[361] In the Brahmanas we only find traces of a quinquennial or sexennial cycle. A. Weber, in "Z. D. M. G." 15, 132. The worship of the Nakshatras, or houses of the moon, _i.e._ the division of the sky into 27 (later 28) parts by means of certain constellations as marks, is first found in a developed form in Buddha's time, as is proved by Burnouf and A. Weber ("Abh. d. Berl. Akad.," 1861, s. 320). Weber does not believe in the Indian origin of these stations of the moon; he regards them as Semitic, and borrowed from Babylonia, _loc. cit._ s. 363. The inquiry at what time these marks for the course of the moon according to the position of the stars were made astronomical has led to various results. Biot regards the year 2357 B.C. as the earliest point (the original number of 24 stations was increased to 28 about the year 1100 B.C.). A. Weber thinks that the period between 1472 and 536 B.C. is the space within which the observation of the Jyotisha was fixed ("Studien," 2, 240, 413, 414. "Abh. d. Berl. Akad." 1860, s. 284; 1861, s. 354, 364), and shows that the use of these houses of the moon in China, in the order usual there, cannot be proved before 250 B.C. The Chinese order corresponds to the latest Indian arrangement of the Nakshatras, cf. "Ind. Stud." 9, 424 ff., whereas the length given in the Jyotisha for the longest and shortest day, suits the position of Babylon, _loc. cit._ 1861, s. 361. The Veda knows the Nakshatras as stars but not as stations of the moon, though they are known as the latter in the Brahmanas. The Vedic names of several of the gods who preside over the stations (Aryaman, Bhaga, etc.) prove a tolerably ancient origin for the Nakshatras. The civic computation of time among the Buddhists is founded on them. Hence we may assume that this division of the sky was perhaps current among the Indians in the tenth century B.C. [362] A. Weber, in "Abh. d. Berl. Akad." 1861, s. 291. [363] Manu, 3, 162; 6, 50. [364] A. Weber, "Vorl." s. 224 ff. The first traces of astrology in the strict sense besides the mention in the book of the law are found in the sutras of the Buddhists, _e.g._ in Burnouf, _loc. cit._ p. 140, 141, if we do not prefer the accounts of the Greeks to those legends which were written in Magadhi (Pali) the native language of Magadha, and the central Ganges in general, and have come down in the form which they received in the middle of the third century B.C., but also contain fragments of far greater antiquity. In any case, preference must be given to the simple sutras (Burn. _loc. cit._ p. 232), and these lay great stress on the astrology and soothsaying of the Brahmans. After this we meet with numerous traces of astrology in the Epos; but the law-book of Yajnavalkya is the first to command the worship of planets. [365] M. Müller, _loc. cit._ p. 109 ff. [366] Muir, "Sanskrit Texts," 3, 245 ff. [367] A. Weber, "Indische Studien," 9, 2, 72, 74. [368] Manu, 1, 33-40, 61, ff. [369] Manu, 9, 31-34; 313-322.