Advancement of Science in Ancient India

      Our elders have passed on several stories about highly advanced scientific progress, which has been achieved by India in its ancient times. Every time when there was some new scientific discovery coming to public domain, throughout in our growing time, like television, satellites, guided missiles, weapons of mass destruction, stories soon started making rounds about their getting linked to some or the other reference in our scriptures. We also read about Pushpak Vimana and floating bridge over sea in Ramayana and great weaponry system of Pandavas, live commentary given by Sanjay to blind King Dhritrastra, Arjuna punching a water stream from a single arrow so that Bhishma Pitamah could quench his thirst while on his deathbed waiting for the right moment as per his horoscope to leave his body and Sudarshan Chakra of Sri Krishna which followed its target wherever it went. But whenever we tried finding more details all was available to the loosely connected reference of such stories in epics or Puranas. We were also told that our ancestors have made so much of scientific progress in those days and present generation is even unable to pick up the available hints from our scriptures and related Shastras.

Science in Ancient India

      But, hold on; let us accept the fact that these are merely myths. As we have seen in the section on Mahabharata and Ramayana and all subsequent readings, there is no doubt most of these stories are just fiction at its best and there was no such advancements in technology or sciences as our elders mistakenly believed to be true. Surely, we can salute to the narrators for taking their fictional capability to such heights that some of their hints got converted into reality over 2000 years later. But that's about all.

      It is said that religion and arts, at any given point of every culture, are known to travel in the same direction. In the sense that for making advancements in both religion and arts, one must always be grounded in the perspective of history to look at the new angle of present. But in science, it is totally different as one is supposed to completely forget everything of the past to make an altogether new research which may have some continuity from the past or no. Standing today; one can say that Hindus have never been able to forget their rich past. That continued clinging with our proud ancient heritage resulted as strong shackles for our ability to make advance contributions in all fields scientific. One more strong reason of our inability to keep pace with scientific advancements is that intellectual life of Indians has all along being dominated by religious thoughts than that of any other race. As a result, for most part of our proud past heritage, a large portion of our intellectuals has given more attention to religious and spiritual accomplishments as against to basic sciences.

      Let us look at some findings that one comes across from normal study of the Indian Scriptures. Though, I must admit that I have not been looking for science as specific subject of curiosity. I had been looking largely on the evolution of social systems and structures of traditions than science. In any case, my specialized education of commerce would have inhibited my ability to grasp science with all its depths; I may not have even succeeded in looking at science. So these observations are the result of secondary readings.

      The earliest reference that one comes across for any scientific material is in Shulva Sutra which deals with rules of measurements. This text is dated around 800 to 700 BC. As we know that over the period of Vedic culture Vedic rituals and sacrifices had grown to fairly large proportions, it is but natural that there was a need for some well defined rules to ensure that the Vedi for Yajna and for animal sacrifices are made as per desired dimensions to ensure that the desire for divine blessing does not get hindered. It has rules for length, height, angles, etc. which is like an elementary mix of maths and geometry at best. But if you go back from that place to 1200 years early and compare it with Sindhu Sarasvati Culture's achievements in terms of square towns and well defined water works and sewage/storm water drains, minting for metallic seals in alloys, invention of chess (very first version), the progress of Vedic people for finalizing basic measurements of Havan Kunda will not even qualify to be called a baby step.

      Later, one comes across Vedanga Jyotisha which looks like oldest astronomical text available anywhere in our texts and one finds some progress like mention of Dhruv Star but the real breakthrough in terms of spinning of earth and it being round as against flat, will be proven by others only and only many centuries later. This was also the text that established first Indian calendar, a very insufficient attempt that finally got dumped for all practical reasons. But there was still no reference of eclipses where Saros cycle of the Greeks has been much more advanced.

      Only much later, it was Aryabhatta (born 476 CE) who wrote Aryabhatiya and earned a good name everywhere for his contributions in mathematics and astronomy. But let us not forget that composition of Mahabharata has started around 800 years before this development. It was Aryabhatta who argued that westward visible movement of stars gives that impression because stars are fixed and we are observing them from a spinning earth. Until that time in history everybody had strongly and firmly believed that world is fixed and every thing visible in the space make rounds around the earth.

      Aryabhatta was the first person who came up with the theory of spinning of earth. But then if you are too ahead of your compatriots, they don't believe you. Not only that, they may even ridicule you for your illogical views. This is what it happened to Aryabhatta. There was no system in practice like now-a-days where people making scientific announcements were loaded with all facts and empirical data to support their claims. Our Aryabhatta was no exception and he was ridiculed by his peers as well.

      Then we come across Brahma Siddhanta for getting used by some Islamic Scholars for developing telescopic astronomical aids for observing the cosmos. Subsequently, we come to 12th Century and read about Bhaskara II known to have invented pi. He compiled his book named Lilawati after her dear daughter where he has used poetic riddles to discuss complicated mathematical problems. He is also credited with some great work on calculus. But his area was mainly numbers while advance mathematics is much more than mere number crunching.

      Certainly, Hinduism had not been blessed by some one like Isaac Newton, the great scientist credited with "laws of gravity". Many of us may not know that Newton started from mechanics much before mathematics. He believed that a scientist should be able to draw a circle accurately before he could master geometry. Many of us may also not believe that Newton started with an attempt to explain the physical universe with God as an essential part of the system. He wanted to describe the relations between celestial and terrestrial bodies in mathematical terms so that a coherent system can be well established. His original belief was that nature was completely passive and God alone was the sole source of activity. But his findings of laws of gravity took that power away from God and rested it completely with the attractive part of matter. And that was, to begin with, original idea of Aristotle and was incompatible with Christian idea of sovereignty of God.

      Hinduism, on the contrary continued attracting best of its human talent to remain in awe with its glorious past. It was in these periods that Christianity allowed more of its adherents to pursue sciences with more open minds even by going against the orthodox systems that it was known for.

      Another important reason for Hindus lagging behind in scientific advancements, to my mind, is our historical lack of interest in instruments and machines. We have been great in every area which involved use of mental faculties but not so good when it comes to creating and using machines. For examples, we started well with Astronomy, but further growth involved making sophisticated telescopes, which would have required presence of instrument makers and we never had that.

      Another obvious weakness seems the absence of institutionalized approach. We have been an individual focused society. There are only few instances of collaborative group workings at larger scales. For example, we never had institutions like Royal Society of London, which was dedicated to collection of new knowledge in all fields, and replace that with the old knowledge. Similarly; one comes across not many instances where Hindus were having intellectual expertise in different fields getting pooled together in systematic ways to grow on each other's knowledge. Pooling of resources is supposed to be the easiest way of new discoveries. So until the time that single individuals were able to keep themselves abreast with knowledge on all fronts, we were at par with the world if not ahead of all. But no sooner, pooling became essential for assimilating wide knowledge on expanding fronts, we were found wanting. Our Kings were largely busy in pursuing their personal agendas and luxuries. Weakening the enemy was the approach rather than strengthening self.

      Ayurveda can be taken as the only science stream where Ancient India did wonders. Wellness of human body has been an early area of interest of our sages. Here again, we also come across strong clues from the excavation at Sindhu Sarasvati sites that medical practices have been around at that time as well in fairly advanced stage—probably another first in the world. Medical references are found in Rig-Veda in plenty as well. It is but a different matter that in those early days evil spirits were supposed to be larger cause for human health than anything else. But that misconception got changed later. Charak-Samhita, which together with Sushruta Samhita, is acknowledged as the earliest text credited with Ayurveda being projected with a complete and comprehensive scientific approach to the understanding as to how a human body operates and how to make its systems respond to external intervention. Composed around 900 to 700 BC, Charak Samhita includes eight sections and 120 total chapters. It divided medical study into eight separate sub sections. These were:

1. Surgery with External Equipment,

2. Minor Operations performed with Superficial Pricks,

3. Medical treatment for ailments of body,

4. Ghostly treatments,

5. Medicines specific to ladies and children,

6. Treatments for poisonous bites,

7. Chemistry for healthy body balance and finally

8. Ways to improve health and virility.

      Now this is something to be proud of as such an extensive classification of medical science around three thousand years earlier is no mean feat.

      The language of Charak Samhita is Sanskrit and this Samhita is also written in poetry style with meter and melody. Scriptures of that time were always written in poetry form to facilitate memorizing of the contents. There are in all over 8,400 metrical verses. The focus of Charak Samhita is 'Kayachikitsa' meaning internal medicine and the science contained is based on theory of digestive fire and treats the ailments focused on vaata without so much discussing pitta and kapha, the other two critical elements of Indian systems. Sushruta Samhita that presents the field of Ayurvedic surgery has dealt the second aspect of medicinal science of surgery. There were very frequent wars and surgery was equally critical. Sushruta also is said to be a redaction of oral material passed down verbally from earlier generations.

      Lastly; one another area of advanced progress in the ancient history is in Metallurgy. But again, Harappa culture remains, since found, reveal that they were far ahead of every other civilization in their times. They are now known to produce metals like copper, bronze, lead and tin besides iron and gold. From Vedic time onwards. Actually, Rig-Veda uses the term Ayas which means alloy or copper or bronze. The term used for iron is Krishn Ayas (black metal). Recent excavations in Middle Ganges Valley conducted by archaeologist Rakesh Tewari show iron working in India may have begun as early as 1800 BC.

      Going even in the past, evidence found from Sindhu Sarasvati sites in India and Pakistan show ample examples of widespread presence of copper-bronze metallurgy in the Harappa civilization. Historians are of the opinion that that civilization had developed practice of copper-smelting even before iron smelting as there is to date no proven evidence for smelted iron during Sindhu Sarasvati sites but few iron and steel items also have been unearthed where some of these are said to be dated on or before 2600 BC. These new findings force us to consider the possibility that some of these items were made of smelted iron.

      In any case India has always been known for its great skills for metallurgical progress. The special alloy pillar at Qutub Minar which is there for 1600 years and even in the climate of Delhi, which sees an extreme variations from a cold night in winters to the hottest day of summer, has not yet rusted, is a great example of our ancestors reaching to great heights while dealing with metals.