Science and technology in ancient India
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Science and technology in ancient India covered many major branches of human knowledge and activities, including mathematics, astronomy and physics, metallurgy, medical science and surgery, fine arts, mechanical and production technology, civil engineering and architecture, shipbuilding and navigation, sports and games.
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[edit] Sciences
[edit] Astronomy
- Further information: Hindu cosmology and Jyotisha
Classical Indian astronomy documented in literature spanning the Maurya (Vedanga Jyotisha, ca. 5th century BCE) to the Mughal (such as the 16th century Kerala school) periods.
The first named authors writing treatises on astronomy date from the 5th century CE, the date when the classical period of Indian astronomy can be said to begin. Besides the theories of Aryabhata in the Aryabhatiya and the lost Arya-siddhānta, we find the Pancha-Siddhāntika of Varahamihira. From this time on, we find a predominance of geocentric models, and possibly heliocentric models, in Indian astronomy, in contrast to the "Merucentric" astronomy of Puranic, Jaina and Buddhist traditions whose actual mathematics has been largely lost and only fabulous accounts remain.[citation needed]
The astronomy and the astrology of ancient India (Jyotisha) is based upon sidereal calculations, although a tropical system was also used in a few cases. For example, Uttarayana (Uttarāyana उत्तरायण) was determined according to a tropical system in the Mahabharata, or by Lagadha in the Vedanga Jyotisha. But even then, sidereal astronomy was the mainstay. Now, even Uttarāyana is determined according to the sidereal system of Hindus.
[edit] Linguistics
- Further information: Panini (grammarian), Bhartrihari, and History of linguistics
Linguistics (along with phonology, morphology, etc.) first arose among Indian grammarians who were attempting to catalog and codify Sanskrit's rules. Modern linguistics owes a great deal to these grammarians, and to this day, for example, key terms for compound analysis such as bahuvrihi are taken from Sanskrit.
Linguistics was pursued in ancient India for many centuries. The Sanskrit grammar of Pāṇini (c. 520 – 460 BCE), who is often considered the founder of linguistics, contains a particularly detailed description of Sanskrit morphology, phonology and roots, evincing a high level of linguistic insight and analysis. In particular, he is most famous for formulating the 3,959 rules of Sanskrit morphology in the text Aṣṭādhyāyī. His sophisticated grammar of Sanskrit continues to be in use to this day. The Indian grammatical tradition is believed to have been active for many centuries before Pāṇini, and anticipates by millennia certain developments in the West, such as the phoneme and the generation of word forms by the successive application of morphological rules for example. (Outside of India, the phoneme seems to have been discovered and forgotten several times through history.)
The South Indian linguist Tolkāppiyar (c. 3rd century BCE) wrote the Tolkāppiyam, the grammar of Tamil, which is also still in use today. Bhartrihari (c. 450 – 510) was another important author on Indic linguistic theory. He theorized the act of speech as being made up of three stages: conceptualization by the speaker; performance of speaking; and comprehension by the interpreter. The work of Pāṇini, and the later Indian linguist Bhartrihari, had a significant influence on many of the foundational ideas proposed by Ferdinand de Saussure, professor of Sanskrit, who is widely considered the father of modern structural linguistics.
[edit] Mathematics
Main authors of classical Indian mathematics (400 CE to 1200 CE) are scholars like Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, and Bhaskara II. Indian mathematicians made early contributions to the study of the decimal number system, zero, negative numbers, arithmetic, and algebra. In addition, trigonometry, having originated in the Hellenistic world was introduced to India, where it was further developed, particularly the modern definitions of sine and cosine. These mathematical concepts were transmitted to the Middle East, China, and Europe and led to further developments that now form the foundations of many areas of mathematics. The Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics made contributions to calculus that might have been later transmitted to Europe.
[edit] Medicine and surgery
Ayurvedic practice was flourishing during the time of Buddha (around 520 BC) , and in this period the Ayurvedic practitioners were commonly using Mercuric-sulphur combination based medicines. An important Ayurvedic practitioner of this period was Nagarjuna, a Buddhist herbologist, famous for inventing various new drugs for the treatment of ailments.[citation needed] Nagarjuna was accompanied by Surananda, Nagbodhi, Yashodhana, Nityanatha, Govinda, Anantdev, Vagbhatta etc.
Sushruta (also spelt Susruta or Sushrutha) (c. 6th century BC) was the first surgeon in the world who lived in ancient India and is the author of the book Sushruta Samhita, in which he describes over 120 surgical instruments, 300 surgical procedures and classifies human surgery in 8 categories. He lived and taught and practiced his art on the banks of the Ganga in the area that corresponds to the present day city of Varanasi in North India.
Plastic surgery developed in India.
During the regime of Chandragupta Maurya (375-415 AD), Ayurveda was part of mainstream Indian medical techniques, and continued to be so until the colonisation by the British. Chakrapani Dutta (DuttaSharma) was a Vaid Brahman of Bengal who wrote books on Ayurveda such as "Chakradutta" and others. Chakrapani Dutta was the Rajavaidya of Great King Laxman Sen {some says rajVaid of King Nayapala (1038 - 1055)}. It is believed by some practitioners that Chakradutta is the essence of Ayurveda.
Ayurveda was mainly formulated in ancient times, but there were a number of additions made during the Middle Ages. Alongside the ancient physicians Sushruta and Charaka, the medieval physician Vagbhata, who lived in the 7th century, is considered one of the three classic writers of Ayurveda. In the 8th century, Madhav wrote the Nidāna, a 79-chapter book which lists diseases along with their causes, symptoms, and complications. He also included a special chapter on smallpox (masūrikā) and described the method of inoculation to protect against smallpox.[1]
Ayurveda has always been preserved by the people of India as a traditional "science of life", despite increasing adoption of European medical techniques during the time of British rule. For several decades the reputation and skills of the various Ayurvedic schools declined markedly as Western medicine and Western-style hospitals were built. However, beginning in the 1970s, a gradual recognition of value of Ayurveda returned, and today Ayurvedic hospitals and practitioners are flourishing throughout all of India. As well, the production and marketing of Ayurvedic herbal medicines has dramatically increased, as well as scientific documentation of benefits. Today, Ayurvedic medicines are available throughout the world.
[edit] Philosophical Discussions
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[edit] Atomism
- Further information: Indian atomism
The concept of the atom in ancient India derives from the classification of the material world in five basic elements by Indian philosophers. This classification existed since Vedic times (c. 1500 BCE). The elements were the earth (prithvi), fire (agni), air (vayu), water (jaal) and ether or space (aksha). The elements were associated with human sensory perceptions: smell, touch, vision, taste and ether/space respectively. Later, Buddhist philosophers replaced ether/space with life, joy and sorrow.
Ancient Indian philosophers believed that all elements except ether were physically palpable and hence comprised of minuscule particles. The smallest particle, which could not be subdivided, was called paramanu in Sanskrit (shortened to parmanu), from parama (ultimate or beyond) and anu (atom). Thus, "paramanu" literally means "beyond atom" and this was a concept at an abstract level which suggested the possibility of splitting atoms, which is now the source of atomic energy. However, the term "atom" should not be conflated with the concept of atom as it is understood today.
The 6th century BCE Indian philosopher Kanada was the first person who went deep systematically in such theorization. Another Indian philosopher, Pakudha Katyayana, a contemporary of Buddha, also propounded the ideas of atomic constitution of the material world. All these were based on logic and philosophy and lacked any empirical basis for want of commensurate technology.
[edit] Light
- Further information: Theories about light
In ancient India, the philosophical schools of Samkhya and Vaisheshika, from around the 6th – 5th century BCE, developed theories on light. According to the Samkhya school, light is one of the five fundamental "subtle" elements (tanmatra) out of which emerge the gross elements. The atomicity of these elements is not specifically mentioned and it appears that they were actually taken to be continuous.
According to the Vaisheshika school, motion is defined in terms of the movement of the physical atoms and it appears that it is taken to be non-instantaneous. Light rays are taken to be a stream of high velocity of tejas (fire) atoms. The particles of light can exhibit different characteristics depending on the speed and the arrangements of the tejas atoms. Around the first century, the Vishnu Purana refers to sunlight as "the seven rays of the sun".
Later in 499, Aryabhata, who proposed a heliocentric solar system of gravitation in his Aryabhatiya, wrote that the planets and the Moon do not have their own light but reflect the light of the Sun.[citation needed]
The Indian Buddhists, such as Dignāga in the 5th century and Dharmakirti in the 7th century, developed a type of atomism that is a philosophy about reality being composed of atomic entities that are momentary flashes of light or energy. They viewed light as being an atomic entity equivalent to energy, similar to the modern concept of photons, though they also viewed all matter as being composed of these light/energy particles.
[edit] Technology
[edit] Chemistry and metallurgy
Ancient India's development in chemistry was not confined at an abstract level like physics, but found development in a variety of practical activities.
Metallurgy has remained central to all civilizations, from the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, and later. It is believed that the basic idea of smelting reached ancient India from Mesopotamia and the Near East. In ancient India, the science of smelting reached a high level of refinement and precision. In the 5th century BCE, the Greek historian Herodotus observed that the:
The ancient Romans used armour and cutlery made of Indian iron. In India itself, certain objects testify to the high level of metallurgy. An iron pillar believed to be cast in the Gupta period around the 5th century stands by the side of Qutub Minar World heritage site in Delhi. It is 7.32 m tall, with a diameter of 40 cm at the base tapering to 30 cm at the top, and is estimated to weigh 6 tonnes. Standing in the open for last 1500 years, it has withstood wind, heat and water without rusting, except for very minor natural erosion. This kind of rust-proof iron was not possible until iron and steel was discovered a few decades before.
An influential Indian metallurgist and alchemist was Nagarjuna (b. 931). He wrote the treatise Rasaratnakara that deals with preparations of rasa (mercury) compounds. It gives a survey of the status of metallurgy and alchemy in the land. Extraction of metals such as silver, gold, tin and copper from their ores and their purification were also mentioned in the treatise.
Ancient India's advanced chemical science also finds expression in activities like distillation of perfumes and fragrant ointments, manufacturing of dyes and chemicals, preparation of pigments and colours, and polishing of mirrors. Paintings found on walls of Ajanta and Ellora World Heritage sites still look fresh after 1000 years, further testifying to the high level of science.
[edit] Civil engineering and architecture
- Further information: Indus Valley Civilization
India's urban civilization is traceable to Mohenjodaro and Harappa, now in Pakistan, where planned urban townships existed 5000 years ago. From then on, Indian architecture and civil engineering continued to develop, and was manifested in temples, palaces and forts across the Indian peninsula and neighbouring regions. Architecture and civil engineering was known as sthapatya-kala, literally "the art of constructing".
On the east, Buddhism took Indian style architecture and civil engineering to places like Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, China, Korea and Japan. Angkor Wat is a testimony to the contribution of Indian civil engineering and architecture to Cambodian Khmer heritage.
In mainland India, there are several ancient architectural marvels, including World Heritage Sites like Ajanta, Ellora, Khajuraho, Konark, Mahabodhi Temple, Sanchi, Brihadisvara Temple and Mahabalipuram.
[edit] Production technology
Mechanical and production technology of ancient India ensured processing of natural produce and their conversion into merchandise of trade, commerce and export. A number of travelers and historians (including Megasthanes, Ptolemy, Faxian,Xuanzang, Marco Polo, Al Baruni and Ibn Batuta) have indicated a variety of items, which were produced, consumed and exported around that society's "known world" by the ancient Indians. The spinning wheel was invented in India, as was the practice of dying cloth with indigo.
[edit] Shipbuilding and navigation
- Further information: Lothal and Indus Valley Civilization: Trade
The science of shipbuilding and navigation were well-known to ancient Indians. Sanskrit and Pali texts are replete with maritime references. Indians, particularly from coastal regions, traded with several nations across the Bay of Bengal like Cambodia, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, even China and South America, and across the Arabian Sea like Arabia, Egypt and Persia. A panel found in Mohenjodaro depicts a sailing craft, and thousands of years later Ajanta murals also depict a sea-faring ship.
Around 500 CE, sextants and mariner's compass were not unknown to ancient Indian shipbuilders and navigators. J.L. Reid, a member of the Institute of Naval Architects and Shipbuilders, England, around the beginning of the 20th century wrote in the Bombay Gazetteer (Volume XIII, Part II, Appendix A) that "The early Hindu astrologers are said to have used the magnet, in fixing the North and East, in laying foundations, and other religious ceremonies. The Hindu compass was an iron fish that floated in a vessel of oil, pointing north. The fact of this older Hindu compass seems placed beyond doubt by the Sanskrit word MATSYA-YANTRA ("fish-machine"), which Molesworth calls "mariner's compass".
[edit] Notes
- ^ Dick, Michael S. (1998). The Ancient Ayurvedic Writings. Retrieved May 19, 2005.
[edit] References
- Haug, Martin and Basu, Major B. D. (1974). The Aitareya Brahmanam of the Rigveda, Containing the Earliest Speculations of the Brahmans on the Meaning of the Sacrificial Prayers. ISBN 0-404-57848-9
- Joseph, George G. (2000). The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics, 2nd edition. Penguin Books, London. ISBN 0691006598
- Teresi, Dick (2002). Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science -- from the Babylonians to the Maya. Simon & Schuster, New York. ISBN 0-684-83718-8
- Thurston, Hugh (1994). Early Astronomy. Springer-Verlag, New York. ISBN 0-387-94107-X
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[edit] See also
- Indian logic
- History of measurement systems in India
- History of mathematics
- History of astronomy
- Science and technology
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