Nila-kantha (IAST: Nīlakaṇṭha) was a 16th-centuryastrologer and astronomer (jyotishi ordaivajña) andSanskrit writer from theMughal Empire of present-day India. He was a royal astrologer to emperorAkbar, and contributed toTodarananda (c. 1572 CE), an encyclopedia sponsored by Akbar's ministerTodara-malla. He wroteTajika-Nilakanthi (1587 CE), the most popular work on theTajika astrology, and possibly compiledPrashna-tantra, a work oninterrogational astrology, based on an earlier text.
Nilakantha came from a family of astrologer-astronomers that belonged to theGargya-gotra (clan), and originated from Dharmapura, a town located on the banks of theNarmada River in central India. The earliest known member of this family is his grandfather, Chintamani. Nilakantha was a son of Ananta and his wife Padmamba.[1] Ananta wroteKamadhenu-tika (a commentary on Mahadeva'sKamadhenu) andJani-paddhati (orJataka-paddhati).[2]
Nilakantha and his brother Rama settled inKashi, where they composed several works onastrology and astronomy. The town was under the administration of the Mughal emperorAkbar's ministerTodara-malla (Todar Mal), and Nilakantha rose to the position of a royal astrologer (jyotisha-raja) in Akbar's administration.[3] Balabhadra, a student of Rama, describes Nilakantha as "the crown jewel in the circle of astrologers",[4] and quotes him extensively in hisHayana-ratna (1649).[5]
Nilakantha's brother Rama wroteRama-vinoda (1590),Muhurta-chintamani (1600), and a commentary titledPramitakshara on the 1600 text. Nilakantha's son Govinda (born 1659) wrotePiyusha-dhara (1603),Rasala (1622), andBhava-vivrti. Govinda's son Chintamani wroteSammati-chintamani (1661).[1]
In the 16th century, the Mughal Emperor Akbar's ministerTodaramallla sponsored the compilation ofTodarananda (Ṭoḍarānanda, orTodaranandam), the most extensive encyclopedia of science from pre-modern India. Nilakantha contributed to multiple sections (saukhyas) of this work, includingJyautisha-saukhya (onjyotisha); two sections onmuhurta -Vivaha-saukhya andVastu-saukhya; and other sections on variousdharma-shastra branches -Vyavahara-saukhya,Samskara-saukhya, andSamaya-saukhya.[1]
TheJyautisha-saukhya, completed in 1572, discusses omens (samhita); astronomy, possibly including mathematics (ganita); andnatal astrology (hora).[1]
Nilakantha'sTajika-Nilakanthi (IAST: Tājikanīlakaṇṭhī) is a work onTajika, the Sanskritized Perso-Arabic astrology tradition. The work contains two volumes:
These two volumes appear to have been composed as semi-independent works, and contain overlapping content, including passages repeated verbatim. Nilakantha completed the second volume of this work in 1587, and the book became the most popular work on the Tajika astrology.[4]
An analysis byOla Wikander and Martin Gansten suggests that theShodasha-yogadhyaya (Ṣoḍaśayogādhyāya) chapter ofSamjna-tantra is based on far older sources, and this may be true of the entire book. However, the phrasing appears to be Nilakantha's original.[4] It is possible thatSamjna-tantra andVarsha-tantra were the titles of two earlier texts written by the 13th century writer Samara-simha, and along withPrashna-tantra, were collectively known asTājika-shastra (Tājikaśāstra).[5]
In the 17th century, Vishva-natha Daivajna wrote a commentary titledPrakashika (Prakāśikā) onPrashna-tantra.[5]
Nilakantha may or may not have been responsible for the compilation ofPrashna-tantra (IAST:Praśna-tantra), a work oninterrogational astrology.[5] This work exists in two versions: some earlier sources have mistakenly attributed its authorship to Nilakantha, considering it as the third volume ofTajika-nilakanthi. Alternative titles for the book includePrashna-kaumudi (Praśnakaumudī),Jyotisha-kaumudi (Jyotiṣakaumudī), orPrashna-prakarana.[1][4]
Research by Martin Gansten (2014) shows that the originalPrashna-tantra was written by Samara-simha in the 13th century, largely based onSahl ibn Bishr's 9th century textKitāb fi l-masa'il wa-l-ahkam. Nilakantha or one of his students may have compiled the hybrid version ofPrashna-tantra to complement the two volumes ofTajika-Nilakanthi, by including excerpts from other texts to the original work. These other texts include mainly non-Tajika Sanskrit works such as Bhattotpala'sPrashna-jnana, Padma-prabha-suri'sBhuvana-dipaka, Narayana-dasa Siddha'sPrashna-vaishnava, Prthyu-yashas'sShatpanchashika,Varaha-mihira'sBrhadyatra, Ramachandra'sSamara-sara,Yaska'sNirukta,Prashna-chintamani,Prashna-dipaka,Prashna-pradipa,Trailokya-prakasha, andJnana-muktavali, among others.[4]
In the 17th century, Vishva-natha Daivajna wrote a commentary onPrashna-tantra.[5]