Jantar MantarMagic or Science?

Yantra - Tantra - Mantra

Yantra

Mantra

Tantra

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 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?

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

Asthi

Jeern

Charn

Churm

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

11

1188

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