98 JUNCTION-STARS AND CONJUNCTION OF PLANETS WITH THEM Positions of the junction-stars of the asterisms (naksatras) in the twelve signs, Aries, etc: 63-66(i). In Aries, eight, twenty-seven; in Taurus, six, nineteen; in Gemini, two, ten; in the next sign (i.e., Cancer), two, fifteen, twenty-four; in Leo, eight and a half, twenty-one; in Virgo, four, twenty-three; in Libra, five, seventeen; in the next sign (i.e., Scorpio), two, twelve, eighteen; in Sagittarius, one, fourteen, twenty-seven; in Capricorn, fifteen, twenty-six; in Aquarius, seven, twenty-eight; in the last sign (i.e., Pisces), fifteen, thirty-these are the degrees of the positions (with reference to the signs) of the junction-stars of the naksatras beginning with Ašvini. · The prominent stars of the nakṣatras which were used in the study of the conjunction of the planets, especially the Moon, with them are called junction-stars (yoga-tārā). The study of the conjunction of the planets with the junction-stars was originally meant to verify the computed longitudes of the planets with a view to test the accuracy of and to make improvements, if necessary, in the astronomical theories on which those computations were based. The longitudes of the junction-stars which have been enumerated in the text are, in some cases, slightly at variance with those given by the author in his subsequent smaller work, the Laghu-Bhaskariya. The differences are exhibited by the following table: 1 "Of the stars in each naksatra, those that are seen to be the brightest are the junction-stars." KK (Sengupta's edition), x. 3(i). The author of the Surya-siddhanta gives the relative position of the junction- star in each nakṣatra, which facilitates their identification. See SuSi, viii. 16-21.
