Amazing Science (part 1 to part 8)
Click on underscored words to open paragraph
Current Topics - Offshore OutsourcingAmazing Science (Part 1)
An overview of all branches of science
Amazing Science (Part 2)
Bacteria -Viruses, Physiology, Science of Speech
Amazing Science (Part 3)
Taxila University (The world's first university)
India's contributions acknowledged by historians and scholars
Appendix
The Ruins of Nalanda University
The Ruins Of Nalanda University (Photo)
A Buddhist University, 5th Century, Bihar, India
A fascinating historical account from the 5th century by
The Chinese pilgrim Hieun Tsang
(A student of Nalanda in 5th century), also
The Royal Patrons of the University of Nalanda
By Rev. H. Heras, S.J., M.A.
Amazing Science (Part 4)
Language and Literature
By J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
Grammar, Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology
Sanskrit was the classical literary language of the Indian
Hindus and Panini is considered the founder of the
language and literature.
Amazing Science Part 5
Vedic Mathematics
(Page Vedic Mathematics)
Vedic Mathematics
Perhaps the most striking feature of the Vedic system is its coherence.
Instead of a hotch-potch of unrelated techniques the whole system is
beautifully interrelated and unified: the general multiplication method,
for example, is easily reversed to allow one-line divisions and the simple
squaring method can be reversed to give one-line square roots. And
these are all easily understood. This unifying quality is very satisfying,
it makes mathematics easy and enjoyable and encourages innovation.
In the Vedic system 'difficult' problems or huge sums can often be
solved immediately by the Vedic method. These striking and beautiful
methods are just a part of a complete system of mathematics which is
far more systematic than the modern 'system'. Vedic Mathematics
manifests the coherent and unified structure of mathematics and the
methods are complementary, direct and easy.
The simplicity of Vedic Mathematics means that calculations can be
carried out mentally (though the methods can also be written down).
But the real beauty and effectiveness of Vedic Mathematics cannot
be fully appreciated without actually practising the system. One can
then see that it is perhaps the most refined and efficient mathematical
system possible.
Vedic Mathematics < click to go to Page Vedic Mathematics
Amazing Science (Part 6)
The Kautiliya Arthasastra
Minerals and Metals and Ethnobiological Information
The Iron Pillar that Does Not Rust
Amazing Science (Part 7)
History of mathematics in India
Amazing Science (Part 8)
The elevating spirit of Indian Music
The destructive effects of Acid Rock music
(Page Music)
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Amazing Science (Part 1)
(Saints and Science)
By Swami Sada Shiva Tirtha
Amazing Science, Cosmology and Psychology, Medicine (Ayurveda),
Aviation, Surgery, Paediatrics, Gynaecology, Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology, Embryology, Blood Circulation, Rhinoplasty, Amputation, Caesarian and Cranial surgeries, Anesthesia, Antibiotic herbs, Atomic theory, Chemistry Alchemical Metals, Astronomy and Mathematics, Geography, Constellation science, Botany and Animal science, Algebra, Arithmetic and Geometry, Planetary positions, Eclipses, Cosmography, and mathematical techniques, Force of Gravity, The Decimal, Metallurgy.
Preamble
By Swami Sada Shiva Tirtha
When we look at scientists who are credited with the most important ideas of our time we find mainly Greeks, Europeans, Americans listed. Yet western history seems to have been arbitrarily begun during the Greek era. In fact, when we extend the boundaries of history to view the longer span of history we find some amazing developments predating "modern" history originating in India more than 5,000 years ago.
The ancient thinkers of India were not only scientists and mathematicians, but also deeply religious, esteemed saints of their time. While it may surprise some to think of religious sages as mundane scientists, the Indian view is that religion (universal) and science are but two sides of the same coin - in short…semantics. Whether one calls a natural phenomena wind or the wind god - Vayu - one is speaking of the same thing.
Yet it seems that having a spiritual foundation not only brought out important discoveries still in use today, but these discoveries also were helpful without causing harm or destruction.
In fact this article will cite the origins of some amazing and here-to-for mis-credited discoveries as coming from India. Some examples include so-called Arabic numerals, the concept of the zero, so-called Pythagorean theory, surgery and more. It may seem astonishing, but the ancient texts are there to show the thinking and writing of these great Indian thinkers.
Why is India not credited? It seems that in the West we have a condescending, Euro- or Greco-centric view that civilizations older than Greece were uncivilized barbarians. This notion was further melded into our collective psyche through Hollywood's portrayal of ancient cultures. One only has to look at old Tarzan movies to see ancient tribes shown as barbaric, superstitious idol worshipping people. Tarzan himself was shown to be a non-speaking animal-like person. In fact, in the original books, Tarzan was a well-educated and highly eloquent speaker.
Chauvinistic misrepresentation exists even today. Nearly every book written on the history of mathematics is equally biased. The one bright spot is the Crest of the Peacock. Even this year, during the recent Hindu festival, the Kumbha Mela - the largest human gathering in history (70 million people) the modern-day press mainly reported on the most negative aspects of the event.
It was not credited as the largest gathering, nor was it pointed out that for 1 week, the area was the worlds largest city (larger population than London, Tehran, Rio, Paris, Chicago, Beijing, Hyderabad and Johannesburg put together). Virtually no one spoke of the sacredness of the event, the hardships people endured for this holy event. Further, the whole event went off without a hitch - adequate food, water, electricity - a marvel by any standards. There were more than 13,000 tons of flour, 7,800 tons of rice, 20,000 public toilets, 12 hospitals, 35 electric power centers, 20,000 police, 1,090 fire hydrants and much more.
Rarely was an ardent devotee interviewed or photographed. Instead reporters and cameramen only focused on the minority elements - naked sadhus smoking ganja (marijuana) and implying prayers were to some lesser god. But it sells newspapers and TV news. In truth, the Indian media showed an equal amount of bias and lack of cultural pride. In short the media still portrays India in a deeply condescending manner.
But I digress. The point is that westerners have been brought up for decades incorrectly viewing ancient civilizations as intellectually and culturally inferior to modern man. So it is no surprise to be surprised in learning some of the greatest discoveries not only came from India, but from ancient India. It shakes the very foundations of prejudicial beliefs. Here are but a few examples of India's enlightened thinkers.
Amazing Science
(Saints and Science)
By Swami Sada Shiva Tirtha
Cosmology & psychology
According to India's ancient texts, around 3000 BCE sage Kapil founded both cosmology and psychology. He shed light on the Soul, the subtle elements of matter and creation. His main idea was that essential nature (prakrti) comes from the eternal (purusha) to develop all of creation. No deeper a view of the cosmos has ever been developed. Further, his philosophy of Sankhya philosophy also covered the secret levels of the psyche, including mind, intellect and ego, and how they relate to the Soul or Atma.
Medicine (Ayurveda), Aviation
Around 800 BCE Sage Bharadwaj, was both the father of modern medicine, teaching Ayurveda, and also the developer of aviation technology. He wrote the Yantra Sarvasva, which covers astonishing discoveries in aviation and space sciences, and flying machines - well before Leonardo DaVinchi's time. Some of his flying machines were reported to fly around the earth, from the earth to other planets, and between universes. His designs and descriptions have left a huge impression on modern-day aviation engineers. He also discussed how to make these flying machines invisible by using sun and wind force. There are much more fascinating insights discovered by sage Bharadwaj.
Medicine, Surgery, paediatrics, gynaecology. anatomy,
physiology, pharmacology, embryology, blood circulation
Around this era and through 400 BCE many great developments occurred. In the field of medicine (Ayurveda), sage Divodasa Dhanwantari developed the school of surgery; Rishi Kashyap developed the specialized fields of paediatrics and gynaecology. Lord Atreya, author of the one of the main Ayurvedic texts, the Charak Samhita, classified the principles of anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, embryology, blood circulation and more. He discussed how to heal thousands of diseases, many of which modern science still has no answer. Along with herbs, diet and lifestyle, Atreya showed a correlation between mind, body, spirit and ethics. He outlined a charter of ethics centuries before the Hippocratic oath.
Rhinoplasty, amputation, caesarean and
cranial surgeries, anesthesia, antibiotic herbs
While Lord Atreya is recognized for his contribution to medicine, sage Sushrut is known as the "Father of surgery". Even modern science recognizes India as the first country to develop and use rhinoplasty (developed by Sushrut). He also practiced amputation, caesarean and cranial surgeries, and developed 125 surgical instruments including scalpels, lancets, and needles.
Lord Atreya - author of Charak Samhita. Circa 8th - 6th century
BCE. Perhaps the most referred to Rishi/physician today The Charak Samhita was the first compilation of all aspects of ayurvedic medicine including diagnoses, cures, anatomy, embryology, pharmacology, and blood circulation (excluding surgery).
He wrote about causes and cures for diabetes, TB, and heart diseases. At that time, European medicine had no idea of these ideas. In fact, even today many of these disease causes and cures are still unknown to modern allopathic medicine.
Other unique quality of Ayurveda is that it uncovers and cures
the root cause of illness, it is safe, gentle and inexpensive, it
sees 6 stages of disease development (where modern medicine only sees the last two stages), it treats people in a personalized manner according to their dosha or constitution and not in any generic manner.
Further, Ayurveda being the science of 'life', Atrea was quick to emphasize, proper nutrition according to dosha, and perhaps
above all else, that there was a mind/body/soul relationship
and that the root cause of all diseases and the best medicine
for all conditions is spiritual and ethical life.
Rishi Sushrut is known as the father of surgery & author of
Sushrut Samhita. Circa 5 - 4th century BCE. He is credited
with performing the world's first rhinoplasty, using anesthesia
and plastic surgery. He used surgical instruments - many of
them look similar to instruments used today; and discussed
more than 300 types of surgical operations. One of the
Ayurvedic surgical practices being used today in India involves dipping sutures into antibiotic herbs so when sewed into the person, the scar heals quicker and prevent infection. The modern surgical world owes a great debt to this great surgical sage.
[Note; The following institution offers more
knowledge on the subject of Ayurveda]
Ayurveda Holistic Center & School of Ayurveda
2-Year Certification & Ph.D. programs
Read the Ayurveda Encyclopaedia
http://ayurvedahc.com
Atomic theory
Sage Kanad (circa 600 BCE) is recognized as the founder of atomic theory, and classified all the objects of creation into nine elements (earth, water, light or fire, wind, ether, time, space, mind and soul). He stated that every object in creation is made of atoms that in turn connect with each other to form molecules nearly 2,500 years before John Dalton. Further, Kanad described the dimension and motion of atoms, and the chemical reaction with one another. The eminent historian, T.N. Colebrook said, "Compared to scientists of Europe, Kanad and other Indian scientists were the global masters in this field."
Chemistry alchemical metals
In the field of chemistry alchemical metals were developed for medicinal uses by sage Nagarjuna. He wrote many famous books including Ras Ratnakar, which is still used in India's Ayurvedic colleges today. By carefully burning metals like iron, tin, copper, etc. into ash, removing the toxic elements, these metals produce quick and profound healing in the most difficult diseases.
Astronomy and mathematics
Sage Aryabhatt (b. 476 CE) wrote texts on astronomy and mathematics. He formulated the process of calculating the motion of planets and the time of eclipses. Aryabhatt was the first to proclaim the earth was round, rotating on an axis, orbiting the sun and suspended in space. This was around 1,000 years before Copernicus. He was a geometry genius credited with calculating pi to four decimal places, developing the trigonomic sine table and the area of a triangle. Perhaps his most important contribution was the concept of the zero. Details are found in Shulva sutra. Other sages of mathematics include Baudhayana, Katyayana, and Apastamba.
Astronomy, geography, constellation
science, botany and animal science.
Varahamihr (499 - 587 CE) was another eminent astronomer. In his book, Panschsiddhant, he noted that the moon and planets shine due to the sun. Many of his other contributions captured in his books Bruhad Samhita and Bruhad Jatak, were in the fields of geography, constellation science, botany and animal science. For example he presented cures for various diseases of plants and trees.
Knowledge of botany (Vrksh-Ayurveda) dates back more than 5,000 years, discussed in India's Rig Veda. Sage Parashara (100 BCE) is called the "father of botany" because he classified flowering plants into various families, nearly 2,000 years before Lannaeus (the modern father of taxonomy). Parashara described plant cells - the outer and inner walls, sap color-matter and something not visible to the eye - anvasva. Nearly 2,000 years -later Robert Hooke, using a microscope described the outer and inner wall and sap color-matter.
Algebra, arithmetic and geometry, planetary positions, eclipses,
cosmography, and mathematical techniques. force of gravity
In the field of mathematics, Bhaskaracharya II (1114 - 1183 CE) contributed to the fields of algebra, arithmetic and geometry. Two of his most well known books are Lilavati and Bijaganita, which are translated in several languages of the world. In his book, Siddhant Shiromani, he expounds on planetary positions, eclipses, cosmography, and mathematical techniques. Another of his books, Surya Siddhant discusses the force of gravity, 500 years before Sir Isaac Newton. Sage Sridharacharya developed the quadratic equation around 991 CE.
The Decimal
Ancient India invented the decimal scale using base 10. They number-names to denote numbers. In the 9th century CE, an Arab mathematician, Al-Khwarizmi, learned Sanskrit and wrote a book explaining the Hindu system of numeration. In the 12th century CE
the book was translated into Latin. The British used this numerical system and credited the Arabs - mislabelling it 'Arabic numerals'. "We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made." - Albert Einstein.
Metallurgy
India was the world-leader in Metallurgy for more than 5,000 years. Gold jewellery is available from 3,000 BCE. Brass and bronze pieces are dated back to 1,300 BCE. Extraction of zinc from ore by distillation was used in India as early as 400 BCE while European William Campion patented the process some 2,000 years later. Copper statues can be dated back to 500 CE. There is an iron pillar in Delhi dating back to 400 CE that shows no sign of rust or decay.
There are two unique aspects to India's ancient scientists. First their discoveries are in use today as some of the most important aspects of their field; and are validated by modern technological machines. Second, their discoveries brought peace and prosperity rather than the harm and destruction of many of our modern discoveries.
Due to their intense spiritual life, they developed such power of discrimination (vivek). Spirituality gives helpful direction and science brings speed. With a core of spirituality, modern scientists' discoveries can quickly bring only helpful ideas to help humanity. While Einstein is credited with the idea that one can travel faster than the speed of light, it was written about centuries before in the ancient Vedic literature. Perhaps it was Einstein's association with the famed Indian physicist, Bose that led to his introduction to the views about the speed of light. Through deep meditation and reading the ancient Vedic texts, who knows what our modern-day scientists will discover?
There are two points here, the first is that India should be proud of its amazing achievements and be properly credited, and second is that India leaves a blueprint, compass and map for how to develop safe and helpful discoveries for the future betterment of mankind.
Sources:
Ayurveda Encyclopedia
Swami Sadashiva Tirtha. AHC Press 1988
Vedic Mathematics
Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Sri Bharati Krsna
Tirthaji Maharaj. Motilal Banarsidass 1988
The Crest of the Peacock
George G. Joseph. I.B. Taurist Co, London 1991
Indian Astronomy & Mathematics
O.P. Jaggi. Atma Ram & Sons, Delhi 1986
Surya Siddhanta
Reb. E Burgess translator. Swaran Press. Delhi 1977
http://www.swaminarayan.org
Hinduism Today magazine May/June 2001
www.hinduismtoday.com
Samskrita Bharati
www.hindunet.org/sanskrit
© Copyright 2001, Ayurveda Holistic Center.
All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Swami Sadashiva Tirtha, D.Sc. is the founder of the Ayurveda Holistic
Center & the Swami Narayan Tirtha Math in US. For free monthly
e-newsletter, free article library, meditation room, dosha test and
much more, visit his website: http://ayurvedahc.com
______________________________________________
Amazing Science (Part 2)
From The Mahabharata, Santi Parva Section XV
Bacteria -Viruses, Physiology, Science of Speech
Bacteria- Viruses
This mobile and immobile universe is food for living creatures.
This has been ordained by the gods. The very ascetics cannot support their lives without killing creatures. In water, on earth, and fruits, there are innumerable creatures. It is not true that one does not slaughter them. What higher duty is there than supporting one's life? There are many creatures that are so minute that their existence can only be inferred. With the falling of the the eyelids alone, they are destroyed.
Physiology
From The Mahabharata, Santi Parva, Section CCCXXI
Reproduced from Page 'Empty Chamber'
The constituent elements of the body, which serve diverse
functions in the general economy, undergo change every
moment in every creature. Those changes, however, are so
minute that they cannot be noticed. The birth of particles,
and their death, in each successive condition, cannot be
marked, O king, even as one cannot mark the changes in
the flame of a burning lamp. When such is the state of the
bodies of all creatures, - that is when that which is called
the body is changing incessantly even like the rapid
locomotion of a steed of good mettle- who then has come
whence or not whence, or whose is it or whose is it not,
or whence does it not arise? What connection does there
exist between creatures and their own bodies?
[Note: The fact of continual change of particles in the body
was well known to the Hindu sages. This discovery is not new
of modern physiology. Elsewhere it has been shown that
Harvey’s great discovery about the circulation of the blood
was not unknown to the Rishis.
The instance mentioned for illustrating the change of corporal particles is certainly a very apt and happy one. The flame of a burning lamp, though perfectly steady (as in a breezeless spot), is really the result of the successive combustion of particles of oil and the successive extinguishments of such combustion.]
Science of Speech
From The Mahabharata, Santi Parva, Section CCCXXI
Sulabha said: O king, speech ought always to be free from
the nine verbal faults and the nine faults of judgment. It should
also, while setting forth the meaning with perspicuity, be
possessed of the eighteen well-known merits.
To read the full text click here > Speech - Science
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From The Chhandogya Upanishad
XVIII. vii. 23-26
1.
Narada approached Sanatkumara and said: “Sir, teach me.”
“Come and tell me what you know,” he replied, “and then I will teach you what is beyond that.”
2.
“Sir, I know the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda and Atharvan the fourth; and also the Itihasa-Purana as the fifth. I know the Veda of the Vedas (viz., grammar), the rules for the propitiation of the Pitris (ancestors), the science of numbers, the science of portents, the science of time, the science of logic, ethics and politics, the science of the gods, the science of scriptural studies, the science of the elemental science, the science of weapons, the science of the stars, the science of snake-charming and the fine arts – all these, Sir, I know,”
3.
“But, Sir, with all these I am only a knower of words, not a knower of the Self. I have heard from holy men like you that he who knows the Self crosses over sorrow. I am in sorrow. Do, Sir, help me to cross over to the other side of sorrow.”
4.
To him he then said: “Verily, whatever you have learned here is only a name.
“That which is Infinite – that, indeed, is happiness. There is no happiness in anything that is finite. The Infinite alone is
happiness. But this Infinite one must desire to understand.”
___________________________________
Amazing Science (Part 3)
The following topics are researched and the text written by
Sadhu Brahmaviharidas
AARSH - Akshardham Centre for Applied Research in Social Harmony
Taxila University (The world's first university), Mathematics, Zero, the most
powerful tool, Geometry, The value of Pi in India, Pythagorean Theorem or
Baudhayana Theorem? Raising 10 to the power of 53, Astronomy, The
Law of Gravity- 1200 years before Newton, Measurement of Time, Plastic
surgery in India 2600 years old, 125 types of surgical instruments, 300
different operations, India's contributions acknowledged by historians and
scholars
Appendix
The Ruins of Nalanda University
University (The world’s first university)
Takshashila (Taxila)
Around 2700 years ago, as early as 700 BCE there existed
a giant University at Takshashila, located in the northwest
region of India.
Not only Indians but also students from as far as Babylonia,
Greece, Syria, Arabia and China came to study.
68 different streams of knowledge were on the syllabus.
Experienced masters taught a wide range of subjects.
Vedas, Language, Grammar, Philosophy, Medicine, Surgery, Archery, Politics, Warfare, Astronomy, Accounts, commerce, Futurology, Documentation, Occult, Music, Dance, The art of discovering hidden treasures, etc.
The minimum entrance age was 16 and there were 10,500
students.
The panel of Masters included renowned names like Kautilya,
Panini, Jivak and Vishnu Sharma.
__________________________________________
Taxila University
Takshashila, (later corrupted as Taxila),one of the topmost centers of
education at that time in India became Chanakya’s breeding ground of
acquiring knowledge in the practical and theoretical aspect. The teachers were highly knowledgeable who used to teach sons of kings. It is said that a certain teacher had 101 students and all of them were princes! The niversity at Taxila was well versed in teaching the subjects using the best of practical knowledge acquired by the teachers. The age of entering the university was sixteen. The branches of studies most sought after in around India ranged from law, medicine, warfare and other indigenous forms of learning. The four Vedas, archery, hunting, elephant-lore and 18 arts were taught at the university of Taxila. So prominent was the place where Chanakya received his education that it goes to show the making of the genius. The very requirements of admission filtered out the outlawed and people with lesser credentials.
At a time when the Dark Ages were looming large, the existence of a
university of Taxila’s grandeur really makes India stand apart way ahead
of the European countries who struggled with ignorance and total information blackout. For the Indian subcontinent Taxila stood as a light house of higher knowledge and pride of India. In the present day world, Taxila is situated in Pakistan at a place called Rawalpindi. The university accommodated more than 10,000 students at a time. The university offered courses spanning a period of more than eight years. The students were admitted after graduating from their own countries. Aspiring students opted for elective subjects going for in depth studies in specialized branches of learning. After graduating from the university, the students are recognized as the best scholars in the subcontinent. It became a cultural heritage as time passed. Taxila was the junction where people of different origins mingled with each other and exchanged knowledge of their countries.
The university was famous as "Taxila" university, named after the city
where it was situated. The king and rich people of the region used to donate lavishly for the development of the university. In the religious scriptures also, Taxila is mentioned as the place where the king of snakes, Vasuki selected Taxila for the dissemination of knowledge on earth.
Here it would be essential to mention briefly the range of subjects taught in the university of Taxila. (1) Science, (2) Philosophy, (3) Ayurveda, (4) Grammar of various languages, (5) Mathematics, (6) Economics, (7) Astrology, (8) Geography, (9) Astronomy, (10) Surgical science, (11) Agricultural sciences, (12) Archery and Ancient and Modern Sciences.
The university also used to conduct researches on various subjects.
Related articles
Chanakya - Nitishastra
See also Appendix to this page
The Ruins of Nalanda University, Bihar, India
A Buddhist University, 5th Century
Mathematics
Zero –The Most Powerful Tool
India invented the Zero, without which there would be no binary system. No computers! Counting would be clumsy and
cumbersome! The earliest recorded date, an inscription of Zero on Sankheda Copper Plate was found in Gujarat, India (585-586 CE). In Brahma-Phuta-Siddhanta of Brahmagupta (7th century CE), the Zero is lucidly explained and was rendered into Arabic books around 770 CE. From these it was carried to Europe in the 8th century. However, the concept of Zero is referred to as Shunya in the early Sanskrit texts of the 4th century BCE and clearly explained in Pingala’s Sutra of the 2nd century.
Geometry
Invention of Geometry
The word Geometry seems to have emerged from the Indian word ‘Gyaamiti’ which means measuring the Earth (land). And the word Trigonometry is similar to ‘Trikonamiti’ meaning measuring triangular forms. Euclid is credited with the invention of Geometry in 300 BCE while the concept of Geometry in India emerged in 1000 BCE, from the practice of making fire altars in square and rectangular shapes. The treatise of Surya Siddhanta (4th century CE) describes amazing details of Trigonometry, which were introduced to Europe 1200 years later in the 16th century by Briggs.
The Value of PI in India
The ratio of the circumference and the diameter of a circle are known as Pi, which gives its value as 3,1428571. The old Sanskrit text Baudhayana Shulba Sutra of the 6th century BCE mentions this ratio as approximately equal to 3. Aryabhatta in 499, CE worked the value of Pi to the fourth decimal place as 3.1416. Centuries later, in 825 CE Arab mathematician Mohammed Ibna Musa says that "This value has been given by the Hindus (Indians)".
Pythagorean Theorem or Baudhayana Theorem?
The so-called Pythagoras Theorem – the square of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle equals the sum of the square of the two sides – was worked out earlier in India by Baudhayana in Baudhayana Sulba Sutra. He describes: "The area produced by the diagonal of a rectangle is equal to the sum of the area produced by it on two sides."
[Note: Greek writers attributed the theorem of Euclid to Pythagoras]
Mathematics
The Decimal
100BCE the Decimal system flourished in India
"It was India that gave us the ingenious method of expressing all numbers by means of ten symbols (Decimal System)….a profound and important idea which escaped the genius of Archimedes and Apollonius, two of the greatest men produced by antiquity."
-La Place
Raising 10 to the Power of 53
The highest prefix used for raising 10 to a power in today’s maths is ‘D’ for 10 to a power of 30 (from Greek Deca). While, as early as 100 BCE Indian Mathematicians had exact names for figures upto 10 to the power of 53.
ekam =1
dashakam =10
shatam =100 (10 to the power of 10)
sahasram =1000 (10 power of 3)
dashasahasram =10000 (10 power of 4)
lakshaha =100000 (10 power of 5)
dashalakshaha =1000000 (10 power of 6)
kotihi =10000000 (10 power of 7)
ayutam =1000000000 (10 power of 9)
niyutam = (10 power of 11)
kankaram = (10 power of 13)
vivaram = (10 power of 15)
paraardhaha = (10 power of 17)
nivahaaha = (10 power of 19)
utsangaha = (10 power of 21)
bahulam = (10 power of 23)
naagbaalaha = (10 power of 25)
titilambam = (10 power of 27)
vyavasthaana
pragnaptihi = (10 power of 29)
hetuheelam = (10 power of 31)
karahuhu = (10 power of 33)
hetvindreeyam = (10 power of 35)
samaapta lambhaha = (10 power of 37)
gananaagatihi) = (10 power of 39)
niravadyam = (10 power of 41)
mudraabaalam = (10 power of 43)
sarvabaalam = (10 power of 45)
vishamagnagatihi = (10 power of 47)
sarvagnaha = (10 power of 49)
vibhutangamaa = (10 power of 51)
tallaakshanam = (10 power of 53)
(In Anuyogdwaar Sutra written in 100 BCE one
numeral is raised as high as 10 to the power of 140).
Astronomy
Indian astronomers have been
mapping the skies for 3500 years.
1000 Years Before Copernicus
Copernicus published his theory of the revolution of the Earth in 1543. A thousand years before him, Aryabhatta in 5th century (400-500 CE) stated that the Earth revolves around the sun, "just as a person travelling in a boat feels that the trees on the bank are moving, people on earth feel that the sun is moving". In his treatise Aryabhatteeam, he clearly states that our earth is round, it rotates on its axis, orbits the sun and is suspended in space and explains that lunar and solar eclipses occur by the interplay of the sun, the moon and the earth.
The Law of Gravity - 1200 Years Before Newton
The Law of Gravity was known to the ancient Indian astronomer Bhaskaracharya. In his Surya Siddhanta, he notes:
"Objects fall on earth due to a force of attraction by the earth. therefore, the earth, the planets, constellations, the moon and the sun are held in orbit due to this attraction".
It was not until the late 17th century in 1687, 1200 years later, that Sir Isaac Newton rediscovered the Law of Gravity.
Measurement of Time
In Surya Siddhanta, Bhaskaracharya calculates the time taken for the earth to orbit the sun to 9 decimal places.
Bhaskaracharya = 365.258756484 days.
Modern accepted measurement = 365.2596 days.
Between Bhaskaracharya’s ancient measurement 1500 years ago and the modern measurement the difference is only 0.00085 days, only 0.0002%.
34000TH of a Second to 4.32 Billion Years
India has given the idea of the smallest and the largest measure of time.
Krati Krati = 34,000th of a second
1 Truti = 300th of a second
2 Truti = 1 Luv
2 Luv = 1 Kshana
30 Kshana = 1 Vipal
60 Vipal = 1 Pal
60 Pal = 1 Ghadi (24 minutes)
2.5 Gadhi = 1 Hora (1 hour)
24 Hora = 1 Divas (1 day)
7 Divas = 1 saptaah (1 week)
4 Saptaah = 1 Maas (1 month)
2 Maas = 1 Rutu (1 season)
6 Rutu = 1 Varsh (1 year)
100 Varsh = 1 Shataabda (1 century)
10 Shataabda = 1 sahasraabda
432 Sahasraabda = 1 Yug (Kaliyug)
2 Yug = 1 Dwaaparyug
3 Yug = 1 Tretaayug
4 Yug = 1 Krutayug
10 Yug = 1 Mahaayug (4,320,000 years)
1000 Mahaayug = 1 Kalpa
1 Kalpa = 4.32 billion years
Plastic Surgery In India 2600 Years Old
Shushruta, known as the father of surgery, practised his skill as early as 600 BCE. He used cheek skin to perform plastic surgery to restore or reshape the nose, ears and lips with incredible results. Modern plastic surgery acknowledges his contributions by calling this method of rhinoplasty as the Indian method.
125 Types Of Surgical Instruments
"The Hindus (Indians) were so advanced in surgery that their instruments could cut a hair longitudinally".
MRS Plunket
Shushruta worked with 125 kinds of surgical instruments, which included scalpels, lancets, needles, catheters, rectal speculums, mostly conceived from jaws of animals and birds to obtain the necessary grips. He also defined various methods of stitching: the use of horse’s hair, fine thread, fibres of bark, goat’s guts and ant’s heads.
300 Different Operations
Shushruta describes the details of more than 300 operations and 42 surgical processes. In his compendium Shushruta Samhita he minutely classifies surgery into 8 types:
Aharyam = extracting solid bodies
Bhedyam = excision
Chhedyam = incision
Aeshyam = probing
Lekhyam = scarification
Vedhyam = puncturing
Visraavyam = evacuating fluids
Sivyam = suturing
The ancient Indians were also the first to perform amputation, caesarean surgery and cranial surgery. For rhinoplasty, Shushruta first measured the damaged nose, skilfully sliced off skin from the cheek and sutured the nose. He then placed medicated cotton pads to heal the operation.
India’s Contributions Acknowledged
Contributions
"It is true that even across the Himalayan barrier India has sent to the west, such gifts as grammar and logic, philosophy and fables, hypnotism and chess, and above all numerals and the decimal system."
Will Durant (American Historian, 1885-1981)
Language
"The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of wonderful structure, more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin and more exquisitely refined than either".
Sir William Jones (British Orientalist, 1746-1794)
Philosophy
~If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point out to India".
Max Muller (German Scholar, 1823-1900
Religion
"There can no longer be any real doubt that both Islam and Christianity owe the foundations of both their mystical and their scientific achievements to Indian initiatives".
- Philip Rawson (British Orientalist)
Atomic Physics
"After the conversations about Indian philosophy, some of the ideas of Quantum Physics that had seemed so crazy suddenly made much more sense".
W. Heisenberg (German Physicist, 1901-1976)
Surgery
"The surgery of the ancient Indian physicians was bold and skilful. A special branch of surgery was devoted to rhinoplasty or operations for improving deformed ears, noses and forming new ones, which European surgeons have now borrowed".
Sir W.Hunter (British Surgeon, 1718-1783)
Literature
"In the great books of India, an Empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the questions that exercises us".
- R.W.Emerson (American Essayist, 1803-1882)
Panini's grammar has been evaluated from various points of view. After all these different evaluations, I think that the grammar merits asserting ... that it is one of the greatest monuments of human intelligence.
- An evaluation of Panini's contribution by Cardona
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Amazing Science (Part 4)
By J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
Grammar, Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology
Sanskrit was the classical literary language of the Indian
Hindus and Panini is considered the founder of the
language and literature.
Grammar
Phonetics, Phonology, and Morphology
Panini
Article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
School of Mathematics and Statistics
University of St Andrews, Scotland
Born: about 520 BC in Shalatula (near Attock),
now Pakistan Died: about 460 BC in India
Panini was born in Shalatula, a town near to Attock on the Indus river in present day Pakistan. The dates given for Panini are pure guesses. Experts give dates in the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th century BC and there is also no agreement among historians about the extent of the work which he undertook. What is in little doubt is that, given the period in which he worked, he is one of the most innovative people in the whole development of knowledge. We will say a little more below about how historians have gone about trying to pinpoint the date when Panini lived.
Panini was a Sanskrit grammarian who gave a comprehensive and scientific theory of phonetics, phonology, and morphology. Sanskrit was the classical literary language of the Indian Hindus and Panini is considered the founder of the language and literature. It is interesting to note that the word "Sanskrit" means "complete" or "perfect" and it was thought of as the divine language, or language of the gods.
A treatise called Astadhyayi (or Astaka ) is Panini's major work. It consists of eight chapters, each subdivided into quarter chapters. In this work Panini distinguishes between the language of sacred texts and the usual language of communication. Panini gives formal production rules and definitions to describe Sanskrit grammar. Starting with about 1700 basic elements like nouns, verbs, vowels, consonants he put them into classes. The construction of sentences, compound nouns etc. is explained as ordered rules operating on underlying structures in a manner similar to modern theory. In many ways Panini's constructions are similar to the way that a mathematical function is defined today. Joseph writes in [2]:-
Sanskrit's potential for scientific use was greatly enhanced as a result of the thorough systemisation of its grammar by Panini. ... On the basis of just under 4000 sutras [rules expressed as aphorisms], he built virtually the whole structure of the Sanskrit language, whose general 'shape' hardly changed for the next two thousand years. ... An indirect consequence of Panini's efforts to increase the linguistic facility of Sanskrit soon became apparent in the character of scientific and mathematical literature.
Joseph goes on to make a convincing argument for the algebraic nature of Indian mathematics arising as a consequence of the structure of the Sanskrit language. In particular he suggests that algebraic reasoning, the Indian way of representing numbers by words, and ultimately the development of modern number systems in India, are linked Panini should be thought of as the forerunner of the modern formal language theory used to specify computer languages. The Backus Normal Form was discovered independently by John BACKUS in 1959, but Panini's notation is equivalent in its power to that of BACKUS and has many similar properties. It is remarkable to think that concepts which are fundamental to today's theoretical computer science should have their origin with an Indian genius around 2500 years ago.
At the beginning of this article we mentioned that certain concepts had been attributed to Panini by certain historians which others dispute. One such theory was put forward by B Indraji in 1876. He claimed that the Brahmi numerals developed out of using letters or syllables as numerals. Then he put the finishing touches to the theory by suggesting that Panini in the eighth century BC (earlier than most historians place Panini) was the first to come up with the idea of using letters of the alphabet to represent numbers.
There are a number of pieces of evidence to support Indraji's theory that the Brahmi numerals developed from letters or syllables. However it is not totally convincing since, to quote one example, the symbols for 1, 2 and 3 clearly don't come from letters but from one, two and three lines respectively. Even if one accepts the link between the numerals and the letters, making Panini the originator of this idea would seem to have no more behind it than knowing that Panini was one of the most innovative geniuses that world has known so it is not unreasonable to believe that he might have made this step too.
There are other works which are closely associated with the Astadhyayi which some historians attribute to Panini, others attribute to authors before Panini, others attribute to authors after Panini. This is an area where there are many theories but few, if any, hard facts.
We also promised to return to a discussion of Panini's dates. There has been no lack of work on this topic so the fact that there are theories which span several hundreds of years is not the result of lack of effort, rather an indication of the difficulty of the topic. The usual way to date such texts would be to examine which authors are referred to and which authors refer to the work. One can use this technique and see who Panini mentions.
There are ten scholars mentioned by Panini and we must assume from the context that these ten have all contributed to the study of Sanskrit grammar. This in itself, of course, indicates that Panini was not a solitary genius but, like Newton, had "stood on the shoulders of giants". Now Panini must have lived later than these ten but this is absolutely no help in providing dates since we have absolutely no knowledge of when any of these ten lived.
What other internal evidence is there to use? Well of course Panini uses many phrases to illustrate his grammar and these have been examined meticulously to see if anything is contained there to indicate a date. To give an example of what we mean: if we were to pick up a text which contained as an example "I take the train to work every day" we would know that it had to have been written after railways became common. Let us illustrate with two actual examples from the Astadhyayi which have been the subject of much study. The first is an attempt to see whether there is evidence of Greek influence. Would it be possible to find evidence which would mean that the text had to have been written after the conquests of Alexander the Great? There is a little evidence of Greek influence, but there was Greek influence on this north east part of the Indian subcontinent before the time of Alexander. Nothing conclusive has been identified.
Another angle is to examine a reference Panini makes to nuns. now some argue that these must be Buddhist nuns and therefore the work must have been written after Buddha. A nice argument but there is a counter argument which says that there were Jaina nuns before the time of Buddha and Panini's reference could equally well be to them. Again the evidence is inconclusive.
There are references by others to Panini. However it would appear that the Panini to whom most refer is a poet and although some argue that these are the same person, most historians agree that the linguist and the poet are two different people. Again this is inconclusive evidence.
Let us end with an evaluation of Panini's contribution by Cardona in [1]:-
Panini's grammar has been evaluated from various points of view. After all these different evaluations, I think that the grammar merits asserting ... that it is one of the greatest monuments of human intelligence.
Article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
School of Mathematics and Statistics
University of St Andrews, Scotland
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Mathematicians/Panini.html
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"Panini, famous grammarian of the Sanskrit language, lived in India some time between the 7th and the 4th centuries B.C. Following in the steps of the Brahmi alphabet makers, he became the most renowned of the grammarians. His work on Sanskrit, with its 4,168 rules, is outstanding for its highly systematic methods of analyzing and describing language.
The birth of linguistic science in Western Europe in the 19th century was due largely to the European discovery of Panini's Sanskrit grammar, making linguistics a science.
The modern science of linguistics is the basis for producing alphabets for languages yet unwritten today."
JAARS Alphabet Museum
Box 248
Waxhaw, NC 28173
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Panini's grammar (6th century BCE or earlier) provides 4,000 rules that describe the Sanskrit of his day completely. This grammar is acknowledged to be one of the greatest intellectual achievements of all time. The great variety of language mirrors, in many ways, the complexity of nature and, therefore, success in describing a language is as impressive as a complete theory of physics. It is remarkable that Panini set out to describe the entire grammar in terms of a finite number of rules. Scholars have shown that the grammar of Panini represents a universal grammatical and computing system. From this perspective it anticipates the logical framework of modern computers. One may speak of a Panini machine as a model for the most powerful computing system.
Source: Staal, F. 1988. Universals. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Related articles
Aryan Language Family
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Panini was a Sanskrit grammarian who gave a comprehensive and scientific theory of phonetics, phonology, and morphology. Sanskrit was the classical literary language of the Indian Hindus.
In a treatise called Astadhyayi Panini distinguishes between the language of sacred texts and the usual language of communication. Panini gives formal production rules and definitions to describe Sanskrit grammar. The construction of sentences, compound nouns etc. is explained as ordered rules operating on underlying structures in a manner similar to modern theory.
Panini should be thought of as the forerunner of the modern formal language theory used to specify computer languages. The Backus Normal Form was discovered independently by John Backus in 1959, but Panini's notation is equivalent in its power to that of Backus and has many similar properties.
http://history.math.csusb.edu/Mathematicians/Panini.html
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Amazing Science (Part 6)
The Kautiliya Arthasastra
Minerals and Metals and Ethnobiological Information
The Iron Pillar that Does Not Rust
The Kautiliya Arthasastra
Minerals and Metals and Ethnobiological
Information in Kautilya's Arthasastra
It is surprising that even in the I Millennium BC, they had
developed an elaborate terminology for different metals,
minerals and alloys. Brass (arakuta) was known, so also
steel (vrattu), bronze (kamsa), bell-metal (tala) was an
alloy of copper with arsenic, but tin-copper alloy was
known as trapu. A bewildering variety of jewellery was
also classified and given distinctive names.
Information and instructions about various other aspects
of social life, including man's relationship with animals
and plants.
Ethnobiological Information contained in the Arthasastra.
It deals with forests, plants, animals, animal husbandry
including veterinary suggestions, agriculture medicinal-
industrial commercial importance and application of flora
and fauna, and the uses of plants and animals in biological
and chemical warfare, besides weapon making and other
military uses.
The Kautiliya Arthasastra, a Sanskrit work of the c. 4th century B.C., is more known for its contents on politics and statecraft. But the book contains information and instructions about various other aspects of social life, including man's relationship with animals and plants. The present monograph of Prof. P. Sensarma is an excellent treatise in lucid English on the Ethnobiological Information contained in the Arthasastra. It deals with forests, plants, animals, animal husbandry including veterinary suggestions, agriculture medicinal-industrial commercial importance and application of flora and fauna, and the uses of plants and animals in biological and chemical warfare, besides weapon making and other military uses.
Minerals and Metals
1600 years old Iron Pillar that does not rust
The Corrosion Resistant Iron Pillar of Delhi
The pillar—over seven metres high and weighing more than
six tonnes—was erected by Kumara Gupta of Gupta
dynasty that ruled northern India in AD 320-540.
Press Trust of India
The Indian Express 26 January 2004
Experts at the Indian Institute of Technology have resolved the mystery behind the 1,600-year-old iron pillar in Delhi, which has never corroded despite the capital's harsh Metallurgists at Kanpur IIT have discovered that a thin layer of "misawite", a compound of iron, oxygen and hydrogen, has protected the cast iron pillar from rust.
The protective film took form within three years after erection of the pillar and has been growing ever so slowly since then. After 1,600 years, the film has grown just one-twentieth of a millimeter thick, according to
R. Balasubramaniam of the IIT.
In a report published in the journal Current Science Balasubramanian says, the protective film was formed catalytically by the presence of high amounts of phosphorous in the iron—as much as one per cent against less than 0.05 per cent in today's iron.
The high phosphorous content is a result of the unique iron-making process practiced by ancient Indians, who reduced iron ore into steel in one step by mixing it with charcoal.
Modern blast furnaces, on the other hand, use limestone in place of charcoal yielding molten slag and pig iron that is later converted into steel. In the modern process most phosphorous is carried away by the slag.
The pillar—over seven metres high and weighing more than six tonnes—was erected by Kumara Gupta of Gupta dynasty that ruled northern India in AD 320-540.
Stating that the pillar is "a living testimony to the skill of metallurgists of ancient India", Balasubramaniam said the "kinetic scheme" that his group developed for predicting growth of the protective film may be useful for modeling long-term corrosion behaviour of containers for nuclear storage applications
The Delhi iron pillar is testimony to the high level of skill achieved by ancient Indian iron smiths in the extraction and processing of iron. The iron pillar at Delhi has attracted the attention of archaeologists and corrosion technologists as it has withstood corrosion for the last 1600 years.
http://www.iitk.ac.in/infocell/Archive/dirnov1/iron_pillar.html
Minerals and Metals in Kautilya's Arthasastra
It is interesting to note that Kautilya prescribes that the state should carry out most of the businesses, including mining. No private enterprise for Kautilya! One is amazed at the breadth of Kautilya's knowledge. Though primarily it is treatise on statecraft, it gives detailed descriptions and instructions on geology, agriculture, animal husbandry, metrology etc. Its encyclopedic in its coverage and indicates that all these sciences were quite developed and systematized in India even 2500 years ago. It is surprising that even in the I Millennium BC, they had developed an elaborate terminology for different metals, minerals and alloys. Brass (arakuta) was known, so also steel (vrattu), bronze (kamsa), bell-metal (tala) was an alloy of copper with arsenic, but tin-copper alloy was known as trapu. A bewildering variety of jewellery was also classified and given distinctive names.
The chapter begins with the importance of 'mines and metals' in the society and here we are told that one of the most crucial statements in the Arthasastra is that gold, silver, diamonds, gems, pearls, corals, conch-shells, metals, salt and ores derived from the earth, rocks and liquids were recognized as materials coming under the purview of mines. The metallic ores had to be sent to the respective Metal Works for producing 'twelve kinds of metals and commodities'. Though the authors wish to show the importance of mines and metals in the society, yet what they point to is their importance for the state and the powers that the state exercised over them. Perhaps, Kautilya himself did not treat the matter so and focused to show its importance for the state alone as the book Arthasastra is on statecraft and not on society.
The next section deals with the gem minerals and is treated more extensively than others. We wonder if it is not due to the fact that the gem minerals reflected the richness of Indian kings. Here we are told that Mani-dhatu or the gem minerals were characterized in the Arthasastra as 'clear, smooth, lustrous, and possessed of sound, cold, hard and of a light color'. Excellent pearl gems had to be big, round, without a flat surface, lustrous, white, heavy, and smooth and perforated at the proper place. There were specific terms for different types of jewellery: Sirsaka (for the head, with one pearl in the centre, the rest small and uniform in size), avaghataka (a big pearl in the center with pearls gradually decreasing in size on both sides), indracchanda (necklace of 1008 pearls), manavaka (20 pearl string), ratnavali (variegated with gold and gems), apavartaka (with gold, gems and pearls at intervals), etc. Diamond (vajra) was discovered in India in the pre-Christian era. The Arthasastra described certain types of generic names of minerals red saugandhika, green vaidurya, blue indranila and colorless sphatika. Deep red spinel or spinel ruby identified with saugandhika, actually belongs to a different (spinel) family of minerals. Many other classes of gems could have red color. The bluish green variety of beryl is known as aquamarine or bhadra, and was mentioned in the Arthasastra as uptpalavarnah (like blue lotus). The Arthasastra also mentions several subsidiary types of gems named after their color, lustre or place of origin. Vimalaka shining pyrite, white-red jyotirasaka, (could be agate and carnelian), lohitaksa, black in the centre and red at the fringe (magnetite; and hematite on the fringe?), sasyaka blue copper sulphate, ahicchatraka from Ahicchatra, suktichurnaka powdered oyster, ksiravaka, milk coloured gem or lasuna and bukta pulaka (with chatoyancy or change in lustre) which could be cat's eye, a variety of chrysoberyl, and so on.
The authors further mention that at the end was mentioned kacamani, the amorphous gems or artificial gems imitated by coloring glass. The technique of maniraga or imparting colour to produce artificial gems was specifically mentioned.
We are told that the Arthasastra also mentions the uses of several non-gem mineral and materials such as pigments, mordants, abrasives, materials producing alkali, salts, bitumen, charcoal, husk, etc.
Pigments were in use such as anjan ,( antimony sulphide), manahsil ( red arsenic sulphide), haritala, (yellow arsenic sulphide) and hinguluka (mercuric sulphide), Kastsa (green iron sulphate) and sasyaka, blue copper sulphate. These minerals were used as coloring agents and later as mordants in dyeing clothes. Of great commercial importance were metallic ores from which useful metals were extracted. The Arthasastra did not provide the names of the constituent minerals beyond referring to them as dhatu of iron (Tiksnadhatu), copper, lead, etc.
Having reviewed the literary evidence the authors maintain that the Arthasastra is the earliest Indian text dealing with the mineralogical characteristics of metallic ores and other mineral-aggregate rocks. It recognizes ores in the earth, in rocks, or in liquid form, with excessive color, heaviness and often-strong smell and taste. A gold-bearing ore is also described. Similarly, the silver ore described in the Arthasastra seems to be a complex sulphide ore containing silver (colour of a conch-shell), camphor, vimalaka (pyrite?).
The Arthasastra describes the sources and the qualities of good grade gold and silver ores. Copper ores were stated to be 'heavy, greasy, tawny (chalcopyrite left exposed to air tarnishes), green (color of malachite), dark blue with yellowish tint (azurite), pale red or red (native copper). Lead ores were stated to be grayish black, like kakamecaka (this is the color of galena), yellow like pigeon bile, marked with white lines (quartz or calcite gangue minerals) and smelling like raw flesh (odour of sulphur). Iron ore was known to be greasy stone of pale red colour, or of the colour of the sinduvara flower (hematite). After describing the above metallic ores or dhatus of specific metals, the Arthasastra writes: In that case vaikrntaka metal must be iron itself which used to be produced by the South Indians starting from the magnetite ore. It is not certain whether vaikrntaka metal was nickel or magnetite based iron. Was it the beginning of the famous Wootz steel?
The Arthasastra mentions specific uses of various metals of which gold and silver receive maximum attention. The duties of suvarna-adhyaksah, the 'Superintendent of Gold, are defined. He was supposed to establish industrial outfits and employ sauvarnikas or goldsmiths, well versed in the knowledge of not only gold and silver, but also of the alloying elements such as copper and iron and of gems which had to be set in the gold and silver wares. Gold smelting was known as suvarnapaka. Various ornamental alloys could be prepared by mixing variable proportions of iron and copper with gold, silver and sveta tara or white silver which contained gold, silver and some coloring matter. Two parts of silver and one part of copper constituted triputaka. An alloy of equal parts of silver and iron was known as vellaka.
Gold plating (tvastrkarma) could be done on silver or copper. Lead, copper or silver objects were coated with a gold-leaf (acitakapatra) on one side or with a twin-leaf fixed with lac etc. Gold, silver or gems were embedded (pinka) in solid or hollow articles by pasting a thick pulp of gold, silver or gem particles and the cementing agents such as lac, vermilion, red lead on the object and then heating.
The Arthasastra also describes a system of coinage based on silver and copper. The masaka, half masaka, quarter masaka known as the kakani, and half kakani, copper coins (progressively lower weights) had the same composition, viz., one-quarter hardening alloy and the rest copper.
The Arthasastra specifies that the Director of Metals (lohadhyakasa) should establish factories for metals (other than gold and silver) viz., copper, lead, tin, vaikrntaka, arakuta or brass, vratta (steel), kamsa (bronze), tala (bell-metal) and loha (iron or simply metal), and the corresponding metal-wares. In the Vedic era, copper was known as lohayasa or red metal. Copper used to be alloyed with arsenic to produce tala or bell metal and with trapu or tin to produce bronze. Zinc in India must have started around 400 BC in Taxila. Zawar mines in Rajasthan also give similar evidence. Vaikrntaka has been referred to some times with vrata, which is identified by many scholars including Kangle, as steel. On the top of it, tiksna mentioned as iron, had its ore or dhatu, and the metal was used as an alloying component. Iron prepared from South Indian magnetite or vaikrantakadhatu was wrongly believed to be a different metal.
To read the full text > click Kautilya Arthasastra
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Amazing Science (Part 7)
Pages from the history of the Indian sub-continent:
Science and Mathematics in India
History of Mathematics in India
Indic Mathematics - India and the Scientific Revolution
By David Gray, PhD
Why, one might ask, did Europe take over thousand years to attain the
level of abstract mathematics achieved by Indians such as Aaryabhatta?
The answer appears to be that Europeans were trapped in the relatively
simplistic and concrete geometrical mathematics developed by the Greeks.
It was not until they had, via the Arabs, received, assimilated and accepted
the place-value system of enumeration developed in India that they were
able to free their minds from the concrete and develop more abstract
systems of thought. This development thus triggered the scientific and
information technology revolutions which swept Europe and, later, the world.
The role played by India in the development is no mere footnote, easily and inconsequentially swept under the rug of Eurocentric bias. To do so is to
distort history, and to deny India one of it's greatest contributions to world civilization.
Pages from the history of the Indian sub-continent:
Science and Mathematics in India
In all early civilizations, the first expression of mathematical understanding appears in the form of counting systems. Numbers in very early societies were typically represented by groups of lines, though later different numbers came to be assigned specific numeral names and symbols (as in India) or were designated by alphabetic letters (such as in Rome). Although today, we take our decimal system for granted, not all ancient civilizations based their numbers on a ten-base system. In ancient Babylon, a sexagesimal (base 60) system was in use.
The Decimal System in Harappa
In India a decimal system was already in place during the Harappan period, as indicated by an analysis of Harappan weights and measures. Weights corresponding to ratios of 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 have been identified, as have scales with decimal divisions. A particularly notable characteristic of Harappan weights and measures is their remarkable accuracy. A bronze rod marked in units of 0.367 inches points to the degree of precision demanded in those times. Such scales were particularly important in ensuring proper implementation of town planning rules that required roads of fixed widths to run at right angles to each other, for drains to be constructed of precise measurements, and for homes to be constructed according to specified guidelines. The existence of a gradated system of accurately marked weights points to the development of trade and commerce in Harappan society.
Mathematical Activity in the Vedic Period
In the Vedic period, records of mathematical activity are mostly to be found in Vedic texts associated with ritual activities. However, as in many other early agricultural civilizations, the study of arithmetic and geometry was also impelled by secular considerations. Thus, to some extent early mathematical developments in India mirrored the developments in Egypt, Babylon and China . The system of land grants and agricultural tax assessments required accurate measurement of cultivated areas. As land was redistributed or consolidated, problems of mensuration came up that required solutions. In order to ensure that all cultivators had equivalent amounts of irrigated and non-irrigated lands and tracts of equivalent fertility - individual farmers in a village often had their holdings broken up in several parcels to ensure fairness. Since plots could not all be of the same shape - local administrators were required to convert rectangular plots or triangular plots to squares of equivalent sizes and so on. Tax assessments were based on fixed proportions of annual or seasonal crop incomes, but could be adjusted upwards or downwards based on a variety of factors. This meant that an understanding of geometry and arithmetic was virtually essential for revenue administrators. Mathematics was thus brought into the service of both the secular and the ritual domains.
Arithmetic operations (Ganit) such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions, squares, cubes and roots are enumerated in the Narad Vishnu Purana attributed to Ved Vyas (pre-1000 BC). Examples of geometric knowledge (rekha-ganit) are to be found in the Sulva-Sutras of Baudhayana (800 BC) and Apasthmaba (600 BC) which describe techniques for the construction of ritual altars in use during the Vedic era. It is likely that these texts tapped geometric knowledge that may have been acquired much earlier, possibly in the Harappan period. Baudhayana's Sutra displays an understanding of basic geometric shapes and techniques of converting one geometric shape (such as a rectangle) to another of equivalent (or multiple, or fractional) area (such as a square). While some of the formulations are approximations, others are accurate and reveal a certain degree of practical ingenuity as well as some theoretical understanding of basic geometric principles. Modern methods of multiplication and addition probably emerged from the techniques described in the Sulva-Sutras.
Pythagoras - the Greek mathematician and philosopher who lived in the 6th C B.C was familiar with the Upanishads and learnt his basic geometry from the Sulva Sutras. An early statement of what is commonly known as the Pythagoras theorem is to be found in Baudhayana's Sutra: The chord which is stretched across the diagonal of a square produces an area of double the size. A similar observation pertaining to oblongs is also noted. His Sutra also contains geometric solutions of a linear equation in a single unknown. Examples of quadratic equations also appear. Apasthamba's sutra (an expansion of Baudhayana's with several original contributions) provides a value for the square root of 2 that is accurate to the fifth decimal place. Apasthamba also looked at the problems of squaring a circle, dividing a segment into seven equal parts, and a solution to the general linear equation. Jain texts from the 6th C BC such as the Surya Pragyapti describe ellipses.
Modern-day commentators are divided on how some of the results were generated. Some believe that these results came about through hit and trial - as rules of thumb, or as generalizations of observed examples. Others believe that once the scientific method came to be formalized in the Nyaya-Sutras - proofs for such results must have been provided, but these have either been lost or destroyed, or else were transmitted orally through the Gurukul system, and only the final results were tabulated in the texts. In any case, the study of Ganit i.e mathematics was given considerable importance in the Vedic period. The Vedang Jyotish (1000 BC) includes the statement: "Just as the feathers of a peacock and the jewel-stone of a snake are placed at the highest point of the body (at the forehead), similarly, the position of Ganit is the highest amongst all branches of the Vedas and the Shastras."
(Many centuries later, Jain mathematician from Mysore, Mahaviracharya further emphasized the importance of mathematics: "Whatever object exists in this moving and non-moving world, cannot be understood without the base of Ganit (i.e. mathematics)".)
Panini and Formal Scientific Notation
A particularly important development in the history of Indian science that was to have a profound impact on all mathematical treatises that followed was the pioneering work by Panini (6th C BC) in the field of Sanskrit grammar and linguistics. Besides expounding a comprehensive and scientific theory of phonetics, phonology and morphology, Panini provided formal production rules and definitions describing Sanskrit grammar in his treatise called Asthadhyayi. Basic elements such as vowels and consonants, parts of speech such as nouns and verbs were placed in classes. The construction of compound words and sentences was elaborated through ordered rules operating on underlying structures in a manner similar to formal language theory.
Today, Panini's constructions can also be seen as comparable to modern definitions of a mathematical function. G G Joseph, in The crest of the peacock argues that the algebraic nature of Indian mathematics arises as a consequence of the structure of the Sanskrit language. Ingerman in his paper titled Panini-Backus form finds Panini's notation to be equivalent in its power to that of Backus - inventor of the Backus Normal Form used to describe the syntax of modern computer languages. Thus Panini's work provided an example of a scientific notational model that could have propelled later mathematicians to use abstract notations in characterizing algebraic equations and presenting algebraic theorems and results in a scientific format.
Philosophy and Mathematics
Philosophical doctrines also had a profound influence on the development of mathematical concepts and formulations. Like the Upanishadic world view, space and time were considered limitless in Jain cosmology. This led to a deep interest in very large numbers and definitions of infinite numbers. Infinite numbers were created through recursive formulae, as in the Anuyoga Dwara Sutra. Jain mathematicians recognized five different types of infinities: infinite in one direction, in two directions, in area, infinite everywhere and perpetually infinite. Permutations and combinations are listed in the Bhagvati Sutras (3rd C BC) and Sathananga Sutra (2nd C BC).
Jain set theory probably arose in parallel with the Syadvada system of Jain epistemology in which reality was described in terms of pairs of truth conditions and state changes. The Anuyoga Dwara Sutra demonstrates an understanding of the law of indeces and uses it to develop the notion of logarithms. Terms like Ardh Aached , Trik Aached, and Chatur Aached are used to denote log base 2, log base 3 and log base 4 respectively. In Satkhandagama various sets are operated upon by logarithmic functions to base two, by squaring and extracting square roots, and by raising to finite or infinite powers. The operations are repeated to produce new sets. In other works the relation of the number of combinations to the coefficients occurring in the binomial expansion is noted.
Since Jain epistemology allowed for a degree of indeterminacy in describing reality, it probably helped in grappling with indeterminate equations and finding numerical approximations to irrational numbers.
Buddhist literature also demonstrates an awareness of indeterminate and infinite numbers. Buddhist mathematics was classified either as Garna (Simple Mathematics) or Sankhyan (Higher Mathematics). Numbers were deemed to be of three types: Sankheya (countable), Asankheya (uncountable) and Anant (infinite).
Philosophical formulations concerning Shunya - i.e. emptiness or the void may have facilitated in the introduction of the concept of zero. While the zero (bindu) as an empty place holder in the place-value numeral system appears much earlier, algebraic definitions of the zero and it's relationship to mathematical functions appear in the mathematical treatises of Brahmagupta in the 7th C AD. Although scholars are divided about how early the symbol for zero came to be used in numeric notation in India, (Ifrah arguing that the use of zero is already implied in Aryabhatta) tangible evidence for the use of the zero begins to proliferate towards the end of the Gupta period. Between the 7th C and the 11th C, Indian numerals developed into their modern form, and along with the symbols denoting various mathematical functions (such as plus, minus, square root etc) eventually became the foundation stones of modern mathematical notation.
The Indian Numeral System
Although the Chinese were also using a decimal based counting system, the Chinese lacked a formal notational system that had the abstraction and elegance of the Indian notational system, and it was the Indian notational system that reached the Western world through the Arabs and has now been accepted as universal. Several factors contributed to this development whose significance is perhaps best stated by French mathematician, Laplace: "The ingenious method of expressing every possible number using a set of ten symbols (each symbol having a place value and an absolute value) emerged in India. The idea seems so simple nowadays that its significance and profound importance is no longer appreciated. It's simplicity lies in the way it facilitated calculation and placed arithmetic foremost amongst useful inventions."
Brilliant as it was, this invention was no accident. In the Western world, the cumbersome roman numeral system posed as a major obstacle, and in China the pictorial script posed as a hindrance. But in India, almost everything was in place to favor such a development. There was already a long and established history in the use of decimal numbers, and philosophical and cosmological constructs encouraged a creative and expansive approach to number theory. Panini's studies in linguistic theory and formal language and the powerful role of symbolism and representational abstraction in art and architecture may have also provided an impetus, as might have the rationalist doctrines and the exacting epistemology of the Nyaya Sutras, and the innovative abstractions of the Syadavada and Buddhist schools of learning.
Influence of Trade and Commerce, Importance of Astronomy
The growth of trade and commerce, particularly lending and borrowing demanded an understanding of both simple and compound interest which probably stimulated the interest in arithmetic and geometric series. Brahmagupta's description of negative numbers as debts and positive numbers as fortunes points to a link between trade and mathematical study. Knowledge of astronomy - particularly knowledge of the tides and the stars was of great import to trading communities who crossed oceans or deserts at night. This is borne out by numerous references in the Jataka tales and several other folk-tales. The young person who wished to embark on a commercial venture was inevitably required to first gain some grounding in astronomy. This led to a proliferation of teachers of astronomy, who in turn received training at universities such as at Kusumpura (Bihar) or Ujjain (Central India) or at smaller local colleges or Gurukuls. This also led to the exchange of texts on astronomy and mathematics amongst scholars and the transmission of knowledge from one part of India to another. Virtually every Indian state produced great mathematicians who wrote commentaries on the works of other mathematicians (who may have lived and worked in a different part of India many centuries earlier). Sanskrit served as the common medium of scientific communication.
The science of astronomy was also spurred by the need to have accurate calendars and a better understanding of climate and rainfall patterns for timely sowing and choice of crops. At the same time, religion and astrology also played a role in creating an interest in astronomy and a negative fallout of this irrational influence was the rejection of scientific theories that were far ahead of their time. One of the greatest scientists of the Gupta period - Aryabhatta (born in 476 AD, Kusumpura, Bihar) provided a systematic treatment of the position of the planets in space. He correctly posited the axial rotation of the earth, and inferred correctly that the orbits of the planets were ellipses. He also correctly deduced that the moon and the planets shined by reflected sunlight and provided a valid explanation for the solar and lunar eclipses rejecting the superstitions and mythical belief systems surrounding the phenomenon. Although Bhaskar I (born Saurashtra, 6th C, and follower of the Asmaka school of science, Nizamabad, Andhra ) recognized his genius and the tremendous value of his scientific contributions, some later astronomers continued to believe in a static earth and rejected his rational explanations of the eclipses. But in spite of such setbacks, Aryabhatta had a profound influence on the astronomers and mathematicians who followed him, particularly on those from the Asmaka school.
Mathematics played a vital role in Aryabhatta's revolutionary understanding of the solar system. His calculations on pi, the circumferance of the earth (62832 miles) and the length of the solar year (within about 13 minutes of the modern calculation) were remarkably close approximations. In making such calculations, Aryabhatta had to solve several mathematical problems that had not been addressed before, including problems in algebra (beej-ganit) and trigonometry (trikonmiti).
Bhaskar I continued where Aryabhatta left off, and discussed in further detail topics such as the longitudes of the planets; conjunctions of the planets with each other and with bright stars; risings and settings of the planets; and the lunar crescent. Again, these studies required still more advanced mathematics and Bhaskar I expanded on the trigonometric equations provided by Aryabhatta, and like Aryabhatta correctly assessed pi to be an irrational number. Amongst his most important contributions was his formula for calculating the sine function which was 99% accurate. He also did pioneering work on indeterminate equations and considered for the first time quadrilaterals with all the four sides unequal and none of the opposite sides parallel.
Another important astronomer/mathematician was Varahamira (6th C, Ujjain) who compiled previously written texts on astronomy and made important additions to Aryabhatta's trigonometric formulas. His works on permutations and combinations complemented what had been previously achieved by Jain mathematicians and provided a method of calculation of nCr that closely resembles the much more recent Pascal's Triangle. In the 7th century, Brahmagupta did important work in enumerating the basic principles of algebra. In addition to listing the algebraic properties of zero, he also listed the algebraic properties of negative numbers. His work on solutions to quadratic indeterminate equations anticipated the work of Euler and Lagrange.
Emergence of Calculus
In the course of developing a precise mapping of the lunar eclipse, Aryabhatta was obliged to introduce the concept of infinitesimals - i.e. tatkalika gati to designate the infinitesimal, or near instantaneous motion of the moon, and express it in the form of a basic differential equation. Aryabhatta's equations were elaborated on by Manjula (10th C) and Bhaskaracharya (12th C) who derived the differential of the sine function. Later mathematicians used their intuitive understanding of integration in deriving the areas of curved surfaces and the volumes enclosed by them.
Applied Mathematics, Solutions to Practical Problems
Developments also took place in applied mathematics such as in creation of trigonometric tables and measurement units. Yativrsabha's work Tiloyapannatti (6th C) gives various units for measuring distances and time and also describes the system of infinite time measures.
In the 9th C, Mahaviracharya ( Mysore) wrote Ganit Saar Sangraha where he described the currently used method of calculating the Least Common Multiple (LCM) of given numbers. He also derived formulae to calculate the area of an ellipse and a quadrilateral inscribed within a circle (something that had also been looked at by Brahmagupta) The solution of indeterminate equations also drew considerable interest in the 9th century, and several mathematicians contributed approximations and solutions to different types of indeterminate equations.
In the late 9th C, Sridhara (probably Bengal) provided mathematical formulae for a variety of practical problems involving ratios, barter, simple interest, mixtures, purchase and sale, rates of travel, wages, and filling of cisterns. Some of these examples involved fairly complicated solutions and his Patiganita is considered an advanced mathematical work. Sections of the book were also devoted to arithmetic and geometric progressions, including progressions with fractional numbers or terms, and formulas for the sum of certain finite series are provided. Mathematical investigation continued into the 10th C. Vijayanandi (of Benares, whose Karanatilaka was translated by Al-Beruni into Arabic) and Sripati of Maharashtra are amongst the prominent mathematicians of the century.
The leading light of 12th C Indian mathematics was Bhaskaracharya who came from a long-line of mathematicians and was head of the astronomical observatory at Ujjain. He left several important mathematical texts including the Lilavati and Bijaganita and the Siddhanta Shiromani, an astronomical text. He was the first to recognize that certain types of quadratic equations could have two solutions. His Chakrawaat method of solving indeterminate solutions preceded European solutions by several centuries, and in his Siddhanta Shiromani he postulated that the earth had a gravitational force, and broached the fields of infinitesimal calculation and integration. In the second part of this treatise, there are several chapters relating to the study of the sphere and it's properties and applications to geography, planetary mean motion, eccentric epicyclical model of the planets, first visibilities of the planets, the seasons, the lunar crescent etc. He also discussed astronomical instruments and spherical trigonometry. Of particular interest are his trigonometric equations: sin(a + b) = sin a cos b + cos a sin b; sin(a - b) = sin a cos b - cos a sin b;
The Spread of Indian Mathematics
The study of mathematics appears to slow down after the onslaught of the Islamic invasions and the conversion of colleges and universities to madrasahs. But this was also the time when Indian mathematical texts were increasingly being translated into Arabic and Persian. Although Arab scholars relied on a variety of sources including Babylonian, Syrian, Greek and some Chinese texts, Indian mathematical texts played a particularly important role. Scholars such as Ibn Tariq and Al-Fazari (8th C, Baghdad), Al-Kindi (9th C, Basra), Al-Khwarizmi (9th C. Khiva), Al-Qayarawani (9th C, Maghreb, author of Kitab fi al-hisab al-hindi), Al-Uqlidisi (10th C, Damascus, author of The book of Chapters in Indian Arithmetic), Ibn-Sina (Avicenna), Ibn al-Samh (Granada, 11th C, Spain), Al-Nasawi (Khurasan, 11th C, Persia), Al-Beruni (11th C, born Khiva, died Afghanistan), Al-Razi (Teheran), and Ibn-Al-Saffar (11th C, Cordoba) were amongst the many who based their own scientific texts on translations of Indian treatises. Records of the Indian origin of many proofs, concepts and formulations were obscured in the later centuries, but the enormous contributions of Indian mathematics was generously acknowledged by several important Arabic and Persian scholars, especially in Spain. Abbasid scholar Al-Gaheth wrote: " India is the source of knowledge, thought and insight”. Al-Maoudi (956 AD) who travelled in Western India also wrote about the greatness of Indian science. Said Al-Andalusi, an 11th C Spanish scholar and court historian was amongst the most enthusiastic in his praise of Indian civilization, and specially remarked on Indian achievements in the sciences and in mathematics. Of course, eventually, Indian algebra and trigonometry reached Europe through a cycle of translations, travelling from the Arab world to Spain and Sicily, and eventually penetrating all of Europe. At the same time, Arabic and Persian translations of Greek and Egyptian scientific texts became more readily available in India
The Kerala School
Although it appears that original work in mathematics ceased in much of Northern India after the Islamic conquests, Benaras survived as a center for mathematical study, and an important school of mathematics blossomed in Kerala. Madhava (14th C, Kochi) made important mathematical discoveries that would not be identified by European mathematicians till at least two centuries later. His series expansion of the cos and sine functions anticipated Newton by almost three centuries. Historians of mathematics, Rajagopal, Rangachari and Joseph considered his contributions instrumental in taking mathematics to the next stage, that of modern classical analysis. Nilkantha (15th C, Tirur, Kerala) extended and elaborated upon the results of Madhava while Jyesthadeva (16th C, Kerala) provided detailed proofs of the theorems and derivations of the rules contained in the works of Madhava and Nilkantha. It is also notable that Jyesthadeva's Yuktibhasa which contained commentaries on Nilkantha's Tantrasamgraha included elaborations on planetary theory later adopted by Tycho Brahe, and mathematics that anticipated work by later Europeans. Chitrabhanu (16th C, Kerala) gave integer solutions to twenty-one types of systems of two algebraic equations, using both algebraic and geometric methods in developing his results. Important discoveries by the Kerala mathematicians included the Newton-Gauss interpolation formula, the formula for the sum of an infinite series, and a series notation for pi. Charles Whish (1835, published in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland) was one of the first Westerners to recognize that the Kerala school had anticipated by almost 300 years many European developments in the field.
Yet, few modern compendiums on the history of mathematics have paid adequate attention to the often pioneering and revolutionary contributions of Indian mathematicians. But as this essay amply demonstrates, a significant body of mathematical works were produced in the Indian subcontinent. The science of mathematics played a pivotal role not only in the industrial revolution but in the scientific developments that have occurred since. No other branch of science is complete without mathematics. Not only did India provide the financial capital for the industrial revolution (see the essay on colonization) India also provided vital elements of the scientific foundation without which humanity could not have entered this modern age of science and high technology.
Notes:
Mathematics and Music: Pingala (3rd C AD), author of Chandasutra explored the relationship between combinatorics and musical theory anticipating Mersenne (1588-1648) author of a classic on musical theory.
Mathematics and Architecture: Interest in arithmetic and geometric series may have also been stimulated by (and influenced) Indian architectural designs - (as in temple shikaras, gopurams and corbelled temple ceilings). Of course, the relationship between geometry and architectural decoration was developed to it's greatest heights by Central Asian, Persian, Turkish, Arab and Indian architects in a variety of monuments commissioned by the Islamic rulers.
Transmission of the Indian Numeral System: Evidence for the transmission of the Indian Numeral System to the West is provided by Joseph (Crest of the Peacock):-
· Quotes Severus Sebokht (662) in a Syriac text describing the "subtle discoveries" of Indian astronomers as being "more ingenious than those of the Greeks and the Babylonians" and "their valuable methods of computation which surpass description" and then goes on to mention the use of nine numerals.
· Quotes from Liber abaci (Book of the Abacus) by Fibonacci (1170-1250): The nine Indian numerals are ...with these nine and with the sign 0 which in Arabic is sifr, any desired number can be written. (Fibonaci learnt about Indian numerals from his Arab teachers in North Africa)
Influence of the Kerala School: Joseph (Crest of the Peacock) suggests that Indian mathematical manuscripts may have been brought to Europe by Jesuit priests such as Matteo Ricci who spent two years in Kochi (Cochin) after being ordained in Goa in 1580. Kochi is only 70km from Thrissur (Trichur) which was then the largest repository of astronomical documents. Whish and Hyne - two European mathematicians obtained their copies of works by the Kerala mathematicians from Thrissur, and it is not inconceivable that Jesuit monks may have also taken copies to Pisa (where Galileo, Cavalieri and Wallis spent time), or Padau (where James Gregory studied) or Paris (where Mersenne who was in touch with Fermat and Pascal, acted as an agent for the transmission of mathematical ideas).
References:
1.Studies in the History of Science in India(Anthology edited by Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya)
2.A P Juskevic, S S Demidov, F A Medvedev and E I Slavutin: Studies in the history of mathematics, "Nauka" (Moscow, 1974), 220-222; 302.
3. B Datta: The science of the Sulba (Calcutta, 1932).
4.G G Joseph:The crest of the peacock (Princeton University Press, 2000).
5. R P Kulkarni: The value of pi known to Sulbasutrakaras, Indian Journal Hist. Sci. 13 (1) (1978), 32-41.
6. G Kumari:Some significant results of algebra of pre-Aryabhata era, Math. Ed. (Siwan) 14 (1) (1980), B5-B13.
7. G Ifrah: A universal history of numbers: From prehistory to the invention of the computer (London, 1998).
8. P Z Ingerman: 'Panini-Backus form', Communications of the ACM 10 (3)(1967), 137.
9.P Jha, Contributions of the Jainas to astronomy and mathematics, Math. Ed. (Siwan) 18 (3) (1984), 98-107.
9b. R C Gupta: The first unenumerable number in Jaina mathematics, Ganita Bharati 14 (1-4) (1992), 11-24.
10. L C Jain: System theory in Jaina school of mathematics, Indian J. Hist. Sci. 14 (1) (1979), 31-65.
11. L C Jain and Km Meena Jain: System theory in Jaina school of mathematics. II, Indian J. Hist. Sci. 24 (3) (1989), 163-180
12. K Shankar Shukla: Bhaskara I, Bhaskara I and his works II. Maha-Bhaskariya (Sanskrit) (Lucknow, 1960).
13. K Shankar Shukla: Bhaskara I, Bhaskara I and his works III. Laghu-Bhaskariya (Sanskrit) (Lucknow, 1963).
14. K S Shukla: Hindu mathematics in the seventh century as found in Bhaskara I's commentary on the Aryabhatiya, Ganita 22 (1) (1971), 115-130.
15. R C Gupta: Varahamihira's calculation of nCr and the discovery of Pascal's triangle, Ganita Bharati 14 (1-4) (1992), 45-49.
16. B Datta: On Mahavira's solution of rational triangles and quadrilaterals, Bull. Calcutta Math. Soc. 20 (1932), 267-294.
17. B S Jain: On the Ganita-Sara-Samgraha of Mahavira (c. 850 A.D.), Indian J. Hist. Sci. 12 (1) (1977), 17-32.
18. K Shankar Shukla: The Patiganita of Sridharacarya (Lucknow, 1959).
19. H. Suter: Mathematiker
20. Suter: Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber
21. Die philosophischen Abhandlungen des al-Kindi, Munster, 1897
22. K V Sarma: A History of the Kerala School of Hindu Astronomy (Hoshiarpur, 1972).
23. R C Gupta: The Madhava-Gregory series, Math. Education 7 (1973), B67-B70
24. S Parameswaran: Madhavan, the father of analysis, Ganita-Bharati 18 (1-4) (1996), 67-70.
25. K V Sarma, and S Hariharan: Yuktibhasa of Jyesthadeva : a book of rationales in Indian mathematics and astronomy - an analytical appraisal, Indian J. Hist. Sci. 26 (2) (1991), 185-207
26. C T Rajagopal and M S Rangachari: On an untapped source of medieval Keralese mathematics, Arch. History Exact Sci. 18 (1978), 89-102.
27. C T Rajagopal and M S Rangachari: On medieval Keralese mathematics, Arch. History Exact Sci. 35 (1986), 91-99.
28. A.K. Bag: Mathematics in Ancient and Medieval India (1979, Varanasi)
29. Bose, Sen, Subarayappa: Concise History of Science in India, (Indian National Science Academy)
30. T.A. Saraswati: Geometry in Ancient and Medieval India (1979, Delhi)
31.N. Singh: Foundations of Logic in Ancient India, Linguistics and Mathematics ( Science and technology in Indian Culture, ed. A Rahman, 1984, New Delhi, National Instt. of Science, Technology and Development Studies, NISTAD)
32. P. Singh: "The so-called Fibonacci numbers in ancient and medieval India, (Historia Mathematica, 12, 229-44, 1985)
33. Chin Keh-Mu: India and China: Scientific Exchange (History of Science in India Vol 2.)
Another view on Indian Mathematics:
Indic Mathematics and the Scientific Revolution
Dr. David Gray writes:
"The study of mathematics in the West has long been characterized by a certain ethnocentric bias, a bias which most often manifests not in explicit racism, but in a tendency toward undermining or eliding the real contributions made by non-Western civilizations. The debt owed by the West to other civilizations, and to India in particular, go back to the earliest epoch of the "Western" scientific tradition, the age of the classical Greeks, and continued up until the dawn of the modern era, the renaissance, when Europe was awakening from its dark ages."
Dr Gray goes on to list some of the most important developments in the history of mathematics that took place in India, summarizing the contributions of luminaries such as Aryabhatta, Brahmagupta, Mahavira, Bhaskara and Maadhava. He concludes by asserting that "the role played by India in the development (of the scientific revolution in Europe) is no mere footnote, easily and inconsequentially swept under the rug of Eurocentric bias. To do so is to distort history, and to deny India one of its greatest contributions to world civilization."
-Indic Mathematics
Related Essays:
The following essays can be found at
http://india_resource.tripod.com/indianhistory.html
Development of Philosophical Thought and Scientific Method in Ancient india
Philosophical Development from Upanishadic Theism to Scientific Realism
History of the Physical Sciences in India
____________________________________________________
India and the Scientific Revolution
By David Gray, PhD
1. Math and Ethnocentrism
The study of mathematics in the West has long been characterized by a certain ethnocentric bias, a bias which most often manifests not in explicit racism, but in a tendency toward undermining or eliding the real contributions made by non-Western civilizations. The debt owed by the West to other civilizations, and to India in particular, go back to the earliest epoch of the "Western" scientific tradition, the age of the classical Greeks, and continued up until the dawn of the modern era, the renaissance, when Europe was awakening from its dark ages. This awakening was in part made possible by the rediscovery of mathematics and other sciences and technologies through the medium of the Arabs, who transmitted to Europe both their own lost heritage as well as the advanced mathematical traditions formulated in India.
George Ghevarughese Joseph, in an important article entitled "Foundations of Eurocentrism in Mathematics," argued that "the standard treatment of the history of non-European mathematics is a product of historiographical bias (conscious or otherwise) in the selection and interpretation of facts, which, as a consequence, results in ignoring, devaluing or distorting contributions arising outside European mathematical traditions." (1987:14)
Due to the legacy of colonialism, the exploitation of which was ideologically justified through a doctrine of racial superiority, the contributions of non-European civilizations were often ignored, or, as Joseph argued, even distorted, in that they were often misattributed as European, i.e. Greek, contributions, and when their contributions were so great as to resist such treatment, they were typically devalued, considered inferior or irrelevant to Western mathematical traditions.
This tendency has not only led to the devaluation of non-Western mathematical traditions, but has distorted the history of Western mathematics as well. In so far as the contributions from non-Western civilizations are ignored, there is the problem of accounting for the development of mathematics purely within the Western cultural framework. This has led, as Sabetai Unguru has argued, toward a tendency to read more advanced mathematical concepts into the relatively simplistic geometrical formulations of Greek mathematicians such as Euclid, despite the fact that the Greeks lacked not only mathematic notation, but even the place-value system of enumeration, without which advanced mathematical calculation is impossible. Such ethnocentric revisionist history resulted in the attribution of more advanced algebraic concepts, which were actually introduced to Europe over a millennium later by the Arabs, to the Greeks. And while the contributions of the Greeks to mathematics was quite significant, the tendency of some math historians to jump from the Greeks to renaissance Europe results not only in an ethnocentric history, but an inadequate history as well, one which fails to take into account the full history of the development of modern mathematics, which is by no means a purely European development.
2. Vedic Altars and the "Pythagorean theorem"
A perfect example of this sort of misattribution involves the so-called Pythagorean theorem, the well-known theorem which was attributed to Pythagoras who lived around 500 BCE, but which was first proven in Greek sources in Euclid's Geometry, written centuries later. Despite the scarcity of evidence backing this attribution, it is not often questioned, perhaps due to the mantra-like frequency with which it is repeated. However, Seidenberg, in his 1978 article, shows that the thesis that Greece was the origin of geometric algebra was incorrect, "for geometric algebra existed in India before the classical period in Greece." (1978:323) It is now generally understood that the so-called "Pythagorean theorem" was understood in ancient India, and was in fact proved in Baudhayana's Shulva Sutra, a text dated to circa 600 BCE. (1978:323).
Knowledge of mathematics, and geometry in particular, was necessary for the precise construction of the complex Vedic altars, and mathematics was thus one of the topics covered in the brahmanas. This knowledge was further elaborated in the kalpa sutras, which gave more detailed instructions concerning Vedic ritual. Several of these treat the topic of altar construction. The oldest and most complete of these is the previously mentioned Shulva Sutra of Baudhaayana. As this text was composed about a century before Pythagoras, the theory that the Greeks were the source of Geometric algebra is untenable, while the hypothesis that India was have been a source for Greek geometry, transmitted via the Persians who traded both with the Greeks and the Indians, looks increasingly plausible. On the other hand, it is quite possible that both the Greeks and the Indians developed geometry. Seidenberg has argued, in fact, that both seem to have developed geometry out of the practical problems involving their construction of elaborate sacrificial altars. (See Seidenberg 1962 and 1983)
3. Zero and the Place Value System
Far more important to the development of modern mathematics than either Greek or Indian geometry was the development of the place value system of enumeration, the base ten system of calculation which uses nine numerals and zero to represent numbers ranging from the most minuscule decimal to the most inconceivably large power of ten. This system of enumeration was not developed by the Greeks, whose largest unit of enumeration was the myriad (10,000) or in China, where 10,000 was also the largest unit of enumeration until recent times. Nor was it developed by the Arabs, despite the fact that this numeral system is commonly called the Arabic numerals in Europe, where this system was first introduced by the Arabs in the thirteenth century.
Rather, this system was invented in India, where it evidently was of quite ancient origin. The Yajurveda Samhitaa, one of the Vedic texts predating Euclid and the Greek mathematicians by at least a millennium, lists names for each of the units of ten up to 10 to the twelfth power (paraardha). (Subbarayappa 1970:49) Later Buddhist and Jain authors extended this list as high as the fifty-third power, far exceeding their Greek contemporaries, who lacking a system of enumeration were unable to develop abstract mathematical concepts.
The place value system of enumeration is in fact built into the Sanskrit language, where each power of ten is given a distinct name. Not only are the units ten, hundred and thousand (daza, zata, sahasra) named as in English, but also ten thousand, hundred thousand, ten million, hundred million (ayuta, lakSa, koti, vyarbuda), and so forth up to the fifty-third power, providing distinct names where English makes use of auxillary bases such as thousand, million, etc. Ifrah has commented that
By giving each power of ten an individual name, the Sanskrit system gave no special importance to any number. Thus the Sanskrit system is obviously superior to that of the Arabs (for whom the thousand was the limit), or the Greeks and Chinese (whose limit was ten thousand) and even to our own system (where the names thousand, million etc. continue to act as auxillary bases). Instead of naming the numbers in groups of three, four or eight orders of units, the Indians, from a very early date, expressed them taking the powers of ten and the names of the first nine units individually. In other words, to express a given number, one only had to place the name indicating the order of units between the name of the order of units immediately immediately below it and the one immediately above it. That is exactly what is required in order to gain a precise idea of the place-value system, the rule being presented in a natural way and thus appearing self-explanatory. To put it plainly, the Sanskrit numeral system contained the very key to the discovery of the place-value system. (2000:429)
As Ifrah has shown at length, there is little doubt that our place-value numeral system developed in India (2000:399-409), and this system is embedded in the Sanskrit language, several aspects of which make it a very logical language, well suited to scientific and mathematical reasoning. Nor did this system exhaust Indian ingenuity; as van Nooten has shown, Pingala, who lived circa the first century BCE, developed a system of binary enumeration convertible to decimal numerals, described in his Chandahzaastra. His system is quite similar to that of Leibniz, who lived roughly fourteen hundred years later. (See Van Nooten)
India is also the locus of another closely related an equally important mathematical discovery, the numeral zero. The oldest known text to use zero is a Jain text entitled the Lokavibhaaga, which has been definitely dated to Monday 25 August 458 CE. (Ifrah 2000:417-1 9) This concept, combined by the place-value system of enumeration, became the basis for a classical era renaissance in Indian mathematics.
The Indian numeral system and its place value, decimal system of enumeration came to the attention of the Arabs in the seventh or eighth century, and served as the basis for the well known advancement in Arab mathematics, represented by figures such as al-Khwarizmi. It reached Europe in the twelfth century when Adelard of Bath translated al-Khwarizmi's works into Latin. (Subbarayappa 1970:49) But the Europeans were at first resistant to this system, being attached to the far less logical roman numeral system, but their eventual adoption of this system led to the scientific revolution that began to sweep Europe beginning in the thirteenth century.
4. Luminaries of Classical Indian Mathematics
Aryabhata
The world did not have to wait for the Europeans to awake from their long intellectual slumber to see the development of advanced mathematical techniques. India achieved its own scientific renaissance of sorts during its classical era, beginning roughly one thousand years before the European Renaissance. Probably the most celebrated Indian mathematicians belonging to this period was Aaryabhat.a, who was born in 476 CE.
In 499, when he was only 23 years old, Aaryabhat.a wrote his Aaryabhatiya, a text covering both astronomy and mathematics. With regard to the former, the text is notable for its for its awareness of the relativity of motion. (See Kak p. 16) This awareness led to the astonishing suggestion that it is the Earth that rotates the Sun. He argued for the diurnal rotation of the earth, as an alternate theory to the rotation of the fixed stars and sun around the earth (Pingree 1981:18). He made this suggestion approximately one thousand years before Copernicus, evidently independently, reached the same conclusion.
With regard to mathematics, one of Aaryabhat.a's greatest contributions was the calculation of sine tables, which no doubt was of great use for his astronomical calculations. In developing a way to calculate the sine of curves, rather than the cruder method of calculating chords devised by the Greeks, he thus went beyond geometry and contributed to the development of trigonometry, a development which did not occur in Europe until roughly one thousand years later, when the Europeans translated Indian influenced Arab mathematical texts.
Aaryabhat.a's mathematics was far ranging, as the topics he covered include geometry, algebra, trigonometry. He also developed methods of solving quadratic and indeterminate equations using fractions. He calculated pi to four decimal places, i.e., 3.1416. (Pingree 1981:57) In addition, Aaryabhat.a "invented a unique method of recording numbers which required perfect understanding of zero and the place-value system." (Ifrah 2000:419)
Given the astounding range of advanced mathematical concepts and techniques covered in this fifth century text, it should be of no surprise that it became extremely well known in India, judging by the large numbers of commentaries written upon it. It was studied by the Arabs in the eighth century following their conquest of Sind, and translated into Arabic, whence it influenced the development of both Arabic and European mathematical traditions.
Article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson:
The mathematical part of the Aryabhatiya covers arithmetic, algebra, plane trigonometry and spherical trigonometry. It also contains continued fractions, quadratic equations, sums of power series and a table of sines. Let us examine some of these in a little more detail.
First we look at the system for representing numbers which Aryabhata invented and used in the Aryabhatiya. It consists of giving numerical values to the 33 consonants of the Indian alphabet to represent 1, 2, 3, ... , 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100. The higher numbers are denoted by these consonants followed by a vowel to obtain 100, 10000, .... In fact the system allows numbers up to 1018 to be represented with an alphabetical notation. Ifrah in [3] argues that Aryabhata was also familiar with numeral symbols and the place-value system. He writes in [3]:-
... it is extremely likely that Aryabhata knew the sign for zero and the numerals of the place value system. This supposition is based on the following two facts: first, the invention of his alphabetical counting system would have been impossible without zero or the place-value system; secondly, he carries out calculations on square and cubic roots which are impossible if the numbers in question are not written according to the place-value system and zero.
Next we look briefly at some algebra contained in the Aryabhatiya. This work is the first we are aware of which examines integer solutions to equations of the form by = ax + c and by = ax - c, where a, b, c are integers. The problem arose from studying the problem in astronomy of determining the periods of the planets. Aryabhata uses the kuttaka method to solve problems of this type. The word kuttaka means "to pulverise" and the method consisted of breaking the problem down into new problems where the coefficients became smaller and smaller with each step. The method here is essentially the use of the Euclidean algorithm to find the highest common factor of a and b but is also related to continued fractions. Aryabhata gave an accurate approximation for p. He wrote in the Aryabhatiya the following:-
Add four to one hundred, multiply by eight and then add sixty-two thousand. the result is approximately the circumference of a circle of diameter twenty thousand. By this rule the relation of the circumference to diameter is given.
This gives p = 62832/20000 = 3.1416 which is a surprisingly accurate value. In fact p = 3.14159265 correct to 8 places. If obtaining a value this accurate is surprising, it is perhaps even more surprising that Aryabhata does not use his accurate value for p but prefers to use 10 = 3.1622 in practice. Aryabhata does not explain how he found this accurate value but, for example, Ahmad [5] considers this value as an approximation to half the perimeter of a regular polygon of 256 sides inscribed in the unit circle. However, in [9] Bruins shows that this result cannot be obtained from the doubling of the number of sides. Another interesting paper discussing this accurate value of p by Aryabhata is [22] where Jha writes:-
Aryabhata I's value of p is a very close approximation to the modern value and the most accurate among those of the ancients. There are reasons to believe that Aryabhata devised a particular method for finding this value. It is shown with sufficient grounds that Aryabhata himself used it, and several later Indian mathematicians and even the Arabs adopted it. The conjecture that Aryabhata's value of p is of Greek origin is critically examined and is found to be without foundation. Aryabhata discovered this value independently and also realised that p is an irrational number. He had the Indian background, no doubt, but excelled all his predecessors in evaluating p. Thus the credit of discovering this exact value of p may be ascribed to the celebrated mathematician, Aryabhata I.
We now look at the trigonometry contained in Aryabhata's treatise. He gave a table of sines calculating the approximate values at intervals of 90 /24 = 3 45'. In order to do this he used a formula for sin(n+1)x - sin nx in terms of sin nx and sin (n-1)x. He also introduced the versine (versin = 1 - cosine) into trigonometry.
Other rules given by Aryabhata include that for summing the first n integers, the squares of these integers and also their cubes. Aryabhata gives formulas for the areas of a triangle and of a circle which are correct, but the formulas for the volumes of a sphere and of a pyramid are claimed to be wrong by most historians. For example Ganitanand in [15] describes as "mathematical lapses" the fact that Aryabhata gives the incorrect formula V = Ah/2 for the volume of a pyramid with height h and triangular base of area A. He also appears to give an incorrect expression for the volume of a sphere. However, as is often the case, nothing is as straightforward as it appears and Elfering (see for example [13]) argues that this is not an error but rather the result of an incorrect translation.
This relates to verses 6, 7, and 10 of the second section of the Aryabhatiya and in [13] Elfering produces a translation which yields the correct answer for both the volume of a pyramid and for a sphere. However, in his translation Elfering translates two technical terms in a different way to the meaning which they usually have. Without some supporting evidence that these technical terms have been used with these different meanings in other places it would still appear that Aryabhata did indeed give the incorrect formulas for these volumes.
Now we have looked at the mathematics contained in the Aryabhatiya but this is an astronomy text so we should say a little regarding the astronomy which it contains. Aryabhata gives a systematic treatment of the position of the planets in space. He gave 62832 miles as the circumference of the earth, which is an excellent approximation. He believed that the apparent rotation of the heavens was due to the axial rotation of the Earth. This is a quite remarkable view of the nature of the solar system which later commentators could not bring themselves to follow and most changed the text to save Aryabhata from what they thought were stupid errors!
Aryabhata gives the radius of the planetary orbits in terms of the radius of the Earth/Sun orbit as essentially their periods of rotation around the Sun. He believes that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight, incredibly he believes that the orbits of the planets are ellipses. He correctly explains the causes of eclipses of the Sun and the Moon. The Indian belief up to that time was that eclipses were caused by a demon called Rahu. His value for the length of the year at 365 days 6 hours 12 minutes 30 seconds is an overestimate since the true value is less than 365 days 6 hours. Bhaskara
who wrote a commentary on the Aryabhatiya about 100 years later wrote of Aryabhata:-
Aryabhata is the master who, after reaching the furthest shores and plumbing the inmost depths of the sea of ultimate knowledge of mathematics, kinematics and spherics, handed over the three sciences to the learned world.
Article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
Brahmagupta
Born in 598 CE in Rajastan in Western India, Brahmagupta founded an influential school of mathematics which rivaled Aaryabhat.a's. His best known work is the Brahmasphuta Siddhanta, written in 628 CE, in which he developed a solution for a certain type of second order indeterminate equation. This text was translated into Arabic in the eighth century, and became very influential in Arab mathematics. (See Kak p. 16)
Mahavira
Mahaaviira was a Jain mathematician who lived in the ninth century, who wrote on a wide range of mathematical topics. These include the mathematics of zero, squares, cubes, square-roots, cube-roots, and the series extending beyond these. He also wrote on plane and solid geometry, as well as problems relating to the casting of shadows. (Pingree 1981:60)
Bhaaskara
Bhaaskara was one of the many outstanding mathematicians hailing from South India. Born in 1114 CE in Karnataka, he composed a four-part text entitled the Siddhanta Ziromani. Included in this compilation is the Biijagan.ita, which became the standard algebra textbook in Sanskrit. It contains descriptions of advanced mathematical techniques involving both positive and negative integers as well as zero, irrational numbers. It treats at length the "pulverizer" (kut.t.akaara) method of solving indeterminate equations with continued fractions, as well as the so-called "Pell's equation (vargaprakr.ti) dealing with indeterminate equations of the second degree. He also wrote on the solution to numerous kinds of linear and quadratic equations, including those involving multiple unknowns, and equations involving the product of different unknowns. (Pingree 1981, p. 64)
In short, he wrote a highly sophisticated mathematical text that proceeded by several centuries the development of such techniques in Europe, although it would be better to term this a rediscovery, since much of the Renaissance advances of mathematics in Europe was based upon the discovery of Arab mathematical texts, which were in turn highly influenced by these Indian traditions.
Maadhava
The Kerala region of South India was home to a very important school of mathematics. The best known member of this school Maadhava (c. 1444-1545), who lived in Sangamagraama in Kerala. Primarily an astronomer, he made history in mathematics with his writings on trigonometry. He calculated the sine, cosine and arctangent of the circle, developing the world's first consistent system of trigonometry. (See Hayashi 1997:784-786) He also correctly calculated the value of p to eleven decimal places. (Pingree 1981:490)
This is by no means a complete list of influential Indian mathematicians or Indian contributions to mathematics, but rather a survey of the highlights of what is, judged by any fair, unbiased standard, an illustrious tradition, important both for its own internal elegance as well as its influence on the history of European mathematical traditions. The classical Indian mathematical renaissance was an important precursor to the European renaissance, and to ignore this fact is to fail to grasp the history of latter, a history which was truly multicultural, deriving its inspiration from a variety of cultural roots.
There are in fact, as Frits Staal has suggested in his important (1995) article, "The Sanskrit of Science", profound similarities between the social contexts of classical India and renaissance Europe. In both cases, important revolutions in scientific thought occurred in complex, hierarchical societies in which certain elite groups were granted freedom from manual labor, and thus the opportunity to dedicate themselves to intellectual pursuits. In the case of classical India, these groups included certain brahmins as well as the Buddhist and Jain monks, while in renaissance Europe they included both the monks as well as their secular derivatives, the university scholars.
Why, one might ask, did Europe's take over thousand years to attain the level of abstract mathematics achieved by Indians such as Aaryabhatta? The answer appears to be that Europeans were trapped in the relatively simplistic and concrete geometrical mathematics developed by the Greeks. It was not until they had, via the Arabs, received, assimilated and accepted the place-value system of enumeration developed in India that they were able to free their minds from the concrete and develop more abstract systems of thought. This development thus triggered the scientific and information technology revolutions which swept Europe and, later, the world. The role played by India in the development is no mere footnote, easily and inconsequentially swept under the rug of Eurocentric bias. To do so is to distort history, and to deny India one of it's greatest contributions to world civilization.
Works Cited
Hayashi, Takao. 1997. "Number Theory in India". In Helaine Selin, ed. Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 784-786.
Ifrah, Georges. 2000. The Universal History of Numbers: From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer. David Bellos, E. F. Harding, Sophie Wood and Ian Monk, trans. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Joseph, George Ghevarughese. 1987. "Foundations of Eurocentrism in Mathematics". In Race & Class 28.3, pp. 13-28.
Kak, Subhash. "An Overview of Ancient Indian Science". In T. R. N. Rao and Subhash Kak, eds. Computing Science in Ancient India, pp. 6-21.
van Nooten, B. "Binary Numbers in Indian Antiquity". In T. R. N. Rao and Subhash Kak, eds. Computing Science in Ancient India, pp. 21-39.
Pingree, David. Jyotih.zaastra: Astral and Mathematical Literature, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1981, p. 4.
Seidenberg, A. 1962. "The Ritual Origin of Geometry". In Archive for History of Exact Sciences 1, pp. 488-527.
______. 1978. "The Origin of Mathematics". In Archive for History of Exact Sciences 18.4, pp. 301-42.
______. 1983. "The Geometry of Vedic Rituals". In Frits Staal, ed. Agni: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire Altar. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1986, vol. 2, pp. 95-126.
Unguru, Sabetai. 1975. "On the Need to Rewrite the History of Greek Mathematics". In Archive for History of Exact Sciences 15.1, pp. 67-114.
Staal, Frits. 1995. "The Sanskrit of Science". In Journal of Indian Philosophy 23, pp. 73-127.
Subbarayappa, B. V. 1970. "India's Contributions to the History of Science". In Lokesh Chandra, et al., eds. India's Contribution to World Thought and Culture. Madras: Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee, pp. 47-66.
http://www.infinityfoundation.com/ECITmathframeset.html
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Appendix to Amazing Science part 3
The Ruins of Nalanda University
A Buddhist University, 5th Century
Bihar, India
THE ANCIENT SEAT OF LEARNING
Towards the Southeast of Patna is a village called the 'Bada Gaon', in the vicinity of which, are the world famous ruins of Nalanda University. Housing about 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers, this university attracted pupils from all over the world. A Walk in the ruins of the university, takes you to an era, that saw India leading in imparting knowledge, to the world - the era when India was a coveted place for studies. The university flourished during the 5th and 12th century.
The ruins of Nalanda university is spread over an area of 14 hectares. This university was totally built in Red clay bricks. The Nalanda university attracted scholars from all over the world. Even Chanakya or Kautilya was once a student of this university. This university was seat of knowledge for the world, the light of knowledge spread all over the world from Nalanda. Today only the memories of those glorious days are refreshed in the ruins. Whatever remains of the great university has been well preserved. Among the ruins one still recognizes the different sections of the place. Particularly the place of worship and the hostels are very distinct. The whole area is surrounded by beautiful lawns.
At the excavation site, Visitors going in for the monasteries and temples stand at the Eastern gate. The tourists going in for university ruins enter the site from the Western gate. The main temple area no. 3 is situated on the southern side of the site. The temple is surrounded by many small Stupas in a courtyard. The Vihar area no. 1 is the most important at this place. This Vihar has 9 storeys. The various levels are identified by the concrete courtyards and the walls & drains which are built one over the other. It is believed that the lower most Vihar was built by Devapal, the third king of the Pala dynasty.
This place saw the rise and fall of many empires and emperors who contributed in the development of Nalanda. Many monasteries and temples were built by them. King Harshwardhana gifted a 25m high copper statue of Buddha and Kumargupta endowed a college of fine arts here. Nagarjuna- a Mahayana philosopher, Dinnaga- founder of the school of logic and Dharmpala- the Brahmin scholar, taught here.
The famous Chinese traveller and scholar, Hieun-Tsang stayed here and has given a detailed description of the situations prevailing at that time. Careful excavation of the place has revealed many stupas, monasteries, hostels, stair cases, meditation halls, lecture halls and many other structures which speak of the splendour and grandeur this place enjoyed, when the place was a centre of serious study.
Hieun Tsang Memorial Hall:
Hieun Tsang was a Chinese traveller, who came to India in around 5th century. He has given a very detailed and vivid description of the Indian political and social conditions at that time. His writing is considered to be one of the most authentic sources of information of that period. Hieun Tsang was also attracted by the glory of Nalanda University. He came and stayed here, both as a student and as a teacher. As a student, he studied Yoga for six years under Acharya Shil Bhadra. He was in Nalanda for twelve years. The memorial Hall has been built in his memory.
A fascinating historical account by
The Chinese pilgrim Hieun Tsang
(A student of Nalanda in 5th century)
The Royal Patrons of the University of Nalanda
Researched by Rev. H. Heras, S.J., M.A.
Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society, PART I.
Vol. XIV 1928 pp. 1-23
Includes reference from I-Tsing, A Record of the Buddhist Religion
(Translated by Takakasu).
King Kumarra Gupta I is undoubtedly the founder of the university of Nalanda.
The Chinese pilgrim Hieun Tsang does not say that Kumara Gupta was a Buddhist, but says only that he "respected and esteemed" the law of Buddha and "honoured very highly" the Buddha, the dharma and the sangha. In fact he seems to have been a Vaienava. But such respect and esteem for Buddhism is not a strange thing in a Hindu monarch.
Moreover we cannot doubt that Kumara Gupta gave some endowments to the university, as some of the other kings mentioned by Hiuen Tsiang also did after him, so that the students being supplied with everything should not require to ask for anything. Thus the university could be called from the beginning of its existence Nalanda, i.e. "charity without intermission." As a matter of fact I-Tsing records the fact that the lands possessed by the university, that contained more than 200 villages, had been bestowed upon the institution "by kings of many generafions."
Of this king Hiuen Tsiang says:
"Buddhagupta-raja...... continued to labour at the excellent undertaking of his father. To the south of this he built another sangharama."
Accordingly Skanda Gupta continued the policy of his father towards the university. His patronage was specially shown in the fact that he built another sangharama to the south of that erected by his father. Such enlargement of the university was most likely carried out by Skanda Gupta after his victorious return from the west where he had crushed the power of the Hunas, then for the first time invading the plains of Aryavarta.
King Pura Gupta
Pura Gupta is said by Hiuen Tsiang to have "vigorously practised the former rules (of his ancestors), and he built east from this another sangharama." These words of the Chinese pilgrim point out two facts: first, the building of another college east of the one built by his brother; second, a more vigorous patronage policy in favour of the university, probably by granting privileges and endowments to the institution. We have already mentioned the fact of Pura Gupta's great devotion to Vasubandhu. It is not strange therefore that, either on his own accord or perhaps influenced by Vasubandhu, Pura Gupta should favour the institution even more than his deceased brother King Narasimha Gupta
Hitherto the famous university had not aparently suffered as yet any attack of any enemy. But by this time the Gupta Emperors had already lost their paramount sovereignty and had become feudatories of his foreign enemies the Hunas. The latter's king Mihirakula, whose capital seems to have been somewhere in Malwa, issued a decree during Narasimha Gupta's reign, by which he declared his purpose "to destroy all the (Buddhist) priests through the five Indies, to overthrow the law of Buddha, and leave nothing remaining."
The greatest number of Bhiksus undoubtedly resided in the kingdom of Narasimha Gupta. So this king, a fervent disciple of Vasubandhu, and who is said by the Chinese pilgrim to have "profoundly honoured the law of Buddha," as soon as news of the persecution begun by Mihirakula reached his ears "he strictly guarded the frontiers of his kingdom and refused to pay tribute.'' This was a declaration of war on the part of the Gupta sovereign. The Huna king accepted the challenge, entered the kingdom of Magadha and pursued Narasimha Gupta till the bay of Bengal.In the course of this campaign Mihirakula at the head of his army had to pass very near the university of Nalanda, for he first undoubtedly marched on Pataliputra, and only when he realised that the Gupta sovereign had fled towards the sea then he continued his march till the bay of Bengal.
This inroad of the Huna army was bound to be fatal to the kingdom of Magadha and specially to the Buddhist religion then protected and patronized by the Gupta monarchs. Mihirakula, beyond doubt, in his hatred of Buddhism destroyed all its buildings that he found in his way, and killed all its priests-- cruelties which he was shortly afterwards to repeat from his exile into Kashmir. Nalanda University was not far from the capital, Pataliputra, and its fame had also reached Mihirakula's ears. The buildings of Nalanda were then probably destroyed for the frst time, and its priests and students dispersed and perhaps kiiled.
But Mihirakula was finally defeated by the Gupta army and exiled to Kashmir by the victor.After this Narasimha Gupta, the great patron of Buddhism, could not permit that such an important institution of learning should perish. Hiuen Tsiang tells us that he built another sangharama (College) on the northeast side of the one built by his father.This sangharama (college) was still called "the college of Baladitya-raja" in the time of Hiuen Tsiang. Moreover he constructed a great vihara 300 feet high. "With respect to its magnificence," says Hiuen Tsiang, "its dimensions, and the statue of Buddha placed in it, it resembles the great vihara built under the Bodhi tree."
But besides the building of the sangharama and the vihara Nalanda undoubtedly owed to Narasimha Gupta the restoration of the whole university after the destruction by the Huna King. The new sangharama mentioned by Hiuen Tsiang was only an enlargement of the university; but the old buildings were partly reconstructed or newly built over the ruins of the former ones. This has been evidently proved in the course of the excavations. They have shown that some of the monasteries and other buildings have been erected on the ruins of earlier ones. Moreover in the time of Harsa-vardhana the main hall built by Kumara-Gupta I was still existing, either in its primitive form or partially reconstructed.This shows that after the destruction of the university the pristine plot was not abandoned. After this work of restoration was done and after the new sangharama and vihara were finished, Narasimha Gupla decided to commemorate the event with a great assembly. Hiuen Tsiang says that he "invited common folk and men of religion without distinction." The meeting of this assembly was a great succese; 10,000 priests flocked to Nalanda from every corner of India and even two monks came from far-off China.
Narasimha Gupta, on seeing the faith of these two foreign monks coming to the great celebrations at Nalanda from so distant a country, "was filled with gladness," says the biographer of Hiuen Tsiang. This gladness seems to have been the effect of a great spiritual consolation, for the Chinese pilgrim himself says that "the king then was affected by a profound faith." The result of this faith and gladness was that Narasimha Gupta resigned the crown and entered the sangha as a monk. We cannot doubt these two facts; Hiuen Tsiang records that "he gave up his country and became a recluse," while his biographer states even more explicitly that "he gave up his royal estate and became a recluse."
We know of only one episode of the life of Narasimha Gupta in the sangha. The Chinese pilgrim relates that "he (before being fully ordained) placed himself as the lowest of the priests, but his heart was always uneasy and ill at rest. 'Formerly (he said) I was a king, and the highest among the honourable; but now I have become a recluse, I am degraded to the bottom of the priesthood'." The poor ex-king, though living within the walls of his vihara, was still wishing to be the recipient of the wordly honours which he had been accustomed to in former days. He consequently manifested his grievance to the superiors of the sangha. It was consequently resolved, in order to please the royal disciple, that those monks who had not yet received the full orders should be classed not according to the number of years they had been lay disciples, but according to their natural years of life till the time of receiving full ordination. Narasimha seems to have been pleased with the decision. The only thing he could not stand was to be the last of the whole community. According to this change in the monastic customs, he had all the young monks behind --as he was then an old man--and his ambition was satisfied. "This sangharama,'' adds the Chinese pilgrim," is the only one in which this law exists." We do not know whether Narasimba Gupta was finally fully ordained.
Kumara Gupta II
After narrating Narasimha's life in the sangha, Hiuen Tsiang adds: "The king's son, called Vajra, came to the throne in succession." According to the Bhitari seal of Kumara Gupta II, the latter was the son and successor of Nsrasimha Gupta.It is a fact recorded by Hiuen Tsiang that "he again built on the west side of the convent a sangharama.
" A long succession of kings," says Hiuen Tsiang, "continued the work of building, using all the skill of the sculptor, till the whole is truly marvellous to behold." The appearance of the university after all these sangharamas and buildings had been constructed is said to have been "truly marvellous" by the Chinese pilgrim. Indeed his biographer writes a fine description of the university, like a bird's-eye view, which is worth quoting as showing what the university looked like during the first half of the seventh century A.D., after all those kings had embellished its monasteries and decorated its towers and observatories. Hwui Li's description is to the following effect:
"The richly adorned towers, and the fairy-like turrets, like pointed hill-tops, are congregated together. The observatories seem to be lost in the vapours of the morning, and the upper rooms tower above the clouds. From the windows one may see how the winds and the clouds produce new forms, and above the soaring eaves the conjunctions of the sun and moon may be observed. And then we may add how the deep translucent ponds bear on their surface the blue lotus, intermingled with the Kie-ni (Kanaka) flower of deep red colour and at intervals the Amra groves spread over all their shade. All the outside courts, in which are the priests' chambers, are of four stages. The stages have dragon projections and coloured eaves, the pearl-red pillars, carved and ornamented, the richly adorned balustrades, and the roofs covered with tiles that reflect the light in a thousand shades, these things add to the beauty of the scene."
During this period there occurred in Magadha several wars, which by the natural havoc consequent on any war, may also have been destructive of Nalanda. The above-mentioned Apshad Inscription of Adityasena mentions two defeats inflicted on king Isanavarman, the first by one Kumara Gupta (probably the same Kumara Gupta II) and the seoond by Damodara Gupta; while Isanavarman himself had previously defeated the Hunas. Then Mahasena Gupta won a victory over Susthivarman. The Haraha inscription of Isanavaraman also refers to the victories of this monarch over the lord of the Andhras "who had thousands of threefold rutting elephants," over the Sulikas "who had an army of countless galloping horses, " and over the Gaudas "living on the seashore." A partial destruction of Nalanda caused by these wars (some of which were evidently fought in the territory of Magadha) may well have taken place.
Harsha-vardhana Vajra, i.e. Kumara Gupta II, seems to be the last king of the Gupta family mentioned by Hiuen Tsiang in connection with the university of Nalanda. Moreover not even other kings of the same kingdom of Magadha, but belonging to other dynasties, are referred to by the Chinese pilgrim. But he adds the name of a king of another kingdom to this list of patrons of the university of Nalanda. After having mentioned Vajra and his doings, he says: "After this a king of Central India."
This king of Central India, that appears after the extinction of the Gupta family before the arrival of Hiuen Tsiang in India, cannot be other than Harsa-vardhana of Kanauj. The same Hiuen Tsiang refer clearly to him in other two passages of his account in connection with the university. That this monarch had positively and openly declared leanings towards Buddhism is clear from other passages of Hiuen Tsiang's travels. When we read for instance Hiuen Tsiang's account of the assembly of Kanauj convoked by Harsa for propagating the doctrines of Mahayana, we cannot doubt that the great emperor had accepted in his heart the faith of Buddha.
The first dealings of Harsa with Nalanda seem, so it appears, to be connected with a double tragedy of his family. His sister Rajyasri had been married to the Maukhari king Grahavarman.This king, some years later, had been defeated and killed by king Deva Gupta of Malwa and after his death Rajyasri had been cast into prison by the victor. Harsa's brother, Rajya-vardhana, then the king at Thanesar, could not stand this affront on his family, marched against Deva Gupta and defeated him. But it so happened just at this moment that Sasanka, king of Gauda in Eastern Bengal, entered Magadha as a friend of Rajya-vardhana, but in secret alliance with the Malwa king. Accordingly Sasanka treacherously murdered Rajya-vardhana. It was most likely on this occasion that he destroyed the sacred places of Buddhism, as related by Hiuen Tsiang: " Lately Sasanka-raja" says he,''when he was overthrowing and destroying the law of Buddha, forthwith came to the place where that stone is, for the purpose of destroying the sacred marks (Buddha's foot-prints). Having broken it into pieces, it came whole again, and the ornamental figures as before; then he flung it into the river Ganges."
"In later times," the same Hiuen Tsiang goes on to say, '' Sasanka-raja, being a believer in heresy, slandered the religion of Buddha and through envy destroyed the convents and cut down the Bodhi tree (at Buddha Gaya), digging it up to the very springs of the earth; but yet he did not get to the bottom of the roots. Then he burnt it with fire and sprinkled it with the juice of sugar-cane, desiring to destroy them entirely, and not leave a trace of it behind." Such was Sasanka's hatred towards Buddhism.
Hence we cannot imagine this king going from the Ganges to Gaya and passing so near Nalanda, the greatest centre of Buddhism in those days, without leaving there the effects of his bigotry. That most likely was a new occasion on which the buildings of Nalanda were razed to the ground and its inhabitants murdered or dispersed. On hearing of the murder of his brother, Harsa resolved at once to march against the treacherous king of Gauda, and both the Harsa Charita and Hiuen Tsiang agreed as to the colossal success of Harsa's efforts. After having driven Sasanka to Bengal we cannot doubt that Harsa, the enthusiastic disciple of
Mahayana Buddhism, restored the university of Nalanda to its pristine grandeur, just as Purnavarma repaired the damages caused by Sasanka at Buddh Gaya.
But this was not all. Harsa, called by Hiuen Tsiang "a king of Central India," "built to the north of this a great sangharama." The Chinese pilgrim seems to indicate that the sangharama built by Harsa was greater than those built by other kings in the precincts of the university, for this is the only one called ''great" by him. Hiuen Tsiang mentions another building due also to the devotion and munificence of Harsa. "To the south of this," says he, " is a vihara of brass built by Siladitya-raja." It is well known that Siladitya-raja is the name given to Harsa by the Chinese pilgrim, a title which is also confirmed by numis- matics.This vihara was still under construction at the time of Hiuen Tsiang's stay at the university.
"Although it is not yet finished," he adds, "yet its intended measurement, when finished, will be hundred feet." But Hiuen Tsiang's biographer, who wrote some years later, seems to have received some more information about this building after its completion. In fact Hwui Li says that "it was renowned through all countries." The vihara, according to Hwui Li's information, was not made all of brass, but only " covered with brass plates." Indeed the appearance of the building was "magnificent and admirable." In fact the Hinayana monks of Orissa envied the Mahayana monks of Nalanda so rich and gorgeous a building."
Moreover in the time of Hiuen Tsiang Harsa had the purpose of dedicating an image of Buddha " in the hall of the monarch who first began the sangharama." This seems to be an allusion to the first sangharama built by Kumara Gupta I.Finally Harsa's patronage is also shown by the numerous endowments be granted to the university. " The king of the country," says Hwui Li, "respects and honours the priests, and has remitted the revenues of about 100 villages for the endowment of the convent. Two hundred householders in these villages, day by day, contribute several piculs of ordinary rice, several hundred catties in weight of butter and milk." The biographer here draws a consequence that discloses the great importance of these endowments of Harsa. " Hence the students here, being so abundantly supplied, do not require to ask for the four requisites (clothing, food, bedding and medicine). This is the source of the perfection of their studies, to which they have arrived." Hiuen Tsiang himself also informs us that when Harsa decided to erect an image of Buddha in the singharama of Kumara Gupta, he said too: "I will feed forty priests of the congregation every day to show my gratitude to the founder."
These endowments and grants of Harsa were most likely confirmed by official documents adorned with his seal. In fact two seals of Harsa have been found in Nalanda in the course of the excavations. All these favours and donations of the great emperor were crowned by the construction of a lofty wall enclosing all the buildings of the university.His intention seems to have been to defend the institution of any other possible hostile inroad.
Kings of other Countries
The Chinese pilgrim speaking of a brick vihara of Nalanda, where an image of Tara Bodhisattva was venerated, says as follows: --" The kings and ministers and great people of the neighbouring countries offer exquisite perfumes and flowers, holding gem-covered flags and canopies, whilst instruments of metal and stone resound in turns, mingled with the harmony of flutes and harps. These religious assemblies last for seven days."
Who were these kings of the neighbouring countries in the time of Hiuen Tsiang besides the great Vardhana? Unfortunately the Chinese pilgrim does not give any clue for ascertaining this doubt. Anyhow six were the main kingdoms round Harsa's empire: the kingdom of the Maukharis, the kingdom of Gauda in Bengal, the kingdom of Kamarupa in Assam, the kingdom of Nepal, the kingdom of the Valabhis in Saurastra and tile kingdom of the Chalukyas in the Deccan. Let us examine separately the possibility of the patronage of Nalanda by the kings of these countries.
(a) The Maukharis.--Some of the Maukharis may undoubtedly be counted among the patrons of Nalanda. Two of their seals have also been found at Nalanda next to the seals of Harsa.Moreover Purnavarma, whom I consider to be the last Maukhari, seems to have had great affection for Buddha and his doctrines. Hiuen Tsiang tells us that when hearing of the destruction caused to the Bodhi tree by the fanaticism of Sasanka, Purnavarma exclaimed: " The sun of wisdom having set, nothing is left but the tree of Buddha, and this they now have destroyed; what source of spiritual life is there now." "He then," continues Hiuen Tsiang, "cast his body on the ground overcome with pity; then with the milk of a thousand cows he again bathed the roots of the tree, and in a night it once more revived and grew to the height of some 10 feet. Fearing lest it should be again cut down, he surrounded it with a wall of stone 24 feet high.'' Such a great devotion for the law of Buddha surely compelled also Purnavarma to patronize the Nalanda University, specially after its destruction by the same Sasanka who uprooted the Bodhi tree. In fact the same Hiuen Tsiang mentions a "pavilion of six stages" made at Nalanda by Purnavarma to enshrine a copper statue of Buddha 80 feet high.
(b) Gauda in Bengal.--We have seen that its king Sasanka was a declared enemy of Buddhism. His relations with Nalanda seem to have been purely negative and destructive.
(c) Kamarupa in Assam.--The king of Kamarupa contemporary of Harsa was named Bhaskaravarman. He was a Brahmana by caste and by faith, but he respected and was much interested in the law of Buddha. When he came to know of the existence of a Chinese pilgrim, Hiuen Tsiang, at the Nalanda University he sent him three different messages inviting him to his court, till his wish was satisfied. Later on we see him accompanying Harsa-vardhana in the great Buddhist assembly of Kanauj, where Mahayana Buddhism was propounded.He must undoubtedly be counted among the patrons of the Nalanda University. One of his seals, found at Nalanda next to those of Harsa, seems to prove the same fact.
(d) Nepal.--Hiuen Tsiang gives some information about this country and its king. His name was Amsuvarman, the founder of the Thakuri dynasty. He "was a descendant of the Licchavis. The Chinese pilgrim refers to his intellectual abilities and to his religion. As regards the former he says that he was distinguished for his learning and ingenuity. He himself had composed a work on 'sounds'; he esteemed learning and respected virtue, and his reputation was spread everywhere" As to his religion Hiuen Tsiang says as follows: "His mind is well informed, and he is pure and dignified in character. He has a sincere faith in the law of Buddha.'' In fact one of the inscriptions of this king, published by Pandit Bhagvanlal Indraji, shows on the top the wheel of the law, between two deer, that is a symbol of the first sermon of Buddha at the Deer Park, Sarnath.The literary likings of this king and his religious faith make quite probable that he himself patronized in some way or other the university of Nalanda, specially if we consider that he paid homage to Harsa-vardhana, as the introduction of Sriharsa era clearly shows, and that he visited Harsa's kingdom, a fact recorded in the Parvaviya Vamsavali.
(e) The Valabhis of Saurastra.-According to Hiuen Tsiang the contemporary Valabhi king was Dhruvapata. He seems to be king Siladitya VI, who is also surnamed Dhrubhata or Dhruvabhata, i.e. "the constant warrior." About his religion the Chinese pilgrim says "Quite recently he has attached himself sincerely to faith in the three 'precious ones' (Buddha. dharma and sangha)." He moreover describes his character and likings as follows: " He is of a lively and hasty disposition, his wisdom and statecraft are shallow. He esteems virtue and honours the good; he reverences those who are noted for their wisdom. The great priests who come from distant regions he practically honours and respects." This seems to give some probability to his being one of the benefactors of Nalanda University.
(f) The Chalukyas of the Deccan.--The contemporary sovereign of the Deccan was Pulakesin II, the greatest monarch of the Chalukyan dynasty. Hiuen Tsiang says that "'his beneficent actions are felt over a great distance." Nevertheless we are not aware of his leanings towards Buddhism. Moreover, himself being an enemy of Harsa, whom ha defeated near the Narbada, it is not probable that he would favour the Nalanda University within the boundaries of his enemy's dominions. Besides these sovereigns there were in northern India several petty rajas who had acknowledged the sovereignity of Harsa. They also perhaps favoured at times the university of Nalanda. Hiuen Tsiang says that there were twenty of these kings round Harsa at the Charity Assembly he witnessed at Prayaga (Allahabad).
A Plan of the University of Nalanda
As a complement of our study about the royal patrons of Nalanda,a probable plan of the university at the time of Hiuen Tsiang's visit, and according to the data furnished by him, will not, I think, be out of place. Certainly this plan cannot be without errors. The information is not great and scattered here and there without giving the distances between buildings and buildings, excepting in two or three cases. Anyhow this rough sketch will give a general idea of what that famous institution was like and will show the munificence of its royal patrons and benefactors.
1. Sangharama or college built by Kumara Gupta I "on
a lucky spot." (Beal, o. c., p. 168.)
2. To the south of this, sangharama built by Skanda Gupta. (Ibid.)
3. To the east of this, sangharama built by Purra Gupta. (Ibid.)
4. On the north-east side, sangharama built by Narasimha Gupta. (Ibid).
5. On the west side of the convent, I understand, of the first original monastery, sangharama built by Kumara Gupta II (p. 170). The Life of Hiuem Tsiang, p.111, disagrees. Hwui Li says only that this sangharama was "to the north. " This uncertainty and the fact that he never saw Nalanda causes me to prefer Hiuen Tsiang's statement.
6. To the north of this, great sangharama built by Harsa--vardhana (Beal, o. c., p. 170.) The Life of Hiuen Tsiang, l.c., says that this sangharama was built " by the side'' of the one built by Kumara Gupta II.
7. " On the western side of the sangharama, at no great distance, is a vihara." (Beal, o. c, p. 172.)
8. "To the south 100 paces or so is a small stupa." (Ibid.)
9. "On this southern side is a standing figure of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.'' (Ibid.)
10. "To the south of this statue is a stupa in which are remains of Buddha's hair and nails." (Ibid., 173.)
11. "To the west of this, outside the wall, and by the side of a tank, is a stupa." (Ibid.) p. 22
12. Tank. (Vide No. 11.)
13. "To the south-east about 50 paces, within the walls, is an extraordinary tree, about eight or nine feet in height, of which the trunk is twofold, " (Ibid.)
14. "Next to the east there is a great vihara about 200 feet in height." (Ibid.) In the plan I placed this vihara much towards the east; otherwise there is no room for the following viharas north of this. According to this arrangement, the vihara No. 16, built by Narasimha Gupta, comes in the neighbourhood of the sangharama built by the same monarch, a fact that does not look improbable.
15. "After this, to the north 100 paces or so, is a vihara in which is a figure of Avalokitesvara Boddhisattva. " (Ibid).
16. "To the north of this vihara is a great vihara, in height about 300 feet, which was built by Baladitya- raja." (Natrasimha Gupta) (Ibid.)
17. "To the north-east of this is a stupa. " (Ibid. p. 174.)
18. "To the north-west is a place where the four past Buddhas sat down." (Ibid.)
19. "To the south of this is a vihara of brass built by Siladitya-raja." (Harsa-vardhana) (Ibid.) Accordingly this vihara built by Harsa is not far from the great sangharama also built by him.
20. "Next to the eastward two hundred paces or so, outside the walls, is a figure of Buddha standing uprigh and made of copper. Its height is about 80 feet. A pavilion of six stages is required to cover it." (Ibid.) This is the pavilion built by Purnavarma.
21. "To the north of this statue two or three li, in a vihara constructed of brick, is a figure of Tara Bodhisattva. This figure is of great height and its spiritual appearance very striking." (Ibid.) p. 23
22. "Within the souhern gate of the wall is a large well," (Ibid, p. 175.) The phrase of the pilgrim seems to show that this well was close to the gate. I had no special reason for putting it on the east side of the same.
23. "High wall" built round these edifices by Harsa-vardhana. (Ibid., p, 179.)
24. The only gate to enter the premises of the university. (Ibid.) Further on Hiuen Tsiaug says that this gate was " southern." (Ibid., p. 175.) The following quotation discloses the importance of this gate. "If men of other quarters desire to enter and
take part in the discussions, the keeper of the gate proposes some hard questions; many are unable to answer, and retire. One must have studied deeply both old and new books before getting admission. Those students, therefore, who come here as strangers, have to show their ability by hard discussion, those who failed compared with those who succeed are as seven or eight to ten." (Ibid., p. 171.)
The precise extension of the area covered by the buildings of the university is not said by Hiuen Tsiang. Anyhow Hwui Li states that this sangharama (the whole university) " is the most remarkable for grandeur and height " all over India.(1) He also states that "the priests belonging to the convent, or strangers residing therein always reach to the number of 10,000."(2) Finally I-Tsing, who travelled through India towards the close of the same century, informs us: There are eight halls and three hundred apartments in this monastery."(3) These scanty data will give some idea of the great extension of the university of Nalanda.
Related articles:
Chankya
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Nalanda - An ancient University
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/4321/nal1.html
a travelogue by Surajit Basu
A modern map of the ancient university shows us the chaityas and the monasteries, where the students learnt and lived. The chaityas were the temples, centres of meditation and learning while the monasteries were the hostels.
2,000 teachers and 10,000 students stayed and studied in this university. Some came from other countries, other cultures. Like Hiuen Tsang from China who wrote about his days here. In the 7th century. He left an elaborate description of the excellence of Nalanda.
Nalanda - An ancient University
A travelogue by Surajit Basu
Welcome to Nalanda, the ancient university. Set in India,
close to Gaya in Bihar, this site was lost for hundreds of
years and rediscovered.
How to get there : The nearest airport is Patna, 90 km away.
Train services to Nalanda are available. Trains to Rajgir,
10 km away, are also available.
Grand among the greens, row upon row of buildings.
The rediscovered Nalanda stands proudly.
Time may have killed her students, destroyed her walls,
shattered her beautiful images, but the foundations survive
to tell the tale to the historians, the archaeogists, and the
curious public who come to see her.
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Current Topics - Offshore Outsourcing
It’s not just a matter of cost-saving. Service quality is often improved, too. In the West, call centres depend on poorly educated labour force. In India, graduates compete for such jobs even though they pay less than the equivalent of $200 a month. International Data Corporation estimates that, in a couple of years’ time, three-quarters of the world’s call centre services will be provided from India.
What’s more, outsourcing is spreading far beyond customer support to take advantage of a huge pool of cheap MBAs, PhDs, and computer literates. Multinationals are turning to India for financial and pharmaceutical research, chip and motor vehicle design, completion of tax returns, processing of mortgages, programming and data storage.
Business Technology: Offshore Outsourcing: A Means To An End
The truth--as galling and bitter as it might be for many in this country (USA) to accept--is that companies are turning today to offshore outsourcers because in return they can get better quality in shorter
times at lower cost.
IT Outsourcing India - Replicating the magic
The world is discovering the fact that India is a super power when it comes to developing IT solutions. Swept by the current of the latest trend "IT outsourcing to India", we find many fortune 500 companies like Microsoft, Oracle, Citibank, Morgan Stanley, Wal-Mart, AT&T, General Electric, Reebok, General Motors, Sony, Boeing, Coca-cola, Pepsi, Swissair, United Airlines, Philips, IBM, Lucas and British Aerospace beneficiaries.
India’s Global Talent
INDIA AT THE TOP OF THE GAME
IIT Indian Institutes of Technology. - moulding India’s brainpower
Some of the most prominent chief executives, presidents, entrepreneurs,
and inventors in the world are graduates of IIT, India's elite institution of
higher learning. Its impossibly high standards, compelling the mostly
male student body to average fewer than five hours of sleep a night, produce numerate graduates who are masters at problem solving.
India – an emerging market gem that deserves attention
By Marc Faber (Hong-Kong based adviser) and
Martin Springs, International Editor (Johannesburg)
The following article is from the magazine ‘Investing Abroad’
Autumn 2004 issue, published by Offshore News Corporation (Pty) Ltd,
Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Globalization is transforming the world as dramatically as did the 15th century voyages of discovery and the 19th century industrial revolution.
Globalization is disrupting the developed economies and putting them under stress. But it’s also opening up all kinds of investment opportunities- especially in the emerging markets.
China is the one that has captured most attention. But the other emerging giant in Asia, India, deserves just as much interest.
A recent study by the investment bank Goldman Sachs concluded that India has even greater growth potential than China over the next four decades. It forecast that India’s per capita GDP (gross domestic product) is likely to double from its current level of around (USD) $500 to $1071 in ten years’ time, and then to grow even faster, reaching $17,366 by the year 2050.
Investors are starting to wake up to that potential. In 2002 the Indian stock market surged 80 per cent in Dollar terms, compared to only 11 per cent for the Chinese bourse.
Over the past decade India has achieved real growth averaging 6.2 per cent a year, despite a severe drought. A major earthquake, terrorism and a confrontation with Pakistan (China, without such problems, averaged 7.8 per cent).
When good rains boost agricultural productions and farmers’ incomes, consumer spending tends to become buoyant, the Indian economy would be expected to grow by at least 6 per cent this year (2004) and possibly by much more.
With inflation having fallen below 4 per cent, the central bank has been cutting interest rates. The cheapest money in 30 years has triggered a housing and infrastructural construction boom and boosted demand for motor vehicles.
The foreign trade balance is in surplus after many years of deficit. The national currency, the Rupee, is strengthening, and foreign reserves have climbed above $100 billion.
India, says the Singaporean broker Phillip Securities in a new report, is an “emerging market gem”.
There is much more to this than a cyclical rebound. These positive factors are transforming the dynamics of the Indian economy.p> Outsourcing
Like other Asian economies, India is benefiting from the global outsourcing revolution. Companies are seeking to protect their competitiveness and earnings by escaping the high costs, burdensome taxes and over-regulation of the developed world by shifting their purchasing, production and processes to cheap and efficient facilities in the developing economies.
India has one particular advantage over its major competitor, China – fluency in English, especially among graduates. This makes India the preferred destination for outsourcing of services.
The best known example is call-centres. Increasingly, companies are moving their telephonic customer support functions to Indian facilities.
It’s not just a matter of cost-saving. Service quality is often improved, too. In the West, call centres depend on poorly educated labour force. In India, graduates compete for such jobs even though they pay less than the equivalent of $200 a month. International Data Corporation estimates that, in a couple of years’ time, three-quarters of the world’s call centre services will be provided from India.
What’s more, outsourcing is spreading far beyond customer support to take advantage of a huge pool of cheap MBAs, PhDs, and computer literates. Multinationals are turning to India for financial and pharmaceutical research, chip and motor vehicle design, completion of tax returns, processing of mortgages, programming and data storage.
Structural Reform
After the humiliation of the 1991 currency crisis when India was forced to fly the bulk of its gold reserves to London as collateral for an IMF loan, the government started to dismantle the suffocating socialist bureaucracy that has shacked the economy since independence.
The exchange rate has been freed up, tariffs on imports reduced and restrictions on foreign ownership and direct investment relaxed.
Privatization- selling off government owned enterprises to the private sector – is gathering momentum, following the successful sale of Indian Petrochemical and Maruti Udyog (motor vehicle manufacturing).
A fast Growing middle class
The population, now more than a billion, is growing much faster than China’s, with nearly half under the age of 19.
As in China, strong economic growth is lifting millions out of poverty and creating a huge middle class which is already larger than the entire population of the USA and expected to number 445 million by 2006.
These are people with both the desire and resources to acquire and equip modern homes, buy cars and electronic gadgetry.
The finance industry is forecasting demand growth for housing averaging 50 per cent annually over the next four years. There are 12 million users of mobile phones – with an extra million added every month
What are the negatives?
There is always the risk of another armed conflict between India and Pakistan that could escalate into a nuclear catastrophe. But that seems most unlikely, given awareness on both sides of the horrifying implications.
Unlike China, India has potentially explosive internal divisions based on religion, race and caste – but as a working democracy it is structured to reconcile and accommodate such differences.
There are still major infra-structural deficiencies – power cuts, poor roads, shoddy airports – but there are major projects already under way to address some of those.
Finally, there must be doubts about how committed the country is to continuing to discard the bonds of socialist regulation and embrace free markets as enthusiastically as China.
It’s still forbidden for any company with more than 100 workers to retrench any without the (virtually unobtainable) permission of local government – a major obstacle to corporate investment. Consequently, foreign direct investment is still running at only one-tenth of China’s.
The announcements of plans to establish 20 export processing zones free of many of the discouraging taxes and restrictions could change that.
If you reckon that the positive factors should outweigh the negatives, how can you invest in this “emerging market gem”?
I would recommend one of the collective funds rather than buying directly into individual shares. The JPMF Indian Trust, listed on the London Stock Exchange, and Aberdeen IF India Opportunities, an offshore unit trust, have achieved an average annual return of nearly 24 per cent in dollar terms over the past five years.
Pihillip Securities says the Indian equity market “remains attractive” at current levels, with both price-to-earnings and price-to-book-value ratios below their historical averages.
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Business Technology:
Offshore Outsourcing: A Means To An End
By Bob Evans
Offshore outsourcing is today perhaps the most emotional and least-understood business practice in the world. To be sure, in a lot of cases it is and will continue to be wrenching and deeply disruptive for not only many individuals but also large groups of professionals caught on the wrong side of this trend. An example of free-market capitalism at its most coldly impersonal and even merciless, offshore outsourcing is today touching not just some anonymous groups of people in some far-off locale in some obscure industry; rather, it has hit many of us increasingly closer to home: relatives, friends, and colleagues whose jobs have been transferred to other people in other countries
But beyond the understandable emotional reactions to these displaced jobs, there's still a lot of fog and myth shrouding the true nature of offshore outsourcing. Lots of people still believe it's nothing more than paying lower wages for lower-quality work. No offense to those who believe this, but that theory is, in today's extremely competitive business climate, preposterous. Then there are those who believe that the sole value proposition of offshore outsourcing here is to pay lower wages in return for the same quality. But that view, while perhaps at least somewhat accurate in the recent past, is outdated and simply not true.
The truth--as galling and bitter as it might be for many in this country (USA) to accept--is that companies are turning today to offshore outsourcers because in return they can get better quality in shorter times at lower cost. Hell, there are lots of ways to pay less and get less in return--nobody has to go halfway around the world for that. And any company relying on such a strategy would soon be out of business. So that myth needs to be tossed in the trash where it belongs.
No, there's something much more significant being sought here, and the relentless search for it has gone offshore because, simply, it's too hard to find here in this country. And the object of that hunt is twofold: new sources of reasonably priced innovation and new sources of reasonably priced quality. Here's an example: A prestigious hospital in Boston is swamped with unhappy patients who have to wait inordinate amounts of time to have their X-rays analyzed, so the hospital finds new sources of high-quality health-care expertise in another country. As soon as the X-rays are taken, the hospital sends digital images to a partner hospital in India, where teams of fully qualified physicians read and interpret the X-rays and send their analyses back to the Boston hospital overnight. The patients are happy, the hospital is happy, and the doctors in Boston who for whatever reason could not find or make the time to read the X-rays are probably happy, too--clearly, that was not a high-priority task for them.
As economic, political, and technological forces continue to shape a more truly global economy, such anecdotes will become not the exception but rather the norm. But we all need to remember that the goal is not offshore outsourcing; that, rather, is a means to a very different end, and that end is reasonably priced new sources of innovation and quality. When companies in the United States--and our universities and high schools, as well as our sprawling free-market system--catch up with this thought and realign their priorities, we'll find lots of new ways to compete effectively in new businesses and new markets. But that edge won't come because of an accident of birth--that is, that we happen to live in the United States and are therefore endowed with some right of preeminence. Rather, it will come because we have refocused our thinking and our behavior and our reward systems on creating value and innovation and opportunity, and NOT on protecting it and legislating to protect it and erecting barriers to keep us and what we have in, and to keep outsiders and what they want out.
Let me offer an example: Dell Computer. The company largely eschews outsourcing of any type--offshore, onshore, near-shore, far-shore, for sure--NOT because it has ingrained philosophical clashes with outsourcing but rather for the very practical reason that the company believes that its best chance of gaining and constantly enhancing its competitive advantage is by doing all those things internally better and faster and cheaper than anyone else--here, there, or anywhere--can do them. But despite the different approach it takes, Dell has the same objective as do many of the thousands of companies that have chosen to pursue those objectives offshore at the same time Dell pursues them in-house: relentless innovation, higher quality, greater customer intimacy, real-time responsiveness--and all at reasonable and highly competitive costs.
So I have to conclude that I really don't understand the hand-wringing in which some companies are engaging as they try to hide their relationships with offshore outsourcers or even try to pretend to the outside world that those very relationships don't exist. Who can forget the classic scene in The Wizard Of Oz when Toto pulls aside the screen hiding the all-too-human "wizard," causing the big and scary and imaginary projection of The Wizard to shout, "Pay no attention to the man behind the screen!"
The fly in the ointment, though, is that there was indeed a man behind the screen, just as there are lots and lots of U.S.-based companies that are employing offshore outsourcing companies. I think those companies should step forward and say something like, "We're doing this because it helps us give our customers what they want, it helps us be more competitive, it helps us meet our numbers, it helps us provide a good return to stockholders, and it helps ensure that this company will not just survive but will also thrive in coming years. And we promise that if alternative sources of such powerful creativity and quality and innovation arise within the United States at competitive prices, we'll give them every opportunity to become a part of our global web of customer-focused excellence and relentless business-process improvement."
And I think there are lots of reasons to say something like that, and one of those is that some of our elected lawmakers will no doubt soon get the idea to craft legislation mandating that all U.S.-based companies must publicly disclose offshore relationships. Sound crazy? Maybe it is. But notice how prominent your company's Regulatory Compliance Department has become? But that's another story.
As for this story, it's about over. The point is, offshore outsourcing is a powerful means to a more-powerful end. The goal, as always, is to identify and drive business-process improvements through the application of new sources of innovation, quality, and speed, all at reasonable prices. And whether you choose to do that in the United States or in India or China or Ireland or Israel, it should be a source of pride, not shame. Because remember, too, what the man behind the screen said when Dorothy called him "a very bad man": "Oh no, my darling," he replied. "I'm a very good man; I'm just a very bad wizard."
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I'm not sure that all the uproar about outsourcing is entirely justified, and I'm less sure that politicians can do anything to stop it. Because it's not just big bad corporations getting into the act, it's small businesses too who feel they must do this or go out of business in many cases. Trying to stop the tide of outsourcing may be like trying to stop a river from running down hill.
- Kathleen Hays CNN
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IT Outsourcing India - Replicating the magic
The world is discovering the fact that India is a super power when it comes to developing IT solutions. Swept by the current of the latest trend "IT outsourcing to India", we find many fortune 500 companies like Microsoft, Oracle, Citibank, Morgan Stanley, Wal-Mart, AT&T, General Electric, Reebok, General Motors, Sony, Boeing, Coca-cola, Pepsi, Swissair, United Airlines, Philips, IBM, Lucas and British Aerospace beneficiaries.
A closer look at the factors fanning the potentials of IT outsourcing in India.
1. India's human resources
Being the world's second highly populated country, human resources are a boon by itself. Just as the Gulf is renowned for its natural resource of crude oil, and South Africa for its diamonds, India is proud of the abundance and easy availability of its highly qualified and technically skilled English speaking computer professionals; who are key to success in the field of IT outsourcing to India.
2. Cost efficiency of IT outsourcing in India
Significant cost saving can be achieved by IT outsourcing to India, owing to the wide gap between the personal costs in India and that of the developed countries. Offshore outsourcing to India offers considerable economical benefits for those who are prepared to exploit the advantages of outsourcing.
3. Standard quality guarantee for firms doing IT outsourcing in India
The Indian companies involved in IT outsourcing in India provide high quality work, meeting international standards and complying with the ISO & SEI-CMM standards. Three out of every four SEI-CMM 5 companies worldwide is located in India. Thus India promises quality - IT outsourcing in India as it has the potential to furnish these services perfectly.
4. The reliable communication facilities
Excellent telecom, ISP, and cellular networks are available in all cities & towns in the country. India prides in the reliable satellite and submarine communication links that facilitate good band connectivity with the rest of the world. Thus companies engaged in IT outsourcing to India, can be in touch with the vendors without any connection hurdles. This plays a significant role in determining the success of offshore IT outsourcing to India.
5. Technologically advanced outsourcing firms in India
India's technologies offer excellent software solutions. The applications include E-commerce, Business Process re-engineering, System Migration, Maintaining Legacy system, System integration etc. India prides in outsourcing facilities that are required to compete with others; which is yet another reason as to why the world prefers It outsourcing to India.
6. Galloping growth in Indian economy
The service sector in India contributes 51% of the GDP. Computer software export was prominent with a growth rate of 40%-50% per year during the 90’s. India being the second largest software exporter in the world its large business houses and public sector units are growing steadfastly towards raising economic growth..
7. Stable government facilitating IT growth
India has a stable pro - IT government whose policies, economy, GDP growth, taxation, power, telecom, industrial parks & special zones have been helpful in improving the infrastructure as well as communication. The government proves to be a great support for software firms by further providing all the basic facilities required for an outsourcing company to flourish thus playing a major role in contributing to the success and well-being of IT outsourcing to India.
8. Indian government policies
IT is regarded as one of the top 5 priority industries in India. IT is a part of the national agenda, and policies are framed so as to obtain maximum benefit out of IT outsourcing to India.
The liberalization and deregulation initiatives taken by the government are aimed at supporting growth & integration with the global economy. These reforms have enabled the entry of foreign companies to the Indian market. FDI investment from NRI's including Overseas Corporate Bodies (OCB's); owned by the NRI's are warmly welcomed in India.
Tax Incentivesbr> The tax incentives offered to the investors by the Government of India are a boon for firms involved in IT outsourcing to India.
The Quality Accreditation offered to firms engaged in IT Outsourcing to India
Yet another prominent reason behind India’s glittering success in the global IT market is the maintenance of quality. In the recent years, India has been able to offer IT software products and services, which match global standards of quality.
As on 31 March 2002, 42 IT outsourcing companies in India achieved SEI-CMM Level 5 assessments. 316 Indian outsourcing companies have achieved quality certifications. More and more IT outsourcing firms are striving for it. Moreover, the Indian software industry has accepted and adopted newly emerging People - Capability Maturity Model (People-CMM). As per 27 June 2002 statistics, India has 85 companies at SEI-CMM Levels assessment for this. These statistics indicate the fact that almost all the companies in the Indian IT sector have realized the value of quality and its accepted standards and that they are vigilant towards achieving it. It will be interesting to take a look at the Global Accreditation, which the Indian IT players have won.
1. ISO 9000
The International Organisation for Standards (ISO 9000 series).
International set of documents on quality assurance. Written by members of a worldwide delegation, ISO/Technical Committee 176.
Three core quality systems documents
Models of quality assurance.
2. SEI-CMM Model
SEI (Software Engineering Institute) established in 1984 at Pitts berg, USA.
The CMM (Capability Maturity Model) of SEI is a framework that describes the key elements of an effective software outsourcing process.
CMM - composed of 5 maturity levels.
Each level facilitates a layer in the foundation for continuous process improvement.
Achieving each level of the model institutionalizes a different component in the software process, resulting in an overall increase in the process capability of the organization.
3. People Capability Maturity Model (People-CMM)
Process targeted at managing and developing an organization's workforce and adopts the maturity framework of the CMM.
Aim - to radically improve the ability of software organizations to attract, develop, motivate, organize and retain the talent needed to continuously improve software development capability.
Contains 5 maturity levels.
Lay foundations for continuously improving talent, effective teams, and successfully managing the people assets of the organizations.
4. CMM Model
Aim - to guide organizations in improving ability and processes in development, acquisition and maintenance of products and services.
Places proven practices into a structure, which aids to measure the firm’s maturity and process area capabilities.
Establishes priorities for advancement and guides the implementation of these environments.
A brief look at Nasscom Manpower Resource Survey
Nasscom conducted a survey in the year 2001-2002, on the IT work force status in the country. These were the issues under study.
To ascertain the present quarter of IT work force in the country.
To make future projections about supplying IT-manpower resources needed to meet the industry demand.
To frame a strategy for the same.
The survey revealed that:
The number of employed IT software and services professionals showed an increasing trend. (A whooping 522,000 by the end of 2001-02 compared to 280,000 employed in the year 1998-99.
This figure covers professionals, who are engaged in application software, IT services and IT enabled services including professionals engaged in software development units in user organization.
South India ranked the highest in hiring of new IT professionals amounting to 41% while the Eastern region was ranked the lowest with 6%.
25.6 years was the overall median age of software professionals.
44% of them had over 3 years of working experience.
Interestingly male domination was seen among the software professionals in Indian IT firms; with ratio of 79:21 (male: female); which is likely to continue to 65.35 by the year 2005.
The areas that required skills are
Software engineering/programmers/analysis
Database administrations.
E-commerce and Internet application.
Digital media.
Web based applications.
Java.
Communication engineers and Network specialists.
Networking application.
Data warehousing.
Project management.
Business applications of software development.
Client networking.
Quality assurance and technical writing.
Legacy systems etc.
Outsourcing bags the future
India needs to increase the workforce, at least 10 fold by 2008, to keep pace with the growing competition. Quoting the 1999, Nasscom-MaKinsey report, India needs to have at least 2.2 million knowledge workers in IT software and services related areas by 2008. To achieve this goal India must focus on taking the following key steps to increase the number of IT experts in the outsourcing field. This will in turn remarkably influence the growth of IT outsourcing to India.
1. Establishing IIT/IIIT in each state
Indian Institute of Technology, is renowned for providing fresh IT graduates / post graduates.
Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) a 4 year old institute is a joint initiative by the government and the industry, which aims to give both computer software engineering degrees as well as conduct short-term courses. These institutes allow private sector companies affiliation with their own schools.
Nasscom recommends the allocation of at least Rs.15, 000 crores in the 10th five year plan towards establishing at least one IIT in every Indian state.
2. Course-warein IIT/IIIT's
Areas like Project Management, E-commerce, Java, Software Engineering, etc. are to be given more focus.
The syllabus must take into account the changes in the industry.
3. Setting up of IIIT's
Quick steps should be taken to set up IIITs (Indian Institute of Information Technology) in every state while giving deemed University status to IIT's without insisting on the mandatory stipulation period of 3 years
4. Providing more PhD's.
To bring out high quality task force in IT field; India needs to have more number of PhDs at all levels ranging from the faculty to R&D (Research & Development).
5. Bridge courses
Courses offered in Engineering Colleges throughout the country must be restructured so as to accomodate lessons on computer science programming in at least one semester. Whatever the field, computer knowledge will help those who pass out from these institutions to serve the software industry. Moreover, the industry needs more engineering professionals from different backgrounds too.
6. Graduation Courses with IT modules
The graduation courses offered by universities and colleges countrywide must include computer related courses.
Special IT modules must be introduced with a mission to impact the society. IT is a productivity-enhancing tool in a broad range of work situations.
7. Restructuring the courses
Existing institutions like IIT, IISc; RECs; and MCA courses must be moulded in such a way so as to have the maximum output in minimum time.
8. Program to train teachers
A combination of physical and virtual training programmes to train teaches (3T program) at all levels ranging from Primary and Secondary School levels to post and under-graduate courses and Engineering colleges has to be established, to train teachers.
9. Inter-linking Educational Institutes
To facilitate the sharing of high quality education and library resources, the universities, engineering colleges, medical colleges, other educational institutes and R&D organizations must be brought under one network.
10. Retraining
Expert service is needed to lead and support IT projects in areas like CRH/e-CRM implementation (front office automation, supply chain management, custom relationship management etc.) and to provide ITES such as finance and accounting, HR, engineering design. For meeting these current requests, the corresponding industry experts must be given a good training; facilitating them with IT knowledge.
Grooming with IT outsourcing in India, the government of India needs to concentrate on destroying the cobwebs of regulatory hurdles in emerging service lines like IT- enabled services; unlocking growth in domestic market and proactively addressing the potential infrastructure and talent bottlenecks to make sure that the country is ahead in the competition. The government has to ensure 100% of its support in the field of IT outsourcing to India. Nasscom must also sharpen its focus in moulding India as a "Global Services Sourcing Hub".
A few steps more for IT Outsourcing in India
Firms equipped in IT outsourcing to India have their own unique strengths and capabilities. Indian outsourcing firms look at their businesses differently, behave differently, and do different things from that of the past. Maximise on the benefits of outsourcing with IT Outsourcing India, the team prepared to confront challenges from any part of the globe.
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India’s Global Talent
U.S. companies outsource to IT powerhouse
By Ron Chepesiuk : India at the top of the game
India’s language, educational system and training programs have helped transform the country into an outsourcing superpower.
Indian industry officials estimate that more than 4 million technical workers in their country speak English. Victor believes that fluent command of English has given India a tremendous advantage in the outsourcing arena over other developing countries. “China and India has the same level of talent, but India has become a bigger outsourcing center because there are no communication barriers,” he explained. “Information and notes can be exchanged in English.”
Furthermore, despite its status as a Third World country, India already has an excellent educational system. “You can’t believe how seriously young people in India take their education,” said Indian American Himesh Patel, whose company Innhanse, an Orlando, Fla.-based company serving the hospitality industry, outsources software programming to India. “It’s not unusual for many of them to have multiple degrees in engineering, computer science and business.”
Furthermore, India’s work force is known internationally for its entrepreneurial spirit and a burning desire to succeed, said Patel
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Ananda Rao, Australia country manager for
outsourcing and development giant Infosys
told ZDNet Australia:
"It's not about cost--it's about skills," he said.
Describing the Indian education system as “phenomenal” in the context of IT, Rao outlined the hiring policy for the Indian company, and put forward some astonishing statistics.
“A rookie goes through 18 weeks of intense training before they're allowed to touch a computer and everyone has to be a graduate coming from the top 5-10 percent of their [engineering] class," he said. "Last year, we received 400,000 qualified applications...we chose 4,000".
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IIT
Indian Institutes of Technology
- moulding India’s brainpower
When he helped found IIT in 1951, Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, wanted an elite that could build the great state-sponsored power plants, dams, and bridges so badly needed in the newly independent country. The planners drew on Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Model and on UNESCO for funds to build the first campus, in Kharagpur, near Calcutta, in a former British prison for Indian political detainees. Five other campuses followed, in Kanpur, Delhi, Bombay, Madras, and most recently, Guwahati. At various times, the U.S., Britain, the former Soviet Union, and Germany have all provided backing.
Some of the most prominent chief executives, presidents, entrepreneurs, and inventors in the world are graduates of IIT, India's elite institution of higher learning. Its impossibly high standards, compelling the mostly male student body to average fewer than five hours of sleep a night, produce numerate graduates who are masters at problem solving. Familiar with Western ways due to India's colonial past, they have spent their academic years studying in English, which gives them an edge over other Asians competing for jobs in global corporations.
While IIT has been producing talented engineers, scientists, and managers for four decades, the school has taken on a new prominence lately. IIT counts many more alums among the highest ranks of global business. They join Rajat Gupta, who has led McKinsey & Co. for four years, Vinod Khosla, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems Inc., and hundreds of others now working in the top ranks of U.S. corporations and Silicon Valley powerhouses.
Wall Street firms rely on Institute grads to devise the complex algorithms behind their derivatives strategies while big multinationals call on them to solve problems in new ways. When recruiting from colleges for its annual crop of consultants, McKinsey hires a significant number of the school's graduates every year. Many more write the software and design the chips and peripherals that Silicon Valley sells to the world.
The rise of IITians, as they are known, is a telling example of how global capitalism works today. The best companies draw on the best brains from around the world, and the result is a global class of worker: the highly educated, intensely ambitious college grad who seeks out a challenging career, even if it is thousands of miles from home. By rising to the top of Corporate America, these alumni lead all other Asians in their ability to reach the upper echelons of world-class companies.
It's not just that entrepreneurs have forged a path through high-tech arenas; corporate executives have proven proficient at managing companies, too. Cost-cutting by US Airways' Gangwal, for example, helped pull the airline back from the brink of bankruptcy and increased revenues fourfold.
In that regard, the story of these Indians provides a model for other Asians to emulate--and an example for U.S. companies and universities to ponder. For India has created, out of limited resources, a class of executives and entrepreneurs who manage to combine technical brilliance with great management skills. And the Indian government, to its credit, has not tried to keep these first-class students at home. In many ways, the IIT grad is the hottest export India has ever produced.
To mold them, the schools put these 18-year-olds through an experience akin to boot camp. Theories learned by rote--a key element of Japanese education--are only part of the experience. ''Students should see the problem and conjure up a solution, not only memorize a theory,'' says Deepak Phatak, professor of computer science at IIT-Bombay. The focus is on hands-on learning. IIT maintains workshops where students even learn how to make machine tools and operate rotation motors, the kinds of crafts relegated to trade schools in the U.S.
FREE REIN.The schools have kept their edge by staying out of India's partisan politics. ''It is the most uncorrupted institution in India today,'' says Kartik Kilachand, a New York-based consultant and IIT alumnus. IIT has an autonomous board that doesn't have to kowtow to state bureaucracies. The Indian government pays most of the $3,000 it costs annually to educate each student. Famous alumni in India include B.K. Syngal, chairman of Reliance Telecom, Nirmal Jain, managing director of Tata Infotech, N.R. Narayanamurthy, founder of software developer Infosys, and Yogi Deveshwar, CEO of Indian Tobacco.
IIT's huge campuses are vastly superior to other Indian universities but spartan compared with Western counterparts. Many of the faculty have U.S. degrees and are stars in their fields, such as V. Rajaraman, who has helped New Delhi formulate its software policy. Professors double as administrators, limiting India's notorious bureaucratic malaise.
More than 100,000 Indians aspire to enter IIT each year, sitting for the gruelling entrance exams every May. Students typically spend two years in preparation. Of those, just 2,500 are admitted to the network of campuses. (Last year IIT accepted 3,500 out of 178,000 applicants). Fewer than 2,000 make it to graduation each year. ''The process of selection is absolutely draconian,'' says McKinsey head Gupta.
Once in, it gets tougher. Aman Parhar, 22, a biochemistry major at IIT-Delhi, was a high school star. ''But here, everyone is as smart or smarter than you are,'' he says. Textbooks are so expensive that an entire class of 25 often has to share a single book. Students routinely stay up until 3 a.m. to study--or, in IIT lingo, ''mug.'' But they get plenty of attention. Faculty-student ratios, at 1:6 or 1:8, are among the world's lowest. MIT's is 1:11.
According to Saxenian, of an estimated 2,000 start-ups in Silicon Valley, 40% are Indian-spawned, and of those, half are by IIT grads.
The influx began in earnest in the 1970s as Indian students graduated from such schools as Stanford, MIT, and Carnegie Mellon and became a vital source of brainpower in the research labs of Hewlett-Packard, Intel, IBM, and Texas Instruments. They then played founding roles in Sun Microsystems, Cirrus Logic, and numerous other high-tech powers.
U.S. graduate schools actively seek out the institute's grads. California Institute of Technology ''writes to us regularly, asking us to recommend students for scholarships they have available,'' says Kharagpur campus Professor Badriprasad Gupta, who is vice-chairman of the entrance-exam committee. Amitabha Ghosh, director of IIT-Kharagpur, recalls the dean of the University of Maryland at College Park, entreating him to ''send his entire graduating class to Maryland'' and promising them all financial assistance. Even the French and German governments, faced with declining numbers of engineers, are trying to attract grads through exchange programs. IIT graduates frequently find U.S. graduate schools a breeze by comparison.
India's math-focused education gives students a leg up on American students, who depend heavily on calculators in the learning process. India has a long tradition of conceptual mathematics, and schoolchildren are forced to master multiplication tables early on. The math advantage helps: Gangwal of US Airways, renowned in the aviation industry for his speedy mental calculations, says ''people always pegged me as being this terribly analytical guy who can run numbers in his head.'' Yet it was Gangwal's number crunching that helped cut through the morass at the airline.
Another factor of campus life is India's diversity of languages, ethnic groups, and castes. ''You learn how to manage across them,'' says Citigroup's Menezes, who managed to thrive in Citibank's cutthroat environment. ''You couldn't survive any Indian schoolyard unless you figured out how different people think and behave.''
Now that they have the means, alums also want to help their alma mater. Rekhi last year donated $2 million to the school and urged fellow alumni to follow suit. Says Mayfield's Dalal, who has given $10,000 to kick off an alumni-sponsored endowment fund: ''We want to make it right for the next generation.'' The six IIT campuses are tapping alumni for donations and research links with Stanford, Purdue, and other top science universities. “Our mission is to become one of the leading science institutions in the world,” says director Ashok Mishra of IIT-Bombay, which has raised $16 million from alumni in the past five years.
The IITs have also been teaming up with industry on development. IIT-Kharagpur patents a dozen new products each year. Companies such as Intel and Philips Electronics, which are big recruiters at the IITs, have funded endowments and scholarships. They have even bankrolled computer and electronics laboratories in order to keep IIT grads up to snuff on the latest technology.
The bottom line for students and grads is that India has produced a world-class university at surprisingly little cost. By nurturing the schools, the government stands to reap huge rewards as these grads invest in India and draw it further into the circle of global trade and prosperity. Much like Taiwan-born engineers in the U.S., IIT grads are well positioned to set up ventures in their native country. ''These Indians will play a key role in the resurgence of India,'' says Vijay Sahni, country head for Arthur Andersen's India operations. It's not quite how Nehru thought it would be. But this school is vital to India's place in the world.
By 2008, forecasts McKinsey, IT services and back-office work in India will swell five fold, to a $57 billion annual export industry employing 4 million people and accounting for 7% of India’s gross domestic product. That growth is inspiring more of the best and brightest to stay home rather than migrate. “We work in world-class companies, we are growing, and it’s exciting,” says Anandraj Sengupta, 24, an IIT grad and young star at GE’s Welch Centre, where he has filed for two patents. “The opportunities exist here in India.”
If India can turn into a fast-growing economy, it will be the first developing nation that used its brainpower, not natural resources or the raw muscle of factory labor, as the catalyst.
If India manages growth well, its huge population could prove an asset. By 2020, 47% of Indians will be between 15 and 59, compared with 35% now. The working-age populations of the US and China are projected to shrink. So India is destined to have the world’s largest population of workers and consumers. That’s big reason why Goldman, Sachs & Co. thinks India will be able to sustain 7.5% annual growth after 2005.
India provides the deep source of low-cost, high-IQ, English-speaking brainpower that may soon have a more far-reaching impact on the US than China. Manufacturing – China’s strength – accounts for just 14% of US output and 11% of jobs. India’s forte is services – which make up 60% of the US economy and employ two-thirds of its workers. And Indian knowledge workers are making their way up the New Economy food chain, mastering tasks requiring analysis, marketing acumen, and creativity.
This means India is penetrating America’s economic core. The 900 engineers at Texas Instruments Inc.’s Bangalore chip-design operation boast 225 patents. Intel Inc.’s Bangalore campus is leading worldwide research for the company’s 32-bit micro-processors for servers and wireless chips.” These are corporate crown-jewels,” says Intel India President Ketan Sampat. India is even getting hard-wired into Silicone Valley. Venture capitalists say anywhere from one-third to three-quarters of the software, chip, and e-commerce start-ups they now back have Indian R&D (research & development) teams from the get-go. “We can barely imagine investing in a company without at least asking what their plans are for India,” says Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz, who nurtured Google, Flextronics, and Agile Software. “India has seeped into the marrow of the Valley.”
Where India is making an impact:
Software:
India is now a major base for developing new applications for finance, digital appliances, and industrial plants.
IT Consulting:
Companies such as Wipro, Infosys, and Tata are managing U.S. IT networks and re-engineering business processes.
Call Centers:
Thousands of Indians handle customer service and process insurance claims, loans, bookings, and credit-card bills.
Chip Design:
Intel, Texas Instruments, and many US start-ups use India as an R&D hub for microprocessors and multimedia chips.
Financial Analysis:
Research for Wall Street will surge as U.S. investment banks, brokerages, and accounting firms open big offices.
Industrial Engineering:
India does vital R&D for GE Medical GM, engine maker Cummins, Ford, and other manufacturers plan big engineering hubs.
Analytics:
US companies are hiring Indian math experts to devise models for risk analysis, consumer behaviour, and industrial processes.
Drug Research:
As US R&D costs soar, India is expected to be a center for biotechnology and clinical testing.
By Manjeet Kripalani in Bombay, with Pete Engardio and Leah Nathans Spiro in New York and bureau reports, Business Week.
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