Night time calculation in ancient india

[Guest guest]

I would like to know how sages of ancient India recorded birth time?

 

I can understand use of sun dials for day births but what about night births?

 

Kindly cite a book that explains the basis of vighati, kshana, pal etc.

[Guest guest]

Dear Arpit ,

 

I guess they used a lamp to see the sun dial at night <G>.

 

At night time , the same sundial is used the references being the position

of the stars . A thread is used to note the change in position of star at

night and then thread is stretched across the dial of the sundial . The

position where it falls gives the increment in time , just the way shadow

gives the increment of time during the day .

 

You can get more information about the unit of time here

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_units_of_measurement

 

Regards ,

 

Anand Ghurye

 

On Sat, Feb 6, 2010 at 6:46 PM, Arpit T <arpit.tambi.in wrote:

 

>

>

> I would like to know how sages of ancient India recorded birth time?

>

> I can understand use of sun dials for day births but what about night

> births?

>

> Kindly cite a book that explains the basis of vighati, kshana, pal etc.

>

>

>

 

 

 

--

 

Regards ,

 

Anand K. Ghurye

9323453108

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

GOOD QUESTION Arpit!!

 

But while your question is GREAT and pretty SHARP -- what bothers me more is

simply this:

 

How come that in the last ten or twenty years we are seeing more and more

rectified birth times? The tell-tale sign is birthtime reported in HH:MM:SS!

 

Despite all these CLOCKS, WATCHES, TV channels that show the time and LAPTOPS

with horlages that modern parents utilize while their infants arrive!

 

How do you EXPLAIN or JUSTIFY the need for all these RECTIFICATIONS, now that

most birthing-places allow the father so-tuned-into-astrology to be present at

the most auspicious moment in their lives?

 

 

Rohiniranjan

 

, " Arpit T " <arpit.tambi.in wrote:

>

> I would like to know how sages of ancient India recorded birth time?

>

> I can understand use of sun dials for day births but what about night births?

>

> Kindly cite a book that explains the basis of vighati, kshana, pal etc.

>

[Guest guest]

@Anand - Thanks for the link. The basic unit being blinking of human eye makes

sense because all involuntary body movements have to do something with nadis and

body chakras. I think Upanishads and related material is the way to go.

 

Somehow it clicks me that the sundial system became popular only in past 2000

years and a much better time system should have existed that relied less on

mechanical systems and more on easy yet reliable observations.

 

@Rohiniranjan - There can be multiple answers to this question.

1) Reach and availability of advance jyotish methods (mathematical models)

through computer technology and general awareness/importance of correct birth

time.

2) I can only guess that in ancient times, jyotish was primarily used by royal

families and sages. And both sections always had reliable resources to keep

track of time, that is, use of nadis etc.

 

I think until past few decades, general masses more relied on predictions by

people having some sort of vaaksidhi/oracle than mathematical models. From my

personal experience I found these oracles much more accurate, almost instant

answers and pin point in timing than an avg. jyotishi.

 

In my own case, I tried to rectify my own birth time using nadi tables, which

came out to be 2 min. more than the noted birth time. This introduced a change

of about 20 days in dashas and minor changes in D-30 charts etc. For this reason

it's hard to go beyond antardasha levels and narrow down timing of events.

 

, " rohinicrystal " <jyotish_vani wrote:

>

> GOOD QUESTION Arpit!!

>

> But while your question is GREAT and pretty SHARP -- what bothers me more is

simply this:

>

> How come that in the last ten or twenty years we are seeing more and more

rectified birth times? The tell-tale sign is birthtime reported in HH:MM:SS!

>

> Despite all these CLOCKS, WATCHES, TV channels that show the time and LAPTOPS

with horlages that modern parents utilize while their infants arrive!

>

> How do you EXPLAIN or JUSTIFY the need for all these RECTIFICATIONS, now that

most birthing-places allow the father so-tuned-into-astrology to be present at

the most auspicious moment in their lives?

>

>

> Rohiniranjan

>

> , " Arpit T " <arpit.tambi.in@> wrote:

> >

> > I would like to know how sages of ancient India recorded birth time?

> >

> > I can understand use of sun dials for day births but what about night

births?

> >

> > Kindly cite a book that explains the basis of vighati, kshana, pal etc.

> >

>