The astronomical code of the R̥gveda

This is the third edition of the classic book that presents the author's discovery of the astronomical code in the organization of the ?gveda. This code, which explains several elements of the fire-altar ritual, has changed our understanding of the Vedic system of knowledge, rise of early astronomy, history of science, and the chronology of ancient India. Vedic astronomy is likely to have been carried westward out of India by the Sanskritic Mitannis and other groups who ruled West Asia in the second millennium BCE. The new edition has a new chapter on the connections between Vedic and Babylonian astronomy. Contents Preface ix 1. Introduction 1 2. The Context of Vedic Studies 17 3. Chronology of the Vedic Texts 35 4. Astronomy of the Fire Altars 71 5. The Architecture of the Rgveda 89 6. The Rgvedic Code 97 7. The Code in the Atharvaveda 113 8. Distance to the Sun 121 9. The Asymmetric Circuit of the Sun 129 10.The Ved1a _nga Jyotisa 145 11.The Cosmology of the Puranas 155 12.Vedic and Babylonian Astronomy 167 13.The Spread of Vedic Ideas 193 Abbreviations 205 Notes 207 References 219 Index 231