A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v2.c34.357

v2.c34.357

Santána, i.e. Gati-santána (including wave motion and current motion or convection ); Kampa santána, Spandana, (vibration ):—Charaka notes three kinds of santānas, serial motions, *viz.*, those of water, sound and light (जलसन्तान, शब्दसन्तान and अङ्गिःसन्तान). Chakrapāni points out that a wave of sound travels more rapidly than a wave of water, and much less rapidly than a ray of light. In Hindu Mechanics, a current of water (downward flow, स्यन्दन) is conceived to consist of particles moving in an uninterrupted series under the action of gravity and fluidity (गुरुत्व and द्रवत्व). A ray of light implies the rectilinear propagation of indefinitely minute corpuscles, in all directions, with inconceivable velocity, and a sort of conical dispersion (अचिन्त्य हि वेगातिशयः तेजःप्रसर्पणं व्याप्नोति पृथक्त्वान् Udyotakara—Vāchaspati). A wave of water (वीचितरङ्ग) implies the transmission of vibratory motion in the water particles. (Cf. Jayanta—पतद्घ्नपयोबिन्दु-सन्देहस्पन्दनक्रमात्, Ahnika II) A wave of sound is conceived by some on the analogy of a wave of water (वीचितरङ्गन्याय), only the air-waves (cf. the Mīmāmsá) or the sound-waves in and through the vehicle of air-waves (cf. the Nyāya-Vaiseshika) travel by concentric circles not in one but in all planes. (N. B. this assumes transverse waves). Others hold that the air-waves (cf. the Vākyapadīya) or the sound-and-air waves (cf. Udyotakara) are propagated by the transmission of the vibration in all directions, leading to conjunction and disjunction of air-particles, so that the wave may be said to expand by alternate concentric spherical layers of rarefaction aand codenstion (प्रचय, (N. B. this assumes longitudinal waves),— (कदम्बगोलकन्याय—cf. संयोगविभागा नैरन्तर्येण क्रियमाणाः शब्दमभिव्यञ्जन्तो नादशब्दवाच्याः (Savara-Bháshya 1-1-17) अभिघातेन हि प्रेरिता वायवः स्तिमितानि वाय्वन्तराणि प्रति धावमानाः सर्वतोदिक्कान् संयोगविभागान् उत्पादयन्ति।—ibid. 1-1-13). The Vákya-padíya describes articulate sounds (Varnas) and indeed all sounds (sabdas) as only forms of air set in motion, with rarefaction and condensation (प्रचय), and capable of variations of velocity and configuration (स्थानेष्वभिहतो वायुः शब्दत्वं प्रतिपद्यते। तस्य कारणमाख्यातं वेगप्रचयधर्मिणः। संनिपातात् विभज्यन्ते सावयवापि मूर्त्तयः:—Vákya-padíya, Kánda I, Sloka 109) (vide my paper on Hindu Mechanics and Physics). (For the Hindu doctrine of scientific Method, vide Appendix; for certain interesting recipes of chemical technology, vide Addenda).