The Academy of Yoga and Oriental Studies (AYOS) organised a lecture on ‘Geography and Mathematics’ as contained in the Puranas here recently with the speaker being erudite Indologist Arun Kumar Upadhyaya.
The programme was presided over by noted Orientalist and AYOS Director Indulata Das.
Upadhyaya said geography and astronomy are inter-related. As described in Triprashnadhikara of astronomy texts, determination of three measures is needed for drawing a country’s map and they are latitude, longitude and direction. These are indispensable in navigation in deep seas which was known to India in those days of hoary antiquity.
The repository ancient astronomical wisdom of India had in its compass the knowledge of measuring the distance of moon which can be gauged simultaneously depending on the accuracy of the map.
In ancient India, astronomers made maps of north hemisphere in four sheets, called four petals of earth lotus, namely, Bharata, Bahdrashva in east, Ketumal in west and Uttar Kuru on opposite side. These were in four colours called ‘Meru’ sides.
Upadhyaya said the four-colour convention is still followed in mapping, though not proved so far in mathematics. Indian sheet was from the equator to North Pole with the centre at Ujjain and 45 degrees west to east.
Bharat, China and Russia were three lokas of Indra. On the pattern of seven lokas, this was divided into seven lokas. The remaining seven sheets, three in north and four in south were called seven Talas including Atala, Sutala, Vitala, Talatala, Patala and Rasatala.
There were four cardinal cities on the globe, lanka or Ujjain was zero longitude, Romakapattana in west, Yamakotipattana in east and Siddhapura on opposite side.
Puranas give different sets of four cities, Amaravati of Indra, Sanyamani in west, Sukha of Varuna in east and Vibhavari of soma on opposite side. North-South poles were Sumeru-Kumeru. Eastern Meru was Pranmeru (Pami), western was Aparameru (Peru) and in centre was the Meru on equator in Kenya.
There were other local references including 15 Merus and about 20 lankas. There were 60 time zones instead of modern 48 zones.
Junctions were places of sun, many of which still exist. There were seven continents separated into countries by Varsha-Parvatas; these make a monsoon zone.
The Varsha (rain) zone or country is divided into Janapadas by Kula-Parvatas. Many names in ancient geography are based on the shapes of the regions which needs accurate mapping. Mapping and astronomy need advanced mathematics, spherical trigonometry, calculus, numerical analysis and accurate measuring instruments, Upadhyaya said.
There was a question-answer session after the lecture in which scholars like Prasanta Acharya, Ajit Nayak and Sudhansu Kumar Bhuyan participated.
