TIME OF APPARENT CONJUNCTION OF THE SUN AND MOON Similarly, Moon's lambana= Moon's drggatijyā × Earth's semi-diameter Moon's true distance in yojanas 165 (2) Subtracting (1) from (2), we obtain the required formula. The lambana obtained by the above formula is in terms of minutes of arc. When this is multiplied by 60 and divided by the difference between the true daily motions of the Sun and the Moon, it is reduced to the corres- ponding ghatis. The lambana in ghatis according to the text is to be subtracted from or added to the time of geocentric conjunction according as it occurs in the forenoon or afternoon. In fact, subtraction or addition should be made according as the conjunction occurs to the east or to the west of the central ecliptic point. The law of addition and subtraction given in the text is, however, more convenient in practice. The rule in stanza 26 shows that the author was aware that at noon the lambana was different from zero. Still the rule prescribed for the application of that lambana in that stanza shows that the author did not know the correct law for the addition or subtraction of that lambana.¹ The application of the lambana for the time of apparent conjunction having been thus made to the time of geocentric conjunction, we obtain the second approximation to the time of apparent conjunction. The Sun and the Moon are then calculated for that time and the method is repeated again and again until the nearest approximation to the time of apparent conjunction is obtained. 1 The commentators have, however, tried to interpret the stanza as conveying the desired meening. For example, Parameśvara writes: "The word indu here stands for the madhyajya. Therefore, subtraction is to be made when the madhyajyā and the udayajyā are of like direction. When they are of unlike directions, addition is to be made. This is what has been stated here". The word indu means "Moon" and it cannot be interpreted to mean "madhyajya". There is no scope for such a meaning. More- over, Parameśvara says that subtraction or addition is to be made accord- ing as the madhyajya and udayajya are of like or unlike directions. In fact, there is no reference to any directions, like or unlike. The words used are udak and dakṣine which mean "in the north" and "in the south" respectively and not "like direction" and "unlike directions" as Parames- vara has supposed.
