Jagannatha Samrat

Paṇḍita Jagannātha Samrāṭ (1652–1744) was an Indian astronomer and mathematician who served in the court of Jai Singh II of Amber, and was also his guru.

Jagannātha, whose father's name was Gaṇeśa,^[1]^[2] and grandfather's Viṭṭhala^[2] was from a Vedic family^[1] originally from Maharashtra.^[2]

At the suggestion of Jai Singh, he learned Arabic and Persian, in order to study Islamic astronomy.^[1]^[2] Having become proficient in these languages, he translated texts in these languages into Sanskrit.^[1]^[2] These translations include:

Rekhā-gaṇita, a translation of Euclid's Elements made from Nasir al-Din al-Tusi's Arabic recension of the same. For this work, he had to coin more than a hundred Sanskrit mathematical terms^[1]
Siddhānta-sāra-kaustubha, a translation of Ptolemy's Almagest from Nasir al-Din al-Tusi's Arabic version^[1]^[2]

His original works include:

‍Siddhānta-samrāṭ, which describes astronomical instruments, their design and construction, and observations. It also describes the use of these observations in correcting parameters and preparing almanacs. It mentions how J‌ai Singh, who earlier used astronomical instruments (such as the astrolabe) made of metal, later switched to huge outdoor observatories (such as the Jantar Mantar), as they were more precise; also they were made of stone and mortar rather than brick, to diminish the effects of wear-and-tear and climate.^[1]
Yantra-prakāra, which describes astronomical instruments, measurements, computations, etc. in more detail, and also observations made by him.^[1]

Jagannātha held that when theory and observation differed, observation was the true pramāṇa and overruled theory.^[2] While he used and described a number of astronomical instruments, telescopes were not one of them.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h K. V. Sarma (2008), "Jagannātha Samrāṭ", in Helaine Selin (ed.), Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers (published 1997), pp. 460–61, Bibcode:2008ehst.book.....S
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Achar, Narahari (2007). "Jagannātha Samrāṭ". In Thomas Hockey; et al. (eds.). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. New York: Springer. p. 584. ISBN 978-0-387-31022-0. (PDF version, Google Books)

Harilal Harshadarai Dhruva. "The Rekhaganita or Geometry in Sanskrit", pp. 35 ff. Bombay: Bombay Sanskrit Series, no. LXI, 1901.

External links

The Rekhaganita Sanskrit text with English introduction. Two volumes. (PDF)

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[kvs-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h K. V. Sarma (2008), "Jagannātha Samrāṭ", in Helaine Selin (ed.), Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers (published 1997), pp. 460–61, Bibcode:2008ehst.book.....S

[na-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Achar, Narahari (2007). "Jagannātha Samrāṭ". In Thomas Hockey; et al. (eds.). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. New York: Springer. p. 584. ISBN 978-0-387-31022-0. (PDF version, Google Books)

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v t e Indian astronomy
Astronomers	Apastamba Aryabhata I Aryabhata II Vainu Bappu Bhāskara I Bhāskara II Baudhayana Brahmagupta Sandip Chakrabarti Radhagobinda Chandra Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Amil Kumar Das P. Devadas Gautama Siddha M. K. Das Gupta Jyesthadeva Kamalakara Katyayana Lagadha Lalla Madhava of Sangamagrama Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis Mahavira Manava Jayant Narlikar Parameshvara Achyuta Pisharati Venkatraman Radhakrishnan J. J. Rawal Megh Nad Saha Jagannatha Samrat Bapudeva Sastri Jai Singh II of Amber Nilakantha Somayaji Sripati Mahendra Suri Govind Swarup Utpala Varahamihira Shankara Variyar Vasistha Yajnavalkya Pathani Samanta
Works	Aryabhatiya Brahmanas Aitareya Brahmana Shatapatha Brahmana Bṛhat Saṃhitā Ganitagannadi Jyotirmimamsa Shulba Sutras Panchangam Khandakhadyaka Mahādevī Makarandasarini Siddhantas Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta Maha-Siddhanta Pancha-Siddhantika Paulisa Siddhanta Paitamaha Siddhanta Rājamṛgāṅka (astronomy book) Romaka Siddhanta Surya Siddhanta Vasishtha Siddhanta Tantrasangraha Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era Vākyakaraṇa Vedanga Jyotisha Vedas Atharvaveda Rigveda Yavanajataka Zij
Instruments	Armillary sphere Astrolabe Celestial globe Compass Cross-staff Dioptra Equatorial ring Equatorial sundial Globe Gnomon Mural instrument Quadrant Sextant Sundial Triquetrum Water clock Yantraraja
Concepts	Axial tilt Azimuth Cardinal direction Celestial equator Celestial sphere Celestial spheres Center of mass Circular orbit Deferent and epicycle Earth's rotation Eccentricity Ecliptic Elliptic orbit Equant Geocentrism Geoheliocentrism Globe Gravity Heliocentrism Hindu units of time Jyotiṣa Kali ahargaṇa Kalpa Karana Manvantara Moonlight Nakshatra Nityayoga Parallax Precession Ritu Spherical Earth Sunlight Tithi Vāra Yuga Zodiacal sign
Centres	Jantar Mantar Jaipur New Delhi Ujjain Varanasi Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics
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Months of the Vedic calendar	Chaitra Vaisakha Jyeshta Aashaadha Shraavana Bhadrapada Ashvin Kartik Margashirsha Pausha Maagha Phalguna

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