Science. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word science? Cutting-edge medical improvements? Space exploration? Technology?
What if I told you all of these were known to our ancestors at least 4,000 years back? Here are some facts.
CONCEPT OF TEST TUBE BABIES
Everyone is aware of the Mahabharata, where Gandhari had 100 sons and a daughter, but what is not widely known is the explanation behind this.
Each Kaurava was created by splitting a single embryo into a hundred parts and growing them in a separate kund. This is exactly how modern science creates test tube babies.
DISTANCE FROM THE EARTH TO THE SUN
It is a pretty well known that the ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ gives us the distance from the Earth to the Sun, but not many people know how.
“Yug sahasra yojan par bhanu, leelyo taahi madhura phal jaanu.”
This verse from the ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ translates to “Hanuman travelled thousands of miles to swallow it thinking it was a fruit”. However, the word-to-word translation of the same verse reveals the distance that Lord Hanuman travelled.
Yug (1 yuga) = 12,000 years
Sahasra = 1,000 units
Yojan (1 yojan) = 8 miles
Now, “Yug sahsra yojan” means 12,000 x 1,000 x 8 = 96,000,000 miles = 15,36,00,000 kms
Which, surprisingly has only a 1 per cent error.
Some of the other contributions given to the world by India:
1. Aryabhatta (Father of Mathematics); Work: Aryabhatteeya
2. Varahmihra (Father of Astrology); Work: Pancha Siddhantika
3. Sushruta (Father of surgery); Work: Sushruta Samihita
4. Patanjali (Father of yoga); Work: Yogasutras
5. Chanakya (Father of economics); Work: Arthashashtra
6. Rishi Kanada (Father of Atomic theory); Work: Kanada Sutras
7. Vishwakarma (Father of Architecture); Work: Vastu Darpana
8. Mayasura (Father of Astronomy); Work: Surya Siddhanta
9. Dhanvanthri (Father of Medicine); Work: First propounded Ayurveda
10. Panini (Father of Grammar); Work: Ashtadhyayi
The above list is just the tip of the iceberg. We need to take pride in educating what our ancestors did when the whole west world had been taking baby steps to make fire using sticks and stones.
