[ 38 . But before any reformation is attempted, an exact deter- mination of the amount of precession becomes a question of paramount importance. The reader is aware that in the Hindu system, the longitudes of celestial bodies are measured from a fixed point-say a star—in the ecliptic, instead of from the mov- able vernal equinox as is the practice in Europe. The question has therefore the same bearing upon our calculations, as the position of the so-called First Point of Aries upon those of the Nautical almanac. Unfortunately, all attempts to solve the question have been practically fruitless. The reader will hence understand the chaos into which our almanacs have sunk. The gravity of the situation, and the difficulty of escaping from it, demand a ful- ler discussion than our space would permit. But then this alone can give us an opportunity of ascertaining Chandra- a ekbara's success in this direction. Premising, then, that we measure longitudes of planets from a fixed point in the ecliptic, the question resolves itself into & determination of the point. In other words, what is that point, or what is its longitude from the vernal equinoctial point? Whatever and wherever that point may be, it is the starting point of our zodiac, and its longitude is known es ayanámsa, which literally means amount of solstices. For, we do not speak of the precession of the equinoxes as often as we do of the precession of the solstices. Hence the ayana-chalanam of Sanskrit astronomy is equivalent to the precession of the equinoxes. To avoid ambiguity we shall use the term ayanáins & rather than the amount of precession. Digiided by Google
