History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c39.s3.3

v1.c39.s3.3

In the Vedic literature there are several references to applied science and technology. The Yajurveda mentioned the newly discovered black metal iron as well as glass (kāca), an ornamental article (Sen and Chaudhuri, 1985). Chāndogya Upaniṣad mentioned the then existing sciences of elements (bhūtavidyā) arithmetic (rāśi), mineralogy (nidhi) etc. The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa described the smelting of gold, components of the smelting apparatus, the use of borax as flux, joining of different metals and so on. The Vedic culture also evolved the traditions of speculative logic on body and mind, and linguistics. The medical tradition of Caraka must have been initiated by the vaidyas of the Vedic period.