Download - Eastern cosmology by sunil laudari
THE EASTERN COSMOLOGY
SUNIL LAUDARI
TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY
JUNE 26th ‘13
CONTENTS
1. VEDIC ASTRONOMY2. INDUS VALLEY /HARAPPAN
ASTRONOMY3. TIME SCALE and DISTANCE
MEASUREMENT4. EARLY NEPALESE CONTRIBUTIONS
VEDIC COSMOLOGY/PHILOSOPHY
Approx. 2000-4000 BC Also known as the Eye of the Vedas,
Jyotirveda the “Science of Light.” Important Book on astronomy- Vedas, Jyotish,
Garun Puran, Rigveda, Brahmanda Puranas, Surya Siddhanta, Aranyakas Upanishads Bhagavata Geeta
COMPONENTS OF THE UNIVERSE(PANCHATATWO)
earth
water
airfire
Space
THE VEDIC BIGBANG SENARIO
"This beginningless and endless time cycle (Kal-Chakra) moves externally like a perpetual flow in which beings take birth and die but there is never birth or death for this”
-Mahabharat
"All embodied beings emanate from the Unmanifest at the commencement of Brahma’s day; at the commencement of his night, they merge in the same subtle body of Brahma, known as the Unmanifest”
-Bhagwad Gita
The earth is spherical and the sun is the main source of energy-Garun Purana
Proposed Oscillatory universe, a cosmic cycle between expansion and contraction from a point called bindu –Rig Veda
Surya Siddhanta about3000 bc based on geocentric theory which is the basis of NEPALI CALENDAR
The word used for the universe is Brahmanda which contains two words Brahma+Anda
Brha=expanding, Anda=egg Thus Brahmanda means expanding egg
according to Matsyapurana The universe collapsed seven times before
becoming steady such that the strength of fundamental forces got adjusted
‘Which has born first and which later ? How were they born ? who knows? They hold the universe by their strength and always keep rotating like a wheel…….. Rigveda
Visnu is shown as holding cakra in the hand. Cakra is a wheel. As Visnu is identified with the Universe. We can easily understand that cakra represents rotation of the Universe.
THE CONCEPT OF ZERO & ROLE OF PLACE VALUE
Roman Numbers are finite. These numbers are fit for nothing else other than decorating the digits on a clock
Zero is derived from Sanskrit word Shunya which means nothing
Einstein rightly said, the entire modern science and mathematics is based on these Hindu numerals (also called Hindu-Arabic Numerals)
" When I read Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous…… who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made”-Albert Einstein
Pythagoras is found in the Shatapatha Brahmanaas as well as the Sulba Sutra, the Indian mathematical treatise, written centuries before Pythagoras was born
THE EPR PARADOX IN VEDIC ERA Nothing even the light
can travel faster than the speed of light-S.R.
But if the departed one is spin up particle then its counter is spin down particle-Q.M.
Ancient Vedic texts speak about telepathy and conversations between people who were geographically located far away from each other
OM – THE UNIVERSAL VIBRATION AND STRING THEORY
The fundamental building block of matter is not pointlike but a one dimensional loop-String Theory
the entire universe is made up of vibrations, and the Vedic hymn Om symbolizes this universal vibration
"Modern physics has thus revealed that every subatomic particle not only performs an energy dance, but also is an energy dance; a pulsating process of creation and destruction. The dance of Shiva is the dancing universe, the ceaseless flow of energy going through an infinite variety of patterns that melt into one another, For the modern physicists, then Shiva’s dance is the dance of subatomic matter”
- Fritjoj Capra
THE E=MC2
J. Robert Oppenheimer-"If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One. . . . Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds"-- Bhagvad Gita
The Rig Veda repeatedly asks, "How is it that though the Sun is not bound and is directed downwards, it does not fall?“ A question asked by Isaac Newton more than three thousand years later
Why does not sun fall down?- Rig Veda
Why does apple fall down?-Newton
DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT Seven horses draw
the chariot of Surya“- Rig Veda These seven horses are the seven colors compromising light
treats earth as a fixed point in space, and describes the seven traditional planets (the sun, the moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn) as moving in orbits around the earth.
Here the ratio of distances equals the ratio of circumferences, since the circumference of a circle is 2 pi times its radius. The ratio of distances is equal to the distance from Venus to the sun in AU
THE SOLAR SYSTEM ACCORDING TO THE SURYA SIDDHANTA
INDUS VALLEY/ HARAPPA CIVILIZATION
Early astronomy motion of sun moon tstars planets their altering appearances used in agriculture ritual calendar astrological prognostication Early astronomy motion of sun moon tstars planets their altering appearances used in agriculture ritual calendar astrological prognostication
Early astronomy used motion of sun, moon, stars, planets. Their
altering appearances were used in agriculture,
ritual ,calendar ,astrological prognostication
Early astronomy motion of sun moon tstars planets their altering appearances used in agriculture ritual calendar astrological prognostication
THE BAILEY AT DHOLAVIRA SLOPES UP TOWARDS THE NORTH AND HAS TWO CIRCULAR STRUCTURES ALIGNED TO CARDINAL DIRECTIONS WITH OPENINGS IN EXACT NORTH AND EXACT WEST. THESE TWO STRUCTURES HAVE LAYOUT, ONE OPENING IN EXACT NORTH AND THE OTHER IN EXACT EAST, WHICH IS SIGNIFICANT IN ITSELF THE INTERPLAY OF IMAGE AND THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE STRUCTURE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS ALL SEEM TO SUGGEST THAT IT IS CONSISTENT WITH BEING AN OBSERVATORY
Dholavira people were able identify days of solar calendar such as summer and winter solstice and use that information to conduct business, farming and other activities.
Calendar stone at MohenjodaroPossible use of calendar
stone for astronomical obervation
: A stone circle at Dholavira with a possible astronomical association
THE ZODIAC & CONSTELLATIONS
Primitive civilization recognized the fact that different constellation are visible at different times of the year Seven
human figure in the seal probably are seven sages of the Great Bear or Saptarsi
CONSTELLATIONS
The ecliptic represents the apparent path of the sun around the Earth-apparent because in fact the sun doesn’t spin around the Earth at all. It just looks that way.Like a circle the ecliptic is divided into 360 degrees-and each degree is in turn divided into 60 minutes.The first 30 degrees of the ecliptic are Aries, the next 30 degrees are Taurus, and so on.The stars that are scattered like dust along the entire length of the ecliptic form the constellations of the zodiac
The Vedic seers were also keen observers of the sky. They were well aware of the motion of the Moon, the path of the Sun, occurrence of eclipses and solstices, and had developed luni-solar calendars with methods of intercalation. More importantly, they formulated a stellar frame of reference, in terms of 27 or 28 naksatras or asterisms (star groups) lying along or near the ecliptic, in order to follow the path of the Moon and Sun
The period from one moon rise to the next or from one moon set to the next was known as tithi(lunar day), which is somewhat different from our present concept of tithi
The sidereal period is the time required for the moon to
complete one orbit against the background of stars.
The synodic (lunar month)
period is the time from new moon to new moon. The
nodal period is the time required for the moon to pass from
ascending node back to ascending node. The sidereal period of the
nodes is the time for the ascending node to make one revolution
with respect to the background of stars. (This is negative since the
motion of the nodes is retrograde.)
LUNAR MONTHS AND LUNAR MANSION
The moon's path is divided into 27 equal parts, although the moon takes about 27 1/3 days to complete it. Each of these parts was called a nakshatra.
LUNAR MONTHS AND LUNAR MANSION
LUNAR MONTHS AND LUNAR MANSION
It appears that the months were introduced after the fullmoon at Krittika(Pleiades). Further Krittika was considered as the east point on the equator or equinox point . The months names, Karttika, Mrgasira , Pusya ,Magha ,etc directly follow from the star names Krittika, Mrgasirsa pusya magha resp. Morever identification of Krittika and Visakha asterisms in opposition indicates that possible 27 or 28 asterisms were already known at the time of civilization
THE TIME SCALE Satyayuga =1,728,000 yrs Tretäyuga = 1,296,000yrs Dväparyuga =864,000yrs Kali-yuga= 432,000 yrs1 kalpa =Mahayuga( 4 yuga * 1000) =4.32 billion years =1 day of Brahma2 kalpa=8.64 billion years =1 day and night of Brahma1 year of Brahma=3.1104 trillion years(Mahā-
Manvantara)
Compare this to present age of the earth!
The Puranas describe time units from the infinitesimal
truti, lasting 1/1,000,0000 of a second to a mahamantavara of 311 trillion years.
Nuclear time scale to
Cosmological time scale
SIZE OF THE UNIVERSE 8 mile = 1 yojana 1mile=1609m
The Surya-siddhanta gives the circumference of Brahmanda or universe,:
=18,712,080,864,000,000 yojanas ~1021 cm
Compare present
size of the universe!
EARLY NEPALESE CONTRIBUTION Stone hinge at tehrathum
erected in lichhavi dynasty used for time keeping
Umbrellas in temple of acham used for time keeping purpose{by measuring the shadows}
Positions of stupas may show some astronomical pattern
SUMATI TANRA 576-880CE =first astronomical book published in Nepal
Legendary artist Araniko collaborated with another legendary Chinese astronomer Guo Shoujin
Contribution to astronomy is unclear
THANK YOU!