Historical facts about India
[These facts were recently published in a German Magazine, which deals
with World History Facts about India.]
- India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.
- India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.
- The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700BC.
More than 10,500 students from all over the world
studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the
4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of
ancient India in the field of education.
- Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages. Sanskrit is the
most suitable language for computer software, reported in Forbes
magazine, July 1987.
- Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka,
the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda
2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in
our civilization.
- Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of
development, India was the richest country on earth
until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century.
- The art of Navigation was born in the river Sindh 6000 years ago. The
very word Navigation is derived from the
Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit
'Nou'.
- Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to
orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart.; Time
taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century)365.258756484 days.
- The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he
explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He
discovered this in the 6th century long before the European
mathematicians.
- Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India;
Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11th Century;The
largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 10^6(10 to the
power of 6) whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10^53(10 to the power
of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 BCE during the Vedic
period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera 10^12(10 to the
power of 12).
- According to the Gemological Institute of America, up until
1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world.
- USA based IEEE has proved what has been a century-old
suspicion in the world scientific community that the pioneer of
Wireless communication was Prof. Jagdeesh Bose and not Marconi.
- The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in
Saurashtra.
- According to Saka King Rudradaman I of 150 CE a beautiful
lake called 'Sudarshana' was constructed on the hills of Raivataka
during Chandragupta Maurya's time.
- Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.
- Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and
health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like
cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and
even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well
known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipment were used. Deep
knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology,digestion,
metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.
- When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over
5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley
(Indus Valley Civilization)
- The place value system, the decimal system was developed in
India in 100 BC.
Last update: July 27, 2000