Works
He was the first one to mention in his work Pancha Siddhantika that the ayanamsa, or the shifting of the equinox is 50.32 seconds.
Pancha-Siddhantika
Varahamihira's main work is the book Pañcasiddhāntikā (or Pancha-Siddhantika, "[Treatise] on the Five [Astronomical] Canons) dated ca. 575 CE gives us information about older Indian texts which are now lost. The work is a treatise on mathematical astronomy and it summarises five earlier astronomical treatises, namely the Surya Siddhanta, Romaka Siddhanta, Paulisa Siddhanta,Vasishtha Siddhanta and Paitamaha Siddhantas. It is a compendium of Vedanga Jyotisha as well as Hellenistic astronomy (including Greek, Egyptian and Roman elements). He was the first one to mention in his work Pancha Siddhantika that the ayanamsa, or the shifting of the equinox is 50.32 seconds.6655
The 11th century Arabian scholar Alberuni also described the details of "The Five Astronomical Canons":
- "They [the Indians] have 5 Siddhāntas:
- Sūrya-Siddhānta, ie. the Siddhānta of the Sun, composed by Lāṭadeva,
- Vasishtha-siddhānta, so called from one of the stars of the Great Bear, composed by Vishnucandra,
- Pulisa-siddhānta, so called from Paulisa, the Greek, from the city of Saintra, which is supposed to be Alexandria, composed by Pulisa.
- Romaka-siddhānta, so called from the Rūm, ie. the subjects of the Roman Empire, composed by Śrīsheṇa.
Brihat-Samhita
Varahamihira's other most important contribution is the encyclopedic Brihat-Samhita. It covers wide ranging subjects of human interest, including astrology, planetary movements, eclipses, rainfall, clouds, architecture, growth of crops, manufacture of perfume, matrimony, domestic relations, gems, pearls, and rituals. The volume expounds on gemstone evaluation criterion found in the Garuda Purana, and elaborates on the sacred Nine Pearls from the same text. It contains 106 chapters and is known as the "great compilation".
On Astrology
He was also an astrologer. He wrote on all the three main branches of Jyotisha astrology:
- Brihat Jataka - is considered as one the five main treatises on Hindu astrology on horoscopy.
- Daivaigya Vallabha
- Laghu Jataka
- Yoga Yatra
- Vivaha Patal
- His son Prithuyasas also contributed in the Hindu astrology; his book "Hora Saara" is a famous book on horoscopy.
Western influences
The Romaka Siddhanta ("Doctrine of the Romans") and the Paulisa Siddhanta ("Doctrine of Paul") were two works of Western origin which influenced Varahamihira's thought, though this view is controversial as there is much evidence to suggest that it was actually Vedic thought indigenous to India which first influenced Western astrologers and subsequently came back to India reformulated
A comment in the Brihat-Samhita by Varahamihira says: "The Greeks, though foreign, must be honored since they have shown tremendous interest in our science....." ("mleccha hi yavanah tesu samyak shastram kdamsthitam/ rsivat te 'p i pujyante kim punar daivavid dvijah" (Brihat-Samhita 2.15)).
Some important trigonometric results attributed to Varahamihira
He not only presented his own observations, but embellished them in attractive poetic and metrical styles. The usage of a large variety of meters is especially evident in his Brihat Jataka andBrihat-Samhita.
1. ^ "the Pañca-siddhāntikā ("Five Treatises"), a compendium of Greek, Egyptian, Roman and Indian astronomy. Varāhamihira's knowledge of Western astronomy was thorough. In 5 sections, his monumental work progresses through native Indian astronomy and culminates in 2 treatises on Western astronomy, showing calculations based on Greek and Alexandrian reckoning and even giving complete Ptolemaic mathematical charts and tables. Encyclopædia Britannica (2007) s.v.Varahamihira ^ 2. E. C. Sachau, Alberuni's India (1910), vol. I, p. 153
Vishnu Sharman (Sanskrit: विष्णु शर्मा) was an Indian scholar and author who is believed to have written the Panchatantra collection of fables. The exact period of the composition of the Panchatantra is uncertain, and estimates vary from 1200 BCE to 300 CE. Some scholars place him in the 3rd century BCE.
Vishnu Sharman is one of the most widely translated non-religious authors in history. The Panchatantra was translated into Pahlavi in 570 CE byBorzūya and into Arabic in 750 CE by Persian scholar Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa as Kalīlah wa Dimnah. In Baghdad, the translation commissioned by Al-Mansur, the second Abbasid Caliph, is claimed to have become "second only to the Qu'ran in popularity. As early as the eleventh century this work reached Europe, and before 1600 it existed in Greek, Latin, Spanish, Italian, German, English, Old Slavonic,Czech, and perhaps other Slavonic languages. Its range has extended from Java to Iceland. In France, "at least eleven Panchatantra tales are included in the work of La Fontaine.
Legend
The prelude to the Panchatantra identifies Vishnu Sharma as the author of the work. Since there is no other independent external evidence about him, "it is impossible to say whether he was the historical author . . .or is himself a literary invention. Based on analysis of various Indian recensions and the geographical features and animals described in the stories, Kashmir is suggested to be his birthplace by various scholars.
The prelude narrates the story of how Vishnu Sharma supposedly created the Panchatantra. There was a king called Sudarshan who ruled a kingdom, most likely in patliputra. The capital of his kingdom was a city called Mahilaropya (महिलारोप्य), whose location on the current map of India is unknown. King Sudarshan had three sons named Bahushakti, Ugrashakti and Anantshakti. Though King Sudarshan himself was both a scholar and a powerful ruler, his sons were "all dullards. The king despaired of his three princes' inability to learn, and approached his ministers for counsel. They presented him with conflicting advice, but the words of one, called Sumati, rang true to the king. He said that the sciences, politics and diplomacy were limitless disciplines that took a lifetime to master formally. Instead of teaching the princes scriptures and texts, they should somehow be taught the wisdom inherent in them, and the aged scholar Vishnu Sharma was the man to do it.
Vishnu Sharma was invited to the court, where the king offered him a hundred land grants if he could teach the princes.[15] Vishnu Sharma declined the promised award, saying he did not sell knowledge for money, but accepted the task of making the princes wise to the ways of politics and leadership within six months. Vishnu Sharma knew that he could never instruct these three students through conventional means. He had to employ a less orthodox way, and that was to tell a succession of animal fables - one weaving into another - that imparted to them the wisdom they required to succeed their father.The collection of his work was done by pandit Narayana and is called hitopdesh. Adapting stories that had been told for thousands of years in India, panchatantra was composed into an entertaining five part work to communicate the essence of diplomacy, relationships, politics and administration to the princes. These five discourses, became the Panchatantra, meaning the five (pancha) treatises (tantra).
After Vishnu Sharma taught king's son, he tried to give land and other gifts to him but he declined then he gave Vishnu Sharma, title of "Pathak" and after him his family started using "Pathak" as surname. Now also in villages there is belief in Pathak's that they don't have to charge anything for knowledge transfer.