Lālah Bulhomal Lāhorī and the Production of Traditional Astronomical Instruments at Lahore in the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

Even though the traditional naked eye astronomical instruments became obsolete after the introduction of the telescope, their production was vigorously cultivated in the nineteenth century at Lahore. The central figure in this production was a remarkable instrument maker named Lālah Bulhomal Lāhorī who produced instruments with Arabic/Persian inscriptions and legends as well as instruments with Sanskrit inscriptions and legends. He is indeed the last representative of both Islamic and Sanskrit traditions of astronomical instrumentation. This paper offers an overview of some forty-five extant instruments of diverse types made by Bulhomal and his associates thus forming the last phase of history of astronomical instruments in pre-modern India.