Journal

2015 Bill Mak Conference Schedule

§W40. [forthcoming] “Zodiac in South and East Asia: Transformation and interaction with indigenous astral science as seen from textual and iconographical sources.”The 14th International Conference on the History of Science in East Asia. International Society forthe History of East Asian Science, Technology and Medicine (ISHEASTM)  /  École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris, France. Jul 6-10, 2015.

§W39. [forthcoming] “A new edition of the Yavanajātaka based on the newlydiscovered manuscripts.” 16th World Sanskrit Conference. International Association of Sanskrit Studies (IASS) / Silpakorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. Jun 28 – Jul 2, 2015.

§W38. [forthcoming] “Buddhist astral science in East Asia.”History of Astronomy workshop, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN,U.S.A. Jun 24 – 28, 2015.

§W37. [forthcoming] “Greek Astral Science in China:Nestorians, Perso-Arabs, and the Jesuits.” (Speaker and panelorganizer). “Overlapping cosmologies and cosmographies in pre-modern Asia (1)”. The 19th Asian Studies Conference Japan. Sophia University, Tokyo,Japan. Jun 21, 2014.

§W36. [forthcoming] “The Legacy of Greek Astral Science inChina, Japan and Southeast Asia – past and present.” (Speaker and workshoporganizer)1st  International Workshop on Traditional Sciencesin Asia. Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. Jun 18 – 19, 2015.

§W35. [forthcoming] “The audible universe and the inaudiblesound — Cosmic symbolism in the guqin musical repertoire.” 1stHong Kong guqin studies conference 第一屆香港琴學青年論壇, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, Apr 10-11, 2015.

§W34. [forthcoming] “The Evolution of Buddhism in Hong Kong andits Transformation during the Japanese Occupation Period (1941–1945).” International Conference on the History of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Apr 10-11, 2015.

§W33. [forthcoming] “Buddhism in Hong Kong during WWII” (inChinese)二戰時的香港佛教. Lecture at Society of Hong Kong History, Hong Kong, Apr 8, 2015.

§W32. [forthcoming] “The calculation of planetary weekday inSouth Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia.SAW Conference – Mathematical Practices in relation to the Astral Sciences, Université Paris 7 Laboratoire SPHERE, Mar 26-31, 2015.

§W31. [forthcoming] “Ritualistic cyclicity in Indo-Greek astralscience – expressions for various modes of time measurement in the Yavanajātaka.” Workshop on astral sciences, mathematics and rituals, Université Paris 7 Laboratoire SPHERE, Mar19-20, 2015.

§W30. [forthcoming] “The Transmission and Transformation of Ptolemy,Dorotheus and other forms of Greco-Babylonian astral science across Eurasia.”Hakubi Seminar. The Hakubi Center for advanced research, Kyoto, Japan. Feb 3 –2015.

Update on my work on the Yavanajātaka

I have published three works so far from my latest research on the Yavanajātaka. The two works in 2014/2013 replace the 2013 HSSA article:

•”The ‘oldest Indo-Greek text in Sanskrit’ revisited – Additional Readings from the Newly Discovered Manuscript of the Yavanajātaka.” Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies印度學佛教學研究62, No.3 (2014): 1101-1105.
•”The Last Chapter of Sphujidhvaja’s Yavanajātaka critically edited with notes”. SCIAMVS 14 (2013): 59-148.
•”The Date and Nature of Sphujidhvaja’s Yavanajātaka reconsidered in the light of some newly discovered materials.” History of Science in South Asia 1 (2013): 1-20.

I will present another paper on the Yavanajātaka titled “A new edition of the Yavanajātaka based on the newly discovered manuscripts” at the upcoming 16th World Sanskrit Conference (Silpakorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. Jun 28 – Jul 2, 2015). In this paper, I will discussion the entire work as a whole and consolidate all the findings so far on this important document.

At the present, Prof. Yano Michio and myself are about to complete our 3-years reading of Utpala’s commentary on Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka. We plan to prepared an annotated translation of the BJ in Japanese. After this, we may start working on Mīnarāja’s Vṛddhayavanajātaka.

Just today I found an old thread in Skyskript discussing my 2013 work on the YJ: http://skyscript.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7500

A Lecture by Professor K. Ramasubramanian of ITT Bombay (24 Nov, 2014)

A Lecture by Professor K. Ramasubramanian of ITT Bombay (Cell for Indian Science and Technology in Sanskrit) will be held as follows:

 

Title: The Art of Blending Mathematics with Poetry

Date: Monday, 24 November, 2014

Time: 16:30 – 18:00

Venue: Seminar Room 1, Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University

The recent advances in the quantum field and string theory, as well as the resurgence of study in the history and philosophy of mathematics across different cultures without the age-old biases, has made us understand today that the ‘muse of mathematics can be wooed in many different ways’. However, it is not so well known that the muse of mathematics can also be so well fused with poetry.

We know of excellent treatises that purely deal only with mathematics or astronomy. We also know of excellent kāvyas that have nothing to do with exact sciences. However, a beautiful amalagamation of the two is not something that be commonly seen notwith- standing the fact that most of the works in Indian astronomy or mathematics have been written in the form of metrical composition. They hardly have any poetic value that is worth mentioning. The art of blending the work on mathematics with a high poetic value is something that is remarkable, and Bhāskarācārya (b. 1114 ce) seems to have been exceedingly successful in fusing the two, as evident from his famous works Līlāvatī, Bījagaṇita and Siddhāntaśiromaṇi.

This year being the 900th anniversary of Bhāskarācārya, in this talk we would like to highlight how Bhāskara in his works makes a beautiful blend of poetry with geometry, arithmetic and algebra. No wonder then, this fine blending has made his works so popular that they are still used in the traditional schools and colleges (pāṭhaśālās) to introduce mathematics.

Professor K. Ramasubramanian holds a doctorate in Theoretical Physics from University of Madras and a Masters in Sanskrit from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. Co-author of Tantrasaṅgraha of Nīlakaṇṭha Somayājī (Springer, 2011) and recipient of number of honorary titles and awards, including the Maharshi Badarayan Vyas Samman award from the President of India (2008) and the R. C. Gupta Endowment Lecture Award from the National Academy of Sciences India (2010). Professor Ramasubramanian was an executive council member of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science (2013) and is presently a faculty member at ITT Bombay in the Cell for Indian Science and Technology in Sanskrit.

 ProfessorK_poster