On Aryabhata's Planetary Constants

Abstract

This paper examines the theory of a Babylonian origin of Aryabhata's planetary constants. It shows that Aryabhata's basic constant is closer to the Indian counterpart than to the Babylonian one. Sketching connections between Aryabhata's framework and earlier Indic astronomical ideas on yugas and cyclic calendar systems, it is argued that Aryabhata's system is an outgrowth of an earlier Indic tradition.