14 Sऐrgi-Siddh}t. That is to say : Disne . sol¢y years. ["von the total above given deduct the time occupied in creption 6,474,400 47,400 ,070,784,000 17,064,000 the retainder is 8427,000 1,963,720,000 "ais, then, is the time clapsed from the true commencernent of the existing order of things to the epoch of this work. The deduction of this period as spent by the Deity in the work of creation is a peculiar feature of the strya-Siddhanta. We shall revert to it later (see belowundex P. 23-4), as its significance cannot be shown until other data are be. fore u8. 25. The planets moving westward with exceeding velocity, but constantly beaten by the asterisms, fal behind, at a rate pre cisely equal, proceeding each in its own path. 26. Hence they have an eastward motion. From the number of their revolutions is derived their daily motion, which is different according to the size of their orbits; in proportion to this daily motion they pass through the asterisms. 27 . One which noves swifty passes through them in a short time; one which moves slowly, in a long time. By their movement, the revolution is accounted complete at the end of the asterism Revati. We have here presented a part of the physical theory of the planetary motions, that which accounts for whe meen motions : the theory is supple, mented by the explanetion given in the next chapter of bhe disturbing forces which give rise to the irregularities of movementThe earth is a sphere, and sustained immovable in the centre of the universe (xii. 82) while l the hoavenly bodies, impelled by winds, or vorices, called pro vectors (ii. B), revolve about it from east to west. In this general west. word uperneat, the planeta, as the commentary explains it, are, owing to their weight and the weakness of their workices, beaten by the as . terisms (p.akshatra or bha, the groups of star$ constituting the lunar map sions [see below, chapter viii rd used here, as in various other places,
- o designate the whole frmament of fxed stays), and accordingly fall behind
(labnt8 = labeta, databuntyas if from Shanne : and this is the ex. planation of their eastward notion which is only apparenth and yelative, alt.ough Ont to be regarded as rea by those whe do not understand the drue causes of things. But now a new element is introduced into the theory, which does not Beem entirely consistent with this view of the xmerely relative character of the eastward motion. It is asse¥ted that the planets tag behind equally, or that each, moving in rts owm orbit, loses an equal amount daily, as compared with Abe easterisms. And we shall and