Dr K S Parthasarathy
On April 21 and 22, 2014, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Officers’ Association (BARCOA) and the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS), Department of Atomic Energy, organized a National Symposium on Scientific and Technological Concepts in Ancient Indian Scriptures. Shri Sekhar Basu, Director, BARC inaugurated the symposium; Dr R Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India delivered the key-note address.
The symposium attempted to revive and appreciate Ayurveda, yoga, mathematics, naturopathy, physics and metaphysics, scientific and mathematical concepts of music, vedic science and health, ancient Indian philosophy of Vedanta and its influence on modern science and atomic energy in India: a historical perspective among other topics.
At the inaugural session, Professor Subhash C.Lakhotia, Banaras Hindu University fervently argued that unbiased scientific studies are essential for rational acceptance and quality control of Ayurveda and other traditional health care systems.
He noted that the concerted efforts initiated by Dr S Valiathan and Dr R Chidambaram to understand the science of Ayurveda have already provided some very interesting trends. Researchers have established Drosophila (Fruit-fly) as a good model to examine the biological actions of specific Rasayanas at organismic, cellular and molecular levels.
Fruit flies lived longer, laid more eggs, became more tolerant to temperature; rat brains aged slower, all of these after certain Ayurvedic treatments.
Evidently, the maiden steps to validate Ayurveda are already being taken now.
In a paper published in PLoS ONE journal (2012), researchers showed that Amalaki Rasayana (a herbal preparation based on Indian Gooseberry) and Rasa Sindoor (an organo metallic-mercurybhasma) affect the general biology of flies in a manner comparable to their therapeutic effects indicated in traditional Ayurvedic literature. Professor Krishnamurthi Ramsubramanian, IIT, Bombay, vividly described the long and hallowed history of mathematics in India. He disclosed that Sulvasutras, the oldest texts (prior to 800 BC) that deal with mathematics, explicitly state and make use of the so called Pythogorean theorem, besides giving various interesting approximations to surds, in connection with the construction of altars and fireplaces of different sizes and shapes
He explained the contributions of Aryabhata (499 AD), Brhmaguptha (628 AD), and Madhava (1340-1420 AD) among others. Madhava pioneered the Kerala School of astronomy and mathematics, which thrived on the banks of river Nila, in the south Malabar region of Kerala; its epoch making contribution was infinitesimal calculus. Madhva Sangamagrama discovered the infinite series for pi and trigonometric functions.
Eulogizing his seminal contributions, Dr Ramasubramanian stated that” it was Madhava who was responsible for the efflorescence of the galaxy of brilliant astronomers and mathematicians that the Kerala school produced for the next three centuries”.
Ramasubramanian’s speech interspersed with the recitation of appropriate shlokas, the lucidity of his expressions, the felicity with which he handled Sanskrit and English left no one in doubt about his abiding interest, infectious enthusiasm and enviable commitment to the topic.
“While many Mainstream Scientists (Modern) are receptive to the ideas of Vedic Technology, lack of ,mastery over Sanskrit language and lack of access to the Ancient Treatise and the absence of a Commonly Accepted Terminology has been placing obstacles in the process of Building Bridges between these two closely related branches of Science”, Dr A Balasudhakara Sastry, Shrimaharshi Research Institute of Vedic Technologies(SRIVT), Secunderabad stated while describing vedic sciences, research methodology, curriculum of Nalanda and Takshashila universities and the need for bridging the gap between modern and vedic sciences.
Professor Malhar Kulkarni, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, highlighted the significance of Panini and his grammar in the development of technological terminology in India. He revealed that the Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology, set up by the Government of India has produced 70 volumes of definitional terms as well as glossaries containing vocabulary in different disciplines of science and technology.
Speaking on “Astronomy in ancient India and its relevance to modern times”, Dr J J Rawal, the Indian Planetary Society, showed that ancient Indian Rishis were far ahead in scientific thinking and knowledge.
He stated that Rishi Baudhayan of Kerala in 8th century BC gave “Pythagoras Theorem”, 400 years before Pythagoras! Dr Rawal traced the evolution of the thought processes which led Einstein to generate four dimensional Universe.
“Discovery of number system by Indians play an important role in understanding both macroscopic and microscopic Universe of modern time”, he added.
Dr R N Iyengar, Jain University, Bangalore traced the history of astronomy in India. He stated that two distinct periods called presiddhantic and siddhantic are notable. He wrote a book in which he reconstructed Parasara-tantra with Sanskrit text, translation and notes from authentic sources. Dr M R Iyer, formerly from BARC and International Atomic Energy Agency stated that the Hindu philosophical treatises visualized unit of time ranging from a fraction of a microsecond to 1022 seconds encompassing 30 decades. They named each of these units; the infinitesimal Truti lasting less than 1/3,000,0000th of a second to Mahamanvantara of 311 trillion years. He described the concept of time in physics and metaphysics taking the audience to sublime levels of philosophy Dr Daisy Joseph, BARC described how X-ray emission techniques can be used to identify and quantify appropriate rare earth elements used as taggants for offset printing inks. The technique can help us to verify the authenticity of documents.
Texts of 18th, 19th 20th century has identifiable contents of various elements.
The Government of India has set up the National Manuscript Mission, which has already identified five million manuscripts from collections all over India; they are written in Sanskrit and regional languages. This will be a priceless resource for those who want to carry out research in this area
This unique symposium organized by Shri R K Mishra, Chairman, Organising Committee and Chairman, BARCOA and Shri N K Karnani, Convener and their team gave an invaluable opportunity for the attendees to appreciate the glory of a bygone era while listening to the erudite lectures by a galaxy of dedicated specialists. The topics seamlessly merged with the intellectual ambience prevalent in BARC, a premier multidisciplinary nuclear research centre in India.
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