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Science in India: Ancient and Modern

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Meghnad Saha

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Abstract

Right from origin, science in India has been reviewed. It is divided into ancient and modern. Ancient science consists of astronomy, mathematics and medicine. Though meticulous historical records are not available, much of its remnants can be traced up to 2500 B.C. through religious literature. The various reasons for the arrest of growth leading to decline and fall of ancient science in India are discussed. Modern science in India prevailed due to British; mainly to run colonial administration. After introduction of western education the contribution of Indians to science increased.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Here Indian means Indian subcontinent.

  2. 2.

    The gana-sangh or gana-rajya has the connotation of gana, referring to those who claim to be of equal status, and Sangh, meaning an assembly or Rajya referring to governance.

  3. 3.

    The word Śulba means a cord, a rope or a string, and its root śulb means measuring or act of measuring.

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Naik, P.V. (2017). Science in India: Ancient and Modern. In: Meghnad Saha. Springer Biographies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62102-9_2

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