Studio 19
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
20–25 July 2026
Six full days · 10am–5pm
Where
CU Global Campus
Devanahalli, Bengaluru
You earn
2 Credits
Certificate of Completion
for external participants
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
Registration Opens
20th May 2026
- Free for CU students
- Paid for external participants
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