02 Prof. Kim Plofker on 18th Century Sanskrit Heliocentrism

The meaning and application of Sanskrit scientific technical terms were scrupulously evaluated by commentators throughout the long history of the technical genre of jyotisa or mathematical and astral sciences. This paper examines how Sanskrit technical vocabulary in the mathematical astronomy of early modern north India adapted to accommodate new cosmological concepts such as the heliocentric solar system, and how commentarial practices responded to such changes.