Hora and Ghatika

[Guest guest]

Pranaam Sanjay,

 

> Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

> My dear Narasimha,

>

> Some additional points are given under:-

> >

> > If 6:00 am LMT is the exact sunrise time on the equinox at

> > *every* place in the world, then you have a basis for 6 am.

>

> Rath: Is this not the definition of EQUINOX..Equal day and night?

 

No.

 

The definition of equinox is " equal length of day and night. "

Day need not be from 6:00 to 18:00 at every place at equinox

every year.

 

But the day can be from 6:02 to 18:02 in one year and from 5:57

to 17:57 in another year.

 

One could've defined time a little differently. For example, if

what is called 6:02 am standard time today was defined as 6:00

am when time was being standardized, then that would change LMT

times also. That is why I was calling the choice of 6:00 am LMT

as arbitrary. The definition of this time itself is somewhat

arbitrary and using it in the definition of hora is suspect.

There must be some clear astronomical significance to the

measure chosen.

 

Regarding Jaimini's reference to ghatika and vighatika, please

give me the exact pointers.

 

Though old people measured time using pots etc, it was

considered as only an approximate method. For a more accurate

measure of time, people always used the lengths of shadows.

 

I don't think what we do (including JHLite) with BL, HL and GL

is very accurate. With the definitions normally used, there is

a slight *discontinuity* in those lagnas at sunrise. In other

words, there is a moment of time when they jump suddenly. It

cannot be correct. The exact formula must be slightly adjusted

to avoid this discontinuity.

 

Parasara clearly talked about ghatikas in the definitions of

BL, HL and GL. We can clearly define ghatika in such a way

that BL, HL and GL do not have a discontinuity. I do not think

such a definition is possible by taking ghatika as exactly 24

minutes as you are saying.

 

Your sishya,

Narasimha