Stone Inscriptions from South Asia as Sources of Astronomical Records

Stone inscriptions from all over India provide records of eclipses, solstices and planetary conjunctions. Extending the study to South Asia, to include Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Thailand, threw light on many new aspects such as evolution of calendars independently from the influence of Indian system of time measurement as early as the 3^rd Century BCE. Many interesting records of planetary conjunctions are available. One record from Cambodia hints at a possible sighting of the 1054 supernova, while another from Thailand suggests a pre-planetary nebula event.