Significant inventions of Indian

 

Sun is a Star Indian astronomers has made the important discovery that the stars visible at night are similar to the Sun visible during day time.

There is an old Sanskrit shloka (couplet) which states "Sarva Dishanaam, Suryaha, Suryaha, Suryaha" which means that there are suns in all directions. This couplet which describes the night sky as full of suns. In other words, it was recognized that the sun is also a star.

·         
   Measure of time
     India has given the idea of the smallest and the largest measure of time.

Krati Krati = 34,000th of a second 
1 Truti = 300th of a second
2 Truti = 1 Luv 
2 Luv = 1 Kshana

·         Motions of the Solar System
Aryabhata [476 AD] had discovered earth rotates about its axis. He has clearly calculated the movement of planets and their positions relative to uniformly moving points.

·         Small Pox Vaccination
Indians had mastered a vaccination technique for small pox way before the Europeans did.A method of inducing immunity known as inoculation, insufflation or "variolation" was practiced before the development of a modern vaccine. This method may have been practiced in India as early as 1000 BC.

     Smallpox vaccine

·         Electric battery
The ancient text of Agastya Samhita describes the method of making electric battery, and that water can be split into oxygen and hydrogen.
"Sansthapya Mrinmaya Patre 
Tamrapatram Susanskritam 
Chhadyechhikhigriven Chardrarbhih 
Kashthpamsubhih. 
Dastaloshto Nidhatavyah 
Pardachhaditastah 
Sanyogajjayte Tejo 
Mitravarunsangyitam"

·         Nonviolence: More a civilisational contribution than a 'discovery', the active promotion of kindness and strict nonviolence as a rudiment of life spans the entirety of India's known history, from the ancient concepts of 'Ahimsa', to Mahatma Gandhi's policy of 'Satyagraha' (insistence on truth). It forms a core of the Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh traditions

"India will teach us the tolerance and gentleness of mature mind,   understanding spirit and a unifying, pacifying love for all human   beings."Will Durant, American Historian.

·         Carburised Steel: Ancient Indians were known pioneers in metallurgy, and had mastered the production of high quality steel more than two thousand years before the process was finally demystified (including through the scientific investigations of Michael Faraday) in Britain and Europe. The legendary Indian Wootz Steel was a source of astonishment to other great civilisations.

·         Complex Hydraulic Engineering: Since the time of the Indus Valley civilisation over 5,000 years ago, and until the onset of the European colonial era in the recent past, India had created and sustained a vast and highly advanced network of canals, along with intricate irrigation, water management and sewage systems. These sewage systems were so advanced that they were designed to automatically self-clear systems blockages, as well as account for smell and odour. The world's first flush toilets were also in use in India over 3,000 years ago, and were a feature of most homes in the Indus Valley Civilisation - the largest ancient civilisation in the world. 

·         Calculus
George Gheverghese Joseph from The University of Manchester claims to have uncovered evidence that Indian scholars described the infinite series, a cornerstone of calculus, 250 years before Newton and Leibniz. There is also evidence that this discovery may have been transmitted to Europeans at the time by traveling Jesuit scholars.

·         University
The world's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world is believed to have studies there.

·         Yoga
Representing a complete system of social, physical, mental and spiritual development; the origins of yoga date to some 5,000 years ago in the Indus-Sarasvati civilization of northern India. The first references to the history of yoga can be found in the Rig Veda.

·         Fiber Optics

Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany, is widely recognized as the ‘Father of Fiber Optics’ for his pioneering work in Fiber Optics technology eloquently on his entrepreneurial journey.

·         Ink

Many ancient cultures and civilizations independently discovered and prepared ink for writing purposes. The source of carbon pigment used in Indian Ink (called musi) used in ancient India, was India. Since 4th century BC, the practice of writing with ink with a sharp pointed needle was common in South India.

·         Binary Code

Binary numbers were first described by Pingala (c. 200 BC). Pingala is the traditional name of the author of the Chandaḥśāstra, the earliest known Sanskrit treatise on prosody.
 

·         Fibonacci Numbers

The Fibonacci numbers were first described by Virahanka, Gopala  andHemachandra as an outgrowth of earlier writings by Pingala.
 

·         Decimal System, Quadratic formula and Zero!

It was in 7th century CE when Brahmagupta found the first general formula for solving quadratic equations. The decimal system (or the Hindu number system), which was a precursor of the Arabic numeric system, was developed in India between the 1st and 6th centuries CE.

·         Ruler

Rulers were first used by the Indus Valley Civilization prior to 1500 BCE. Made of ivory, the rulers found during excavation, reveal the amazing accuracy of decimal subdivisions on it.