Astronomy of Bhagavata-Purana and Surya-Siddhanta

A Comprehensive Systematic Study of the first Two Chapters of Sürya-Siddhänta with vivid examples based on the English Translation of the Bengali version of Sürya-Siddhänta by Çréla Bhakti Siddhänta Sarasvaté Thakur concisely presented by Pävaneshwar Das

1. Overview of Bhägavata Cosmology: A brief description of the Fourteen Planetary Systems of our Universe with their divisions and sub-divisions.
2. Vedic Planetarium: A brief description of the motion (Mean Motion) of the nine Planets (Nava-grahäs) as described in Bhägavata-puräëa.
3. Introduction to Sürya-siddhänta: Brief summary overview of the First Two Chapters of Sürya-siddhänta and Chapter Twelve in the Appendix.
4. Ahargana Calculations: Calculation of the total number of Days elapsed from the beginning of the Creation (Brahmä’s day) to compute the Mean position of the Planets at any given point of time/day.
5. Computation of Planetary True Positions: Applying the four additional corrections based on Manda and Çégra movements of the planets to their Mean motion, one obtains their True Position in the Zodiac.
6. Birth Chart of Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu: Based on the above procedure, the birth chart of Lord Caitanya is computed to validate the Computation Procedure given in Sürya-siddhänta.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami srila Prabhupäda, founder äcärya of the International Society for Krsna Consciousness, instructed his followers to construct a Vedic Planetarium, a temple for understanding the origin, structure and function of our Universe. His desire was to build the Temple of Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) as per the descriptions of srimad-Bhägavatam and the other Vedic texts such as Surya Siddhanta. The amala Puräna, Srimad Bhägavatam, provides a generic idea about the origin, structure and function of the universe. The specific details of the same are presented in other Vedic texts such as Väyu Puräna and Surya Siddhänta. His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura, the spiritual master of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhakti Vedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, translated Surya Siddhanta from Sanskrit to Bengali and provided commentary and examples for computing the positions of the planets. His Holiness Danavir Gosvämé Mahäräja translated the work of His Divine Grace srila Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Thakur into English. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Svämé srila Prabhupäda felt strongly that srila Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Thäkura’s version of Sürya-siddhänta would prove valuable for designing a Vedic Planetarium of the Universe for the upcoming TOVP in Çrédhäm Mäyäpur.

Sri Sürya-siddhänta is considered throughout the history as the best book on astronomy based on mathematics. Most of the traditional Indian calendars (known as pancnga) are based on the mathematical calculations of Sürya-siddhänta. Hence, the performance of our daily religious duties depends upon this book. Thus, this book must be read and understood. However, many consider that Sürya-siddhänta is so difficult that it is impossible to understand. srila Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Thakura says that, “Although it is difficult, it is not impossible to understand. If a person well versed in preliminary knowledge of mathematics reads the chapter from the beginning slowly, it is not difficult to understand. Of course, one has to do a considerable amount of computation, but it is not really that difficult.”