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A Concise History of Science in India c5.s6: The Epics, the Purāṇas, the Poetics and the Bṛhatsaṃhitā

A Concise History of Science in India c5.s6

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English

Contents

The Epics, the Purāṇas, the Poetics and the Bṛhatsaṃhitā

The Epics

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The *Mahābhārata*, the epic *par excellence*, is a vast anthology of 110,000 couplets or 220,000 lines in 18 *parvans* plus a supplementary section on the *Harivaṃśa*. The Kurukṣetra or the Bharata battle around which the whole epic is woven might have taken place between 850 b.c. and 650 b.c. although a much earlier date 1400 b.c. has been suggested.c According to Winternitz, the extant *Mahābhārata* was compiled over a long period of time extending from 400 b.c. to a.d. 400.d

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Statements of scientific importance are scattered in the epic and are of a sporadic nature. In astronomy, 12 zodiacal signs, each comprising 2¼ *nakṣatras*, five planets and their motions (*grahacāras*), are mentioned. Information regarding medicine is limited to the functioning of the arteries, circulation of blood through *nāḍīs* issuing out from the heart,e and the formation of lymph-chyle, blood, flesh, fat, etc.f Metals are stated to result from heat and earth matter. Gold concentrations in the earth are of four types, *pipīlikā* (collected by ants), *hiraṇya* (collected from the mountains), *sātakumbha* and *Jāmbunada*.g The botanical information comprises the recognition of plants as a living organism made up of five fundamental principles, and endowed with consciousness;h their ability to draw water through the roots and force it up with the help of air pressure;

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a Renou and Filliozat, p. 131.

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b Barman Roy, p. 281.

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c Majumdar (R. C.), I, p. 300.

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d Winternitz, I, pt. ii, p. 475.

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e *MB*, III, 179.16; XII, 178.15.

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f *Harivaṃśa*, 41, 49.

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g *MB*, III, 185.13; II, 47.4; 133.1; *Harivaṃśa*, 123.3.

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h *MB*, III, 176; 24, 26; XII, 177.10-17.

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plant classification, growth and diseases; classification of flower according to habitat and colour. In zoology, animals are called *trasani* (mobile creature) and are classified into *aṇḍaja*, *svedaja* and *jarāyuja* which is further subdivided into *grāmya* and *āraṇya*.a Statements regarding animal diseases are met with as also the ideas on spontaneous generation of worms and insects.b There are also references to cloud formation due to evaporation of water by sun-rays, origin of tide, weaponry, and so on.

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The *Rāmāyaṇa*, dated between 200 b.c. and a.d. 200, is another epic of great popularity, which also gives us some idea as to the state of science during the period of its composition and accretion in much the same way as does the *Mahābhārata*. Planets, constellations, zodiac and meteors are mentioned; information regarding metals, liquors, cosmetics and lapidaries is fragmentary; the work abounds in names of trees, herbs, flowers and fruits; zoological information regarding animals, reptiles, fishes, insects and birds is of no small significance as we shall see in the chapter on zoology.

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*The Purāṇas*

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According to Amara's definition, the *Purāṇas* are distinguished by five characteristics (*pañcalakṣaṇa*), e.g. creation, recreation, genealogies, cosmic cycles and account of royal dynasties.c There are 18 *Mahāpurāṇas*, viz. *Viṣṇu*, *Mārkaṇḍeya*, *Brahmāṇḍa*, *Vāyu*, *Matsya*, *Bhāgavata*, *Kūrma*, *Bhaviṣya*, *Liṅga*, *Padma*, *Skanda*, *Brahma Vaivarta*, *Agni*, *Bṛhannāradīya*, *Vāmana*, *Varāha*, *Garuḍa* and *Brahma*. The first, third and fourth conform to the five characteristics whereas the rest are not far removed from the *Smṛtis*. There are a large number of *Upapurāṇas*.

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As far as sciences are concerned, special importance attaches to the *Viṣṇu*, the *Mārkaṇḍeya*, the *Vāyu*, the *Bhaviṣya*, the *Matsya* and the *Viṣṇudharmottara* (a *Upapurāṇa*). The Purāṇic cosmology draws upon the conception of the *hiraṇyagarbha*, the *pradhāna*, *puruṣa* and *kāla*—ideas already formulated in the *upaniṣads* and other philosophical texts. The *Garuḍa Purāṇa* gives an elaborate account of five pathological categories of diseasesd and also deals with veterinary science. The *Bhaviṣya Purāṇa* is important from the point of view of zoology, particularly snakes. The *Agni Purāṇa* deals with plant sciencee and also contains reference to zero. In the *Bṛhannāradīya Purāṇa*, the development of trees through different stages are described in some details. The *Purāṇas* have elaborate discussion of the four mundane ages, the *yugas*, some of which were utilized by Brahmagupta and other orthodox astronomers.

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Colebrooke (1), Wilsonf and other scholars dated the *Purāṇas* between the ninth and thirteenth century a.d. On the basis of Kauṭilya's reference to the *Purāṇa*, Smith thought that this type of literature had already become authoritative in the fourth century B.C.a In his voluminous studies on the *Purāṇas*, Hazra attempted to fix an approximate date of the *Dharmaśāstra* portions of the *Purāṇas* and suggested for the *Mārkaṇḍeya*, the *Vāyu*, the *Brahmāṇḍa*, the *Viṣṇu*, the *Matsya* and the *Bhāgavata* a dating ranging from the third to seventh century A.D. The *Bhaviṣya* may be dated from *c.* A.D. 500 onwards, the *Agni c.* A.D. 800, the *Garuḍa c.* A.D. 900, the *Bṛhan-nāradīya c.* A.D. 800 and the *Brahma Vaivarta* possibly from *c.* A.D. 700 onwards.

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a *MB*, VI, 5.10–17.

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b *MB*, XII, 134.8.

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c *Amara*, 1.6.5.

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d Tarkaratna (P.), chs. 150–208.

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e *Ag. Pu.*, ch. 247, 26–31.

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f Wilson, 1, Preface, xvi.

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*The Poetics*

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The development of the brilliant literature on poetics, belles-lettres, romantic and historical poetry which frequently indulge in the description of nature and its flora and fauna is outside our scope. Nevertheless, Kālidāsa is of special interest to us, and legend has it that he was one of the nine jewels (Dhanvantari, Kṣapaṇaka, Amarasiṃha, Śaṅku, Vetālabhaṭṭa, Ghaṭakarpara, Kālidāsa, Varāhamihira and Vararuci) who adorned the court of Vikramāditya. This legend has not, however, been taken seriously. It is generally accepted that Kālidāsa flourished after Aśvaghoṣa and during the ascendancy of the Imperial Guptas. His date, though still uncertain, may fall either in the second half of the fourth or in the fifth century A.D.b His *Ṛtusaṃhāra*, *Meghadūta*, *Kumāra-Sambhava*, *Raghuvaṃśa*, *Vikramorvaśīya*, *Mālavikāgnimitra* and *Abhijñāna Śakuntala* are full of beautiful descriptions of nature, the seasonal changes, several animals and plants and insects. Gupta has extracted entomological information of about 18 insects from the great poet's meticulous observations.

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*The Bṛhatsaṃhitā*

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Varāhamihira occupies a special position in the history of science in India in view of his wide range of interest and contribution to several fields of knowledge. As an astronomer, astrologer and, above all, an encyclopaedic writer, it is difficult to find his peer. His contributions to astronomy will be discussed in the chapter on astronomy. His encyclopaedic work, the *Bṛhatsaṃhitā*, for which he is sometimes compared with Pliny, is his *magnum opus*. Through this work, Varāhamihira ‘shows himself a master of learning of his day in wide fields of knowledge, and thoroughly skilled in language and meter, not at times without a real touch of poetic ability’.c A critical scholar, scientist and encyclopaedist like al-Bīrūnī did not fail to notice the merit of the book on which he drew heavily in writing his own *Indica*.

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The *Bṛhatsaṃhitā* provides important information on astronomy, geography, medicine, chemistry, perfumery, botany, zoology, agriculture, architecture, psychology, physiology, prosody and several other subjects. In astronomy, planetary motions, asterisms, zodiacal divisions, *tithis*, *karaṇas*, eclipses, etc., are dealt with. Here we meet with the names of several ancient astronomers and astrologers and their works which were probably rendered obsolete by his own masterpiece. Other topics discussed are erotic remedies, including treatment of plant diseases, classification of substances, plant sciences, description of specific characteristics of animals.

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a Smith (V. A.), p. 24.

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b Renou and Filliozat, p. 207.

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c Keith (3), p. 529.

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With the assistance of Brahmin astronomers of Ujjain, Hunter ascertained the date of Varāhamihira to be *Śaka* 427, that is A.D. 505.a Al-Bīrūnī placed him around *c.* A.D. 526.b From a study of Āmarāja's commentary on Brahmagupta's *Khaṇḍakhādyaka*, Bhau Daji estimated Varāhamihira's death at A.D. 587.c

Cites (13)