India’s Glorious Scientific Tradition - Plants too have life

In Chapter 184 of the Shanti Parva in the Mahabharata, there is a dialogue between Sages Bharadwaj and Bhrigu. In it, Sage Bharadwaj asks that since trees can neither see nor hear, nor smell, nor feel pleasure, nor have the sense of touch, then how are they animate or living and how are they constituted by the five elements?

Sage Bhrigu replied: “O Sage, although the trees seem solid, yet there is no doubt that they have the space. That is why it is possible for them to bear fruits and flowers.

“The heat that the trees have shrivels or withers the leaves, the bark, the flowers and the fruits and they fall off. Therefore, it also proves that they have the sense of touch.

“It has also been seen that when there is a loud sound like that of the harsh winds, fire, thunder, etc. the flowers and the fruits of trees fall off. This proves that trees can hear also.

“The creeper covers the tree from all sides and climbs right to the top. No one can find his way unless he can see. This proves that trees can see too.

“With pure and holy fragrance, the tree becomes healthy and grows better. This proves that they can smell also.

“They drink water from their roots and if they are suffering from some disease we can put some medicine in their roots. This way, we can treat them too. This proves that trees have the sense of taste.

“Such as a man sucks water through a lotus stem into his mouth, likewise trees suck water through their roots upward with the help of wind.

Sukhdukhyoshcha grahanaacchinnasya cha virohanaat Jeevam pashyami Vrikshanam chaitanyam na vidyate.

“When a tree is cut, it sprouts again and they accept joys and sorrows. Hence, I see that trees also have life and that they are not non-living things.

“The wind and the heat inside the tree help it to digest the water that it takes in from its roots. Complete assimilation of the food gives it glossiness and it grows well.”

Besides this, the sages Charak and Udayan have also described the feelings of life that one can observe or notice in trees and plants. Sage Charka says: Tachyetanaavad Chetananch meaning they (trees) also have life like living creature.

He further says Atra Sendriyatvena Vrikshadinaamapi Cetanatvam Bodhavyam meaning trees also have feelings. Therefore, we must know that they too have organs and hence life.

Udayan also says, Vrikshadayah pratiniyatbhokytradhisththitah jeevanamaranaswapna jaagaranarogabheshaja prayogabaajasaja ateeyanubandhanuku lopagampratikoo lapagamaadibhyah prasiddha shareerawat. —(Udayan-prithvinirupanam)

“Like a human body, trees also experience the following feelings-life, death, dream, waking up, disease, medicinal treatment, seed, grafting, accepting what is suitable and rejecting what is not.”

India’s science heritage

Sanskrit was the medium of communication, education, law, administration, trade, commerce, art and intellectual debates till a few centuries ago. Our knowledge of astronomy was much more advanced than that of the West. This is proved when we read the Rig Veda where some of the following points have been expounded on:

The elliptical path through which all the celestial bodies move is “imperishable and unslackened”.
The mean planets move on their orbits and the true planets in eccentric circles.
The cause of eclipse is that the moon that covers the sun and the shadow of the earth covers the moon.
The influence of comets increases rapidly in the autumn and spring seasons as these naturally exist in the solar rays.
In the eighth region of the sky there are 3,07,03,2212 comets.
The moon is a satellite of the earth revolving around its mother planet.
The radius of the earth is 800 yojanas.
Massive celestial bodies are attracted towards the earth by her gravitational force.
Bhaskaracharya discovered the nadivalayam which helped people to determine the time
The shanku yantram was discovered to trace the sun’s path and find time.

Similarly, Sanskrit revealed our ancient knowledge of physics—the speed of light as 2,202 yojanas in half a minute;

the sequence of the creation of matter is as follows: akasha, vayu, agni, apa, prithvi; units of measurement, electricity generation by using copper plates and chemicals kept in earthen pots; formation of rainbow, motion, lens, elasticity, etc.

India’s Glorious Scientific Tradition

Killing or destroying metals The method of destroying the qualities of metal in order to make it worthy of use, has also been described in these books. It was a common practice to destroy the metal in the laboratory. Sulphur was used to destroy all metals. Hence, in the book, sulphur has been compared to a lion and the other metals to an elephant.

It is said that just as a lion kills an elephant, similarly, sulphur destroys all metals Govindacharya, the Chemistry scholar says-

Naasti tallohamatango yanna gandhakakeshari Nihanyadwandhamaatrena yadwa makshikakeshari. —(Rasarnava-7-138-142)

Coversion of zinc into gold: We all know that if one part of zinc is mixed with three parts of copper and heated, it changes into brass, which is a golden coloured mixture. Nagarjuna says—

Kramen kritwambudharen ranjitah Karoti shulvam triputen kaanchanam —(Rasratnaakar-3)

The non-rusting ability of metals: Govindacharya has described, the sequence of the abilities of metals to fight rusting and corrosion. Even today, the same system is followed-

Suvarnam rajatam tamram teekshnavangam bhujangamah Lohakam shadvidham taccha yathapurvam tadakshayam. —(Rasarnav-7-89-90)

This means that the sequence of the metals staying unaffected and undecayed by rusting or corrosion is gold, silver, copper, brass, lead and iron. Of these, gold rusts the least.

How to make Copper Sulphate from Copper

Tamradaah jalairyoge jayate tutyakam shubham.

When copper is mixed with sulphuric acid, we get Copper Sulphate. Various ashes—When the harmful characteristics of a metal are removed by chemical action and the metal is converted to ashes, it is known as bhasma. The ash of iron (lauh bhasma), gold (suvarna bhasma), silver (rajat bhasma), copper (tamra bhasma), tin (vanga bhasma) and lead (sees bhasma) are primarily used for medicinal purposes.

One chapter of Vagbhatta’s Ras Ratna Samuchchay is dedicated to purification of juices.

Adamantine compound—In his Brihat Samhita, Varahmihir writes:

Ashtau seesakbhagah kansasya dvau tu reetikabhagah Maya kathito yogoayam vigyeyo vajrasanghatah. —(Brihat Samhita)

This means that if a compound which has eight parts of lead, two parts of bronze and one part of iron is used in the way that Maya has prescribed, it will change into a thunderbolt.

How to make distillates—According to Charak, there are nine ways of making distillates:

1. Dhanyasava—made from grains and seeds
2. Phalasava—made from fruits
3. Moolasava—made from roots
4. Saraasava—made from wood
5. Pushpaasava—made from flowers
6. Patraasava—made from leaves
7. Kaandaasava—made from stems and stacks
8. Twagaasava—made from barks
9. Sharkaraasava—made from sugar

Besides these, various kinds of perfumes, itr and other fragrant products were also developed. Detailed experiments about the metals have already been described in the metallurgy portion. All these formulae were not given by just listening to a teacher or guru or by reading books. They were given after carrying out experiments personally.

Expressing this, in the raskalp, a chapter of the Rudrayaamal Tantra of the 13th century, the scholar of chemistry says:

Iti sampadito margo drutinam patane sphutah Sakshadanubhavairdrishto na shruto gurudarshitah Lokanamupakarayetat sarvam niveditam Sarvesham chaiva lohanam dravanam parikeertitam. —(Raskalp A-3)

“I have proved all this by carrying out the experiments myself and not by what the tutor says or what the books says and have placed the result for everyone’s benefit.” This is an inspiring example of the experimentation of the scholars of chemistry in the ancient times.

Hindu Chemistry

There have been many Indian chemists in the past. The writings of some of them are as under:

Nagarjuna-Rasratnakar,Kakshaputatantra, Arogya Manjari, Yog Saar, Yogashtak.
Vagbhatta-Ras Ratna Sammuchchay.
Govindacharya-Rasaarnav.
Yashodhar-Ras Prakash Sudhakar.
Ramchandra-Rasendra Chintamani.
Somdev-Rasendra Chudamani.

The following chemicals are mentioned in the book Ras Ratna Sammuchchay:

1. Maharasa
2. Upras
3. Samanyaras
4. Ratna
5. Dhatu
6. Vish
7. Kshaar
8. Amal
9. Lavan
10. Lauhbhasma

The main chemicals are:

1. Abhram
2. Vaikrant
3. Bhashisk
4. Vimla
5. Shilajatu
6. Sasyak
7. Chapala
8. Rasak

Upras:
1. Gandhak
2. Gairik
3. Kashis
4. Suvari
5. Lalak
6. Manah Shila
7. Anjan
8. Kankushtha

Samanya Ras:
1. Koyila
2. Gauripaashaan
3. Navsaar
4. Varaatak
5. Agnijaar
6. Laajvarta
7. Giri Sindur
8. Hingul
9. Murdaad Shringakam

Similarly, there are more than 10 vish(poison). There is a description of the acids as well. Solvent acids and all dissolving acids are also described. Various kinds of alkalis and the ash of different metals are explained in these books. Laboratory A detailed description of a laboratory is given in chapter-7 of Ras Ratna Samuchchay. More than 32 instruments or apparatus were used here, the prominent among them are: Nagarjuna carried out numerous experiments on mercury in the laboratory. He has explained in great detail how to purify mercury and how to use it for medicinal purposes. He has also given the methods of preparing mixtures of various metals, purifying mercury and other metals and the maharasas and how to convert metals into gold or silver. Mercury is used not just in the conversion of a metal but also to make us disease-free and for longevity. The chemistry based on mercury is, in its fully developed form, linked to man-woman symbolism in India. Mercury is considered an element of Shiva, whereas sulphur, an element of Parvati and the product that was created from their union in asafoetida was called ras sindur, which was considered the essence for longevity.