Studio 18
Bharatiya Pañcāṅga and Astral Sciences
Astronomy, Culture, and Intellectual Traditions
An interdisciplinary studio on the Indian calendar, astronomy, and the broader evolution of astral sciences across civilisations.
When
18–22 July 2026
Six full days · 10am–5pm
Where
Chanakya university Global Campus
Devanahalli, Bengaluru
You earn
2 Credits
Certificate of Completion
Open to
All Students
UG, PG, PhD across schools + external participants
What you’ll do
The Indian Pañcāṅga tradition is one of the most vibrant intersections of astronomy, mathematics, culture, ritual life, and philosophy in the intellectual history of humanity. More than a calendrical tool, it embodies centuries of astronomical observations, mathematical refinements, environmental awareness, and civilisational memory — encoding the movement of celestial bodies, the synchronisation of lunar and solar cycles, concepts of time, ritual rhythms, agricultural practice, and social organisation.
This studio introduces you to the foundational principles of the Indian calendrical system and gradually expands the conversation toward broader themes in Indian astral sciences — observational astronomy, mathematical astronomy, cultural astronomy, archaeoastronomy, and comparative calendrical traditions. It also introduces major contributions of Indian astronomers (Āryabhaṭa, Varāhamihira, Bhāskara, Nīlakaṇṭha) alongside selected epistemological and ontological foundations of Jyotiṣa.
The course examines the broader evolution of astral sciences across civilisations — placing Indian traditions alongside Babylonian, Greek, Chinese, and Islamic systems — to explore how observational astronomy, calendrical sciences, and predictive traditions evolved differently, eventually leading to the modern disciplinary separation between astronomy and astrology. The approach is interdisciplinary and discussion-oriented: astronomy is treated not as a purely technical discipline but as a knowledge system emerging from practical necessity, philosophical inquiry, ritual culture, and sustained observation of nature.
What you’ll walk away with
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Explain the major components, astronomical principles, and computational basis of the Pañcāṅga and related calendrical systems
- Identify significant developments, methods, and contributions in the history of Indian astronomy and astral sciences
- Compare Indian calendrical and astral traditions with selected global traditions (Babylonian, Greek, Chinese, Gregorian)
- Critically discuss the philosophical, cultural, mathematical, and scientific dimensions of Jyotiṣa, including the historical relationship between astronomy and astrology
Course content
| Module 1 | Astronomical and calendrical foundations of Pañcāṅga. Kāla in Indian traditions; units of time from truṭi to kalpa; the structure of the Pañcāṅga (śaka, saṁvatsara, ayana, ṛtu, māsa, pakṣa); daily calendrical elements (tithi, vāra, nakṣatra, yoga, karaṇa); synchronisation of lunar and solar motion; evolution of calendrical systems from the Vedic age; comparative perspectives (Gregorian, Chinese, others). |
| Module 2 | Pañcāṅga traditions and cultural significance. Computation of sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset; astronomical phenomena (grahaṇa, planetary udaya and asta, agastyodaya, rohiṇīśakaṭabheda, grahayoga); festivals, rituals, and observances associated with lunar months and seasons; regional variations in Pañcāṅga traditions; Pañcāṅga in social, agricultural, and ritual life. |
| Module 3 | Astronomy in Indian knowledge traditions and society. Megalithic alignments and archaeoastronomy; temple orientations and sacred architecture; navigation and astronomical knowledge systems; traditional knowledge of tides, monsoons, and rainfall prediction; astronomical knowledge in agricultural practice; astronomical motifs in literature, folklore, and cultural memory. |
| Module 4 | Indian astronomy and the evolution of astral sciences. From observational to mathematical astronomy; astral sciences in ancient civilisations (India, Babylon, Greece, China, the Islamic world); unity and divergence of astronomy and astrology in premodern knowledge systems; salient contributions of Indian astronomers; Nīlakaṇṭha’s planetary model and the Kerala school; upapatti (demonstrative reasoning); ontological and epistemological foundations of Jyotiṣa; the modern separation of astronomy and astrology. |
Suggested studio activities
- Reading and interpreting traditional Pañcāṅgas for different dates, months, and years
- Sky-observation activities (moon phases, prominent stars, constellations, seasonal changes) with observation journals
- Comparative exercises on Indian and other calendrical or astral traditions
- Group discussions and debates on themes related to astronomy, astrology, and astral sciences across civilisations
- Close reading and textual engagement with selected primary sources such as Āryabhaṭīya, Tantrasaṅgraha, and works of Nīlakaṇṭha Somayājī
- Reflection papers, seminar presentations, and short research-based assignments on themes related to Indian astronomy and astral sciences
Guest Lecturers
Dr. M. D. Srinivas is a distinguished physicist and a premier scholar of the history and philosophy of Indian science and mathematics. He earned his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from the University of Rochester (1976) and taught at the University of Madras for two decades.
As the co-founder and Chairman of the Centre for Policy Studies in Chennai, his research bridges foundational physics with the rigorous study of the Indian shastra tradition. Dr. Srinivas has authored seminal works on the epistemology, methodology, and history of classical Indian mathematics and astronomy, making him a vital authority on indigenous scientific methodologies.
Dr. Shylaja B. S. is an eminent astrophysicist and the former Director of the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru. Before her leadership at the planetarium, she conducted extensive research on binary stars, comets, and novae at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
Dr. Shylaja is a leading expert in cultural astronomy, specialized in decoding the history of Indian science through stone inscriptions, historical manuscripts, and temple architecture. Her work brilliantly connects sky phenomena to human history, demonstrating how ancient societies embedded celestial knowledge into daily survival, navigation, architecture, and maritime practices.
Your instructor
Prof. Ramakrishna Pejathaya
Dr. Ramakrishna Pejathaya is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems, Chanakya University. He holds a PhD from the National Sanskrit University, Tirupati, focusing on early astral sciences and medieval Sanskrit astronomical treatises, alongside a traditional Vidvat degree in Triskandha Jyotiṣa from SMSP Sanskrit College, Udupi.
He is one of India’s few practicing Ashtāvadhānis, having performed over 30 Avadhānams (a classical intellectual art form testing memory, poetry, and cognitive multitasking) in Sanskrit and Kannada across the country. His research includes co-editing, translating, and mathematically analyzing the 16th-century eclipse manual Grahaṇamukura, alongside serving as a principal investigator for encyclopedic initiatives in Jyotiṣa Śāstra. His studio bridges classical computational traditions with foundational astronomy, outlining how traditional timekeeping intersects with physical astral sciences.
Registration open
Questions about a Studio?
Reach out to the Studios Coordinator. Happy to talk through any of the courses, what to expect day-to-day, or whether a particular Studio fits where you are in your learning right now.
Studios Coordinator
Anand K Sharma
cu.studios@chanakyauniversity.edu.in
+91 88930 33233
Campus
Chanakya University Global Campus
NH-648, Haraluru–Polanahalli
Near Kempegowda Intl. Airport
Devanahalli, Bengaluru — 562165