{"id":80759,"date":"2016-03-16T06:52:45","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T06:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalpress.hinduismnow.org?p=3550&preview_id=3550"},"modified":"2016-03-16T06:52:45","modified_gmt":"2016-03-16T06:52:45","slug":"law-of-gravity-was-discovered-by-indian-mystery-of-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/?p=80759","title":{"rendered":"Law of Gravity was Discovered by Indian | Mystery of India"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When we talk about gravity, the first name that pops into our heart is Sir Isaac Newton<\/strong>. In school we all have been told the story of how Newton was inspired to formulate \u201cThe Universal Law of Gravitation<\/em>\u201d when an apple fell from a tree. The world believes that Newton was the first to discover the gravitational concepts. You will be surprised to known that Indians knew the Laws of Gravity hundreds of years before Newton.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s\u00a0contribution to the subject of gravity began with Varahamihira <\/em>(505\u2013587 CE), a Hindu astronomer and mathematician\u00a0who thought of the idea of gravity but did not give it a specific name or meaning. Varahamihira claimed that there should be a force which might be keeping bodies stuck to the earth, and also keeping heavenly bodies in their determined places.<\/p>\n

The second Indian\u00a0who commented on gravity was Brahmagupta\u00a0<\/em>(598-670 CE). He was a Hindu astrologer and mathematician\u00a0who held the view that the earth was spherical and that it attracts things.\u00a0He even compared it to elements like water and fire.\u00a0He also talked about \u2018gravity\u2019 in one of his statements saying:<\/p>\n

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Bodies fall towards the earth as it is in the nature of the earth to attract bodies, just as it is in the nature of water to flow.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Sanskrit term for gravity is Gurutvakarshan, which is an amalgam of Guru-tva-akarshan. Akarshan means to be attracted.\u00a0The term Guru-tva-akarshan can be interpreted to mean, \u201cto the attracted by the Master\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The 11th century saw the coming of another Hindu astrologer\u00a0named Bhaskarachaya<\/a><\/strong>,<\/em> also known as\u00a0Bhaskara II.<\/p>\n

\"Bhaskara
Bhaskara (1114 \u2013 1185) also known as Bhaskara II and Bhaskarach\u0101rya<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bhaskaracharya was one of the most prominent astronomers and mathematicians of the 12th century. He is also considered as the greatest mathematician from the medieval era. He is known amongst the theorist for discovering principles on astronomy and calculus.<\/p>\n

In his treatise Siddhant Shiromani<\/a><\/strong> he writes on planetary positions, eclipses, cosmography, mathematical techniques and astronomical equipment.<\/p>\n

He continued the efforts of Brahmagupta<\/em>\u00a0and also contributed to \u2018Surya Siddhanta<\/strong>\u2018,\u00a0an astronomical text dated around 400 A.D.<\/p>\n

In Surya Siddhant, he explains that earth has gravitational force (gurutvakarshan shakti<\/strong>). There is a mutual attraction between the planets and this allows them to hold themselves firmly in space.<\/p>\n

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Surya Siddhanta\u00a0is partly based on Vedanga Jyotisha, which itself might reflect traditions going back to the Indian Iron Age (around 1000 BCE).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Here are some of the slokas of\u00a0Bhaskaracharya\u00a0that mentions how gravitation works:<\/p>\n

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Objects fall on the earth due to a force of attraction by the earth. Therefore, the earth, planets, constellations, moon and sun are held in orbit due to this attraction.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The spherical earth stands at the centre of earth in space due to the dharanatmikam sakti which prevents earth from falling away and helps it to stand firm.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He also mentioned the shape of the earth while answering his daughter\u2019s question. Bhaskaracharya states that what we see is not the reality, Earth may appear flat but it is spherical in reality.\u00a0He further explains this theory by stating:<\/p>\n

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if you draw a very big circle and look at one fourth of its circumference, you see it as a straight line. But in true sense it is a circle. Similarly earth is spherical in shape.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

These historical mentions are the proofs that laws of gravity was first discovered in India.\u00a0India is considered as a traditional country but the world is unaware of our contributions to this modern world. Our theories were used as a base for many concepts such as weather forecast, astronomy, astrology, aviation etc. India has developed some of the best mathematicians the world has ever seen. Many of these geniuses were not given credit for their work.<\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0\u00a0&<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Law of Gravity was Discovered by Indian | Mystery of India<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Source: Law of Gravity was Discovered by Indian | Mystery of India<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we talk about gravity, the first name that pops into our heart is Sir Isaac Newton. In school we all have been told the story of how Newton was inspired to formulate \u201cThe Universal Law of Gravitation\u201d when an apple fell from a tree. The world believes that Newton was the first to discover […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[1141],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80759"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80759\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}