MYSTERY OF ANCIENT HISTORY [ MANY UNKNOWN TOPICS ] CLICK HERE
CONTENTS :
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TOPIC 1
VAIMANIKA SHASTRA : Secrets of India’s 7000 year old Vimana - Ancient Aerospace Technology
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Did you know that Sage Bharadwaja from the Vedic period wrote about the concept of an aeroplane in his scriptures 7000 years ago ?
Based on this very concept, an Indian Vedic Scholar, Shivkar Bapuji Talpade built the world's first unmanned aircraft in the 19th Century. This happened before the Wright brothers.
They say that Bharadwaja was a highly respected sage from the Vedic period whose ashram was situated in current day Prayag in Uttar Pradesh. At this ashram, he researched several subjects such as Ayurveda, genetics, human embryo formation, Sanskrit grammar and wrote a collection of books such as Ayurved Samhita and Bharadwaja Shiksha.
Bharadwaja is known as a great sage for these reasons. Out of his scriptures, Viman Samhita is Maharishi Bharadwaja's most important contribution to modern science and technology. The technology of building of an aircraft has been explained with the help of 3000 stanzas, 8 chapters, 100 sections, 500 principles and several drawings in this collection. Through his collection, one also learns that Bharadwaja had knowledge of the changes in the ecosystem that came with different eras and he designed the aircraft keeping these things in mind.
Few important Vimanas :
Mantrik Vimana :
Details of more than 25 Mantrik Vimanas are given that are powered by mantras during the Treta Era. Ravana's Pushpak Vimana was one of them.
Tantrik Vimana :
Details of more than 56 Tantrik Vimanas are given that fly on the power of special devices during the Dwapar Era. Saubha Vimana mentioned in the Mahabharata was one such aircraft.
Kritika Vimana :
Maharishi Bharadwaja also written details of Kritika Vimana that run on powerful engines in modern times. Of the 25 varieties of Kritika aircraft, three interesting aircraft are Sundara, Shakuna and Rukma.
Sundara Vimana :
Sundara Vimana's source of energy is solar energy five gas engines, exhaust pipes, a furnace and wheels.
Rukma Vimana :
Rukma Vimana is a futuristic aircraft. In these details one sees techniques invented after the 18th century, such as cylinders, pistons and pumps. Poles and wheels under the vimana revolved with the help of switches which helped the aircraft to fly.
Shakuna Vimana :
Shakuna Vimanas were made using 'raj loha' which was heat resistant. The collection gives a description of the aircraft's base a long mast, wheels and a large dome. It also contains a description of a tail that is controlled by ropes to provide direction of the aircraft.
Having studied the design of Bharadwaja's aircraft, Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, an India Vedic scholar built Marutsakha, the world's first unmanned aircraft in 1895 and flew it 1500 feet above the ground at Bombay's Chowpatty beach. It was witnessed by many great people including Justice Mahadeo Govind Ranade and Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad, the king of Baroda. It was reported in ‘ The Kesari ’ which was a leading daily newspaper during that time. This was eight years before the Wright brothers. But the British kept the world from learning of this invention. So Talpade's invention, along with Maharishi Bharadwaja's knowledge got lost in the pages of history.
In
2017, Travis Taylor, an American aeronautical engineer technically proved Maharishi
Bharadwaja's designs and said that the aircraft's design was perfectly
aerodynamic. Ancient India used an ion engine to power the aircraft and mercury
was used as fuel now the same technology was used by NASA to successfully
launch SERT-1, its first spacecraft in 1964.
While the world today is only visualising flying cars and space tourism in the future, great Maharishi Bharadwaja has written about it in his collection millennia ago.
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TOPIC 2
Mount Everest :
The highest mountain peak on Earth. One of the 79 peaks in the Himalayas. A Bengali computer measured its height whose name was Radhanath Sikdar . And that too without ever climbing Mount Everest !
Who
was he? How did he pull off this great feat ?
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Radhanath Sikdar was
born in 1813 in Bengal. Due to financial constraints, he studied at a village
school. On the basis of his brilliant mind, he earned a scholarship. In 1824,
He enrolled in Hindu College in Calcutta which is now known as Presidency
College. Here, in 1830, he started taking lessons from the renowned
mathematician John Tytler. John Tytler considered Radhanath to be a
genius and recommended him to George Everest.
Computers and
calculators had not been invented in the 19th century. In those times, a person
who would do complex calculations using his brains was known as a computer. On
19th December 1831, Radhanath was selected for GTS, the Great Survey of India. Radhanath
was only 19 when he was paid 30 rupees a month to work in the post of a computer.
After working for years on the GTS project, Radhanath was promoted as the chief
computer considering his brilliant mind. He was also appointed as the
superintendent of the Meteorological Department.
After George Everest retired, he was replaced by Colonel Andrew Scott Waugh who asked Radhanath to measure the heights of mountain peaks. It was a challenging task for Radhanath. To measure the heights of mountain peaks, genius Radhanath used simple geometric ideas and a gigantic Telescope-like instrument called a Theodolite. Today, a person can carry a Theodolite in his bag. But back in those days, a Theodolite weighed almost 1000 pounds that is 450 kilos! It would take the strength of at least 12 men to lift it. Using this theodolite, Radhanath measured peak 15 by collecting data from six different locations. Back then, the entry was banned from certain areas surrounding Peak 15. Every survey site was more than 100 kilometres away from the mountian peak. The average height was measured from Mirzapur, Jarol, Janjipati, Ladania, Harpur and Minai. Towers were erected at the survey site with the help of these towers, peak 15's triangulation started by measuring the height of the peak from the sea level.
Many
scientists, historians, experts have analyzed Radhanath's extraordinarily and
unique method in the following manner :
For
example...
Consider two locations, A and B. The distance between the two points was already known, to find out the angle, Radhanath first went to location A. He pointed the theodolite towards the peak 15 and noted down the reading. He then rotated the theodolite towards the location B and noted down that reading. In this manner he recorded the reading of angle A. He then went to the location B and repeated the process. This way he found out angle B. After noting down the distance between the two locations and the measurement of the two angles, he used triangulation and trigonometry to measure the height of peak 15. In this manner, he collected data from all locations.
For the next four years, he used the method of minimum squares, method of averages, trigonometric calculations, and also used many of his own methods; until one morning in 1852, Radhanath ran into Colonel Waugh's room and told him excitedly, "Sir, I've discovered the highest mountain in the world."
Peak 15 measured by
Radhanath was 29,000 feet. This
discovery left Kanchenjunga second, which was until then the highest peak. Mount
Kanchenjunga was 28, 169 feet. After comparing to all other peaks, Radhanath
learned that Peak 15 is the highest peak in the world. Sikdar measured Peak 15
in 1852. But it took Waugh four years to confirm his findings. In the end, considering
all the experts, Waugh added two feet to Radhanath's calculations and gave a
stamp of approval to his findings. He declared the results in 1856 to the
world. Colonel Waugh considered George Everest as his mentor and named Peak 15 after him though he had never
seen it. So Peak 15 was named as Mount Everest.
Peak 15 would've never been known as Mount Everest, had Radhanath not worked
hard to discover it. The British never gave Radhanath the credit for this great
accomplishment. In one of the British survey manual dated 1891, it was
mentioned, that Radhanath Sikdar had written its technical and mathematical
chapters. This manual helped other surveyors a lot. In 1864, Sikdar was awarded
membership into the Philosophical
Society of Germany for his unique contribution. He was the first Indian to get
this honor.
Radhanath died in May 1870 and his name stopped being published in the subsequent editions of the survey manuals. Thus Radhanath was consigned to oblivion. Later, many writers, historians and scientists tried to find the connection between Mount Everest and Sikdar. They published many write-ups about him.
Ninety-six years after his discovery, in 1948, an obscure road in Chander Nagor ( Chandannagar ), Hooghly, West Bengal was named after him. His statue was installed there. After 152 years, that is, in 2004, the Government of India issued a postal stamp in the honour of Radhanath Sikdar.
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SAGE SUSHRUTA :
Did you know the first plastic surgery in the world, was performed by an Indian surgeon whose name was Sage Sushruta ?
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Nearly
2600 years ago, during the vedic era, there lived a sage named Sushruta. Sushruta lived in the ancient
and chaste city of Kasi of Western India, which today is better known as Banaras or Varanasi. During those days, intellectual people were called sages
or Maharishi. One such intellectual person was Sushruta. Sage Sushruta acquired
his knowledge of medicine from Kashiraj Divodas, the king of Kashi. And he
became a physician. As a physician, he treated soldiers who got injured on the
battlefield. Looking at the condition of those soldiers, Sushruta found his
inspiration for surgery.
He would
fix the broken parts or injury through surgery. In those days, the punishment for
any illegitimate crime was to chop off the criminal's nose. Sushruta invented
the Rhinoplasty or the nose surgery, through which he
could reconstruct the broken nose. Sushruta was also the first cataract
surgeon, who treated many eye problems. Sushruta who did his work with love and
affection, invented a scientific skill like surgery which was a new concept in
those times. Due to these reasons, he is also considered as the Father of All Surgery.
Along
with inventing surgery, he realized that he'll need several surgical
instruments. And necessity is the mother of all inventions. Keeping this
necessity in mind, Sushruta invented 121 surgical instruments. And he was
the first surgeon in the world to do this. These inventions prove that Sage
Sushruta's knowledge has stood the test of time.
Sushruta
recorded his knowledge in detail in the form of a Sanskrit script, which is
also called the Sushrut Samhita. This
Sanskrit script which explains the procedure of surgery, is one of the three
pillars of Ayurveda, as well as a chapter in the Atharva Ved. Sushrut Samhita
explains that how Sushruta performed the dissection of a dead body and examined
them without a knife. His method of learning human anatomy was like this... He would keep the dead body in water and let it decompose. And
he would study the decomposing body with passing time. This is how he examined the structure of the body layer by
layer. This method helped Sushruta invent complex surgeries like Caesarean, abdominal surgeries and brain
surgery. Chapter 1.16 of Sushruta Samhita explains nose
reconstruction surgery or Rhinoplasty in detail. Sushrut is also known for
Cataract surgery. It's written in great detail in one of Sushrut Samhita's
volumes called Uttartantra. This
process looks like the extraction of extra capsular lens extraction to modern
surgeons. But Sushruta performed this surgery without modern equipment's, which
defines his skills.
Sushrut
Samhita was written in 600 BCE. This unique Sanskrit script about surgery and
medicine, was brought before the world in 800 AD in the form of Arab
translation. And it was called Kitab Shah
Shun Al – Hindi and Kitab - I -
Susurud. At the beginning of the 19th century, Hessler translated Sanskrit
script into Latin, and Muller in German. In this way, Sushrut Samhita and its
author Sage Sushruta received worldwide recognition, but with time, his name
and importance dissipated.
In 1907
Kolkata Kaviraj Kunja Lal translated Sushruta Samhita into English. But the
translation didn't receive enough recognition. In the 20th century, when the
world started looking at Ayurveda from a new perspective, they realized the
importance of Sage Sushruta's medical science, and his contribution to surgery.
Sushruta
Samhita is believed to be one of the gems of ancient Indian medical literature.
One of the manuscripts from the Sushruta Samhita written on palm leaves, is
kept in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Sushruta
gave a new meaning to the art of surgery in medieval India. The year 620 BCE is
known as the golden age of surgery. In 2018 the Royal Australasian College of
Surgeons constructed a statue of Sushruta on their campus.
Inspired by Sushruta's incomparable knowledge, American surgeon Allen Ripple said... "All in All, Sushruta must be considered as the greatest surgeon of the pre-medieval period ". Sushruta means one of good reputation. Sage Sushruta made his name proud. He became famous all over the world because of his work, but he also developed the Indian medical knowledge much more as compared to others.
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KOHINOOR - WORLD'S MOST PRECIOUS DIAMOND :
Did you know that the famous Kohinoor diamond was as big as a tennis ball and weighed more than 793 carats ?
Who named it
Koh-i-Noor and why was it cursed, causing the devastation of several states ?
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At the start of the
18th century and before the discovery of diamond mines in South Africa, the
whole world sourced their diamonds from India. It is believed that the Kohinoor
was found near the Godavari river in 1083
CE, in the Kakatiya dynasty which
is currently called the Kollur mine in Andhra Pradesh. This pale blue Kohinoor
was placed in the left eye of Goddess Bhadrakali in a temple in Warangal, its
capital city.
As the legend goes,
the Kohinoor was cursed and anyone who possessed the diamond would rule the
world, but he would also face misfortunes. Only a God or a woman can wear this.
The curse wouldn't affect them. The diamond was donated to the temple because
of the said curse. Alauddin Khilji,
the ruler of Delhi learned of the existence of the Kohinoor in Kakatiya
dynasty. After several failed attempts, Alauddin finally defeated Varangal in 1310 and robbed the city. The Kohinoor
belonged to him now, but within six years, the Khilji dynasty came to an
unexpected end. It was Alauddin's General who killed him and blinded his sons. After
the fall of the Khilji dynasty, this diamond went to the other dynasties who
ruled Delhi. The battle of Panipat, 16th century: Babar defeated Ibrahim Lodi,
gaining control over the Kohinoor along with Delhi. Babar was so excited, he
named it Babar's diamond and claimed
that it was worth a half day's expense
for the entire world. The Kohinoor remained with the Mughals for the next
150 years. Shah Jahan had a special peacock throne made and named it Takht-e-Taus which precisely captures
Kohinoor's beauty. Aurangzeb jailed
his father, Shah Jahan and the Kohinoor was placed next to a window in the prison
cell's wall so he could see the reflection of the Taj Mahal through it. During
the final years of the Mughal dynasty, a Venetian jeweller carved it in such a
manner that the weight went down from 793 carats to a mere 186 carats. Persian
ruler, Nader Shah attacked Delhi and
captured it in 1739. Mohammad Shah,
the presiding ruler tried to hide it in his turban. A servant in the Mughal
palace informed Nader Shah about the same and he suggested Mohammad Shah that they should exchange turbans to celebrate his
victory and tried to usurp the diamond. Mohammad
Shah dropped the diamond when they were exchanging turbans. Upon seeing it, Nader Shah
uttered something in Persian. “ Koh-i-Noor ” . It meant a mountain of light . Ever since the world has called this diamond as Kohinoor. Nader Shah took the
Kohinoor to Persia. He was murdered
a few years later and now Nader
Shah's General, Ahmad Shah Abdali got
the diamond who established the
Durrani dynasty in Afghanistan. But
soon Durrani had to give up his throne.
In 1830, Shah Shuja, the King of Afghanistan sought help from Ranjeet Singh, the King of Punjab to reclaim his throne and in exchange, he gifted the king
the Kohinoor. Upon King Ranjeet
Singh's death, the Kohinoor was inherited
by King Duleep Singh, the last Sikh ruler of Punjab. He was just five years old at the
time. In 1849, the East India
Company conned the ten-year-old,
King Duleep Singh into signing a
treaty and seized the Kohinoor along
with Punjab province. However,
Kohinoor's trip to London was fraught with danger. On the way to England, HMS Medea
( Ship ) and its passengers had to face a tempestuous storm and deadly
cholera. Eventually on 30 June 1850,
HMS Medea arrived in England. Coincidentally,
an ex-British army Official attacked
the queen the very same day.
On 3rd July, Queen Victoria accepted the Kohinoor
with a black eye and bandaged
forehead owing to that incident. When
the Kohinoor arrived in the British kingdom, the length of the
diamond was 4.1 centimetres, the
width was 3.26 centimetres, the
height was 1.62 centimetres while it
weighed 186 carats. The Queen
wanted to wear it as a broach. That's
why they changed the shape of the Kohinoor. This
time Kohinoor's weight went down from
189 carats to 105.6 carats after the carving. Also, the length was now 3.6 centimetres, the width was 3.2
centimetres and the depth was 1.3
centimetres. The massive diamond was now the size of a small stone which could easily fit in the fist. One of the biggest diamonds that was
mined from India is now confined in
the Tower of London's jewel house with
the other British crowns and jewels.
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