Jantar Mantar jN] mN] Magic or Science?

Jantar MantarjN] mN]Magic or Science?

Yantra - Tantra - Mantra yN] mN] tN] Machine, Instrument, Tool Formula Technique Yantra Mantra Tantra

Founders of Science in Ancient India Dr Nawal K Prinja

The Great Rishis • Rishi means ‘SEER’: The discoverer • Hindu Rishis were • philosophers • mathematicians • scientists • They made fundamental discoveries • All reported in the great Vedic literature

Books are written by civilised people Civilisations existed at banks of rivers Where is your river? Aryan must have come from outside India Aryans - not a race. It means ‘noble people’ River Saraswati Now extinct but its path has been traced by satellite photography Myth of Aryan invasion has been smashed The Puzzle

Sage Atharvan: Discoverer of Fire • Rishi of Atharva Veda • 4000 BC or even earlier “The sage Atharvan extracted the agni(fire)” - Rig VI-16-13 “The priests churn for agni as was done by Atharvan” - Rig X-21-5 Prometheus = Pra + Mantha In Sanskrit ‘by’ ‘Churning’ Greek mythology says that Prometheus stole fire from heaven

Medhatithi : Designer of Bricks • Bricks (ishtaka) made to construct Yajna Kunds • Formulae for laying down of bricks-Yajur Veda (XIII) There are specific names of many mechanical processes and implements in the Vedas • Grinding, pounding, filtering, preserving • Wheel, axle, hook, spade, boiler, pressing stone, mixing bowl, fuel, pitcher with 100 holes, weaving shuttle, drum, measuring tape

Dirghatama: The First Astronomer • Realised the importance of having an era • Time determined by astronomical phenomenon • Vedic sages defined • Lunar year 354 days • Solar (Tropical) year 365 1/4 days • Civil year 360 days (21 days added every 4th year)

“With the consonants they fill the nights, with the vowels the days” - Aitareya Aranyaka Dimensions of Yuga Kali yuga = 432000 syllables = 432000 years Dwapara yuga = 2 x Kaliyuga = 864000 years Tretaa yuga = 3 x Kaliyuga = 1296000 years Sata yuga = 4 x Kaliyuga = 1728000 years Total = Chaturyugi = 10 x kaliyuga = 4320000 years One divine day = 1000 Chaturyugi = 4320 million years Divine Day = Creation Divine Night = Dissolution

One God - 3 Metaphorical Forms • Kala Purusha (Time) - Omniscient • Veda Purusha (Knowledge) - Omnipresent • Yajna Purusha (Action) - Omnipotent • Rig Veda X.90 and I.164 The Supreme Purusha on chariot with two yokes and 7 horses Horses or sons = cycles of time = Kala, muhurta, dina, ardhamasa, masa, rtu(season), caturmasa(quarter year) 2 Yokes = Solictice Uttarayana (summer) Dakshinayana (winter)

Discovery of Planets ‘Star’ and ‘aster’ come from Sanskrit ‘Str’ “He has studded the sky with constellations” - Rig Veda I-68.5 • Vamadeva identifies Jupiter (Brhaspati) • Rig IV-50.4 • Vena Bhargava identifies Venus • Rig X-123.1

First Medicinal Plant Symposium • Date : 700 BC (2700 years ago) • Venue : Regions of Himalayas • Proceedings : Charaka Samhita • Organiser : Rishi Bhardvaja “He taught the science of causes, symptoms and medication- the tripartite science” -Charaka Samhita I-24

Symposium on Man and Disease: The Question “What is the source of the man and the disease? Do both come from the same source? SARS? King Vamaka of Kashi

Pariksi Maudgalya “Man is born of the Spirit, likewise all diseases are born of the Spirit. The Spirit is the source of all”

Sage Saraloma “No. The Spirit dislikes pain. It would never on its own accord yoke itself to painful diseases. The real cause is the mind when its engrossed by passion and ignorance”

Varyovida “Mind by itself can’t cause any thing. Without a body, there cannot be any disease, not even the mind. All life started from water. Water is the cause of all diseases.”

Hiranyaksha “Every thing does not depend on water. I am aware of air-borne diseases. Man is the result of the 5 physical elements and consciousness.”

Sage Shaunaka “How can you have the 5 elements and the consciousness without a creator or a father and mother? Therefore, parents are the origin of both, the individual and the disease.”

Bhadrakapya “No. Blind are not born of the blind. And you cannot tell who the first parents were. Creatures are born of the merits of action and from the actions arise the diseases.”

Rishi Bharadwaja “I disagree. The doer always proceeds the deed. Nature alone is the cause. Roughness of the earth, fluidity of water, mobility of air and heat of fire.”

Kankayana “Effort or lack of effort is not determined by the course of nature. Brahmaa, the Creator of the universe, is the source of all”

Aterya “No. Brahmaa cannot give pain to his own children. Evolution has taken place over time. So time is the cause of creation of Man and disease.”

Punarvasu’s Decision “Truth is hard to find by taking sides in a debate. “The wholesome combination of the physical elements gives rise to the well being of Man. Unwholesome combination leads to disease” • Balanced elements = At ease with each other • Unbalanced elements = not at ease = dis + ease = disease Now known as the Ayur Veda

Susruta: Father of Surgery • 125 surgical instruments made from steel • 14 varieties of bandages • “Nil by Mouth” for abdominal operations • Use of antiseptics (mustard, nimba leaves etc) • Training of surgeons on dead animals and watermelon • Classified surgical operations into 8 kinds • extraction,excising,incising,probing,scarifying, suturing,puncturing and evacuating fluid

Plastic and Rhinoplastic Transplanting skin flaps Cataract crouching Hernia Fractures and dislocations Removal of Haemorrhoids Caesarean Types of Operations Alexendra’s invasion brought it to Greece and then to rest of the Europe

Atreya Punarvasu: First Teacher of Systematic Medicine • ‘Charaka Samhita’ about 700 BC • Noted for the symposia on: • Influences of Vata • Origin of man and disease • Taste and its enumeration • Growth of foetal limbs • Use of the emetic nut and dose of the anema

Modern Science Dentistry Teeth Osteopathy Bones Geriatrics Old Age Chiropody Feet Dermatology Skin Origin in Sanskrit Dant dNt Asthi aiS@| Jeern jIR- Charn cR- Churm cRm Origin of Medical Terminology

Kanada: First Expounder of Law of Causation and Atomic Theory • Ten books known as ‘Vaisesika Darshana’ • About 1900 years old • First to explore the relation between ‘Cause and Effect’ • Identified atoms (Parmanu) as the build blocks of matter • Defined chemical action (Paka)

Great Mathematicians • Medhatithi- Extended numerals to billions • Aryabhata- laid foundations of Algebra • Lagadha - Rationalised Astronomy • Baudhayana - The first great Geometer

Science of Geometry • ‘Sulbha Sutras’ - Sulb means to measure • Bodhyana’s sutras are 2800 years old • Used in the construction of altars for yajna • Discovered the Pythagorus theorem before Pythagorus • Formula to draw a circle with same area of a square • Computed square root of 2 = 1.414213

Pythagorus Theorem “The diagonal of a rectangle produces area which its length and breadth produce separately” - BS I-I-48 c a b a2 + b2 = c2

Transfer a Square into a Circle “If you wish to circle a square, draw half its diagonal about its centre towards the North-East line; then describe a circle together with the one-third of that which lies outside the square” - BS I-I-58

Square Root of 2 “Increase the measure by its third part, and again by the fourth part less by the thirty-fourth part of itself” - BS I-61-2 D = a + a/3 + a/(3x4) - a/(3x4x34) Ö 2 = 1 + 1/3 + 1/(3x4) - 1/(3x4x34) = 1.4142

Vedic Mathematics The ‘Parisista’ (appendix section) of the Atharva Veda contains 16 ‘Sutras’ (formulae) that turn difficult Mathematics into simple and fun calculations. The material is mostly based on ‘Vedic Mathematics’ by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji of Govardan Pitha, we are grateful to him for revealing the cryptic mysteries of the Sutras.

99 × 89 (100) 1) Write the base Nikhilam Multiplication 99 89 01 2) Find the first complement 11 3) And the second complement 88 11 5) Finally, cross subtract 4) Multiply the complements The answer is 8811

Conclusions • Many branches of modern science originated in India (Bharat) • There is not much awareness about this rich heritage of India • Knowledge of Sanskrit is essential to discover our own riches

Good News • You can learn Sanskrit by correspondence course • 4 stages of 10 lessons each leading to a diploma • From Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Manchester

The End Thank you and Namaskar

Jantar Mantar jN] mN] Magic or Science?