Astronomy and Cosmology

SR No.: 001618
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: L C Jain
Publisher: Rajasthan Prakrit Bharti Sansthan Jaipur
Publication Year: 1983
Total Pages: 92
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Geography, Astrology, L000, & L035
File Size: 5 MB

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FOREWORD
Cosmology and Astronomy are some of those topics of 'Exact Sciences' towards the development of which the Jaina School of Parsvanātha and Vardhamana Mahāvira has contributed a lot. This School, noted for its mathematicophilosophic pursuits, flourished in India very much close round about the same period in which the School of Pythagoras flourished in Greece, that is, in sixth century B. C. and later on. The vast available ancient Jaina literature is primarily religion-cum-philosophy oriented, but the use of mathematics is found in abundance, showing that the Jainas at that time had developed mathematics to a great extent. The ancient Jaina literature is divided into four main groups, called prathmānuyoga,' karaṇānūyoga, caraṇānūyoga and dravyānūyoga where looking to the importance of science, most of the literature of the karaṇānuyoga group deals with mathematical, astronomical and cosmological concepts besides the study of cosmos and self and the Karma Theory. As a matter of fact for this study, two worlds, one the macroworld and the other microworld, are to be well manifested to a human intellect and with this object, in view, the Jaina scholars in ancient India have worked on Astronomy, Cosmology and the Karma Theory with mathematical approach.
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The original Jaina Agamas discuss, amongst other things, the Karma Theory. In these lie the deep secrets of periodic events of nature. unfortunate that many of these Agamas in which mathematics has been developed either as post-universal (alaukika) study of measures and counting or applied in the form of results through analysis and comparability, e. g., the works of Bhadrabāhu of 3rd-4th century B. C. either have been lost or are not traceable at present.Some of the important available Agamas and other texts, their extracts and commentaries are the Kasaya-pāhuḍa, the Satkhaṇḍāgama, the Sthānāṇga-Sūtra, the Tattvārtha-Sūtra, the Tiloyapanṇatti Kṣapaṇāsāra, Labdhisāra, the Gommaţasāra, the Trilokasāra, the Dhavala, the Jayadhavalā, the Mahādhavala, the Jambudivapaṇṇatti Samgaho, the Gaṇitasara Samgraha, the Suryaprajñapti, the Candraprajñapti, the Lokavibhāga etc. Some of these works are more than 2000 years old and many of them lay hidden and could be brought to light only recently through the
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