Tuesday, 21 May 2013

Speed of light in Rig-Veda



Hello Friends, 

I sometimes don't have words to thank God for sending me to his own birth place 'India'. India which was centuries ahead of today's technology, and now trying to regain its lost power is just due to the fact that the british rulers destroyed the complete education system of India in their 200 years (approx.) of Colonial rule. 

The biggest damage these people caused, when they burned one of the greatest libraries, that the world had ever seen. It extended over three buildings that were up to nine stories high. The hundreds of thousands of books inside those buildings covered subjects as wide ranging as grammar, logic, literature, astrology, astronomy, and medicine. But many of the most precious texts were among the most important in Buddhism, and those religious tomes may have been what Bakhtiyar Khilji and his Muslim army were intent on destroying when they sacked the university in 1193. According to legend, there were so many books that they burned for three months. The loss of the religious texts effectively ended Buddhism as a major religion in India for hundreds of years.

Ancient Vedic science “Nimisharda” is a phrase used in Indian languages of Sanskrit origin while referring to something that happe
ns/moves instantly, similar to the ‘blink of an eye’. Nimisharda means half of a Nimesa, (Ardha is half).

In Sanskrit ‘Nimisha’ means ‘blink of an eye’ and Nimisharda implies within the blink of an eye. This phrase is commonly used to refer to instantaneous events.

Below are the mathematical calculations of a research done by S S De and P V Vartak on the speed of light calculated using the Rig Vedic hymns and commentaries on them

The fourth verse of the Rig Vedic hymn 1:50 (50th hymn in book 1 of Rig-Veda) is as follows:
तरणिर्विश्वदर्शतो जयोतिष्क्र्दसि सूर्य | विश्वमा भासिरोचनम |
taraNir vishvadarshato jyotishkrdasi surya | vishvamaa bhaasirochanam ||

which means:
“Swift and all beautiful art thou, O Surya (Surya=Sun), maker of the light, Illumining all the radiant realm.”

Commenting on this verse in his Rig Vedic commentary, Sayana who was a minister in the court of Bukka of the great Vijayanagar Empire of Karnataka in South India (in early 14th century) says:
" tatha ca smaryate yojananam. sahasre dve dve sate dve ca yojane ekena nimishardhena kramaman."
which means “It is remembered here that Sun (light) traverses 2,202 yojanas in half a nimisha”
NOTE: Nimisharda= half of a nimisha.

In the Vedas Yojana is a unit of distance and Nimisha is a unit of time.
Unit of Time: Nimesa.
The Moksha dharma parva of Shanti Parva in Mahabharata describes Nimisha as follows: 15 Nimisha = 1 Kastha.

30 Kashta = 1 Kala,
30.3 Kala = 1 Muhurta,
30 Muhurtas = 1 Diva-Ratri (Day-Night),
We know Day-Night is 24 hours So we get 24 hours = 30 x 30.3 x 30 x 15 nimisha, in other words 409050 nimisha.

We know 1 hour = 60 x 60 = 3600 seconds.
So 24 hours = 24 x 3600 seconds = 409050 nimisha.
409050 nimesa = 86,400 seconds,
1 nimesa = 0.2112 seconds (This is a recursive decimal! Wink of an eye=.2112 seconds!).
1/2 nimesa = 0.1056 seconds.

Unit of Distance:
Yojana Yojana is defined in Chapter 6 of Book 1 of the ancient vedic text “Vishnu Purana” as follows:-
10 ParamAnus = 1 Parasúkshma,
10 Parasúkshmas = 1 Trasarenu,
10 Trasarenus = 1 Mahírajas (particle of dust),
10 Mahírajas= 1 Bálágra (hair’s point),
10 Bálágra = 1 Likhsha,
10 Likhsha= 1 Yuka,
10 Yukas = 1 Yavodara (heart of barley),
10 Yavodaras = 1 Yava (barley grain of middle size),
10 Yava = 1 Angula (1.89 cm or approx 3/4 inch),
6 fingers = 1 Pada (the breadth of it),
2 Padas = 1 Vitasti (span),

2 Vitasti = 1 Hasta (cubit),
4 Hastas = a Dhanu,
1 Danda, or paurusa (a man’s height),
or 2 Nárikás = 6 feet,
2000 Dhanus = 1 Gavyuti (distance to which a cow’s call or lowing can be heard) = 12000 feet 4 Gavyutis = 1 Yojana = 9.09 miles

Calculation: So now we can calculate what is the value of the speed of light in modern units based on the value given as 2202 Yojanas in 1/2 Nimesa = 2202 x 9.09 miles per 0.1056 seconds = 20016.18 miles per 0.1056 seconds = 189547 miles per second !!

As per the modern science speed of light is 186000 miles per second ! And so I without the slightest doubt attribute the slight difference between the two values to our error in accurately translating from Vedic units to SI/CGS units. Note that we have approximated 1 Angula as exactly 3/4 inch. While the approximation is true, the Angula is not exactly 3/4 inch.