Is ancient India overrated?

古印度文明被高估了吗？

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Atul Bansal, History Buff | ISROite | IITian | CSE Aspirant

Let us take the example of Ajanta Caves to understand this.

Ajanta Caves are a group of 29 caves dedicated to Buddhism, cut from a single granite rock mass of Sahyadri Hills (Western Ghats). They were cut from 2nd century BC to around 5th century AD by Buddhist monks by carving a U-shaped Cliff.

让我们以阿旃陀石窟为例来分析一下。

阿旃陀石窟是由29个佛教石窟组成的石窟群，是在萨哈德里山(西高止山脉)的一个花岗岩独岩体上雕刻出来的。它们是在公元前2世纪到公元5世纪左右，由佛教僧侣在这个U形悬崖上雕刻而成的。

The caves were cut in a manner to align with key cosmological events.

Cave No. 19 and Cave No. 26 align perfectly with winter solstice and summer solstice respectively

Winter solstice - When Sun reaches southern most position as seen in Northern Hemisphere . It is usually around 22 December. It marks the begng of northward movement or ascent of sun.

Summer solstice - When Sun reaches northermost position as seen from northern hemisphere. It is usually around 21 June. It marks the begng of southward movement or descent of sun

On Winter solstice, Sun shines perfectly into Cave No. 19 and lightens Buddha’s statue. Buddha is shown in standing posture which symbolically means that force of divine sun is descending into a spiritually prepared person.

译文来源：三泰虎  http://www.santaihu.com/47117.html  译者：Joyceliu

这些石窟的雕刻方式与重要的宇宙事件一一对应。

第19洞、第26洞分别与冬至、夏至完全吻合。

冬至-太阳到达北半球最南端的那一天。通常在12月22日前后。它标志着太阳向北或向上移动的开始。

夏至-太阳到达北半球最北端的那一天。通常在6月21日前后。它标志着太阳向南或向下移动的开始。

冬至那天，阳光会完全照进19号石窟，照亮佛像。佛陀展现站立的姿势，象征性地意味着神圣的太阳的力量正降临到一个在精神上已做好准备的人身上。

On Summer solstice, Sun shines perfectly into Cave No. 26 and lightens Buddha’s statue. Buddha is shown seated with his feet on pedestal. This shows ascendance of Buddha into heavens.

To put it differently, ancient Indians more than 1500 years ago, using simple tools like chisels and hammers, carved 29 caves from a single large hard rock mass in such a way that it perfectly aligns with sun’s rays on particular days.

This shows advanced knowledge of astronomy, civil engineering and architecture. Achievements in other fields were equally marvelling.

The achievements of Ancient India is not overrated but underrated.

夏至时，阳光完美地照进26号石窟，照亮了佛像。佛陀展现端坐的姿势，脚踩在底座上。象征着佛陀升入天堂的景象。

换句话说，1500多年前，古印度人用凿子、锤子等简单工具，从一块巨大的坚硬岩体上凿出29个洞穴，并在特定的日子里完美地与太阳光线对应起来。

这显示了古印度在天文学、土木工程和建筑学的先进知识。其他领域的成就同样令人惊叹。

古印度的成就并未被高估，而是被低估了。

Pak L. Huide, Undergrad at University of Toronto

Seriously? If anything, ancient India is sorely UNDERRATED.

I mean, I'm an ethnic living in Canada. But when I was growing up in Canada, I knew jackshit about India. Besides maybe curry.

I mean, people here have a vague understanding of history but they have NO idea about Indian history. For example, most people know that the Middle Kingdom is how referred to herself but how many people know about Bharat? How many know about even the Guptas? People know that was famous for ceramics and tea but how many people know about ancient India’s achievement in metallurgy? People know about the Great Wall, but how many know about the great temples of southern India?

This is partly due to the lackluster historical records that ancient Indians kept and also partly because modern Indians have a tendency to look down upon their ancient heritage and view western ideas and ideals as superior. also has this problem but not nearly to the same extent.

Ancient India was a hub of culture and technology and the absolute capital of world spirituality. I could talk about India for hours but it's hard to type on the phone. In short, India is many things but OVERRATED is definitely not one of them.

你没开玩笑吧？如果非要说，古印度的成就是被严重低估的。

我是说，我是加拿大华人。但我从小在加拿大成长，我对印度一无所知。大概也就知道咖喱吧。

我的意思是，这里的人对历史多少有点模糊的认知，但他们对印度历史一无所知。例如，大多数人知道认为自己的国家是中央王国，但有多少人知道婆罗多呢？有多少人知道笈多王朝？人们知道的陶瓷和茶叶全球闻名，但是有多少人知道古代印度在冶金方面取得的成就呢？人们知道长城，但是有多少人知道印度南部的宏伟寺庙呢?

部分原因是由于古代印度人历史记载做的不够好，也有部分原因是由于现代印度人有一种倾向，看不起他们的古老文明，认为西方的思想和理念更为优越。也有这个问题，但没那么严重。

古印度是文化和技术的中心，是世界精神的绝对中心。我可以对印度谈上好几个小时，但用手机打字太难了。简而言之，印度有很多东西，但绝对没有被高估。

Satyarth Routroy, Indian by birth, Indian by soul, Indian by heart.

1. Is ancient India overrated?

On the contrary, ancient India is highly underrated.

We are one of the longest living continuous ancient civilization. But how many people around the world know that? Ancient India had been the hub of art, architecture, literature and technology- but most people are totally unaware of that. Forget about non-Indians, many Indians of the 21st century are unaware of our ancient and past glory.

The discovery that the earth is spherical is credited to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who was born in 384 BCE. However, very few people know that a man from ancient India established the idea of “spherical earth” during the 8th-9th century BCE. The man was called Yajnavalkya who first discovered that the earth is round. He was the first to propose the heliocentric system of the planets. In his work Shatapatha Brahmana, he proposed that the earth and the other planets move around the sun. He also calculated the period of one year as 365.24675 days. This is only 6 minutes longer than the current established time of 365.24220 days[1].

古印度被高估了吗?

不，相反，古印度被严重低估了。

我们是世界上最古老的文明之一。但是世界上有多少人知道呢？古印度曾是艺术、建筑、文学和科技的中心，但大多数人完全没有意识到这一点。忘掉印度以外的人吧，21世纪的许多印度人对我们古老和历史的荣耀根本不了解。

世人普遍认为地球是球形的这一发现归功于希腊哲学家亚里士多德，他生于公元前384年。然而，几乎没人知道一位古印度人曾在公元前8 -9世纪就提出了“球形地球”的概念。这个人叫雅杰那瓦基亚，他是第一个发现地球是个大圆球的人。他是第一个提出行星日心说的人。在他的著作《百道梵书》中，他提出地球和其他行星围绕太阳运转。他还计算出一年的周期为365.24675天。这只比目前测定的365.24220天[1]多了6分钟。

Take the example of Kung Fu. The whole world knows about the martial art called Kung Fu. The person who founded Kung Fu was none other than a prince of the Pallava dynasty from Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu who visited during the 5th century CE. He became the 28th patriarch of Buddhism and established the Shaolin temple and founded the martial art which became world famous today[2]. That prince was called Bodhidharma.

But how many people know about that Kung Fu and Shaolin was founded by an Indian? Precisely, if we Indians are unaware of our heritage, why should we expect that someone else will know about our history and achievement?

The achievements of ancient Indians are lost in obscurity. Our ancestors had invented many ways which eased the basic life of a common man. These inventions may seem primitive today, but we can’t ignore the fact that these were revolutionary achievements during their era.

The Indus Valley civilization is known for the broad and the sanitized drainage system which was no less than a miracle during those ancient times. But how many people know that the ancient Indians from Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) were the first to invent a flush toilet[3]?

以功夫为例。全世界都知道一种叫功夫的武术。功夫的创始人正是来自泰米尔纳德邦坎奇普兰的帕拉瓦王朝的一位王子，他于公元5世纪访问了。他成为了佛教的第28任宗师，建立了少林寺，并创立了武术，在今天全球闻名。那个王子叫菩提达摩。

但是有多少人知道功夫和少林是由印度人创立的呢？准确地说，如果我们印度人不知道我们的传统，我们又怎能指望别人了解我们的历史和成就?

古代印度人的成就在默默无闻中销声匿迹了。我们的祖先发明了许多改善普通人的基本生活的方法。这些发明在今天看来似乎很原始，但我们不能忽视这一事实，这些发明在他们那个的时代，都是革命性的成就。

印度河流域文明以其广阔而清洁的排水系统而闻名，这在古代是一个奇迹。但是有多少人知道印度河流域文明的古印度人是最先发明抽水马桶[3]的人呢?

The people around the world use rulers to measure everything. How many people know that Indus Valley Civilization was the first to invent the rulers[4]? A ruler has been found at Lothal which is 4400 years old. Not only this, the people of IVC were the first to invent buttons[5]. The world knows that the discovered the art of weaving silk dresses. How many people know that IVC people were the first to weave dresses made of cottons[6].

The ancient Indians were first to invent the weighing scales. Archaeologists have discovered weighs and scales from the excavation sites of Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Lothal etc[7]. These scales were extensively used for trading.

世界各地的人们都用尺子来丈量一切。有多少人知道印度河流域文明是最先发明尺子[4]的人呢?在洛塔尔发现了一把有着4400年历史的尺子。不仅如此，印度河流域文明的人也是最早发明纽扣[5]的人。全世界都知道创造了丝制品的纺织技术。有多少人知道印度河流域的人是最早把棉花织成衣服的人?

古印度人最先发明了磅秤。考古学家在哈拉帕、摩亨佐达罗、洛塔尔等地的发掘现场发现了砝码和秤。这些秤被广泛用于贸易之中。

Ancient India has given Yoga to the world- which is widely practiced almost all over the world to keep people fit and fine. Models, supermodels, film stars, athletes, etc. regularly attends Yoga session to keep themselves fit.

Aryabhatta, Brahmagupta and Bhaskaracharya were the three eminent mathematicians from ancient India who established the concept of zero as a mathematical value in different eras. Brahmagupta was the first to invent a symbol for the value “shunya” (zero)[8]. Bhaskaracharya was the first to use it as algebra. The oldest inscription of zero can be found at the Chaturbhuj temple in Gwalior fort[9].

古代印度把瑜伽传播到了全世界，瑜伽在世界各地广泛流传，让人们保持身材和健康。模特、超级名模、电影明星、运动员等都坚持学习瑜伽课程，保持身材。

阿雅巴塔、布拉玛格塔和巴斯卡拉查里亚是古代印度三位杰出的数学家，他们在不同的时代确立了零作为数学值的概念。布拉玛格塔是第一个发明表示“shunya”(零)[8]的符号的人。巴斯卡拉查里亚是第一个把它用作于代数中的人。最古老的“零”字铭文出现在瓜利奥尔堡的查图布伊寺。

Ancient Indians were pioneers in the field of chemistry too. The person who first invented the “atomic theory” was none other than Acharya Kanad from ancient India[10]. He explained the atomic theory using terms like “Anu”(atom) and “Paramanu”(nucleus).

Ancient Indians were advanced in medical science too. The great physician of his time, Sage Shusrut was the first to carry out different surgeries which included plastic surgery and cataract surgery[11]. His works are composed in his book called Shusrut Samhita (The works of Shusrut). The world hardly knows about Charak, the great specialist in medicine from ancient India. He was the first physician to establish the problems and medicinal treaties in fields like physiology, embryology, digestion, sexual disease, immunity, etc. His works on Ayurveda is composed as a book called Charak Samhita (The works of Charak).

The Chera dynasty of Tamil Nadu invented the idea of producing finest steel by heating black magnetite ore along with carbon. The mixture was kept in a crucible and heated in charcoal furnace. The Wootz Steel[12] originated from India, but today, is popular as Damascus Steel.

Ancient Indians were pioneers in the field of chemistry too. The person who first invented the “atomic theory” was none other than Acharya Kanad from ancient India[10]. He explained the atomic theory using terms like “Anu”(atom) and “Paramanu”(nucleus).

Ancient Indians were advanced in medical science too. The great physician of his time, Sage Shusrut was the first to carry out different surgeries which included plastic surgery and cataract surgery[11]. His works are composed in his book called Shusrut Samhita (The works of Shusrut). The world hardly knows about Charak, the great specialist in medicine from ancient India. He was the first physician to establish the problems and medicinal treaties in fields like physiology, embryology, digestion, sexual disease, immunity, etc. His works on Ayurveda is composed as a book called Charak Samhita (The works of Charak).

The Chera dynasty of Tamil Nadu invented the idea of producing finest steel by heating black magnetite ore along with carbon. The mixture was kept in a crucible and heated in charcoal furnace. The Wootz Steel[12] originated from India, but today, is popular as Damascus Steel.

古印度人也是化学领域的先驱。第一个发明“原子理论”的人就是古印度的阿查里亚·卡纳德。他用“anu”（原子）和“paramanu”（原子核）等术语解释了原子理论。

古印第安人在医学上也很先进。作为当时的伟大医生，Sage Shusrut是第一个进行多种手术的人，包括整形手术和白内障手术[11]。他的手术被写入他的书中，书名为《舒斯鲁特的手术记录》。世人几乎不知道查拉克这位古印度的医学专家。他是第一位在生理学、胚胎学、消化学、性疾病、免疫学等领域确定病症并进行医学治疗的医生。他对阿育吠陀上的研究被写成一本书，名为《查拉克的著作》。

泰米尔纳德邦的希拉王朝想出了一个办法，通过加热黑色磁铁矿和碳来生产最好的钢。混合物放置在坩埚中，用木炭炉加热。伍兹钢铁[12]起源于印度，但今天，伍兹钢铁和大马士革钢铁一样普及。

Sayak Biswas, Indian and proud

Most of us will know this branch of mathematics, right?

我们大多数人都知道这个数学分支，对吧?

One of the very first proponents of trigonometry was a man called Aryabhatta. He is also credited for invention of “zero”, the number without which any modern-day calculation is impossible.

His studies of trigonometry was roughly around the same period when other civilizations like Greeks, Egyptians were studying about this. But Aryabhatta’s methods were comparatively easier than the clumsier Greek versions. Later his works were adopted by Arabs, and his name was there in al-Kwarizmi’s book on algebra.

最早提出三角法的人中，有一个叫阿雅巴塔的人。他还发明了“零”这个数字，没有这个数字，任何现代计算都是不可能进行的。

他对三角学的研究与希腊、埃及等其他文明国家的研究大致处于同一时期。但阿雅巴塔的方法比希腊人笨拙的方法要简单得多。后来他的研究被阿拉伯人采用，他的名字出现在al-Kwarizmi的代数书中。

Dharm Sidhu, Director, Software Engg

Well in my personal opinion, The person might intended a punk as “Ancient India” is highly under rated and to support my opinion, I will try to relate them discoveries happened in past which are still very much applicable in modern world

在我个人看来，这个人可能是个很无知的人，因为“古印度文明”被高度低估了，为了阐明我的观点，我会试着把过去发现的事联系起来，这些发现在现代世界仍然非常适用
 

TOP 13 DISCOVERIES

1.The Idea of Zero

13个最伟大的发现

1. 零的概念

Little needs to be written about the mathematical digit ‘zero’, one of the most important inventions of all time. Mathematician Aryabhata was the first person to create a symbol for zero and it was through his efforts that mathematical operations like addition and subtraction started using the digit, zero.

The concept of zero and its integration into the place-value system also enabled one to write numbers, no matter how large, by using only ten symbols.

关于数学数字“零”——有史以来最重要的发明之一，无需我再赘述。数学家阿雅哈塔是第一个为零创建符号的人，正是通过他的努力，加减法等数学运算开始使用数字“零”。

零的概念和其与位值系统的结合也使得一个人，不管遇到多大的数，都可以只用10个符号来书写。