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Visualising Eclipses: Graphical Constructions of Eclipse Phenomena in the Sanskrit Astral Sciences Cover

Visualising Eclipses: Graphical Constructions of Eclipse Phenomena in the Sanskrit Astral Sciences

Open Access
|Jun 2025

Abstract

Eclipse reckoning constituted a significant component of the Indian astronomical tradition and was underpinned by a sophisticated interplay between mathematical theory, observational data, and visual practices. This paper focuses specifically on the diagrammatic dimensions of eclipse computations as articulated in classical Sanskrit treatises. By closely examining two distinctive passages drawn from the astronomical texts Siddhāntaśekhara and Uparāgakriyākrama, composed over the course of the second millennium CE, we investigate how Indian astronomers employed graphical methods to visually represent eclipse phenomena. These diagrammatic constructions reveal a nuanced understanding of eclipse occurrences. Our analysis highlights key features of these procedures, including the geometric frameworks, instruments, and terminologies employed. We also consider how these visual methods evolved across different texts, noting both similarities and differences in their presentation and underlying rationale. In doing so, we demonstrate how theoretical formulations and empirical observations were integrated within these visual methods, shedding light on how theory and observation informed practice and how these complex astronomical events were made accessible to broader audiences.

Language: English
Page range: 70 - 99
Published on: Jun 30, 2025
Published by: CIUHCT - Interuniversity Centre for the History of Science and Technology (Portugal)
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 2 issues per year

© 2025 Jambugahapitiye Dhammaloka, Aditya Kolachana, Clemency Montelle, published by CIUHCT - Interuniversity Centre for the History of Science and Technology (Portugal)
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.