Vedic Cosmography and Astronomy
Vedic Cosmography and Astronomy
Introduction
1. The Astronomical Siddhantas
The Solar System According to the Sūrya-siddhanta
The Opinion of Western Scholars
The Vedic Calendar and Astrology
The Starting Date of Kali-yuga
The Distances and Sizes of the Planets
The Size of the Universe
2. Vedic Physics the Nature of Space, Time, and Matter
Extending Our Physical World View
The Position of Krsna
Mystic Siddhis
The Activities of Demigods, Yogis, and Rsis
Regions of this Earth Not Perceivable by Our senses
3. Vedic Cosmography
Bhū-manḍala, or Middle Earth
The Earth of Our Experience
Planets as Globes in Space
The Orbit of the Sun
4. The Vertical Dimension
The Terminology of Three and Fourteen Worlds
The Seven Planets
Higher-dimensional Travel in the Vertical Direction
The Environs of the Earth
Eclipses
The Precession of the Equinoxes
5. The Empirical Case for the Vedic World System
Unidentified Flying Objects
The Link with Traditional Lore
The Events at Fatima
6. Modern Astrophysics and the Vedic Perspective
The Principle of Relativity and Planetary Motion
Gravitation
Space Travel
The Universal Globe and Beyond
The Nature of Stars
7. Red Shifts and the Expanding Universe
Hubble's Expanding Universe Model
Anomalous Red Shifts: The Observations of Halton Arp
Hubble's Constant and Tired Light
Quasars
Quantized Red Shifts
8. Questions and Answers
Appendix 1: Vamsidhara on Bhū-manḍala and the Earth Globe
Appendix 2: The Role of Greek Influence in Indian Astronomy
Pingree's Theory Regarding Aryabhata
The Main Argument for Pingree's Theory
A Preliminary Critique of Pingree's Argument
The Theory of Observation
Indian Trigonometry: A Speculative Reconstruction
Another Speculative Reconstruction
Bibliography
Richard L. Thompson
Dedicated to
His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namaḥ
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namaḥ
The cover: An astronomical instrument seen in Benares, India, in 1772 by an Englishman named Robert Barker. Said to be about two hundred years old at the time, the structure included two quadrants that were used to measure the position of the sun.