Jantar MantarjN] mN]

Magic or Science?

Yantra - Tantra - MantraYantra

Mantra

Tantra

yN]

mN]

tN]

Machine, Instrument, Tool

Formula

Technique

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

The Puzzle

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

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)

Dimensions of Yuga“With the consonants they fill the nights, with the

vowels the days” - Aitareya AranyakaVerse Type Syllables No. of Verses Total

Brhati 36 12000 432000

Pankti 40 10800 432000

Kali yuga = 432000 syllables = 432000 yearsDwapara yuga = 2 x Kaliyuga = 864000 yearsTretaa yuga = 3 x Kaliyuga = 1296000 yearsSata yuga = 4 x Kaliyuga = 1728000 yearsTotal = 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?

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

Types of Operations

Plastic and Rhinoplastic

Transplanting skin flaps

Cataract crouching Hernia

Fractures and dislocations

Removal of Haemorrhoids

Caesarean

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

Origin of Medical Terminology

Modern Science

Dentistry Teeth

Osteopathy Bones

Geriatrics Old Age

Chiropody Feet

Dermatology Skin

Origin in Sanskrit

Dant dNtAsthi aiS@|Jeern jIR-Charn cR-Churm cRm

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

a

b

c

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

N

W

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) 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.

Nikhilam Multiplication

99

89

(100)

01

111188

99 × 89

1) Write the base

2) Find the first complement

3) And the second complement

4) Multiply the complements 5) Finally, cross subtract

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