History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c40.s1: Measures Of Time And Space
History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c40.s1
- Language
- English
Measures Of Time And Space
c40.s1.1
30 *kshanas* = 1 day; 2 *ghatikas* = 1 *kshana*; 30 *kalas* = 1 *ghatika*; 30 *kashthas* = 1 *kala*; 18 *nimeshas* = 1 *kashtha*; 30 *tatparas* = 1 *nimesha*; and 100 *trutis* = 1 *tatpara*.
c40.s1.2
This makes a *truti* of time equal to 1/33,750 of a second, which is nearly the measure of the *paramanu* of time, as given in Vishnupurana (*vide* Bhaskara's Siddhanta-Siromani circa 1150 A.D.).
c40.s1.3
The above measures were in use among the astronomers, but the physicists computed according to the following Table, given both in Udayana's Kiranavali and Sridhara's Nyayakandali:
c40.s1.4
30 *muhurtas* = 1 day (24 hours); 30 *kalas* = 1 *muhurta*; 30 *kashthas* = 1 *kala*; 18 *nimeshas* = 1 *kashtha*; 2 *lavas* = 1 *nimesha*; 2 *kshanas* = 1 *lava*.
c40.s1.5
This makes 1 *kshana* of the Nyaya-Vaisesika equal to 2/45 of a second. The Nyaya assumes that the unit of physical change (or the time occupied by any single antecedent step in a causal series before the succeeding step is ushered in) is equal to a *kshana* (2/45 of a second). The astronomers were familiar with far smaller measures of time.
Linked texts (2)
- Viṣṇupurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
- Siddhāntaśiromaṇi — Bhāskara II, Sanskrit