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Scientific Secrets of Jainism
According to modern mathematics tt = 3.141592653.... This shows that the value of it shown by Virasēnācārya is true upto six digits after the decimal point.
There is no special reason why, in the Jain tradition, there are different values of it and different methods of finding the circumference and the area of a circle.
Really speaking, the Jain philosophy is spiritualistic and its ultimate aim is salvation. In Jain scriptures we find the description of the form, shape etc. of the cosmos (Löka ) because they help in spiritual development. The form of Loka, i.e. universe, the form of the hell, the form of gods, the human world - the two and a half islands (dvipas) - the Jambūdvipa etc. are shown in order to enable us to know where and in what condition our soul is at present, in what condition it was in the past, and what condition it can have in the future.
It is not inconsistent to believe that since the common people had no other use of this knowledge that at different times, with different sorts of people in view, these different methods were used in order to impart this knowledge to common people in simple way. This is why one finds different values of it in various Jain scriptures which are available today.
Ācārya Śri virasēna shows that it = 355 / 113. The Indian mathematician Sri Ramanujan shows this value of it in a different way. He solved the problem of squaring the circle, the problem suggested by Greek mathematicians. As a result he got 355/113 as a value of t.
This article is accompanied by a brief article on various values of . On reading it, one can pretty well understand the perplexity of it. Jain Time-cycle and Cosmic Calendar In the commentry on Laghusangrahaņisutra, Ācārya Śrī has given a detailed discription of the seven kşētras (regions) such as Bharata etc. as well as the time-cycle constituted 12 ārās exprienced in Bharata-ksētra and Airavatakņētra. It is possible that some may doubt whether the time-cycle is real. We shall, therefore, here think of it from the view-point of modern science. Let us first understand the divisions (ārās) of the time-cycle.
The time-cycle has two chief divisions--Utsarpiņikāla and Avasarpiņikāla.
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| SR No. | 001603 |
| Book Title | Scientific Secrets of Jainism |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Nandighoshvijay |
| Publisher | Research Institute of Scientific Secrets from Indian Oriental Scriptures Ahmedabad |
| Publication Year | 2001 |
| Total Pages | 378 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English, Science, Religion, & Articles |
| File Size | 21 MB |