History of Physical Sciences in India

March 19th, 2010 by User | No Comments | Filed in History and Culture, knowledge, Religious

HISTORY OF THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES IN INDIA

In all early civilizations, the study of the physical sciences was neither formalized nor separated from other branches of knowledge. And at least initially, there were few conscious attempts to study the theory of science independently of the practical innovations and technologies that required some application of scientific principles. In most cases, technological discoveries took place without any knowledge of the underlying scientific principles, through hit and trial, and by experience. Sometimes there was a vague or approximate awareness of the science, but the predominant focus remained on the utilitarian aspects of the technique, on practical efficacy, as opposed to how and why something worked or didn’t work.

In India, the earliest applications of chemistry took place in the context of medicine, metallurgy, construction technology (such as manufacture of cement and paints) and in textile production and dyeing. But in the process of understanding chemical processes, there also emerged a concomitant interest in attempting to describe the basic elements of matter – what they were composed of, and how they interacted with each other to produce new substances. Natural phenomenon were studied in the context of tides, rainfall, appearance of the sun, the moon and stellar formations, changes in season, weather patterns and agriculture. (For instance, Vedic literature mentions the condensation of water vapour from seas and oceans due to evaporation (caused by the sun’s heat) and the subsequent formation of clouds and rain.) This naturally led to theories about physical processes and the forces of nature that are today studied as specific topics within the fields of chemistry and physics.

Philosophy and Physical Science

While it is hard to say which precedes which – theory or practice – clearly there is a dialectical relationship between both, and the neglect of either leads to the death of science. Religious beliefs, particularly religious taboos and irrational indoctrination towards mystical or magical phenomenon, or adherence to false superstitions can often pose as serious impediments to the advance of science, and play an important role in whether the why and the how of physical causes can be safely and usefully explored.

Societies that believed that only the “gods” knew the secrets of nature, and that it was futile for humans to attempt to unravel the mysteries of the universe were naturally incapable of making any substantial progress in the realm of the sciences. Even in societies where there were no formal religious taboos in understanding real-world phenomenon in a scientific way, the power and the influence of the priests could serve as an obstacle to scientific progress. For instance, in a society where ritual practices alone were considered sufficient in achieving desired goals, there would naturally be little scope for serious investigation into the properties and laws of nature.

While ancient India did not generally suffer from the first affliction (of religious opposition to science), it did suffer from the second (the proliferation of rituals and superstitions). The progress of science in India was thus inextricably linked to challenges to the domination of the priests, and resistance to the proliferation of rituals and sacrifices. It was necessary to at least argue that rituals alone were insufficient in producing desired results, and that some measure of rational observation of the world was necessary in shaping human destiny. It is therefore no accident that, by and large, developments in science and technology came in parallel with the advance of rational philosophy in India. .

In the earliest scientific texts such has those of the Vaisheshikas (6th C BC or possibly earlier), , there was a rudimentary attempt at recording the physical properties of different types of plants and natural substances. There was also an attempt at summarizing and classifying the observations made about natural phenomenon. Intuitive formulations and approximate theories about the composition of matter and physical behavior followed. Thus, although the earliest applications of physics and chemistry in India (as in other ancient societies), took place without involving much theoretical knowledge or insight into these branches of science, there were elements of basic scientific investigation and scientific documentation in these early rational treatises. Primitive and tentative as these steps were, they were nevertheless crucial to humanity reaching it’s present stage of knowledge in the fields of physics, chemistry, botany, biology and other physical sciences.

Particle Physics

Although particle physics is one of the most advanced and most complicated branches of modern physics, the earliest atomic theories are at least 2500 years old. In India, virtually every rational school of philosophy (whether Hindu, Buddhist or Jain - had something to say on the nature of elementary particles, and various schools of thought promoted the idea that matter was composed of atoms that were indivisible and indestructible. Later philosophers further elaborated on this notion by positing that atoms could not only combine in pairs (dyads) but also in threes (triads) – and that the juxtaposition of dyads and triads determined the different physical properties of substances seen in nature. The Jains also postulated that the combinations of atoms required specific properties in the combining atoms, and also a separate “catalyst” atom. In this way, the earlier atomic theories became converted into a molecular theory of matter. While many details of these theories no longer stand the test of scientific validity, there was much in these formulations that was conceptually quite advanced and sophisticated for it’s time.

Although it may be just a coincidence, but the development of the Jain molecular theory appears to parallel practical developments in other fields such as medicine or metallurgy where the vital role of catalysts had been observed and carefully documented. Indian medical texts had postulated that proper human digestion and the successful absorption of medicinal pills and potions also required the presence of “catalytic” substances. The requirement of catalytic substances relating to the manufacture of acids and alkalis (relevant to medicinal and surgical applications) had also been documented, as had the role of suitable catalysts in metallurgical processes, and in the manufacture of color-fast dyes. (Today, much more is known about catalytic processes, as a variety of minerals, vitamins and enzymes have been identified as playing a key role (as catalysts) in a range of essential chemical processes that take place in our bodies, as do catalytic compounds in other physical processes).

Atomic/molecular theories were also utilized in (albeit speculative) explanations of chemical changes caused by heat. Prasastapada proposed that the taijasa (heat) factor affected molecular groupings (vyuhas), thus causing chemical changes. Two competing theories attempted to provide a more detailed explanation of the process (as applied to the baking/coloring of a clay pot through firing): the Pilupakavada theory, as proposed by the Vaisesikas held that the application of heat (through fire, for instance) reduced the molecules of the earthen pot into atoms; and the continued application of heat caused the atoms to regroup creating new molecules and a different color. The Pitharapakavada theory offered by the Nyayikas (of the Nyaya school) disagreed, suggesting that the molecular changes/transformations took place without a breakdown of the original molecules into basic atoms, arguing that if that happened, there would also have to be a disintegration of the pot itself, which remained intact, but only changed color.

An intuitive understanding of kinetic energy appears in the texts of Prasastapada and the the Nyaya-Vaisesikas who believed that all atoms were in a state of constant activity. The concept of parispanda was propounded to describe such molecular/atomic motion, whether it be whirling, circling, or harmonic.

Optics and Sound

The earliest of the Indian rationalists also attempted to provide theories on the nature of light and sound. Like the ancient Greeks, the eye was assumed to be a source of light by the early Indian philosophers, and this error wasn’t corrected until the 1st C AD when Susruta posited that it was light arriving from an external source at the retina that illuminated the world around us. (This was reiterated by Aryabhatta in the 5th C). In other respects, the earlier philosophers were more on the mark, with Cakrapani suggesting that both sound and light traveled in waves, but that light traveled at a much higher speed. Others like the Mimamsakas imagined light to comprise of minute particles (now understood to be photons) in constant motion and spreading through radiation and diffusion from the original source.

The wave character of sound was elaborated on by Prastapada who hypothesized that sound was borne by air in increasing circles, similar to the movement of ripples in water. Sound was understood to have its own reflection – pratidhvani (echo). Musical pitches (sruti) were seen as caused by the magnitude and frequency of vibrations. A svara (tone) was believed to consist of a sruti (fundamental tone) and some anuranana (partial tones or harmonics). Musical theory was elaborated on the basis of concepts such as jativyaktyoriva tadatamyam (genus and species of svara), parinama (change of fundamental frequency), vyanjana (manifestation of overtones), vivartana (reflection of sound), and karyakaranabhava (cause and effect of the sound).

In the 6th C. Varahamihira discussed reflection as being caused by light particles arriving on an object and then back-scattering (kiranavighattana, murcchana). Vatsyayana referred to this phenomenon as rasmiparavartana, and the concept was adapted to explain the occurrence of shadows and the opacity of materials. Refraction was understood to be caused by the ability of light to penetrate inner spaces of translucent or transparent materials and Uddyotakara drew a comparison with fluids moving through porous objects – tatra parispandah tiryaggamanam parisravah pata iti.

(Al Haytham (b, Basra, worked in Cairo, 10th C) who may have been familiar with the writings of Aryabhatta, expounded a more advanced theory of optics using light rays, diagrammatically explaining the concepts of reflection and refraction. He is particularly known for elucidating the laws of refraction and articulating that refraction was caused by light rays traveling at different speeds in different materials.)

Astronomy and Physics

Just as the study of Mathematics in India received an impetus from the study of astronomy, so did the study of Physics. As mentioned in the essay on mathematics, Aryabhatta (5th-6th C) made pioneering discoveries in the realm of planetary motion. This led to advances in the definition of space and time measuring units and better comprehension of concepts such as gravitation, motion and velocity.

For instance, Yativrasabha’s work Tiloyapannatti (6th C) gives various units for measuring distances and time and also describes a system of infinite time measures. More significantly, Vacaspati Misra (circa AD 840) anticipated solid (co-ordinate) geometry eight centuries before Descartes (AD 1644). In his Nyayasuchi-nibandha, he states that the position of a particle in space could be calculated by assuming it relative to another and measuring along three (imaginary) axes.

The study of astronomy also led to a great interest in quantifying very large and very small units of time and space. The solar day was considered to be made up of 1,944,000 ksana (units of time), according to the Nyaya-Vaisesikas. Each ksana thus correspnded to .044 seconds. The truti was defined as the smallest unit of time i.e. 2.9623*10-4. The Silpasastra records the smallest measure of length as the paramanu i.e. 1/349525 of an inch. This measurement corresponds to the smallest thickness of the Nyaya-Vaisesika school – the trasarenu, which was the size of the smallest mote visible on a sunbeam as it shone into a dark room. Varahamihira (circa AD sixth century) posited that 86 trasarenu were equal to one anguli i.e. three-fourths of an inch. He also suggested that 64 trasarenu were equal to the thickness of a hair.

The Laws of Motion

Although the earliest attempts at classifying different types of motion were made by the Vaisesikas, Prasastapada took the study of the subject much further in the 7th C AD, and it appears from some of his definitions that at least some of the concepts he enunciated must have emerged from a study of planetary motion. In addition to linear motion, Prasastapada also described curvilinear motion (gamana), rotary motion (bhramana) and vibratory motion. He also differentiated motion that was initiated by some external action from that which took place as a result of gravity or fluidity.

He was also aware of motion that resulted from elasticity or momentum, or as an opposite reaction to an external force. He also noted that some types of actions result in like motion, and others in opposite motion, or no motion at all – the variations arising from the internal and inherent properties of the interacting objects.

Prasastapada also noted that at any given instance, a particle was capable of only a single motion (although a body such as a blowing leaf composed of multiple particles may experience a more complex pattern of motion due to different particles moving in different ways) – an important concept that was to facilitate in later quantifications of the laws of motion.

In the 10th C. Sridhara reiterated what had been observed by Prasastapada, and expanded on what he had documented. Bhaskaracharya (12th C), in his Siddhanta Siromani and Ganitadhyaya, took a crucial first step in quantification, and measured average velocity as v=s/t (where v is the average velocity, s is distance covered, and t is time).

For their time, Prasastapada’s work, and Sridhara and Bhaskaracharya’s later elaborations ought to be considered quite significant. However, one of the weaknesses of later Indian treatises was a failure to follow up with further attempts at quantification and conceptual elaboration. For instance, several types of motion had been earlier assigned to unseen causes. There was no subsequent attempts to solve these mysteries, nor was there the realization that the invisible cause behind various types of motion could be conceptually generalized and formally characterized and expressed in an abstract way, through a mathematical formula as was done by Newton a few centuries later.

Experimentation versus Intuition

In fact, the next major step in the study of motion was to take place in England, when the ground for scientific investigation was prepared by the likes of Roger Bacon (13th C) who described the great obstacles to learning as regard for authority, force of habit, theological prejudice and false concept of knowledge. A century later, Merton scholars at Oxford developed the concept of accelerated motion (an important precursor to the understanding that force=mass*acceleration) and took rudimentary but important steps in the measurement and quantification of heat in a rod. One of the hallmarks of British (and European) science thereafter was the fusion of theory and practice, unlike the generally intuitive approach followed by Indian scientists when investigating fields other than astronomy.

For instance, right up to the 16th C, Indian scientists continued to record useful scientific observations, but without serious attempts at quantification, or deeper investigation into the physical and chemical causes of what they observed. Magnetism is referred to by Bhoja (10th-11th C) as well as by Sankara Misra later. Udayana (10th-11th C) recognized solar heat as the heat-source of all chemical changes, and also that air had weight in a discussion of balloons in his Kiranawali. Vallabhacharya (13th C) in his Nyaya-lilavati pointed out the resistance of water to a sinking object, but did not go on to discuss the principle any further. Sankara Misra (15th-16th C) noted the phenomenon of electrostatic attraction after he had observed how grass and straw were attracted by amber. But the cause was deemed adrishta (unseen cause). He also recorded some awareness of the concept of kinetic energy and in his Upaskara dwelt on the properties of heat, and tried to relate the process of boiling to evaporation. In the same treatise, Sankara Misra also gave examples of capillary motion citing the ascent of sap from root to stem in a plant and the ability of liquids to penetrate porous vessels. He also wrote about surface tension, and posited sandrata (viscosity) as the cause behind the cohesion of water molecules and the smoothness of water itself.

The Social Milieu

Yet, unlike in astronomy, where many Indian scientists got very intensely involved, and were driven to work towards a considerable degree of accuracy, no such compulsions appeared to guide Indian scientists in other fields. Whereas Indian astronomers were compelled to develop useful mathematical formulae and explore the mysteries of the universe in greater depth – in other fields of scientific investigation, Indian scientists seemed to remain content with intuitive and general observations, tolerating a far greater degree of vagueness and imprecision. The answer to this apparent inconsistency may lie in the social milieu. The study of astronomy was triggered partly by practical considerations such as the need for accurate monsoon prediction and rainfall mapping, but perhaps even more so, by the growing demand for “good” astrologers. The obsession with astrological charts – both amongst the royalty and mercantile classes led to considerable state patronage of intellectuals who wished to pursue the study of astronomy. Patronage was also available for alchemists – for those attempting to discover the “elixir” of life. But support for modern scientific research as was beginning to take shape in 14th C Oxford was generally lacking.

The situation prevalent in 15th-16th C Italy was not significantly different, and Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) was particularly frustrated that there was not sufficient interest in his many inventions and how those with means failed to distinguish genuine scientific activities from quackery and the work of charlatans. But Da Vinci was convinced that dedication to scientific truth would eventually prevail. “For nature, as it would seem, takes vengeance on such as would work miracles and they come to have less than other men who are more quiet. And those who wish to grow rich in a day shall live a long time in great poverty, as happens and will to all eternity happen to the alchemists, the would-be creators of gold and silver, and to the engineers who think to make dead water stir itself into life with perpetual motion, and to those supreme fools, the necromancer and the enchanter.”

Although Raja Bhoja’s Somarangana-sutradhara (circa AD 1100) describes many useful mechanical inventions, and the use of levers and pulleys is described in numerous other Urdu, Persian and Arabic texts in India and the Middle East, Da Vinci’s notes on mechanics, the study of levers of different kinds, cantilevers, pulleys and gears in combination, varied gadgetry, bridges, and studies of flight were of a truly pioneering nature, and exceeded in complexity and breadth any civil and mechanical engineering treatise that had preceded him.

And even though in his time, Da Vinci’s works were not especially appreciated, Western Europe was in the midst of a monumental change in it’s attitude towards science and technology. A century later, the momentum towards the modern scientific era was to gather considerable pace, and eventually the European Renaissance created an environment where the ideas of Da Vinci and Francis Bacon (15-16th C England – who stressed the importance of the experimental method in science) were able to blossom and flourish.

But at the same time in India, several factors posed as hindrances to the development of modern science. In comparison to Europe, India enjoyed a relatively milder climate, and the production of necessities was deemed sufficient to satisfy the population of the time. The courts – whether Mughal or regional spent a good part of their rich treasuries on cultivating the fine arts and promoting the manufacture of luxury goods and decorative objects of exquisite beauty. Science and technology simply attracted little attention (except when it came to improving the tools of war).

The growing influence of religion – whether Quranic or Brahminical also had it’s negative effect. While the Quran claimed that all the world’s knowledge was already described in it, Brahminical orthodoxy created a sharp divide between the mental and the physical and thus prevented scientists from going beyond passive observation and intuition to practical experimentation, active theorizing and quantification. Whereas Akbar and Jehangir were not averse to science, and the latter took an active interest in books on botany and zoology, it appears from anecdotal accounts that Aurangzeb had a decidedly skeptical attitude towards the sciences. Although some patronage was available in the regional courts, (and outside the courts), alchemy, astrology, study of omens, numerology and other semi-rational and irrational traditions drew much more attention, and thus distracted from genuine scientific pursuits.

On the other hand, European scientists drew on the best works produced in the East – studying foreign documents with due diligence, often accepting little at face value – but instead verifying the results with apparatus and scientific measuring tools of their own creation. There was a time when such had also been the case in ancient India – but over time (due to both internal and external factors) – India’s scientific spirit got eroded. Thus Europe was not only able to catch up with the knowledge of India and the East, it was able to rapidly surpass it.

Since independence, Indian scientists have been provided the opportunity of narrowing the gap, and in some fields have done especially well. However, the quality of science education for the masses still needs considerable improvement. On the one hand, the study of the physical sciences in India needs to be accompanied with practical demonstrations and more experimentation as is common practice in the West. In many instances, tools and apparatus used to demonstrate and quantify scientific phenomenon need to be modernized or improved. On the other hand, there also needs to be somewhat greater appreciation of the intuitive approach that has been the hallmark of ancient and medieval Indian science. The conceptual elegance of some earlier formulations, and the facility to inform and educate through analogy is also something that can be learned from the Indian tradition.

It may also be noted that in terms of pedagogy, the standard Western texts are not always as useful. Often, the teaching of physics and chemistry becomes too esoteric for the average student. There is excessive abstraction in most text books, and undue theoretical complexity is thrust upon relatively young students. In contrast, the Indian approach with it’s stress on observation of natural phenomenon, and epistemological approach to understanding each field are much easier to grasp for beginners and intermediate students. Once the student understands the basics, and develops a good intuitive way of perceiving scientific phenomenon – the complexities and mathematical abstractions can follow – and the world of the physical sciences can be opened up to more than just the few who are able to transcend the complexities and difficulties that accompany the study of these branches of science today.

Best History and Ancient Content Crawled By http://crawlindia.com

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Philosophical Thought

March 19th, 2010 by User | No Comments | Filed in History and Culture, knowledge, Religious

DEVELOPMENT OF PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT AND SCIENTIFIC METHOD IN ANCIENT INDIA

Contrary to the popular perception that Indian civilization has been largely `concerned with the affairs of the spirit and “after-life”, India’s historical record suggests that some of the greatest Indian minds were much more concerned with developing philosophical paradigms that were grounded in reality. The premise that Indian philosophy is founded solely on mysticism and renunciation emanates from a colonial and orientalist world view that seeks to obfuscate a rich tradition of scientific thought and analysis in India.

Much of the evidence for how India’s ancient logicians and scientists developed their theories lies buried in polemical texts that are not normally thought of as scientific texts. While some of the treatises on mathematics, logic, grammar, and medicine have survived as such – many philosophical texts enunciating a rational and scientific world view can only be constructed from extended references found in philosophical texts and commentaries by Buddhist and Jain monks or Hindu scholars (usually Brahmins).

Although these documents are usually considered to lie within the domain of religious studies, it should be pointed out that many of these are in the form of extended polemics that are quite unlike the holy books of Christianity or Islam. These texts attempt to debate the value of the real-world versus the spiritual-world. They attempt to counter the theories of the atheists and other skeptics. But in their attempts to prove the primacy of a mystical soul or “Atman” – they often go to great lengths in describing competing rationalist and worldly philosophies rooted in a more realistic and more scientific perception of the world. Their extensive commentaries illustrate the popular methods of debate, of developing a hypothesis, of extending and elaborating theory, of furnishing proofs and counter-proofs.

It is also important to note that originally, the Buddhist world view was an essentially atheistic world view. The ancient Jains were agnostics, and within the broad stream of Hinduism – there were several heterodox currents that asserted a predominantly atheistic view. In that sense, these were not religions as we think of today since the modern understanding of religion presumes faith or belief in a super-natural entity.

That so many scholars from each of these philosophical schools felt the imperative to prove their extra-worldly theories using rationalist tools of deductive and inductive logic suggests that faith in a super-natural being could not have been taken for granted. This is borne out by the memoirs of Hieun Tsang (the Chinese chronicler who traveled extensively in India during the 7th C. AD) who describes the merchants of Benaras as being mostly “unbelievers”! He also wrote of intense polemics and debates amongst followers of different Buddhist sects.

Similiarly, there is other evidence that suggests that amongst the intellectuals of ancient India, atheism and skepticism must have been very powerful currents that required repeated and vigorous attempts at persuasion and change. Nevertheless, over centuries, the intellectual discords between the believers and non-believers became more and more muted. The advocates of mystic idealism prevailed over the skeptics, so that eventually, (at the popular level) each of these philosophies functioned as traditional religions with their pantheon of gods and goddesses enticing and lulling most into an intellectual stupor. But at no point were the advocates of “pure faith” ever powerful enough to completely extinguish the rationalist current that had so imbued Indian philosophy.

Early Rationalist Schools

One of the most ancient of India’s rationalist traditions is the “Lokayata”. Maligned and discredited by the evangelicals of mystical Buddhism and Vedantic Hinduism, their world view was sharply atheistic and scientific for their time. Unlike those who believed in reincarnation or an after-life, and in the indestructibility of the human soul – they refused to make artificial distinctions between body and mind. They saw the human mind as part and parcel of the human body – not as some separate entity that could have an independent existence from the human body. They acknowledged nothing but the material human body and the material universe around it. They rejected sacrificial gifts and offerings for the after-life as was common amongst followers of Brahmanical Hinduism during the time of Medhatithi in A.D 900 (a commentator on the writings of Manu who acknowledges that the Lokayatas were atheists or non-believers.)

For instance, they ridiculed the Brahmanical rituals of animal sacrifice: “If a beast slain in the Jyotistoma rite itself goes to heaven, Why then does not the sacrificer also offer his father?”

“If beings in heaven are gratified by our offerings made here, Then why not give the food down below to those who stand on the housetop?”

“If offerings produce gratification to beings who are dead, why make provisions for travellers when they start on a journey?”

“If he who departs from the body goes to another world, How is it that he comes not back again, restless for love of his kindred?”

The Lokayatas dismissed the Vedic priests and their Vedic mantras as nothing but a means of livelihood for those lacking in genuine physical or mental abilities. Instead, they gave primacy to human sense-perception, and through the application of the inferential process – they developed their theories of how the world worked.

One of the most notable aspects of the Lokayata belief system was their intuitive understanding of dialectics in nature. Many argued the mind-body separation as follows: Since the body is made up of things lacking consciousness – but the mind is a conscious entity – mind and body must necessarily be different – and consciousness must imply the existence of something else akin to the “soul”. The Lokayatas countered this by citing the example of fermentation – how an intoxicating drink could be produced from something that was not itself an intoxicant. In essence they had discovered the principle that the whole was greater than the sum of it’s parts. That physical and chemical processes could lead to dramatic changes in the properties of the substances combined. They were able to understand how special transformations could produce new qualities that were not evident in the constituent elements of the newly-created entity.

As keen observers of nature, they were probably amongst the first to understand the nature of different plants and herbs and their utility to human well-being. As such, it is likely that Indian medicine gradually evolved from the early scientific knowledge and understanding of the Lokayatas. Since the Lokayatas believed that consciousness emerged from the living human body, and ended with it’s death – it is more than likely that the widely prevalent Indian custom of cremating the dead also originated amongst them.

This is not to say that the Lokayatas’ understanding of the world was as elaborate and precise as that provided by today’s science. By the standards of the 20th century, some of their formulations could be considered primitive and inadequate. That is only to be expected. Knowledge of science has expanded considerably since their times. But what is more important is that their world view was driven by a rational and scientific approach.

For instance, some later philosophical schools countered the Lokayata arguments concerning mind-body unity by bringing up the evidence of memory. Nyaya-Vaisesika philosophers like Jayanta and Udayana pointed out that the process of daily eating meant that the human body was constantly changing. The process of ageing also pointed to how the human body was ever-changing. Yet, an old person could remember in detail an incident from childhood. In other words – they tried to argue that memory was evidence of a human soul that existed beyond the mere physical body. Yet, we know today that memory is but a combination of proteins that can survive the length of human existence. There is both continuity and change in nature. The Lokayata world view howsoever sketchy and incomplete was not in contradiction with modern science.

If some of their characterizations required later revisions or refinement, or even corrections, it didn’t take away from their fundamentally scientific approach. Their inadequacies were a consequence of incomplete knowledge and the understandable inability to see all the complexities of nature that we are now able (through advanced scientific instruments and centuries of accumulated knowledge). Their errors did not, however, stem from stubborn faith or deliberate rejection of reality and real-world phenomenon.

In practice, (according to some historians) India’s ancient Tantric followers may have also had a largely rational world view, which sprang from a practical mindset and was impaired only by the limited amount of scientific knowledge available to humanity at that time. Critics of the tantrics dismissed them as sexually obsessed hedonists. But they failed to acknowledge that the early tantrics had an intuitive scientific streak and their understanding of sexual reproduction is probably what may have also impelled them to develop basic agricultural tools and other implements. In that sense, they were India’s early technologists.

The Age of Science and Reason

But even amongst those Indian philosophers who accepted the separation of mind and body and argued for the existence of the soul, there was considerable dedication to the scientific method and to developing the principles of deductive and inductive logic. From 1000 B.C to the 4th C A.D (also described as India’s rationalistic period) treatises in astronomy, mathematics, logic, medicine and linguistics were produced. The philosophers of the Sankhya school, the Nyaya-Vaisesika schools and early Jain and Buddhist scholars made substantial contributions to the growth of science and learning. Advances in the applied sciences like metallurgy, textile production and dyeing were also made.

In particular, the rational period produced some of the most fascinating series of debates on what constitutes the “scientific method”: How does one separate our sensory perceptions from dreams and hallucinations? When does an observation of reality become accepted as fact, and as scientific truth? How should the principles of inductive and deductive logic be developed and applied? How does one evaluate a hypothesis for it’s scientific merit? What is a valid inference? What constitutes a scientific proof?

These and other questions were attacked with an unexpected intellectual vigour. As keen observers of nature and the human body, India’s early scientist/philosophers studied human sensory organs, analyzed dreams, memory and consciousness. The best of them understood dialectics in nature – they understood change, both in quantitative and qualitative terms - they even posited a proto-type of the modern atomic theory. It was this rational foundation that led to the flowering of Indian civilization.

This is borne out by the testaments of important Greek scientists and philosophers of that period. Pythagoras – the Greek mathematician and philosopher who lived in the 6th C B.C was familiar with the Upanishads and learnt his basic geometry from the Sulva Sutras. (The famous Pythagoras theorem is actually a restatement of a result already known and recorded by earlier Indian mathematicians). Later, Herodotus (father of Greek history) was to write that the Indians were the greatest nation of the age. Megasthenes – who travelled extensively through India in the 4th C. B.C also left extensive accounts that paint India in highly favorable light (for that period).

Intellectual contacts between ancient Greece and India were not insignificant. Scientific exchanges between Greece and India were mutually beneficial and helped in the development of the sciences in both nations. By the 6th C. A.D, with the help of ancient Greek and Indian texts, and through their own ingenuity, Indian astronomers made significant discoveries about planetary motion. An Indian astronomer – Aryabhata, was to become the first to describe the earth as a sphere that rotated on it’s own axis. He further postulated that it was the earth that rotated around the sun and correctly described how solar and lunar eclipses occurred.

Because astronomy required extremely complicated mathematical equations, ancient Indians also made significant advances in mathematics. Differential equations – the basis of modern calculus were in all likelihood an Indian invention (something essential in modeling planetary motions). Indian mathematicians were also the first to invent the concept of abstract infinite numbers – numbers that can only be represented through abstract mathematical formulations such as infinite series – geometric or arithmetic. They also seemed to be familiar with polynomial equations (again essential in advanced astronomy) and were the inventors of the modern numeral system (referred to as the Arabic numeral system in Europe).

The use of the decimal system and the concept of zero was essential in facilitating large astronomical calculation and allowed such 7th C mathematicians as Brahmagupta to estimate the earth’s circumferance at about 23,000 miles – (not too far off from the current calculation). It also enabled Indian astronomers to provide fairly accurate longitudes of important places in India.

The science of Ayurveda – (the ancient Indian system of healing) blossomed in this period. Medical practitioners took up the dissection of corpses, practised surgery, developed popular nutritional guides, and wrote out codes for medical procedures and patient care and diagnosis. Chemical processes associated with the dying of textiles and extraction of metals were studied and documented. The use of mordants (in dyeing) and catalysts (in metal-extraction/purification) was discovered.

The scientific ethos also had it’s impact on the arts and literature. Painting and sculpture flourished even as there were advances in social infrastructure. Universities were set up with dormitories and meeting halls. In addition, according to the Chinese traveller, Hieun Tsang, roads were built with well-marked signposts. Shade trees were planted. Inns and hospitals dotted national highways so as to facilitate travel and trade.

India’s rational age was thus a period of tremendous intellectual ferment and vitality. It was a period of scientific discovery and technological innovation. Accompanied by challenges to caste discrimination and rigidity and religious obscurantism – it was also a period of great social upheaval that eventually led to society becoming more democratic, allowing greater social interaction between members of different castes and expanding opportunities for social mobility amongst the population. Social ethics drew considerable attention in this period. Rules of engagement during war were constructed so as to eliminate non-military casualties and destruction of pasture-land, crop-land or orchards. The notion of chivalry in war was popularized – it meant not attacking fleeing or injured soldiers. It also required warring armies to provide safe passage to women, children, the elderly and other non-combatants.

The rational period thus saw progress on several fronts. Not only did it create an enduring foundation for India’s civilization to develop and mature – it has also had it’s impact on the growth of other civilizations. In fact, India’s rational period served as a vital link in the long and varied chain of human progress. Although colonial history has attempted to usurp this collective heritage of the planet and make it exclusively euro-centric, it is important to note that fundamental and important discoveries in science and innovations in technology have come from many different parts of the globe, albeit at different times and stages of world civilization. India made significant contributions in this regard. If India is to fully recover from the depredations of colonial rule, it is imperative that we don’t forget the achievements of this inspiring epoch.

Best History and Ancient Content Crawled By http://crawlindia.com

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

PHILOSOPHICAL DEVELOPMENT

March 19th, 2010 by User | No Comments | Filed in History and Culture, knowledge, Religious

PHILOSOPHICAL DEVELOPMENT FROM UPANISHADIC METAPHYSICS TO SCIENTIFIC REALISM

Upanishadic philosophy: preparing the ground for rationalism

Although the Upanishadic texts (like some of the earlier Vedic texts) are primarily concerned with acquiring knowledge of the “soul”, “spirit” and “god” – there are aspects of Vedic and Upanishadic literature that also point to an intuitive understanding of nature and natural processes. In addition, many of the ideas are presented in a philosophical and exploratory manner – rather than as strict definitions of inviolable truth.

Although the Upanishadic texts goaded the Upanishadic student to concentrate on comprehending the inner spirit, rational investigation of the world by other scholars was not entirely squelched, and eventually, the Upanishadic period gave way to an era which was not inimical to the development of rational ideas, even encouraging scientific observation and advanced study in the fields of logic, mathematics and the physical sciences.

Following an era when rituals and superstitions had begun to proliferate, in some ways the Upanishadic texts helped to clear the ground for greater rationalism in society. Brahmin orthodoxy and ideas of ritual purity were superseded by a spiritual perspective that eschewed sectarianism and could be practised universally, unfettered by an individual’s social standing. Much of the emphasis was on discovering “spiritual truths” for oneself as opposed to mechanically accepting the testimony of established religious leaders. Although there is a thematic commonality to the Upanishadic discourses, different commentators offered subtly varying perspectives and insights.

The concept of god in Upanishadic (and even earlier Vedic) thinking was quite different from the more common definition of god as creator and dispenser of reward and punishment. The Upanishadic concept of god was more abstract and philosophical. Different texts postulated the doctrine of a universal soul that embraced all physical beings. All life emanated from this universal soul and death simply caused individual manifestations of the soul to merge or mingle back with the universal soul. The concept of a universal soul was illustrated through analogies from natural phenomenon.

“As the bees make honey by collecting the juices of distant trees, and reduce the juice into one form. And as these juices have no discrimination, so that they might say, I am the juice of this tree or that, in the same manner, all these creatures, when they have become merged in the True, know not that they are merged in the True. . . .”

“These rivers run, the eastern (like the Ganges) towards the east, the western (like the Indus) towards the west. They go from sea to sea (i.e., the clouds lift up the water from the sea to the sky and send it back as rain to the sea). They become indeed sea. And as those rivers, when they are in the sea, do not know, I am this or that river, in the same manner, all these creatures, proceeding from the True, know not that they have proceeded from the True. . . .”

In another story, the “wise” father, expounder of the Upanishadic concept of god, asks his son to dissolve salt in water, and asked him to taste it from the surface, from the middle and from the bottom. In each case, the son finds the taste to be salty. To this his father replies that the ‘universal being’ though invisible resides in all of us, just as the salt, though invisible is completely dissolved in the water. (Chanddogya, VI)

As a corollary to this theory emerged the notion that even as individual beings might refer to this universal soul – i.e. god in varied ways – by using different names and different methods of worship – all living beings were nevertheless related to each other and to the universal god, and capable of merging with the universal god. This approach thus laid the foundation for egalitarian and non-discriminatory philosophies such as Buddhism and Jainism (as well as non-sectarian streams of Hinduism) that followed the Upanishadic period. As is evident, such an approach was not incompatible with secular society, and permitted different faiths and sub-faiths to coexist in relative peace and harmony.

In the course of defining their philosophy, the scholars of the Upanishad period raised several questions that challenged mechanical theism (as was also done in some hymns from the Rig Veda and Atharva Veda). If god existed as the unique creator of the world, they wondered who created this unique creator. The logical pursuit of such a line of questioning could either lead to an infinite series of creators, or to the rejection or abandonment of this line of questioning. The common theist solution to this philosophical dilemma was to simply reject logic and demand unquestioning faith on the part of the believer. A few theists attempted to use this contradiction to their own advantage by positing that god existed precisely because “He” was indescribable by mere mortals. But, by and large, this contradiction was taken very seriously by the philosophers of the Upanishadic period. The Upanishadic philosophers attempted to resolve this contradiction by defining god as an entity that extended infinitely in all dimensions covering both space and time. This was a philosophical advance in that it attempted to come to terms with at least the most obvious challenges to the notion of god as a human-like creator and did not require the complete rejection of logic.

Another philosophical advance of the Upanishadic period was that religion was transformed from the realm of bookish parroting of scriptures to the realm of advanced intellectual debate and polemics. The Upanishadic philosophers did not lay down their conclusions as rigid doctrines or inviolable laws but as seductive parables – sometimes displaying remarkable worldly insight and analytical skill. By attempting to win over their followers through analogies from nature, and by employing the methods of abstract reasoning and debate, they created an environment where dialectical thinking and intellectual exchanges could later flourish.

In the very process of their questioning, (and albeit speculative reasoning about god), they had opened the door for rationalists and even outright atheists who took their tentative questioning about the role and the character of god as “creator” to conclusions that rejected theism entirely. But in either case, many rationalist and/or naturalist philosophical streams emerged from this initial foundation. Some were nominally theistic (but in the abstract Upanishadic vein), others were agnostic (as the early Jains), while the early Buddhists and the Lokayatas were atheists. Thus even though the Upanishads contained much that should rightly be dismissed as abstruse intellectual jugglery and philosophical mumbo-jumbo, the Upanishadic philosophers had levelled the ground for the seeds of rationalism to flourish in Indian soil.

The Vaisheshika School

The Vaisheshika school (considered to be founded by Kanada, author of the Vaisesika Sutra) was an early realistic school whose main achievement lay in it’s attempt at classifying nature into like and unlike groups. It also posited that all matter was made up of tiny and indestructible particles – i.e. atoms that aggregated in different ways to form new compounds that formed the variety of matter that existed on the earth.

Their philosophy was described through the enumeration of the following concepts: Dravya (Substance), Guna (Quality), Karma (Action), Samanya (Generality), Visesa (Particularity), Samavaya (Inherence) and abhava (non-existence).

Dravya (or substance) was understood as the specific result of a particular aggregate effect – i.e. the combination of atoms in a unique way. Substances were repositories for qualities and actions. Guna or quality was that which resided in a dravya. Qualities did not however contain qualities themselves. 24 qualities were enumerated, such as – color, form, smell, touch, sound, number, magnitude, distinctions, conjunction, disjunction, nearness, remoteness, heaviness, fluidity and viscosity. (As was typical of the times, psychological attributes such as pleasure, pain, desire, aversion, effort, tendency, cognition, impression, and ethical attributes such as merit and demerit were also included in the list, i.e. – qualities that were inapplicable to inanimate objects were not treated separately)

Action or Karma represented physical movement. Unlike quality which was passive, Karma was dynamic. Action was the determinant of conjuction and disjunction. Five types of action were noted: throwing upwards or downwards, contraction, expansion and locomotion.

Satta or physical existence was viewed as being the common attribute of substance, quality and action – i.e. only existing (as opposed to imaginary) entities could have substance, qualities and be capable of action.

Samanyata or ‘generality’ was seen as a mental construct to create common classes of substances, qualities or actions while Visesata (particularity) was used to identify and separate individual items from their general classes. Samavaya or inherence was a relation that existed in those things that could not be separated without destroying them.

Four categories of Abhava as negation or non-existance were listed: pragabhava or prior non-existance, referring to the absence of an object before it’s creation; dhvamsabhava or posterior negation, as the absence of an object after it had been destroyed; anyonyabhava or mutual non-existance, refering to an object being distinct and different from the other; atyantabhava or absolute non-existence, indicating non-existence in the past, present and future, citing the example of air as permanently lacking in smell – (which was presumably true in a period where air pollution must have been uncommon!).

An important contribution of the Vaisheshika school was a careful study of the time-relation in a chain of causes and effects. In a very rudimentary way, the school (along with other such schools) anticipated the theory of time calculus which could also be extended to space calculus.

The Vaisheshika school thus served as an important step in the study of science by enumerating concepts that could further the study of physics and chemistry. In addition, the the study of medical science (including veterinary science) received considerable impetus from such attempts at methodical observation and classification.

The Nyaya and related schools

The Nyaya schools complemented and built on the Vaisheshika school by elaborating on the process of accumulating valid scientific knowledge through accurate perception and generating valid inferences.

The school articulated four means of acquiring valid knowledge: pratyaksha or perception through one of the senses; anumana or inference; upamana or comparison with a well-known object; or shabda – verbal testimony.

The conditions of perception, and it’s range and limits were carefully studied. Trasarenu – the minima sensibile (i.e. the minimum visible), anubhuta-rupa – the infra-sensible, abhibhuta – the obscured perception , and anubhuta-vriti – potential perception, were recognized as different types of perception.

A general methodology of ascertaining the truth (tattva) was described which consisted of describing a proposition (uddesa), the ascertainment of essential facts obtained through perception, inference or induction (laksan or uppa-laksana), and finally examination and verification (pariksa and nirnaya). This process could involve examples (drishtanta), logical arguments (avayava), reasoning (tarka) and discussion (vada) – , intellectual exchange, or interplay of two opposing sides in the process of arriving at a decisive conclusion. A successful application of this method could result in a siddhanta – i.e. established principle – (or in the case of mathematics – a theorem or theory) elucidated through proofs (pramana). Alternatively, it could lead to a rejection of the initial proposition.

The Nyaya school identified various types of arguments that hindered or obstructed the path of genuine scientific pursuit, suggesting perhaps, that there may have been considerable practical resistance to their unstinting devotion to truth-seeking and scientific accuracy. They list the term jalpa – an argument not for the sake of arriving at the truth but for the sake of seeking victory (this term was coined perhaps to distinguish exaggerated and rhetorical arguments, or hyperbole from genuine arguments); vitanda (or cavil) to identify arguments that were specious or frivolous, or intended to divert attention from the substance of the debate, that were put-downs intended to lower the dignity or credibility of the opponent; and chal – equivocation or ruse to confuse the argument. Three types of chal are listed: vakchala – or verbal equivocation where the words of the opponent are deliberately misused to mean or suggest something different than what was intended; samanyachala or false generalization, where the opponents arguments are deliberately and incorrectly generalized in a way to suggest that the original arguments were ridiculous or absurd; uparachala – misinterpreting a word which is used figuratively by taking it literally. Also mentioned is jati, a type of fallacious argument where an inapplicable similiarity is cited to reject an argument, or conversely an irrelevant dissimiliarity is cited to reject an argument.

The Nyaya school also recognized that intelligent and meaningful debates were not possible if certain fundamental principles and basic definitions and concepts were not mutually accepted. Nigrahasthana was the term used to identify disagreements based on absence of mutually acceptable first principles. An example might be a debate between a theist who rejected logic, and a non-theist who rejected faith.

The Nyaya school also listed five classes of logical fallacies (hetvabhasa) : savyabhichara or the inconclusive type which employed reasoning from which more than one conclusion could be drawn but was used to insist on a single specific conclusion; viruddha or contradictory, where the reasoning used actually contradicted the proposition to be established; kalatita – where the elapse of time had made the argument invalid; sadhyasama, the unproven type, where the reasoning employed rested on arguments or principles that had not been proven and require proofs themselves – i.e. this was the type of fallacy where one unproven result was merely converted into another unproven result.; and finally prakaranasama – where the reasoning employed provoked the very question it was designed to answer – i.e. a recursive fallacy.

In this manner, the Nyaya school defined a very sophisticated school of rational philosophy where the process of scientific epistemology was analyzed threadbare and all the dangers of unscientific reasoning and propaganda ploys were skillfully exposed.

Causality

Buddhist and Jain scholars, as well as later Hindu scholars offered their own approaches to scientific reasoning. Virtually all the rational schools were concerned with describing causality and causal relationships, and recognized that effects may not have single causes but may require a group or conjunction of causes to occur. Buddhist scholars emphasized that cause and effect need not have a linear effect but that desired effects may also require the right conditions for their fruition. (That is to say that for a plant to grow successfully, it would not only need the right seed, but that it would also need the right type of soil, fertilization, sunlight and water.)

Both the Jains and the Buddhists correctly speculated that a potential for the desired effect must also be present in the cause or causal agent. (For instance, only a mango seed could produce a mango tree because only the mango seed incorporated the potential of developing into a mango tree.) As another example, one could note that something with brittle properties such as glass might break upon impact whereas something strong such as steel would survive. Thus a physical impact on substances of different properties would have different results.

The Nyaya school also recognized co-effects – i.e a series of antecedants could cause a series of effects – either successive and staggered in time, or near simultaneous. Nyaya texts on causality indicate that there was an awareness that light travelled at a very high speed but the transmission of light was not instantaneous.

Buddhist and Jain Atomic Theories

The Buddhist and Jain philosophers also proposed their own variations of the atomic theory. Like the Vaisheshikas, atoms were perceived as infinitely small by the Jainas. But the Jainas went a step further by positing that the union of atoms required opposite qualities in the combining atoms – as is true in the case of electrovalent bonding. However, they erred in thinking that covalent bonding (which does not require opposite polarities in the combining atoms) could not occur. But their intuition that opposite polarities created mutual attraction and facilitated chemical reactions was correct. In the Buddhist view, matter was in fact an aggregate of rapidly recurring forces or energy waves. Their theory was illustrated with examples drawn from natural phenomenon involved with light emission. An atom was perceived as a momentary flash of light combining and separating from other atoms according to strict and definite laws of causality. Physical matter was thus seen as a denser and more concentrated form of light. Although at odds with other atomic theories of the time, their approach fit in with their general view that all things in nature were temporal, that there was constant change in nature – that degradation and renewal were continuous processes.

The Syadvada system of Jain Logic

Jain philosophers also made certain important contributions to the science of epistemology by proposing that the truth of a concept or observation could not only be true or false but indeterminate – and combinations of the above – such as true under some conditions (or true at a particular time or place – or true based on the validity of certain inferences) and false under other conditions, or true under some conditions but indeterminate under others, and so on. This led to a matrix of seven possible states of the truth (true, false, true or false, indeterminate, true or indeterminate, false or indeterminate, true or false or indeterminate).

Jaina rationalists also studied the relationship between the universal and the particular and made important points concerning generalities and individual peculiarities. They also noted that objects in the real world exist in a network of relationships with each other – and have specific attributes that mark them temporally and spatially: “Every real is thus hedged round by a network of relations and attributes, which we propose to call its system or context or universe of discourse, which demarcates it from others.” Jaina philosophers also successfully synthesized earlier debates on change and permanence by positing that all objects (or parts of objects) passed through phases of “existence, persistence, and cessation” and that reality was therefore a complex combination of things relatively permanent yet also relatively changing.

These ideas thus formed the foundations of Indian science and contributed to the gradual elaboration of mathematics and astronomy, as well as agricultural and meteorological sciences. Developments in metallurgy and civil engineering also followed. Medicine and surgery perhaps received the greatest and the earliest impetus from these developments. Developments in philosophy also led to concomitant developments in the realm of art and culture.

Yet. to a considerable extent, knowledge about the progress of science and reason in Indian history is often scarce. These (and other such) historical contributions were either denied or demeaned during the process of colonization, and are only now beginning to be re-acknowledged within India and abroad. But in A. D 1068, Indian contributions to the mainstream of science were held in great esteem and readily acknowledged in some parts of the world:

Here is what Said Al-Andalusi, an 11th C Spanish scholar, court historian and chronicler wrote then: “Among the nations, during the course of centuries and throughout the passage of time, India was known as the mine of wisdom and the fountainhead of justice and good government and the Indians were credited with excellent intellects, exalted ideas, universal maxims, rare inventions and wonderful talents … They have studied arithmetic and geometry. They have also acquired copious and abundant knowledge of the movements of the stars, the secrets of the celestial sphere and all other kinds of mathematical sciences. Moreover, of all the peoples they are the most learned in the science of medicine and thoroughly informed about the properties of drugs, the nature of composite elements and peculiarities of the existing things.”

Best History and Ancient Content Crawled By http://crawlindia.com

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Diwali and its importance

March 19th, 2010 by User | No Comments | Filed in History and Culture, knowledge

Diwali, also called Deepavali (Sanskrit: ???????, Tamil: ??????? Kannada:??????? Sinhala:???????????) is a major Hindu festival. Known as the “Festival of Lights,” it symbolises the victory of good over evil, and lamps are lit as a sign of celebration and hope for mankind. The festival of Diwali is rooted in the mythological epic Ramayana, and is a celebration of the return of Lord Ram after killing Ravan the Demon during his exile for 14 years. The day of killing Ravan is celebrated as Dussehra (19 to 21 days before Diwali). Celebrations focus on lights and lamps, particularly traditional diyas (as illustrated). Fireworks are associated with the festival in many regions of India.

Diwali is celebrated for five consecutive days in the Hindu month of Ashwayuja. It usually occurs in October/November, and is one of the most popular and eagerly awaited festivals of India. Hindus, Jains and Sikhs alike regard it as a celebration of life and use the occasion to strengthen family and social relationships. For Jains it is one of the most important festivals, and beginning of the Jain year. Jains celebrate Diwali because Lord Mahaveera has gone to Moksha. It is also a significant festival for the Sikh faith.

Etymology

Word Diwali is derived from Sanskrit word Deepawali. This is a compund of two words Deepa and Avali. Deepa means light and Avali means row or line. Thus the literal meaning of the word is ‘line of lights’.
edit

Dates in various calendars

During this festival one must fast for three days. The festival is worshipped on exactly the same set of days across India, it falls in different months depending on the version of the Hindu calendar being used in the given region.

The Amantnm (“ending on the no-moon”) version of the Hindu Calendar has been adopted as the Indian national calendar. According to this calendar, which is prevalent in southern India and Maharashtra, deepavali falls in the middle of the month of Ashwayuja. According to the Purnimanta (“ending on the full-moon”) version prevalent in northern India, the 5-day celebration is spread over the last three days of the month of Ashwayuja and the first two days of the new month of Kartika. According to this calendar, the festival of Deepavali marks the new year’s day of this calendar and is therefore an especially significant festival.

In the Gregorian calendar, it falls generally in the months of October or November. In 2005, the new moon day which is the third and most important day of the festival fell on November 1. In 2006, it will be celebrated on October 21 (Saturday).

Significance in Hinduism

The festival marks the victory of good over evil. The Sanskrit word Deepavali means array of lights that stands for victory of brightness over darkness. As the knowledge of Sanskrit diminished, the name was popularly modified to Diwali, especially in northern India.

On the day of Diwali, many wear new clothes, share sweets and light firecrackers. The North Indian business community usually starts their financial new year on Diwali and new account books are opened on this day.

Hindus find cause to celebrate this festival for different reasons:

* As per sacred texts, according to Skanda Purana, the goddess Shakti observed 21 days of austerity starting from ashtami of shukla paksha (waxing period of moon) to get half part of the body of Lord Shiva. This vrata is known as kedhara vrata. Deepavali is the completion day of this austerity. This is the day Lord Shiva accepted Shakti into the left half of the form and appeared as Ardhanarishvara. The ardent devotees observe this 21 days vrata by making a kalasha with 21 threads on it and 21 types of offerings for 35 days. The final day is celebrated as kedhara gauri vrata.

* Diwali also celebrates the return of Lord Rama, King of Ayodhya, with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana to Ayodhya from a war in which he killed the demon king Ravana. It is believed that the people lit oil lamps along the way to light their path in the darkness. In North India, the festival is held on the final day of the Vikram calendar. The following day marks the beginning of the North Indian new year, and is called Annakut.

* It commemorates the killing of Narakasura, an evil demon who created havoc, by Lord Krishna’s wife Sathyabhama. This happened in the Dwapara Yuga during this time of Lord Krishna’s avatar. In another version, the demon was killed by Lord Krishna himself. In South India, Diwali does not coincide with the beginning of a new year as South Indians follow a different calendar, the Shalivahana calendar.

* In Bhavishyottara and Bramhavaivarta Purana, Diwali is associated with the Daitya king Bali, who is allowed to return to earth once a year.

The Five days of Diwali

Diwali is celebrated over five days in most of North India. All the days except Diwali are named using the designation in the Indian calendar. A lunar half-month is 15 days. Diwali as a new-moon day, marks the last day of a 15-day period.

1. Dhan-trayodashi or Dhan teras: Dhan means “wealth” and Trayodashi means “13th day”. Thus, as the name implies, this day falls on the 13th day of the first half of the lunar month. It is an auspicious day for shopping. (Gujarati: Dhan Teras)
2. Naraka Chaturdasi: Narak means ‘of a new era of Light and Knowledge’. Chaturdasi implies fourteenth day. (Gujarati: Kali Chaudas)
3. Diwali: the actual day of Diwali, is celebrated on the third day of the festival, when the moon completely wanes and total darkness sets in the night sky.
4. Varsha-pratipada or Padwa: Beginning of the New Year (Kartikadi Vikram). Pratipada means the first. (Gujarati: Bestu Varas)
5. Bhayiduj (also Bhayyaduj, Bhaubeej or Bhayitika) — on this day, brothers and sisters meet to express their love and affection for each other. (Gujarati: Bhai Bij, Bengali: Bhai Phota)

The celebrations vary in different regions:

* In Southern India, naraka chaturdashii is the main day, with firecrackers at dawn.
* The main festival is on Amavasya evening with Lakshmi Puja which is followed by lighting of oil lamps around the house.

Laxmi Pujan

As per spiritual references, on this day ‘Laxmi-panchayatan’ enters the Universe. Sri Vishnu, Sri Indra, Sri Kuber, Sri Gajendra and Sri Laxmi are elements of this ‘panchayatan’ (a group of five).

The tasks of these elements are:

Vishnu: Happiness (happiness and satisfaction)

Indra: Opulence (satisfaction due to wealth)

Kuber: Wealth (one who gives away wealth)

Gajendra: Carries the wealth

Laxmi: Divine Energy (Shakti) which provides energy to all the above activities.

Importance of Laxmi Pujan

A. Destruction of distressing energies On this particular day, Goddess Laxmi’s destroyer (marak) form is active, since it is the new moon day. The spiritual emotion of the person doing ritualistic worship, activates Goddess Laxmi’s marak form and destroys the distressing frequencies in the environment.

B. Arrival of other Gods (Devtas): Lord Indra and other male deities also get drawn to the place of ritualistic worship and follow Goddess Laxmi. Thus happiness, opulence, prosperity, stability and wealth is maintained in the premise (Vastu) by worshiping the 5 elements or Deities

Diwali in Sikhism

Sikhs celebrate Diwali to commemorate the laying of the foundation stone for the Golden Temple in 1577. It is also known as Bandi Chhorh Divas. The Mughal emperor Jahangir arrested the Sikh Guru Hargobind and imprisoned him in Gwalior. Later Jehangir relented and released the Guru. The Guru asked that 52 rulers imprisoned with him should also be released. To the joy of the Sikhs the Guru returned to Amritsar on Diwali and it prompted the followers to celebrate the day with joy and happiness.

On Diwali the Sikhs illuminate their Gurdwaras and homesare with Deew (earthen oil lamps) or candles. Early in the morning, Sikh pilgrims take a dip in the sacred tank while reciting Japji Sahib, and then pray at the Golden Temple. Circumambulation of the tank is done.

Diwali in Jainism

Lord Mahavira, the last of the Jain Tirthankaras, attained Nirvana on this day at Pavapuri. According to Jain tradition the chief disciple of Mahavira, Ganadhar Gautam Swami also attained complete knowledge on this very day, thus making Diwali a really special occasion for the Jains to celebrate.

Diwali is first mentioned in Jain books as the date of the nirvana of Lord Mahavira. The oldest use of the word “Diwali/Dipavali” occurs in Harivamsha-Purana written by Acharya Jinasena, composed in Shaka Samvat 705. The sample of text containing the word Diwali is below:

?????????????????? ??????????? ????????? ??????? ??????????| ??? ??? ???????? ??????? ??????????????? ???????? |??|

??????? ???? ??????????????? ??????????????????? ????? | ???????? ???????? ????????? ?????????-??????? ??????-????????? |?? |

Thus people in Bharata every year celebrate famous “Dipalikaya”, to reverently worship the Jinendra on the occasion of his nirvana on the amavasya of Kartika month.

Significance of lamps: The Kalpasutra by Acharya Bhadrabahu, 3rd century BC, explains the significance of lights: “??? ?? ?????????, ??????????? ????????”, with light of knowledge gone, we make light of ordinary matter.

The way Jains celebrate Diwali is different in many respects. There is a note of asceticism in whatever the Jains do, and the celebration of Diwali is not an exception. The Jains celebrate Diwali during the month of Kartik for three days. During this period, among the Shvetambaras, devoted Jains observe fasting and chant the Uttaradhyayan Sutra, which contain the final pravachans of Lord Mahavira, and meditate upon him.

Vira Nirvana Samvat: The Jain year starts with Pratipada following Diwali. Vira Nirvana Samvat 2532 starts with Diwali 2005. The Jain businessmen traditionally started their accounting year from Diwali.

Melas

To add to the festival of Diwali, fairs called Melas are held throughout India. 2 Melas are to be found in many towns and villages. A mela generally becomes a market day in the countryside when farmers buy and sell produce. Girls and women dress attractively during the festival. They wear colourful clothing, new jewelry and their hands are decorated with henna designs.

There are plenty of activities that take place at a mela. These activities include performances from jugglers, acrobats, snake charmers and fortune tellers. Food stalls are set up, selling sweet and spicy foods. A variety of rides are present during the fair, which include Ferris wheels and rides on animals such as elephants and camels. Another attraction are the puppet shows that are shown throughout the day.

Diwali in other parts of the world

Diwali is celebrated in various parts of the world, in countries such as Britain, The Netherlands, Suriname, Canada, Guyana, Mauritius, Fiji, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Australia, much of Africa, and the United States.3 With more and more Indians now migrating to various parts of the world, the number of countries where Diwali is celebrated has been gradually increasing. While in some countries it is celebrated mainly by Indian expatriates, in others it has become part of the general local culture. In most of these countries Diwali is celebrated on the same lines as described in this article with some minor variations. Some important variations are worth mentioning.

In Malaysia, Diwali is known as “Hari Deepavali,” and is celebrated during the seventh month of the Hindu solar calendar. It is a federal public holiday throughout Malaysia. In many respects it resembles the traditions followed in the Indian subcontinent.

In Nepal, Diwali is known as Tihar and celebrated during the October/November period. Here, though the festival is celebrated for five days, the traditions vary from those followed in India. On the first day, cows are given offerings, in appreciation of the food they have given and agricultural work they have performed. On the second day, dogs and all living animals are revered and offered special food. On the third day, celebrations follow the same pattern as in India, with lights and lamps and much social activity. On the fourth day Yama, the Lord of Death, is worshipped and appeased. On the fifth and final day, brothers and sisters meet and exchange pleasantries.

In Singapore, the festival is called “Deepavali”, and is a gazetted public holiday. Observed primarily by the minority Indian community, it is typically marked by a light-up in the Little India district and is most known for the fire-walking ceremonies not practised as part of the festival in other countries. Hindu Endownment Board of Singapore along with Singapore Government organises lot of cultural events around Diwali time.

In Sri Lanka, This festival is called as Deepavali and is celebrated by the Tamil community. On this day people wear new clothes and exchange pleasantries.

Diwali is celebrated in the Caribbean Islands as well. Especially in Trinidad and Tobago, Diwali is marked as a special occasion and celebrated with much fanfare. It is observed as a national holiday in this part of the world and some Ministers of the Government also take part in the celebrations publicly. Diwali is also celebrated in the South American country of Guyana.

Economics of Diwali

Diwali is an annual stimulus for the Indian economy. Indians purchase gold, gifts, decorations, crackers (fireworks) and household appliances during this festival and many Indian films (Bollywood, Kollywood, etc.) are released during this period. Companies offer huge discounts during the Diwali season to attract customers, which helps the economy and also helps the poor. Food distributed as acts of charity during community festivities also helps the underprivileged . Diwali also brings tourists to the country.Also, schools in India are closed during this festival, and many young people have the free time and the money to spend on luxury items.

Best History and Ancient Content Crawled By http://crawlindia.com

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

HISTORIC ASPECTS OF CRAFT AND TRADE IN INDIA

March 19th, 2010 by User | No Comments | Filed in History and Culture, knowledge, Quotes, Religious

Although the courtly culture of the Mughal rulers of the Indian subcontinent is the most well known, a cosmopolitan outlook was not new to India; several sources point to a thriving system of international trade that linked the ports of Southern India with those of Ancient Rome. The chronicles of the Greek Periplus reveal that Indian exports included a variety of spices, aromatics, quality textiles (muslins and cottons), ivory, high quality iron and gems. Considered items of luxury in those days, these were in high demand. While a good portion of Indo-Roman trade was reciprocal, (Rome supplying exotic items such as cut-gems, coral, wine, perfumes, papyrus, copper, tin and lead ingots), the trade balance was considerably weighted in India’s favor. The balance of payments had to be met in precious metals, either gold or silver coinage, or other valuables like red coral (i.e. the hard currency of the ancient world). India was particularly renowned for its ivory work and its fine muslins (known in Roman literature as ‘woven air’). However, these items must have been quite expensive since the Roman writer Pliny (AD 23-79) complained of the cost of these and other luxury commodities that were imported from India. “Not a year passed in which India did not take fifty million sesterces away from Rome”, wrote Pliny. This trade surplus gave rise to prosperous urban centres that were linked to an extensive network of internal trade. Literary records from that period paint a picture of abundance and splendour . The Silappathikaarum (The Ankle Bracelet), a Tamil romance (roughly dated to the late second century AD), provides a glimpse of the maritime wealth of the cosmopolitan cities of South India. Set in the prosperous port city of Puhar (Kaveripattanam), the story refers to ship owners described as having riches ‘the envy of foreign kings’. Puhar is portrayed as a city populated by enterpreneurial merchants and traders, where trade was well regulated: “The city of Puhar possessed a spacious forum for storing bales of merchandise, with markings showing the quantity, weight, and name of the owner.” The Silappathikaarum suggests that the markets offered a great variety of precious commodities prized in the ancient world. Special streets were earmarked for merchants that traded in items such as coral, sandalwood, jewellery, faultless pearls, pure gold, and precious gems. Skilled craftspeople brought their finished goods such as fine silks, woven fabrics, and luxurious ivory carvings. Archealogical finds of spectacular burial jewellery in southern India appear to corroborate such accounts. Northern India also had its flourishing urban centres. This can be inferred from descriptions of an archealogical site in ancient Taxila. Vladimir Zwalf (in Jewelry, 7000 years – Hugh Tait, Editor) notes: “The site has yielded magnificent and well-preserved gold jewellery, notably necklaces, ear-pendants and finger-rings, characterised by a mastery of granulation and inlay.” While most ornaments from that period have not survived, sculpture from several sites shows heavy adornment. Patliputra (now Patna) during the Mauryan period was described by travellers as one of the grandest cities of that period.

TEXTILES

The antiquity of Indian textile exports can be established from the records of the Greek geographer Strabo (63 BC – AD 20) and from the first century Greek source Periplus, which mentions the Gujarati port of Barygaza, (Broach) as exporting a variety of textiles. Archaeological evidence from Mohenjo-Daro, establishes that the complex technology of mordant dyeing had been known in the subcontinent from at least the second millennium B C. The use of printing blocks in India may go as far back as 3000 B.C, and some historians are of the view that India may have been the original home of textile printing. “The export of printed fabrics to China can be dated to the fourth century B C, where they were much used and and admired, and later, imitated.” – ( Stuart Robinson: ‘A History of Printed Textiles’). The thirteenth-century Chinese traveller Chau Ju-kua refers to Gujarat as a source of cotton fabrics of every color and mentions that every year these were shipped to the Arab countries for sale. ” The discovery at Broach of a hoard of gold and silver coins, mostly fourteenth-century and belonging to the Mamluk kingdom of Egypt and Syria, suggests the maintenance of the advantageous trading system recorded since Roman times whereby Indian textiles and other renewable resources were traded for precious metals”. – (John Guy, ‘Arts of India, 1550 – 1900′) Also in the thirteenth century, Marco Polo recorded the exports of Indian textiles to China and South East Asia from the Masulipattinam (Andhra) and Coromandel (Tamil) coasts in the “largest ships” then known. It is conjectured that the initial development of this trade accompanied the spread of Indian cultural influence in South-East Asia. John Guy in the “Arts of India, 1550 – 1900″, points out that “textile patterns on sculptures of Indian deities in central Java and elsewhere in the region very probably reflect the prestige cloths in circulation in the late first millennium”. Chou Ta-kuan, the Chinese observer of life at the Khmer capital of Angkor at the end of the thirteenth century, wrote that “preference was given to the Indian weaving for its skill and delicacy.” Robyn Maxwell (in Textiles of Southeast Asia) observes that elaborately decorated Indian textiles were the most highly valued and notes: ” Many spectacular Indian trade cloths, most now two or three centuries old, have been treasured as heirlooms throughout Southest Asia into the twentieth century, making only rare appearances at important ceremonies or at times of crisis”. Prestige trade textiles such as Patola (double ikat silk in natural dyes) from Patan and Ahmedabad, and decorative cottons in brilliant color-fast dyes from Gujarat and the Coromandel coast were sought after by the Malaysian royalty and wealthy traders of the Phillipines. The port city of Surat (in Gujarat) emerged as the major distribution point for patola destined for South-East Asia, and was frequented by the ships of the Dutch East India Company. “The right to wear patola was widely claimed as a prerogative of the Indonesian nobility , a practice encouraged by the Dutch East India Company who distributed patola to local rulers as part of the incentives offered to win local trading concessions and co-operation.” (- John Guy, ‘Arts of India’) Textiles also comprised a significant portion of the Portuguese trade with India. These included embroidered bedspreads and wall hangings possibly produced at Satgaon, the old mercantile capital of Bengal, (near modern Calcutta). Quilts of embroidered wild silk (tassar, munga or eri) on a cotton or jute ground, combining European and Indian motifs were comissioned by the Portuguese who had been attracted to Bengal, (as traders had been since the early centuries AD), by the quality of the region’s textiles. J.H. van Linschoten, who was based in Goa as secretary to the archbishop in the 1580s, observed that Cambay also produced silk embroidered quilts. Textiles from Golconda and further south also found favor in Europe and South East Asia. In the early 1600s, Dutch and English trading settlements were established in Golconda territory. Produced in the Golconda hinterland, kalamkaris – i.e. finely painted cotton fabrics were bought or commissioned from the port city of Masulipattinam. Buying at source enabled the Dutch and English merchants to procure these textiles at rates thirty per cent lower. ‘Palampores’ – painted fabrics based on the “tree of life” motif that had become popular in the Mughal and Deccan courts were also highly regarded. The attractiveness of fast dyed, multi-colored Indian prints on cotton (i.e. chintz) in Europe led to the formation of the London East India Company in 1600, followed by Dutch and French counterparts. By the late 1600s, there was such overwhelming demand for Indian chintz (whether from Chittagong in Bengal, or Patna or Surat, that ultimately French and English wool and silk merchants prevailed on their governments to ban the importation of these imported cottons from India. The French ban came in 1686, while the English followed in 1701. (Not all textile producing centres were associated with ports. Several textile producing centres that catered to the internal market, and to the overland international trade were located in Northern and Central India, in the kingdoms of the Rajputs and the Mughals, each with their own unique specialization. While Kashmir was well known for its woollen weaves and embroidery, cities like Benaras, Ujjain, Indore and Paithan (near Aurangabad) were known for their fine silks and brocades. Rajasthan specialized in all manner of patterned prints and dyed cloths. Fine collections of Indian Textiles can be seen in the Calico Museum in Ahmedabad and in the Crafts Museum in Delhi)

CARPETS

According to texts dating from the Buddhist era, woolen carpets were known in India as early as 500 B.C. References to woven mats and floor coverings are not infrequent in ancient and medieval Indian literature. By the 16th century, carpet-weaving centres were established in all the major courts of the sub-continent. However, it is the output of the Mughal period that is now attracting international attention. Dismissed by earlier scholars as mechanical derivatives of Persian carpets, Indian carpets of the Mughal period are slowly gaining recognition as the most technically accomplished classical carpets of all times.

Daniel Walker, curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) has described pile-woven carpets of the Mughal era as “among the most beautiful works of art ever created”. He suggests that the large-scale production from the imperial workshops of Akbar “set the tone for subsequent carpet weaving in India and resulted in carpets whose jewel-like beauty is still breathtaking”. (Ref. Flowers Underfoot, Indian Carpets of the Mughal Era)

DECORATIVE CRAFTS

Under the patronage of the various royal clans that ruled India, particularly the Mughals, the Rajputs and the Deccani nawabs, the decorative arts and crafts reached unprecedented heights. (These traditions were continued, and even augmented by later regional nawabs in Bengal, Mysore, Central India, Punjab, Awadh and Kashmir). European traders did not fail to notice the relatively high quality of Indian craftsmanship and proceeded to set up their own “karkhanas” i.e factories, that rivalled the Mughal and Deccani establishments. Hardwood furniture was a major product of Portuguese patronage, usually richly decorated with inlaid woods and ivory. Catering to the European markets, the items preserved the general forms of European furniture, but were embellished with expensive inlays and carvings that took their inspiration from Indian styles, particularly the Mughal. Several production centres, principally in Sind, Gujarat and the Deccan serviced this trade based in Goa. Mother-of-pearl was one of the materials often used in the decoration of such items, particularly small storage chests. These were produced principally in Ahmedabad and Cambay, and later in Surat. Gujarati furniture with mother-of-pearl inlay is recorded in the Baburnama (early 16th century). The technique of setting mother-of-pearl in a black lac ground, had been employed on wooden tomb-covers of the early seventeenth century in Ahmedabad and Cambay, where a good proportion of such work catered to the Turkish market, as evinced by examples preserved in the Topkapi Saraye Museum of Istanbul. The craft of papier mache, extensively promoted by the Mughals and later the Rajputs, also found favor with 17th century European traders who commissioned Kashmiri artists to produce for the European market.

JEWELRY

Since the Indian sub-continent invariably carried a trade surplus, precious and semi-precious stones, or gold and silver from the international trade complemented internally mined supplies, leading several visitors to India to note the enormous wealth of some of India’s most well known kingdoms. They would describe overflowing treasuries, replete with a variety of precious metals and gems. Bazaars exclusively devoted to trade in precious metals and stones were not uncommon. As already mentioned, Tamil texts dating to the 2nd Century AD refer to them, as do the chronicles of the 14th century traveller Ibn Batuta of Tunisia, and Europeans who visited the Vijaynagar, or Golconda kingdoms. Vladimir Zwalf (in Jewelry, 7000 years – Hugh Tait, Editor) observes: “The ostentatious display of jewels at the Mughal court mentioned by all visitors to it is borne out by contemporary miniature paintings and a large quantity of extant pieces. Jewellery was worn by both men and women, and was also used in the ornamentation of arms and armour, furniture and vessels. Gems dominate Mughal jewellery. India was a major source and trading centre for precious stones.” Shah Jahan was particularly knowledgeable about gems, and personally supervised some of the works executed in the “karkhanas”. Several fine examples of jewelry from the courts of the Mughals and Rajputs, and other regional nawabs can be seen in the collection in the National Museum, including selections from Benaras, Bengal and Southern India.

METALLURGY

Two quotes well summarize the development of metallurgical skills prior to modern industrialization. Sir Thomas Holland, (chairman of the Indian Industrial Commission of 1916-18) reported in 1908: “The high quality of the native made iron, the early anticipation of the process now employed in Europe for the manufacture of high-class steels, and the artistic products in copper and bronze gave India a prominent position in the metallurgical world.” D.H. Buchanan wrote in ‘Development of Capitalist Enterprise in India, 1934′: “In India, steel was used for weapons, for decorative purposes and for tools, and remarkably high grade articles were produced. The old weapons are second to none, and it is said that the famous damascus blades were forged from steel imported from Hyderabad in India. The iron column, called the Kutub pillar at Delhi, weighs over six tons and carries an epitaph composed about 415 A.D. No one yet understands how so large a forging could have been produced at that time.” The craft of Bidri-ware which originated in the Deccan, in Bidar and spread northwards to centres like Lucknow, required not insignificant metallurgical skills. The delicate inlay work required discipline and expertise, and additionally, required the knowledge of extraction of zinc (a primary constituent of the Bidri alloy). Unlike copper or iron, zinc was not easily extractable from its ore. Consequently, in Europe, the metal could not be used on an industrial scale until an Englishman patented his zinc distillation process in 1738. However, in India, zinc was first produced in the 1st C BC (The Rasvatnakar mentions the distillation of Zinc in Zawar, Rajasthan, and excavations by the M.S. University verify the existence of kilns used in the distillation of the metal). In Rajasthan, it may have subsequently been used in the production of brass. In any case, by the seventeeth century, zinc was being absorbed in considerable quantity for the production of Bidri-ware which had acquired widespread patronage.

Jaigarh (near Jaipur) was home to one of Asia’s largest canon factories. Cannons produced in the Rajput fort of Jaigarh (now on display at the Jaigarh Fort) played a crucial role in the expansion and consolidation of Mughal rule in India.

THE REGIONAL KINGDOMS

While much is known of the Moghuls, less is known of the regional kingdoms who were equally cultured, and also made their mark in manufactures and trade. Susan Stronge – (The Sultanates of the Deccan, Arts of India, 1550 – 1900) writes: ” With the exception of architecture, little of the artistic production of the sultanates has survived, and that which has is usually uninscribed and undocumented. Nevertheless, the superb quality of some of the surviving artefacts provides a tantalising glimpse of a world of courtly splendour and cultural refinement, others indicating traditions which, though less elevated, are lively and appealing.” Like their Mughal counterparts, the Deccani Nawabs were great patrons of the arts and music, and in portraitures are often depicted with fine jewellery and fine silks. What is of particular interest today is the secular administration of these sultanates. In their patronage of Ragamala paintings, the Deccani nawabs shared the tastes of the Rajputs, and later rulers of the Punjab hills and Punjab plains. Based on the romantic folk-lore of popular traditions, the ragamala painting became a highly sophisticated art form – its lyrical and expressive style appealing to Hindhu, Muslim and Sikh patrons alike. Asad Beg, who chronicled the court of Bijapur’s Ibrahim Adil Shah II (1586-1627), mentions that Adil Shah spoke Marathi and his Kitab-i-Nauras, a collection of songs in Deccani Urdu were set to different ragas, some paying homage to Muslim saints, others recalling the Hindhu deities Saraswati and Ganesha. According to Asad Beg, under Ibrahim Shah, Hindhus had access to positions of political importance and economic power. Like Akbar, one of his most trusted officials was Antu Pandit. Another Hindhu, Ramji, was head of the Bijapuri guild ofjewellers and court adviser on matters of jewellery purchase and selection. And like in the ‘karkhanas’ of Akbar, skilled Hindhu craftsmen, were just as likely to find employment as skilled Muslims. Both courts strived towards perfection in their manufactures, and could not afford religious discrimination.

SHIPPING AND NAVY

Although several nations that traded in the Indian Ocean had merchant ships, India seems to have been the first country of the Indian Ocean to possess real battle-fleets. Reports Auguste Toussaint in ‘History of the Indian Ocean’, “The Mauryan emperor Chandragupta, who ruled from 321 to 297 B.C had even at that time, an actual Board of Admiralty, with a Superintendent of Ships at its head.” References to it can be found in Kautilya’s Arthasastra. From their voyages of conquest and trade, we can infer that although much later, the Pallavas, Pandyas and Cholas of South India must also have had an efficient naval organization. Prior to colonial rule, the most significant Navy in the Indian Ocean, was that of the Mughals. At its peak, during the reign of Akbar, it had over 3000 vessels, and was concentrated in the Bay of Bengal, although a good proportion of the fleet was also based in Gujarat. Described in the Ayeen-i-Akbari (Chronicle of the Reign of Akbar), the Navy controlled shipbuilding, conducted naval surveys, collected customs duties and ensured adequate crew recruitments. During Aurangzeb’s reign, the Mughal fleet functioned only in the Bay of Bengal, and was heavily used against European traders (particularly the Portuguese) who challenged the Mughal authority and tried to avoid customs payments. In the Bay of Bengal, the kingdom of Assam had its own fleets, while the Marathas had theirs on the West coast. In this period, the trade within Asia was still largely conducted by Asians. The merchants of Surat, who relied upon ships built by the Wadias of Bombay (who had not taken long to copy prevailing European designs) were particularly rich – one of them Virji Vora (who died in the beginning of the 18th century) left a fortune of 22 million gold francs. “According to certain travellers, Surat was then the most beautiful city of India. One small detail will give an idea of the unparalleled luxury that prevailed there: certain streets were paved with porcelain. Francois Martin in his Memoires calls it ‘a real Babylon’.” – (Auguste Toussaint in ‘History of the Indian Ocean’.)

THE DECLINE IN TRADE REVENUES

However, such prosperity was not to last long. In that same period, as the revenues to the Mughals from the overland trade dwindled due to heightened competition from the East India Company (which undercut prices for Indian exports offered by the Ottomans of Turkey), the Mughal state after Aurangzeb crumbled, and the strength of the Indian Navy diminished as a consequence. (Although the sea route around the African Cape was much longer than the overland route, the indirect profits from the African slave trade that accrued to the East India Company allowed it to out-compete the Ottomans and thus draw away badly needed revenues from the Mughal treasury). Although the kingdoms of Oudh and Bengal thrived for a while, by 1721 the East India Company had been prohibited from importing Indian textiles into Europe. This was a major economic blow for the entire sub-continent; in particular, the Bengal Nawabs, who were unable to invest sufficiently in maintaining an adequate Navy. At the same time, the East India Company had turned its attention to the contraband Opium Trade with China, which required military cover, for which contingents of the British Royal Navy were sent to the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, enhancing British military power in the Bay of Bengal. The rapid depletion of the Mughal treasuries, thus started a chain reaction. Unable to supervise the vast regions under its authority, the Mughal state disintegrated. Craftspeople employed in the Mughal ‘karkhanas’ sought patronage from the regional courts of Awadh and Bengal, or Rajputana and Punjab, or the Marathas of Central India, all of whom experienced a short-lived, but often brilliant cultural renaissance. Mughal and Hindhu (or Sikh) styles were fused in the regions, producing several unique and syncretic traditions. However, after the textile bans and inability to enforce customs collections, the smaller Indian states simply lacked the economic and military means to resist the onslaught of the now richer and more poweful East India Company. The defeat at Plassey in 1757 was thus a monumental turning point in history. A nation that had long enjoyed a trade surplus from its manufactures was soon to be reduced to penury. R. Mukerji describes this process in ‘The Rise and Fall of the East India Company’, noting that the defeat of the Moghuls and the political ascendance of the East India Company was accompanied by a decline of the Indian mercantile bourgeoisie. The great merchants of India, who had earlier derived protection from the Mughals, and had benefited from the naval patrols of Akbar and Aurangzeb, were by the end of the eighteenth century, practically extinguished in Bengal and elsewhere. Although it took another century for the conquest of India to be consolidated, and although a third of India escaped direct colonial rule, a long era had come to a close. The crafts of that era were either to be obliterated, or survive precariously. Remunerated at a much lower rate, they were unlikely to gain the prestige and respect they once enjoyed. It is important to note this difference between the British colonizers and earlier conquerers who made India their home. Whereas earlier conquerers had taken full advantage of India’s manufacturing skills and either steered them in different directions, or attempted to augment and refine them, for the British, India’s manufacturing strengths were unnecessary competition, and were best snuffed out, or left to languish . Those who attempt to treat the British as no different from India’s previous Islamic rulers do great injustice to this ineffaceable reality. Several of India’s previous rulers came as foriegners – as invaders and conquerers – but they lived and died in India. Consequently, the monuments they built, the artefacts they commissioned, the culture that they sponsored – all of it, is now the legacy of the people of the sub-continent. The riches that they acquired were recycled in the same land, but what the British took away may never be returned. Even in its faded glory, India’s Islamic legacy has more authenticity than colonial rule. As Indians look to the future, they may gain from this history a justifiable pride in the dedicated pursuit of excellence that was practised by India’s craftspeople. They can take note of the technological discoveries and adaptations that took place in an older era, and become inspired to contribute – even in some small way, towards the betterment of a land that is waiting to find its due place in the world once more.

Best History and Ancient Content Crawled By http://crawlindia.com

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Newer Entries »