yrs old) show depictions of supernova and meteor shower.
Ring stones of Indus cities = calenderical devices to keep track of sunrise at different
times of year.

Vedic knowledge
Rig-Veda spoke of a 360 days year, divided into 12 equal months. One extra month
was added after every five years.
Yajur-Veda considered a lunar year of 354 days and a solar year of 365 days, and
divided the year into six seasons of two months each.
Yajur veda also gave the first list of 27 naks atras or lunar mansions (constellations
along the path of the moon on the celestial sphere.)

Vedanga Jyotisa
Written by Lagadha, almost 3000 years old.
Gives length of sidereal day as 23 hours, 56 min and 4.6 seconds.
Has discussion on solstices and equinoxes.
It uses two intercalary lunar months to catch up with the solar calendar.

Later features
Development of Jain Astronomy, between 3rd century BC and 1st century AD.
Use of very large time scales like Kalpa = 4.32 billion years. Much longer time scales
were used in Jaina texts and Puranas.
Introduction of seven day week (few centuries BC).
Introduction of 12 rasis or zodiacs, first recorded in Yavanajtaka (c. 269 CE).

Siddhantic era (5th century AD onwards)

Golden age of Indian mathematics and astronomy.
Various treatise or siddhntas were composed during this period.
There was significant use of trigonometric methods and epicyclic models for the
computations of planetary positions.

Aryabhata I (born 476 CE)

He talked about units of time, and features of the celestial sphere, described the earth
as a rotating sphere hanging in space, and produced a table of the planets mean
 positions.
Calculated diameter of earth, which was only 12% longer than actual diameter.
However his calculations for diameters for the planets and the sun are quite incorrect.
He gave a correct explanation for both lunar and solar eclipses.

Varahamihira
Composed five texts on astronomy in 505 CE. One of them was Srya Siddhnta.
He discussed revolutions of planets, eclipses, and the zodiac, but often with focus on
astrology.
Two of his texts dealt with principles of greek astronomy.

Bhskara I (b. 600 CE),

He provided elucidation of the Aryabhat's works.

Brahmagupta (born 598 CE)

He made calculations of the mean and true longitudes of planets, conjunctions and
problems of lunar and solar eclipses.
However he mistakenly rejected Aryabhat's view of earth as a rotating sphere.
Brahmagupta siddhanta dealt with a variety of astronomical instruments like a
water clock, a gnomon, a graduated disk etc.
He also authored a manual of astronomical calculations which remained popular for
centuries.

Bhskara II (b. 1114) or Bhskarchrya

He discussed about the mean and true positions of planets, the triple problem of time,
direction and place, the risings and settings and conjunctions of the planets, eccentric
and epicyclic theories of planetary motions, and a large number of astronomical
instruments.
He greatly improved upon the formulas and methods adopted by earlier Indian
astronomers.

Astronomy in public
The astronomy was visible through
Information of calendars, panchangs and prediction of eclispse, as these had great
religious significance.
Architecture: Many temples show clear alignments with events such solstices and
equinoxes. Eg. Sringeri temple's mandapa is dedicated to 12 zodiac signs.

Kerala school of maths and astronomy

The maths and astronomy remained alive and grew in India, under Kerala school
between 14th and 17th century. North India saw repeated invasions by foreign rulers
and so sciences couldn't progress.
Paramevara (c. 1362-1455), was one of the foremost astronomers of this School, and
the founder of the dr k system, which improved computations of eclipses and the
positions of the planets.
Nlakan t ha Somayj (1444-1545), in his Tantrasagraha, revised the older Indian
 planetary model for the inferior planets, Mercury and Venus, and described them,
along with Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, as moving in eccentric orbits around the sun.

Later features
Islamic astronomy influenced: Introduction of astrolab in India.
The yantramantra or Jantar Mantar observatories built in the early 18th century by
Sawai Jai singh.