A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v2.c34.257.3

v2.c34.257.3

The first objection (viz., that Bhāskara makes no allusion to the infinitesimal magnitude of the intervals of space and time employed) would be more to the point, if it were well founded. But it is not, and Mr. Spottiswoode's error was due to the insufficiency of the data supplied to him. As a matter of fact, even Bhāskara's unit, the Truti of time (or Paramānu), is exceedingly small as the very name implies, being about one thirty-four-thousandth of a second of time. And in the passage in which Bhāskara describes the process, he distinguishes between Sthúla-gati and Súkshma-gati (velocity roughly measured, and measured accurately i.e., by reference to indefinitely small quantities, for Súkshma, as we have seen, has always a reference to the Anu, the indefinitely small). Indeed he expressly mentions that the Sthúla-gati takes only Sthúla-kála (finite time) into consideration, and that the determination of the Tátkálikí Gati (Súkshma-gati) must have reference to the moment (प्रतिक्षणम्), which is an indefinitely small quantity of time being of course smaller than his unit, the Truti. (Cf. इयं किल स्थूला गतिः अथ सूक्ष्मा तात्कालिकी कथ्यते.......यदा आसन्नस्थितस्तदा तात्कालिक्या गत्या तिथिसाधनं कर्तुं पुज्यते। तया समीपचालनञ्च। यदा तु दूरतरस्थितस्तः दूरचालनं वा चन्द्रस्य तदा आदाय स्थूलया कर्तुं युज्यते स्थूलकालत्वात्।