Khandakhadyaka

Khandakhadyaka is a Sanskrit astronomical treatise from the Indian mathematical-astronomical tradition. It is a concise, practically oriented work that provides methods for computing celestial positions and events, with emphasis on calendrical and astronomical calculations used by scholars and astrologers. The text typically covers the movements and longitudes of the Sun, Moon, and planets, as well as procedures for predicting eclipses, determining time in the day and night, and resolving tithi and nakshatra for calendrical purposes.

Authorship and dating of Khandakhadyaka are uncertain. Modern scholars generally place the work in the early medieval period of Indian astronomy, though precise dating varies. The composition is associated with the broader Siddhānta tradition, and its exact provenance—whether from a single author or a compiled compilation within a particular school—remains a matter of scholarly discussion. The title indicates a concise, sectioned work, and the text is known to have circulated in manuscript form alongside other astronomical treatises.

Manuscripts and influence: Khandakhadyaka survives in Sanskrit manuscripts and has been studied as part of the corpus of medieval Indian astronomy. It is cited and used as a reference by later astronomers and astrologers for practical calculations, contributing to the transmission of computational techniques within the Indian tradition. While not as widely known as some larger works, it forms part of the lineage of Siddhānta-style text that influenced subsequent methods for planetary computation and eclipse prediction.

See also: Indian astronomy, Siddhānta, planetary computation traditions.