South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

The date furnished by the original date are─ “ the day of (the nakshatra) Rôhiṇî, a Saturday on which passed^[1] (the day) twenty-one (of) the month of Mîna, (when) Jupiter (was in) Makara.”

In Śaka-Saṁvat 1241 expired= A.D. 1319-20 the Mîna-saṁkrânti by the Ârya-siddhânta took place 3 hours 22 minutes after mean sunrise of Sunday, the 24th February A.D. 1320, which therefore was the first day of the month of Mîna. Accordingly, the 21st day of the month of Mîna was Saturday, the 15th March A.D. 1320. On this day (which was the 5th of) the bright half of Chaitra) the moon was in the nakshatra Rôhiṇî during the whole of the day, and the true longitude of Jupiter by the Ârya-siddhânta was 9s 1º 14′, i.e. Jupiter was in the 10th sign Makara.

I may add that in the period from A.D. 1100 to A.D. 1500 there are two other Saturdays, 95 years before and 95 years^[2] after the 15th March A.D. 1320, either of which answers two of the other requirements of the original date, but not all of them. They are :─

Saturday, the 15th March A.D. 1225, which was the 21st day of the month of Mîna, and on which the nakshatra was Rôhiṇî, while the true longitude of Jupiter was only 8s 27º 58′ ; and─

Saturday, the 16th March A.D. 1415, when the nakshatra was Rôhiṇî, and the true longitude of Jupiter 9s 4º 28′, but which was the 20th day of the month of Mîna.

I venture to hope that the result of Mr. Venkayya’s examination of the plate and of my own calculation will be considered to render it extremely probable that Vîra-Râghava’s grant was made in A.D. 1320, and not in either A.D. 775 or so strangely early a year as A.D. 230.^[3]

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^[1] I owe a literal translation of the date to Dr. Hultzsch.
^[2] The same number of years (or, more accurately, the number of 34699 days) intervenes between the two days in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. which would answer all the requirements of the date, viz. Saturday, the 10th March A.D. 680, and Saturday, the 11th March A.D. 775.
^[3] See above, Vol. IV. p. 292, note 7. So far as I can see, the astronomical calculations of Mr. Kookel Keloo Nair were not quite correct. Saturday, the 6th March A.D. 280, was the 21st day of Mîna and the nakshatra for part of the day was Rôhiṇî ; but Jupiter was in the sign Kumbha, not in Makara.─ I do not venture to hope that we ever shall find in an inscription a date of the third century A.D. that would admit of exact verification.