India has a rich scientific and technological heritage. This article provides a quick glance of history of scientific and technological advancement, dating back to the ancient Indus Valley Civilization.
The following can be deemed to be the noteworthy contributions of ancient India in Technology and Science.
The Decimal System
In the Early Vedic period (1200–600 BC), a decimal system of numbers was already established in India, together with rules for arithmetical operations (ganita) and geometry (rekha-ganita). These were encoded in a complex system of chants, prayers, hymns, curses, charms and other religious rituals.
Binary Numbers
The binary number system was first described by Pingala in his book.
Binary numbers (0 and 1) are the primary language in which computer programs are written. The combinations 0 and 1 are called bits and bytes. This along with the Fibonacci numbers have helped in the development of the IT sector.
The Heliocentric Theory
The heliocentric theory argues that the sun is the central body of the solar system and perhaps of the universe. Everything else (planets and their satellites, asteroids, comets, etc.) revolves around it.
Aryabhatta and his work Aryabhatiya represented the pinnacle of astronomical knowledge at the time. He propounded It the Earth is round, rotates on its axis, and revolves around the Sun, i.e., the heliocentric theory. The change in seasons was explained through this phenomenon.
Wootz Steel
Wootz (steel), Steel produced by a method known in ancient India.
The process involved preparation of porous iron, hammering it while hot to release slag, breaking it up and sealing it with wood chips in a clay container, and heating it until the pieces of iron absorbed carbon from the wood and melted.
The steel thus produced had a uniform composition of 1–1.6% carbon and could be heated and forged into bars for later use in fashioning articles, such as the famous medieval Damascus swords
Plastic Surgery and Cataract Surgery
The text Sushruta Samhita mentions various illnesses, plants, preparations, cures, and plastic surgery techniques.
The Sushruta Samhita describes methods for the reconstruction of the nose, also known as rhinoplasty. The exact issue behind Cataract was discussed and a cure was found for it, through a surgery.
Ayurveda
Ayurvedic medicine (“Ayurveda” for short) is one of the world’s oldest holistic (“whole-body”) healing systems. It was developed more than 3,000 years ago in India.
It’s based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit.
Considered to be Indian school of Medicine. As the father of Indian Medicine, Charaka was the first physician who presented the concept of digestion, metabolism, and immunity.
Architecture and 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. bear the testimony of excellent planning and execution by architects and craftsmen.
Weights: A System Of Measuring
The Indus Valley civilization is an evolved and recently-discovered ancient culture. The Harrapan and the succeeding cultures of that time are credited with inventing many of the common things we use today, especially in the system of measuring— for instance, the ruler and the weights. In the 1930s, fifty-eight cubed weights were discovered at Chanhudaro, an archeological site of the Indus Valley civilization which can be located in modern-day Pakistan.
Above these are some important scientific, medical, architectural and mathematical achievements of Ancient India that are still used today.
“We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.”
Albert Einstein
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