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History of Science and Technology in India

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History of Science and Technology in India DDCE/History (M.A)/SLM/Paper HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN INDIA By Dr. Binod Bihari Satpathy 1 CONTENT HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN INDIA Unit.No. Chapter Name Page No Unit-I. Science and Technology- The Beginning 1. Development in different branches of Science in Ancient India: 03-28 Astronomy, Mathematics, Engineering and Medicine. 2. Developments in metallurgy: Use of Copper, Bronze and Iron in 29-35 Ancient India. 3. Development of Geography: Geography in Ancient Indian Literature. 36-44 Unit-II Developments in Science and Technology in Medieval India 1. Scientific and Technological Developments in Medieval India; 45-52 Influence of the Islamic world and Europe; The role of maktabs, madrasas and karkhanas set up. 2. Developments in the fields of Mathematics, Chemistry, Astronomy 53-67 and Medicine. 3. Innovations in the field of agriculture - new crops introduced new 68-80 techniques of irrigation etc. Unit-III. Developments in Science and Technology in Colonial India 1. Early European Scientists in Colonial India- Surveyors, Botanists, 81-104 Doctors, under the Company‘s Service. 2. Indian Response to new Scientific Knowledge, Science and 105-116 Technology in Modern India: 3. Development of research organizations like CSIR and DRDO; 117-141 Establishment of Atomic Energy Commission; Launching of the space satellites. Unit-IV. Prominent scientist of India since beginning and their achievement 1. Mathematics and Astronomy: Baudhayan, Aryabhtatta, Brahmgupta, 142-158 Bhaskaracharya, Varahamihira, Nagarjuna. 2. Medical Science of Ancient India (Ayurveda & Yoga): Susruta, 159-173 Charak, Yoga & Patanjali. 3. Scientists of Modern India: Srinivas Ramanujan, C.V. Raman, 174-187 Jagdish Chandra Bose, Homi Jehangir Bhabha and Dr. Vikram Sarabhai. 2 UNIT-1 Chapter-I DEVELOPMENT IN DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF SCIENCE IN ANCIENT INDIA Astronomy, Mathematics, Engineering and Medicine Structure 1.1.0. Objectives 1.1.1. Introduction 1.1.2. Mathematics 1.1.2.1. Vedic Period 1.1.2.2. Post-Vedic Mathematics 1.1.2.3. Arithmetic 1.1.2.4. Algebra 1.1.2.5. Geometry 1.1.2.6. Trigonometry 1.1.3. Astronomy 1.1.3.1. Astronomy during Vedic Period 1.1.3.2. Post-Vedic Astronomy 1.1.3.3. The Originality of Indian Astronomy 1.1.4. Medicine: Ayurveda 1.1.4.1. Scope of Ayurveda 1.1.4.2. Origin and antiquity 1.1.4.3. Development and Decline of Ayurveda 1.1.4.4. Application of Ayurveda to other forms of life 1.1.4.5. Later Development of Ayurveda 1.1.4.6. Spread of Ayruveda Outside India 1.1.5. Engineering and Architecture in Ancient India 1.1.5.1. Prehistoric Period: 1.1.5.2. Architecture during Harappan Period 1.1.5.3. Vedic Period 1.1.5.4. Post-Vedic Period 1.1.5.5. Buddhist Stupa and Viharas 1.1.5.6. Temple Architecture 1.1.5.7. Rock-Cut Architecture 1.1.6. Conclusion 1.1.7. Summary 1.1.8. Exercise 1.1.9. Further Readings 3 1.1.0. Objectives This chapter will discuss the development of different sciences in ancient India. After studying this lesson the students will be able to: know the origin and development of astronomy in ancient India; understand the origin and growth of mathematics in ancient India. assess the growth of engineering in ancient India. identify the evolution and growth of medicine in Ancient India. list the contributions of India to the world in the field of Mathematics and other Sciences. 1.1.1. Introduction The impression that science started only in Europe was deeply embedded in the minds of educated people all over the world. The alchemists of Arab countries were occasionally mentioned, but there was very little reference to India and China. Thanks to the work of the Indian National Science Academy and other learned bodies, the development of sciences in India during the ancient period has draw attentions of scholars in 20th century. It is becoming clearer from these studies that India has consistently been a scientific country, right from Vedic to modern times with the usual fluctuations that can be expected of any country. In fact, we do not find an example of a civilization, except perhaps that of ancient Greece, which accorded the same exalted place to knowledge and science as did that of India. This chapter will throw lights on the sphere of sciences in which ancient Indian excelled. 1.1.2. Mathematics Vedic Hindus evinced special interest in two particular branches of mathematics, viz. geometry and astronomy. Sacrifice was their prime religious avocation. Each sacrifice had to be performed on an altar of prescribed size and shape. They were very strict regarding this and thought that even a slight irregularity in the form and size of the altar would nullify the object of the whole ritual and might even lead to an adverse effect. So the greatest care was taken to have the right shape and size of the sacrificial altar. Thus originated problems of geometry and consequently the science of geometry. The study of astronomy began and developed chiefly out of the necessity for fixing the proper time for the sacrifice. This origin of the sciences as an aid to religion is not at all unnatural, for it is generally found that the interest of a people in a particular branch of knowledge, in all dimes and times, has been aroused and guided by specific reasons. In the case of the Vedic Hindu that specific reason was religious. In the course of time, however, those sciences outgrew their original purposes and came to be cultivated for their own sake. The following paragraphs will discuss the history of mathematics in ancient India. 1.1.2.1. Vedic Period The Chandogya Upanisad mentions among other sciences the science of numbers. In the Mundaka Upanisad knowledge is classified as superior and inferior. The term ganita, meaning the science of calculation, also occurs copiously in Vedic literature. The Vedanga Jyotisa gives it the highest place of honour amongst all the sciences which form the Vedanga. At that remote period ganita included astronomy, arithmetic, and algebra, but not geometry. Geometry then belonged to a different group of sciences known as kalpa. Available sources of Vedic mathematics are very poor. Almost all the works on the subject have perished. There are six small treatises on Vedic geometry belonging to the six schools of the Veda. Thus, for an insight into Vedic mathematics we have now to depend more on secondary sources such as the literary works. 1.1.2.2. Post-Vedic Mathematics The development of a certain level of mathematical knowledge dictated by the material needs of a society is a common phenomenon of all civilizations. What is noteworthy is that Vedic Hindus went much farther than what was warranted by such needs and developed a natural love for the subject fully in keeping with their propensity for abstract reasoning. That problems of irrational quantities and elementary surds, indeterminate problems and equations, arithmetical and geometrical series, and the like, while engaged in the 4 practical design and construction of sacrificial altars. Although problems of architecture, the intricacies of the science of language such as metre and rhyme, and commercial accounting did stimulate the development of mathematics, its greatest inspiration doubtless came from the consideration of problems of reckoning time by the motions of celestial bodies. In India, a substantial part of mathematics developed as a sequel to astronomical advancement; and it is no accident that the bulk of post-Vedic mathematics has been found only in association with the Siddhantas, a class of astronomical works. The formative period of Siddhantic astronomy may be limited to the first few centuries of the Christian era. These centuries and possibly the few closing ones of the pre- Christian era witnessed the development of mathematics required for adequately expressing, describing, and accounting for astronomical elements and phenomena, as well as for meeting the various needs of an organized society. Jaina priests showed remarkable interest in the study and development of mathematics. They devoted one of the four branches of Anuyoga (religious literature) to the elucidation of ganitanuyoga (mathematical principles) and prescribed proficiency in samkhyana (science of calculation) and jyotisa (astronomy) as an important prerequisite of the Jaina priest. An idea as to the various mathematical topics discussed at this early age and recognized in later Jaina mathematical works such as the Ganitasara- sangraha of Mahavira (A.D 850) and Ganitatilaka of Sripati (A.D. 999) may be obtained from an extant passage in the Sthananga-sutra (1st Cent. B.C.). This passage enumerates: parikarma (fundamental operations), vyavahara (determination), rajju (geometry), kalasavarna (fraction), yavat-tavat (linear equation), varga (quadratic equation), ghana (cubic equation), vargavarga (biquadratic equation), and vikalpa (permutations and combinations). It will be seen that ganita then comprised all the three principal branches, viz. arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. Its differentiation into arithmetic (patiganita or vyaktaganita) and algebra (bijaganita, avyaktaganita, or kuttaka) did not take place until Brahmagupta (A.D 598) sought to emphasize the importance of the two. Treatises exclusively devoted to arithmetic began to appear from about the eighth century A.D. Geometry, which had a somewhat independent career at the time of the composition of the Sulvasutras, formed part of ganita and later became largely associated with arithmetic. 1.1.2.3. Arithmetic Decimal Place-value Numeration: It is well known that the development of arithmetic largely centered round the mode of expressing numbers. The early advantage, skill, and excellence attained by Indians in this branch of mathematics were primarily due to their discovering the decimal place-value concept and notation, that is, the system of expressing any number with the help of either groups of words or ten digits including zero having place-value in multiples of ten.
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