All World
Gayatri Pariwar

It is remarkable that, because of the dedicated efforts of eminent scholars of the modern times, significant research has been carried out, which has helped restoring some pearls of the invaluable treasure of knowledge on the Vedic Philosophy and Sciences, despite enormous loss of the original scriptures and ancient texts that were destroyed in the medieval era.

Historical research of the past two or three decades has shown that Mathematical Astronomy, Geometry, Algebra and several other sciences originated in India. Almost every literate man and woman knows that the sign for zero and the modern concept of mathematics was invented in India about several thousands years ago. However, it is much less known that important concepts like that of recursion, algebraic transformation, mathematical logic, abstract language description, binary numbers, combinatory also arose in India thousands of years before their rediscovery in the West. The ancient Indian texts are layered in such a fashion that we can see the gradual development of the Philosophical, Mathematical, Physical, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences. 

Based on the authentic archeological and historical proofs available today1, we find that apart from the science of consciousness and the mystery of Nature, the ancient Indians were greatly interested in mathematical methods and structures in Geometry, Astronomy, Grammar, Music and other fields2. They were also interested in cognitive science where they were so advanced that their insights may yet be useful to give innovative directions to the modern science and help unfolding of the secret layers of the Human Mind and sublime Nature. 

As the exact period of the Vedas and the origin of Vedic literature have not been deciphered, it is difficult to recognize who pioneered or originally invented the different scientific results and theories? But as per the available studies of the researchers on the earliest records of the ancient Indian sciences, —ïi Kañada’s name is associated with the earliest discoveries of atoms and atomic energy, and that of —ïi Yajnavalkya with the science of Yajna. He and —ïi Lagadha of the Vedic Age are also revered to have laid the foundation of Astronomy.  

With Aryabhatta, the history of Indian Sciences enters a new phase, in which it becomes easier to trace the authorship of specific ideas. But even in the post-Aryabhatta records, there remain some aspects, which are not so well understood. For example, the evolution of Indian Medicine is not as well documented as that of Indian Mathematics. Neither do we understand well the manner in which the philosophical basis underlying Vedic Sciences evolved. Many texts in the Vedic literature speak of the relativity of time and space – original abstract concepts of what was developed in the modern scientific context just a hundred years ago; thus it is difficult to find as to which hymns or mantras of the Vedas elucidated this idea for the first time in the angelic acumen of the Vedic —ïis.  

Without indulging in the debate of the original ‘date’ and ‘authorship’ we must understand the more important fact that –– if one could grasp the studies on the decoding of the symbolic language of the Vedas and Vedic literature, one would, like the great researchers of the past centuries, find that the foundational elements and theories of the modern sciences were present in these most ancient treatises of knowledge. 

The Purañas speak of countless universes, time flowing at different rates for different observers and so on…. The Mahabharata speaks of an embryo being divided into one hundred parts each becoming, after maturation in a separate pot, a healthy baby; this is how the Kaurava brothers were born. There is also mention of an embryo, conceived in one womb, being transferred to the womb of another woman from where it was born; the transferred embryo is Balarama and this is how he was a brother to Krishna although he was born to Rohini and not to Devaki. All these facts, shunned by most of us as mere pieces of mythology, now show relevance in the present era of test-tube babies, gene-cloning and advanced biotechnology. 

Universes defined recursively are described in the famous episode of Indra and the Ants’ in Brahmavaivarta Puraña. Here Vishnu, in the guise of a boy, explains to Indra that the ants he sees walking on the ground have all been Indras in their own solar systems in different times! These flights of imagination are to be traced to more than a straightforward generalization of the motions of the planets into a cyclic universe. They must be viewed in the background of an amazingly sophisticated tradition of cognitive and analytical thought.

There is a description of sophisticated aircraft (PuÌpaka Vimana) in the Ramayana. The epic Mahabharata mentions of astronauts wearing airtight suits. Several of us might classify these, if not as myths or allegoric depicts, as an early form of science fiction or so…. But the studies of Vedic researchers and scholars of Sanskrit (as cited, for example, in references numbered [3-4]) indicate that there indeed existed an advanced science and technology of the development of different kinds of aircrafts and spaceships – the construction materials, techniques and operational principles of which might have been somewhat different from what we have in today’s expensive technology. 

Of the eighteen early siddhantas (principles) of the Vedic aerospace and physical sciences, the summaries of only five are available now. In addition to these siddhantas, practical manuals, astronomical tables, description of instruments, and other miscellaneous writings have also come down to us. What was the intellectual ferment in which such fine ideas arose is an intriguing mystery for the researchers of today to reveal….. 

Vedic Concept of Nature and Related Sciences:

The reconstructions of our earliest sciences are based not only on the Vedas but also on their appendices called the Vedangas. Briefly, the Vedic texts present a tripartite and recursive world, view. The universe is viewed as three regions of earth, space, and sky with the corresponding entities of Agni, Indra, and Viïve Deva¡ (all gods). 

In the Vedic world-view, the processes in the sky, on earth, and within the mind are considered as interconnected.  The Vedic —ïis were aware that all descriptions of the universe lead to logical paradox. The one category transcending all oppositions was termed Brah®. Understanding the nature of consciousness was of paramount importance in this view but this did not mean that other sciences were ignored. Vedic ritual was a symbolic retelling of this world-view.

The —gveda speaks of cosmic order. It is assumed that there exist equivalences of various kinds between the outer and the inner worlds. It is these connections that make it possible for the human mind to realize the universe. It is noteworthy that the analytical methods are used both in the examination of the outer world as well as the inner world. This allowed the Vedic —ïis to place in sharp focus paradoxical aspects of analytical knowledge. Such paradoxes have become only too familiar to the contemporary scientist in almost all branches of original quest on Nature. 

The Vedas signify the philosophy of the eternity and perennial complementarity of the Supreme Cosmic Forces of Gayatri and Yajna in divine creations.  In the Vedic view, the complementary nature of the mind and the outer world is of fundamental significance. Knowledge is classified in two ways: the lower or dual; and the higher or unified. What this means is that knowledge is superficially dual and paradoxical but at a deeper level it has a unity. The Vedic view claims that the material and the conscious are aspects of the same transcendental reality. Whence, among all other sciences the Vedic Cognitive Science and the Science of Human Mind and Spirituality occupies preeminent place. 

The main branches of the other Vedic Sciences that have direct relevance and importance in the context of the modern science of Nature are –– (i) The Science of fire (agni) or Yajna; (ii) The Science of Yoga; (iii) The Science of ‘sound’ or ‘Mantra’ (iv) Indian Science of Life and Medicine –– Ayurveda;  (v) Vedic Meteorology; (vi) Astrology; (vii) Vedic Astronomy;  (viii) Vedic Cosmology;  (ix) Vedic Mathematics.

We have been presenting selected articles on the science of Yajna and mantra in this magazine (Akhand Jyoti) from time to time. The series on diagnostics and therapeutics in Ayurveda has continued since last two years; forthcoming topics under that series will include total health care through Yajnopathy – Yajna and Ayurveda.  The focus of this particular series on Vedic Sciences is Vedic Cosmology.  So we first begin with some related aspects encompassing Vedic Astronomy and Meteorology.  The other Vedic Sciences will be covered after discussing Vedic Cosmology with relevant scientific implications vis-à-vis the modern sciences.  

Among the Vedic Scriptures, the Purañas mention a great deal of astronomy. The works of ancient scholars (after 450 C.E.) in astronomy, which were derived from these scriptures and expanded with mathematical rigor, have been quite popular in the modern times as well.   Aryabhatta (born 476 AD) is the author of the first of siddhantas that is available in original till date called Aryabhatiyam, which sketches his mathematical, planetary, and cosmic theories. This book is divided into four chapters: (i) the astronomical constants and the sine table, (ii) mathematics required for computations, (iii) division of time and rules for computing the longitudes of planets using eccentrics and epicycles, (iv)the armillary sphere, rules relating to problems of trigonometry and the computation of eclipses. 

The parameters of Aryabhatiyam have, as their origin, the commencement of Kaliyuga on Friday, 18th February, 3102 B.C. Aryabhatta computed the value of pi (π) as 3.1416. He wrote another book where the epoch is a bit different. Aryabhatta took the earth to spin on its axis; this idea appears to have been his pioneering discovery based on which he computed many results on motion of planets. He also considered the heavenly motions to go through a cycle of 4.32 billion years; here he went with an older tradition, but introduced a new scheme of subdivisions within this great cycle. 

That Aryabhatta was aware of the relativity of motion is clear from this passage in the above mentioned book stating –– “Just as a man in a boat sees the trees on the bank move in the opposite direction, so an observer on the equator sees the stationary stars as moving precisely toward the west”.

Noted among his successors are the Acharyas Varahamihira (d. 587 AD), Brahmagupta (b. 598 AD), Bhaskara (b. 1114 AD), Madhava (1340-1425 AD) and Nilakantha Somayaji (1444-1545 AD); each one of whom made marvelous contributions to Mathematical Astronomy.  For example Acharya Brahmgupta wrote his masterpiece, Brahmasphuta Siddhanta, in 628 AD, which is still referred by the modern scholars. One of Brahmagupta's historic contributions is the solution of a certain second order indeterminate equation, which is of great significance in Number Theory. Another of his books, the Khandakhadyaka, remained a popular and only handbook for astronomical computations for several centuries.

Equally advanced and well recognized are the contributions of the Vedic Meteorology derived from the understanding of planetary movements. The major contributions cited by modern researchers5 are –– in the context of physical process involved in the materialization of meteorological phenomena on the Earth; the astronomical impressions left by the resultant meteorological phenomena on the Earth; premonitions by the various creatures on the planet; representation of the entire season by one single day. Based on the results of these studies five methods of weather forecast were evolved in the Vedic Age. 

References:

1. Acharya Pt. Shriram Sharma: Samasta Vishwa Ko Bharat Ke Ajastra Anudaan. Pandint     

Shriram Sharma Acharya Samagra Vangmaya Vol. I-IV. Akhand Jyoti Sansthan,   

Mathura (India), 1995. 

2. Dr. Arya R. P. Vedic Theory of Origin of Speech, Piramal Publ., New Delhi, 1995.

3. Dr. Kulish K. Veda Vigyan. Rajasthan Sanskrit Sahitya Academi, Jaipur, 1987

4. Dr. Diwedi K. D. Diwedi Vedon me Vigyan Viswabharati Anushandhan Parishad      

Ghyanpur, Bhadohi (India) 2001.

5. Dr. Arya R. P. Vedic Meteorology, Piramal Publications, New Delhi, 1995.

(Series to be continued)