Jyotisa as the Oldest Prediction Algorithm in the World

This paper explores Jyotiṣa, the ancient Indian science of astronomy and astrology, as the world’s oldest predictive algorithm. Rooted in the Vedic corpus and refined in classical texts such as the VedāṅgaJyotiṣa, BṛhatParāśaraHorāŚāstra, and the SūryaSiddhānta, Jyotiṣa systematizes celestial observations into mathematical rules for forecasting terrestrial events. Unlike modern probabilistic and machine learning algorithms, Jyotiṣa relies on deterministic computations of planetary positions, periodicities, and cyclical models of time. This study positions Jyotiṣa as not merely a spiritual or divinatory practice, but as a structured algorithmic framework anticipating modern predictive analytics