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The shadow-table in the Iranian source Shāyast ne-shāyast 21 is computed according to Babylonian linear zig-zag functions, deriving indirectly from an Indian prototype.
Shāyast ne-shāyast 21:
I write the indication of the midday shadow; may it be fortunate! Should the sun come into Cancer the shadow is one foot of the man, at the fifteenth degree of Cancer it is one foot; when the sun is at Leo it is one foot and a half, at the fifteenth of Leo it is two feet; when the sun is at Virgo it is two feet and a half, at the fifteenth of Virgo it is three feet and a half; at Libra it is four feet and a half, at the fifteenth of Libra it is five feet and a half; at Scorpio it is six feet and a half, at the fifteenth of Scorpio it is seven feet and a half; at Sagittarius it is eight feet and a half, at the fifteenth of Sagittarius it is nine feet and a half; at Capricorn it is ten feet, at the fifteenth of Capricorn it is nine feet and a half; at Aquarius it is eight feet and a half, at the fifteenth of Aquarius it is seven feet and a half; at Pisces it is six feet and a half, at the fifteenth of Pisces it is five feet and a half; at Aries it is four feet and a half, at the fifteenth of of Aries it is three feet and a half; at Taurus it is two feet and a half, at the fifteenth of Taurus it is two feet; at Gemini it is one foot and a half, at the fifteenth of Gemini it is one foot.
The midday shadow is written, may its end be good! I write the indication of the Aūzērīn (= afternoon) period of the day; may it be well and fortunate by the help of God! When the day is at a maximum, and the sun comes unto the head of Cancer, and one’s shadow becomes six feet and two parts, he makes it the afternoon period. Every thirty days it always increases one foot and one-third, therefore about every ten days the reckoning is always half a foot, and when the sun is at the head of Leo the shadow is seven feet and a half. In the series every zodiacal constellation is treated alike, and the months alike, until the sun comes unto the head of Capricorn, and the shadow becomes fourteen feet and two parts. In Capricorn it diminishes again a foot and one-third; and from there where it turns back, because of the decrease of the night and increase of the day, it always diminishes one foot and one-third every one of the months, and about every ten days the reckoning is always half a foot, until it comes back to six feet and two parts; every zodiacal constellation being treated alike, and the months alike.
Source (list of abbreviations)
Shāyast ne-shāyast 21
Bibliography
| Pingree 1998, 130 | Pingree, David. “Legacies in Astronomy and Celestial Omens.” In: S. Dalley (ed.). The Legacy of Mesopotamia. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1998, 125-137. |
| West 1880-1897, I 397-400 | West, E. W. Pahlavi Texts. 5 Vols. Sacred Books of the East 5, 18, 24, 37, 37. Oxford: Clarendon Press 1880-1897. |
Amar Annus
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