Descrizione del progetto
Tracciare le idee musulmane delle scienze esatte nell’astronomia sanscrita medievale
L’influenza delle scienze musulmane sull’astronomia sanscrita medievale, in particolare nelle opere sanscrite composte presso le corti di Mughal (1500 - 1800) nell’India della prima età moderna, è stato un argomento di notevole interesse in vari studi recenti. Per comprendere meglio il processo di trasmissione delle conoscenze, il progetto EMESAS, finanziato dall’UE, esamina le opere canoniche (siddhāntas) di tre astronomi sanscriti contemporanei dell’inizio del XVII secolo. L’obiettivo del progetto è quello di identificare gli elementi di conoscenza di origine musulmana nelle loro opere e, nel farlo, contestualizzare la pratica e il processo di integrazione delle idee musulmane nell’astronomia sanscrita medievale.
Obiettivo
During the period of Mughal rule (1500 to 1800 CE) in early modern India, traditional Sanskrit astronomers actively engaged with Islamic (Ptolemaic) astronomy for the very first time. The EMESAS project proposes to study the canonical works (siddhāntas) of three Sanskrit astronomers from the early 17th century: Nityānanda, Munīśvara, and Kamalākara. The aim of this study is to find and analyse 'knowledge elements' found in their texts that are of Islamic origin, e.g. computational
methods, geometrical arguments, astronomical models, diagrammatic proofs, etc. In doing so, the EMESAS project will contextualize the process of transmission, reception, assimilation, and adaptation of Islamic ideas in medieval Sanskrit astronomy.
The Centre for the Study of Indian Science (CSIS), hosted by the Department of Cross-Cultural and Religious Studies at University of Copenhagen (UCPH), specializes in research on different aspects of Indian astral sciences like saṃhitā (omens), horā (astrology), and gaṇita (mathematical astronomy). This makes CSIS ideally suited to host the EMESAS project.
Under the supervision of Prof. Kenneth Zysk, the head of CSIS, the EMESAS project will examine Nityānanda's 'Sarvasiddhāntarāja' (1639 CE), Munīśvara’s 'Siddhāntasārvabhauma' (1646 CE), and Kamalākara’s
'Siddhāntatattvaviveka' (1658 CE). The research expertise at CSIS will enable this project to ask challenging questions: What motivated Sanskrit authors to discuss Islamic astronomical theories? What kind of technical explanations, mathematical vocabularies, and cultural tropes did Sanskrit authors adopt in accepting (or rejecting) foreign ideas? How did the scientific milieu of early 17th century Mughal India influence the development of Sanskrit astronomy? To answer these questions, the EMESAS project will develop a unique interdisciplinary approach that brings together philological, historical, and mathematical methods of analysis.
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EFCoordinatore
1165 Kobenhavn
Danimarca