(f.) Works on general, they treat of notes, musical scales, melodies, the art of singing, and musical instruments; and some of them also of the art of dancing and performing. The melodies, or 'Agar, are represented as deities, who have wives, the Beiginls. Their number is uniform in the different works, and it is probable that the passages in dramas and other poetical works intended for singing were written to suit these fixed melodies, and not that the melodies were composed after the poet had per formed his task. The principal works of this kind are the Savgitaratnakara, by Eilrn gadeva, the Sangitadarpan'a, by Dilmodara, and the Sangitaddmodara, by S'ubliankara. Special treatises relate to the melodies alone.
(g.) treating of this art purport methodically to explain and to classify all that relates to love, and they refer for many of their statements to the oldest authorities. The, chief work on the subjedt is the of VAtsygyana.
(h.) Astronomy and calendars connected with the Vedas arc the earliest evidence of Hindu proficiency in astronomy; they presuppose a knowledge of a solar year of 365 days, and their date is assumed by Colebrooke to belong to the 13th c. B.C., while others would place them a few centuries later. The scientific works of later Hindu astronomers are professedly based on five ancient systems, or Siddhantas, called the Paulis'a-, Romaka-, Saura-, and Paitilmaha-Siddhanta; and the cavliest renowned author among these astronomers is .AryabhatTa, who, according to Cole brooke's calculation, did not live later than the 5th c. after Christ. From the quotations by Brahmagupta, it appears that Aryabhatta "affirmed a diurnal revolution of the earth on its axis, that he possessed the true theory of the causes of lunar and solar eclipses, and that lie noticed the motion of the solstitial and equinoctial points, but restricted it to a regular oscillation, of which he assigned the limit and tile period." See, for further detail, Colebrooke's Algebra, etc. (Land. 1817, p. 38). His principal work, the .Argashe as'ata, is at present only known from the quotations of Bralunagupta, BhatTotpala, and others; but his other works, the Das'agitzkd and Aryabliatriya, are extant. Varahami hira, the next important astronomical writer, a native of Ujjayint, lived about the begin ning of the Gth c. after Christ. His compilation of the five Siddhiintas, the Pansebasid. dhintika, is not yet recovered; but several of his astrological treatises, and the scholia on them by BliatTotpala or Utpala are preserved, and his Dr'ihatsanbit4 has been I.( cently edited by Dr. H. Kern (Cale., 1865). Another great astronomical authority is Enigma gupta, who appears to have written toward the close of the sixth, or the beginning of the following century; his work bears the title of Brahmasiddhata„ and it was followed up by who in the middle of the 12th c., composed a celebrated word, lb.
Siddhantcts'iromadi, translated by Lancelot Wilkinson (Cale., 1861). The Saryasiddhdnta has been edited by Fitzedward Hall (Cale., 1859); and two translations of it are due, one to E. Burgess, in the Journal of the American oriental society, accompanied with notes by Whitney (New Haven, 1860): another to Bapildeva S'astri (Cale. 1861); but whether this Siddhanta is the Sanra, one of the five original Siddliantas above mentioned, or a later work bearing a similar title, is matter of doubt. That Hindu astronomy is largely indebted for its progress to the kindred sciences of western nations may be inferred from the occurrence in Sanskrit of terms which are of Arabic and Greek origin. Thus, the terms hord, dreshkdn'a. lipta, kendra, etc., are easily traced to the Greek hara, deka nos, lepta, he' ntron, etc.—That works on Hindu astronomy contain more or fewer chap
ters or passages which no longer concern astronomy, but belong to the spliere of astrol ogy, can be no matter of surprise, considering the intimate connection in which, in India, religion and superstition stand to every branch of human knowledge, and much more especially to one concerning the heavenly bodies. There are, moreover, numerous works which are purely astrological, merely treating of nativities and the influence of the planets on certain periods of the day or month, and the occurrences that would take place at them. Among celebrated writers on algebra, it must here suffice to name Vara hamihira and Bha_skara. See Colebrooke's Algebra, as quoted above.
(1.) Medicine. —The origin of Hindu medicine is referred to the god Brahman, from whom the Ayurveda, or " the science of long life," was obtained by Daksha, who com municated it in his turn to the As'wins. Some time after this, mankind, in consequence of their wickedness, becoming afflicted with numerous diseases, the Minis, or saints, met in the Himalaya mountains to search for a remedy. A long list of these saints is given by Charaka, one of the greatest medical writers, and it is so far of interest as it contains several names known in Hindu history, and which thus may be probably con nected with the early study of Hindu medicine. The two greatest medical authorities the works of whom are still extant are Charaka and Sus'ruta (q.v.). Both treat of the duties of physicians and their pupils, of anatomy and physiology; hygeology; materia medica, pharmacy, and preparations of medicine; surgery•, the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of a considerable number of diseases; midwifery, toxicology, etc. Several chapters in them are devoted to omens and portents, as well as to the evil influence of planets and demons on the human body. Charaka, who is older than Sus'ruta, contains more mythological detail than the latter. Of the authorities quoted by Charaka, Atreya seems still preserved in a work, the Atreyasanhitd, which is far less scientific and com plete than either the work of Charaka, or Sus'ruta, and therefore appears to have pre ceded them.—See also T. A. Wise, Commentary on the lirindu System of (Medicine (Lone(., 1860).
(j.) Architecture.—Treatises on architecture, sculpture, etc., are collectively called Sapas'dstra. There appear to have been 32, or, according to some, 64 standard treatises on these arts, but of these only a few are probably still in existence. The most impor tant of them is the Mdnasdra, which consists of 58 chapters, each of which is devoted to a particular topic—such as measures used in architecture; the different sites to be selected for building temples and houses; the mode of determining, the different points of the compass; the several sorts of villages, towns, and caies, with directions for building them; the different parts of an edifice, its ornaments, pedestals, bases, pillars, etc.; the various sorts of temples; the construction of porticoes, gates, palaces, etc. ; the con struction of images, and cars in which the gods are carried in procession, together with the ceremonies attending the consecration of images; the mode of determining the propitious moment for commencing to lay the foundation of an edifice, etc. See, for further detail, Ram Rhz, Essay on the Architecture of the Iiindus (London, 1834).
For a more copious supply of titles of books on the subjects mentioned, the reader may consult Gildemeister, Bibliotheca Sanskrita, Bonn (1847), and the printed catalogues of the library of the India office, of the Sanskrit MSS. of the Bodleian library at Oxford, and of the Sanskrit MSS. of the royal library at Berlin.