Discoveries in Ancient India

-Rishita Tripathi
2nd Year (Mechanical)
Roll No. : 2104405
 Politics and Economics

Chemistry

Table of Content Mathematics

Architecture, Civil
engineering and Astronomy

Medical science
 Field of Science
In ancient India, various researches were
carried out in different fields explaining
different concepts. Different books were
written with respect to these researches and
verified theories were recorded in these books.
These continuous and consecutive works being
carried out resulted in India being an out-sink
of knowledge. Various scholars from different
cultures and contemporary civilisations used to
visit our country, stay over a long time and then
return with the knowledge they gained over
here.
Some of fields in which ancient India used to
be the pinnacle of knowledge were
mathematics, astronomy, medical, metallurgy
etc. Lets shed some light over discoveries in
these fields.
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 Politics and economics
Most of the contemporary civilisations wrote books on politics, economics,
management of society etc. However, most noticeable work which is still
relevant today in field of politics is “Arthshastra”.
The “Arthshastra” is an Indian treatise on politics, military strategy,
economics, function of state, social organisations attributed to the
philosopher and Prime Minister of First king of Mauryan Empire, named
Kautilya/Chanakya. He was the one who was instrumental in establishing
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the Mauryan Empire by making his student ‘Chandragupta Maurya’ the
emperor and overthrowing Dhanananda(the then emperor of Nanda Empire).
Also, he was the one helped to unite all the 16 mahajanapadas and form the
Mauryan empire. The book could be used as a guide of how Chanakya
trained a boy named Chandragupta Maurya with leadership qualities into an
emperor.
This book still studied today with another treatise on politics ‘The Prince ‘
written by an italian political philospher named Niccolo Machivelli of
renaissance era.

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 Rasayana/Chemistry
The contribution of ancient India in field of chemistry begins from
alchemy. In fact, the Kautilya’s Arthshastra mentions the availability of
metals, their ores and practises of purification of those metals.
Also as per the findings at Mohenjodaro, the people were skillfull in
making utensils, tools, weapons etc. from copper and bronze. Whenever
the alchemy is talked about, one of the most famous figure is mentioned Click icon to add picture
named “Nagarjuna”. Often this name is confused with the one who
established the Mahayana theory in buddhism but more or less this guy is
referred to as wizard of alchemy. It is claimed that he is used to make gold
from base metals.
Proof of earliest distillation of alcohol is known to have found at Taxila.
Some of the major chemical products found at sites were burnt bricks and
cement which were used to make wells, houses ; development of glass and
glass beads were widespread and a very high degree of skills were
required to produce those glasses which were then used for decorations.

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 In ancient India, people used the certain plants and fruits like ‘Ritha’ or
‘Shikakai’ to wash their hair. Fruits and nuts such as Sriphala were even
used to wash clothes. Also, the English word Shampoo actually comes
from word champoo which means massaging.
Around 4th centuary, an Indian ink was developed known as ‘Masi’ which
was developed from burnt bones, tar, pitch and other substances. An inkpot
was unearthed from excavations at Taxila. The recipe of ink making was
given in ‘Rasratnakara’ by ‘Nityanatha’. Various other types of ink is used
in temples, Jain manuscripts etc.
A number of classical texts such as Atharva Veda mentions the dyeing of
materials. Plants and their products such as madder, turmeric, indigo(most
of them) were some of the main materials used for dyeing of substances.
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Indigo was the main reason for which the farmers of Bihar and Bengal
were tortured by Britishers during colonial period.
A large number of texts does mention the making of perfumes and scents in
ancient India. The ‘Itra’ was first made by the mother of ‘Noor Jahan’ the
wife of Mughal Emperor ‘Jahangir’. Some texts such as ‘Gandhayukti’
gives the recipe for making scents. These scents were used by people for
worship, sensual enjoyment etc.

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 In ancient India, one of the most practical applications of the chemistry was
in field of metallurgy. Metallurgy was an important activity which resulted
in some of the wonders. One of the prime examples of such wonders is the
‘Iron Pillar’ near Qutub Minar in Delhi made more than 1600 years ago by
iron workers of India. The pillar is known for its rust resistance quality and
is even today examined by scientists all over the world.
India was reputed in fields involving steel and iron. One of the most famous
product which was exported all over the world was the ‘Wootz Steel’. It was
exported as the cakes of steely iron known as ‘Wootz’. It was first produced
in mid- first millennium BCE in south India. In later times, it was produced
in Tamil Nadu, Golconda in Telangana and then in parts of Kerala. The steel Click icon to add picture
along with famous Damascus sword was quite popular in Arab world and
large quantities were traded particularly in West Asia.
However, during the colonial period, the Britishers the production of swords
and daggers from wootz steel and hence as of today none of centres survive
and the production method is also lost. Many scientists and enthusiasts
around the world tried to replicate the production of this steel by analysing
the remaining samples but aren’t able to do so.

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 Mathematics
With India being the pinnacle in research and gaining of knowledge, many famous
theorems and laws of mathematics were discovered here which are still in use today.
As far back as 1200 BC, mathematical knowledge was being written down as part of
a large body of knowledge known as the Vedas. In these texts, numbers were
commonly expressed as combinations of powers of ten. For example, 365 might be
expressed as three hundreds (3×10²), six tens (6×10¹) and five units (5×10 ⁰), though
each power of ten was represented with a name rather than a set of symbols. It is
reasonable to believe that this representation using powers of ten played a crucial Click icon to add picture
role in the development of the decimal-place value system in India.

Zero itself has a much longer history. The recently dated first recorded zeros, in what
is known as the Bakhshali manuscript, were simple placeholders – a tool to
distinguish 100 from ten. Similar marks had already been seen in the Babylonian and
Mayan cultures in the early centuries AD and arguably in Sumerian mathematics as
early as 3000-2000 BC.

But only in India did the placeholder symbol for nothing progress to become a
number in its own right. The advent of the concept of zero allowed numbers to be
written efficiently and reliably.

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 In turn, this allowed for effective record-keeping that meant important
financial calculations could be checked retroactively, ensuring the honest
actions of all involved. Zero was a significant step on the route to the
democratisation of mathematics

In the seventh century, the first written evidence of the rules for working
with zero were formalised in the Brahmasputha Siddhanta. In his seminal
text, the astronomer Brahmagupta introduced rules for solving quadratic
equations (so beloved of secondary school mathematics students) and for
computing square roots.
Indian mathematician Bhāskara had already discovered many of Leibniz’s
ideas over 500 years earlier. Bhāskara, also made major contributions to
algebra, arithmetic, geometry and trigonometry. He provided many results,
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for example on the solutions of certain “Diophantine” equations, that would
not be rediscovered in Europe for centuries.

The Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics, founded by Madhava of

Sangamagrama in the 1300s, was responsible for many firsts in
mathematics, including the use of mathematical induction and some early
calculus-related results. Although no systematic rules for calculus were
developed by the Kerala school, its proponents first conceived of many of
the results that would later be repeated in Europe including Taylor series
expansions, infinitesimals and differentiation.

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Architecture
Along with different fields, ancient Indians from the time of Indus valley civilisations were
very adept at city planning, housing styles etc. This gave the results in form of beautiful
palaces, temples etc.
The remains of the Indus valley civilisations show that cities were planned efficiently and
streets crossed at right angles. There were also proof of efficient sewage system and some
structures also show the proof of usage of modern toilets which are associated with
‘westerners’.
Indian architecture is deeply rooted in culture, history and also the changes which took
place from time to time. Purely Hindu architecture is divided into two styles:
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Dravidian for south and Nagara for north. Along with this, the changes in the pattern can be
observed due to the regional differences. As the time proceeds, many different groups
attacked India which led to many significant changes in architectural style also. Most
famous example is the Indo-Islamic form which was developed when Delhi Sultanate made
its roots stronger in the country. After the sultanate period, Mughal and Rajput architecture
was observed. A prime example can be Taj mahal (litrally one of the wonders of the world)
where use of calligraphy is purely Islamic but other use of civil engineering and red bricks
is of Indian origin. During British era, European styles including neoclassical, gothic
revival, and baroque became prevalent across India. The amalgamation of Indo-Islamic and
European styles led to a new style, known as the Indo-Saracenic style. After independence,
modernist ideas spread among Indian architects as a way of progressing

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from colonial era.
Even though India faced many attacks from foreign invaders and many
changes were brought in traditional architectural style, the use of VASTU
SHASTRA remained prevalent during the course of time. The temples in the
southern India preserved the traditional style because of the advantage in the
geography they had. Many of the temples with ancient styles had been
destroyed due to the usage of wooden architecture.
The earliest survival are from sites which homes Indian rock-cut architecture,
most of which are Buddhist temples and being Hindu and Jain temples. For
example: temples of Ajanta and Elora are still one of the most complex
structure and many wonder about its construction back in those ancient times.
From the modern period, we have our worldwide famous BUNGLAW, which
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is noting but the traditional ‘Bengali Architecture’. This English word is
derived from the word ‘Bangla’, which in Hindi means a house without any
stairs. It became popular worldwide in 20th century due to the fact that old
people can easily access each part of the house.
The Dravidian temples from the south were also a step ahead from those in
the contemporary time. The complex structures and illustration of all the
mythological stories on the walls still shock everyone from modern world.
For example, Padambhaswamy temple, Meenakshi Temple or Mahabaleshwar
temple. All these temples were built on the rules by the vastu shastra and
different temples also represent the faith of people in diffrent eras.

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 Civil Engineering
Indians were familiar with Sthapaty Kala i.e., art of construction. The
knowledge of civil engineering and architecture acquired by Harappan people is
undisputed. The knowledge of construction and its use once again caught
momentum in later vedic period and finally culminated into second urban
revolution in sixth century B.C. The development and growth of the science is
best manifested in the form of temples, palaces and forts. Indian architecture
and civil engineering reached Baluchistan, Central Asia, Sri Lanka, South-East
Asian countries, Korea, Japan etc.
World heritage sites like Ajanta, Ellora, Khajuraho, Sanchi, Mahabalipuram etc. Click icon to add picture
bear the testimony of excellent planning and execution by architects and
craftsmen.
Water management techniques developed during ancient India indicates the
relation between social need and technological progress. Irrigation canals of
different sizes, wells of different types (including ring wells), storage tanks etc.
were constructed. Sudarsan Lake at Grinar in Kathiwar built in 3rd century
B.C. was of enormous size. The interest shown by later rulers in its upkeep and
repair shows general interest of ancient rulers in work related to water
management and irrigation. Many other utilitarian inventions like variyantra
(probably a revolving water spray for cooling the air) mentioned in Arthashastra
and Malvikaagnimitram were work of unknown scientists / engineers of ancient
India

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 Astronomy
Astronomical principles were many times used by astrologers in preparing
horoscope, calendar etc. During vedic times Joytisha was recognized as one of
the branches of studies (Vendanga). In about 40 verses of Rig Veda rules are
given for making almanac (pancanga) for a cycle of 5 years of 1830 days. It
included both astronomy as well as astrology with sufficient idea about
planetary movement, solar and lunar eclipse etc.

The earliest concept of a heliocentric model of the solar system is found in Click icon to add picture
vedic texts, for example, “The Sun never sets nor rises” has been stated in
Aitareya Brahamana. Visnu Purana clearly states “The sun is stationed for all
time …”.

The ancient and oldest text on astronomy appears to be Surya Siddhhanta. All
the astronomers in ancient India held surya Siddhanta in high esteem and
considered their individual work as commentaries to the same. It can even
now enable prediction of eclipses with slight error. Aryabhatta-I remodelled
astronomy on scientific basic. He made pioneering discoveries in the realm of
planetary motion. In his magnum opus Aryabhattiya, he propounded the

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a mathematic heliocentric model and popularised the theory that earth rotates
on its own axis. He further stated that earth was spherical in shape and it
followed an elliptical path around the stationary sun. Varahamihira (6th
century AD) wrote Panca Siddhantika which gives the summary of five
astronomical books of his time. In his treatise Brihat Samhita forwarded
encyclopedic range of knowledge about several branches of science. However
his work is considered as authoritative source for astrology.
Bhaskara-II in Siddhanta Siromani went a step further to mention law of
gravity. InIact Goladhayay (sphere) and Grahaganita (mathematics of the
planets) which are two important parts of his treatise are directly associated
with astronomy. His other important work Karallakutuhala is a manual of
astronomical calculation that is still in use in many parts of India for making
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calendar. Other astronomers of eminence include Madhava, Nelakantha etc.
In India people had started the use of the astronomical instruments before
1000 BC. During this period one of the prominent books ‘Suryasidhanta’ was
written for astronomical calculations. There are several works with the same
name, BUT the Original writer of Surya Siddhanta is unknown.
The title ‘Suryasidhanta’ means sun theory and it highlights the calculations
of positions of stars and planets. Some of the Indian mathematicians later
have developed their own instruments and developed their own methods to
facilitate the theory of ‘Suryasidhanta’.

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 Introduction of zero in mathematics and the decimal method of calculation is
one of such invaluable contribution. We should note that Varahamihira had
contrasted Surya Siddhanta along with his 4 other treatises in the
panchsiddhantika viz. Paitamaha Siddhantas, Paulisha , Romaka Siddhantas
and Vasishta Siddhanta. Citation of the Surya Siddhanta is also found in the
works of Aryabhata.
Indian Astrology is as old as Vedas and Upanishads. It has been vindicated by
the connoisseurs that Indian Astrology had already reached its zenith over
millennium ago when other forms of occult were nonexistent. The Rigveda is
the oldest amongst all and is also called first book ever written by a man. There
are reasonable evidences which go to prove that Astrology was a major subject
contemplated by the ancient sages. Click icon to add picture
For instance Rigveda comprises the names of zodiacs and planets while in
Yajurveda the names of constellations or nakshatra are vividly talked about.

As mentioned in Atharvaveda, it was Sage Gargya who first made successful

attempts in visualizing and presenting a concrete path of zodiacal divisions in
the outer space. Besides the above facts, productive discourse on 28
constellations or nakshatra, Milky Way or akash ganga, and the great bear
(saptarshi mandal) also find its roots in various ancient Indian scriptures. In a
path breaking event, the Indian astronomers first conceptualized the twelve
months and the six seasons.

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 Medical science
Earliest references to diseases and medicines are found in Atharva
Veda. Vedas mention Asvins as celestial physicians and certain
qualities of physicians are also attributed to Rudra. Dhanvantri, a
legendary figure was regarded as god of medicine. Ayurveda the
science of life or longevity is basically science of medicine. It is
indigenous and developed independently without any external
influence. It deals with ailments, diseases, symptoms, diagnosis and
cure. It heavily relies on herbal medicines.
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Javika at the court of Bindusara was a renowned physician. He was
sent many times to other kingdoms to help kings /personalities
recover e.g. he was usually sent to look after Buddha’s health.
Atreya dealt with principles of Ayurveda and taught the subject at
Taxila. His teachings were collected by his pupil Agnivesa and
complied by Charaka. Charaka Samallita compiled by Charaka is a
comprehensive manual on medicine, principles and practices of
Ayurveda.

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 It describes in detail all stages from diagnosis to treatment and also the
process/procedure involved in preparation of medicine. He described enzymes
required for digestion and metabolism and identified twenty types of disease
causing germs and their shapes, sizes and colour.
The Varanasi school of medicine specialized in surgery. Sushrut, a surgeon of
extraordinary knowledge and skill wrote Sushrut Samhita, a text on surgical
science. He was resident of Kashi (Varanasi). He incorporated surgery into
general field of medicine. He described about more than 100 instruments of
surgery and around 300 surgical procedures. Sushrut Samhita had a chapter on
plastic surgery procedures, specially the operation and rebuilding of nose,
what we today call as rhinoplasty. It also deals with matters like ejection of
cataracts (ophthalmology). Sushrut is rightly called father of surgery. Click icon to add picture
Yoga (the ancient system of exercise for physical and mental nourishment)
originated in India. It is one among the six systems of Vedic philosophy.
Patanjali compiled various aspects of yoga systematically in his treatise Yoga
Sutra. He surmised that latent energy within human body can be released
through practice of yoga, which in turn has good effect on the body and mind.
In fact many ailments can be prevented, controlled, mitigated and cured with
the help of yoga. Rational interpretation of yoga brought about a practical and
scientifically sound method to make it part of everyday life. Its techniques
have now been oriented to suit modern sociological needs and life-style.

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thank you