Indians were great achievers in all fields. In Time calculation too. The traditional indian vedic standards of time were detailed and involved lot of calculations.The shrimad bhagavatha maha purana describes this in detail.
Believers and atheists, both would be surprised how we Indians calculated time accurately, 5000 years back.
Believers and atheists, both would be surprised how we Indians calculated time accurately, 5000 years back.
Scientific Standard of Time
Until 1955 the scientific standard of time, the second, was based on the earth’s period of rotation and was defined as 1/86,400 of the mean solar day. When it was realized that the earth’s rate of rotation was irregular and also slowing down, it became necessary to redefine the second. In 1955 the International Astronomical Union defined the second as being 1/31,556,925.9747 of the solar year in progress at noon December 31, 1899. The International Committee on Weights and Measures adopted the definition the following year.
With the introduction of atomic clocks—specifically, the construction of a high-precision caesium-beam atomic clock in 1955—more accurate measurement of time became possible. This atomic clock utilizes the frequency of a spectral line produced by the caesium-133 atom. In 1967 the measurement of the second in the International System of Units was officially defined as the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
Vedic standard of time :
While we see that the atomic calculations were the basis for the modern time study that we have the base unit as seconds, the base unit in the Vedas is referred to by name “PARAMANU” which literally means “SUB-ATOMIC level”. This gives us an insight that may refer to a calculation of time with reference to atoms and not merely solar or lunar time periods.
In a text by name shrimad bhagavatham (dates back to 3070 BC), the sage maithreya says that this is taken as the basic unit for calculations and describes the same as follows:
“The smallest particle of material substance, which has not yet combined with any other similar particles, is called paramanu (a sub-atomic particle of matter). Paramanus always exist both in the dormant and manifest states of material existence. It is the combination of more than one paramanu (sub-atomic particle) which gives rise to the illusory concept of a (material) unit.”
A combination of two paramanus make an anu (ATOM).Three atoms make a THRASRENU. A combination of thresranu’s are said to be visible through the sun rays through a laticced window. (Did maitreya talk abt tyndall effect ?)
Paramanu as a source and basic unit of time calculated as the time sunrays take to pass through them.
Three tersrenus are called a thruthi ( 8/13,500 of a second).
A combination of 100 thruthis is called a vedha (8/135 of a second) and three Vedas together were called as a lava (8/45 of a second)
A combination of three lavas is called a kshana ( 8/5 of a second)(this is also described in scriptures as the time taken to the twinkling of a human eye).
A combination of 5 kshanas is called a kaashta.(8 seconds) and fifteen kaashtas equal one laghu (2 minutes).
15 laghu make up a nadika (nazhiga – tamil) which is equal to 30 minutes. 6 nadikas equal one prahara (a quarter of a day).
A day consists of four yamaas(six hour periods),while fifteen such days make up alternating bright and dark fornights(moon sizes).
Two of such fortnights are taken to be a maasa (month) and two months constitute a rithu (Season) and six months constitute a ayana(time for sun to move from north to south and south to north resp)
The vedic years constitute the following yugas (collection of years).
1,728,000 human years
1,296,000 human years
864,000 human years
432,000 human years
The world does not end here the whole completion of the above said four yugas constitute a maha yuga or a divya yuga(4.32 million years).
One thousand such cycles (4.32 billion years) make up one day of brahma.
(note: maybe there exists no god. but the Vedic traditionalists made it an embodiment or personification of time. Personification was a common practice as history, legends, facts and sciences in those days were not separated from literature. This is a striking observation because the brahma is said to have four faces which represent the four above mentioned yugas. When personification of autumn, rivers, and nations can be accepted as literature, personification of time as brahma can be accepted by atheists too)
Such a day of brahma is called as a kalpa. Each day of brahma is divided into manvantaras (14 periods) each lasting 71 cycles of the above said rotation of four constituting one such cycle.
The brahma is said to live 100 years,each consisting of 360 days.In human years the brahma’s life in 72,000 x 4,320,000,000 human years = 311,040,000,000,000 human years.
This time span is considered one breathe in and breathe out of VISHNU.
After the life of one brahma, another brahma comes into existence and the process of time continues.
So where are we now?
According to the Vedic scriptures, we are now in the first day of the second half of the life of Brahma (even he gets old, and he is now 50). Within this day of Brahma, we are in the seventh manvantara (of Vaivasvata Manu), in the 28th turnover of its 71 yuga cycles.
Modern astronomy calculates the beginning of the present Kali-yuga at 2:27a.m. on February 20th in the year 3102 B.C.
