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310 : Scientific Contents in Prākrta Canons
and owl who can see even in the dark. This view is not supported by Nyāya school and physicists. The Jainas maintain that the primary cause of seeing a thing is the inner knower, without whom no vision is possible even in the presence of other factors.
The canonical concepts about light and related phenomena are summarised and tabulated in Table 2 alongwith current scientific concepts. This indicates that while some canonical concepts are surprising for their modernity, others seem to be somewhat preliminary in today's contrast. Table 2: Canonical and Current Concepts about Light. Canonical
Current science
1. Light forms a category of
luminous bodied materials like
heat. 2. Light is corpuscular in nature. Light in wavicular in nature. 3. It is atomic aggregate in It is photonic in structure.
comparison. 4. It is a form of energy. It is a form of radiant energy 5. Light is a sign of livingness. 6. Light could be obtained from Light is obtained from two
two sources : hot ( sun ) and sources : hot and cold.
cold ( moon ). 7. Light is over-powered and Light is sub-dued and interfered like sound.
interfered like sound. Light does not help in seeing Light helps in seeing the
the objects through eye. objects through eye. 9. Shadow is obtained by obs- It has the property of refle
curance of light. This is also tion/refraction.
material and atomic. 10. Darkness is opposed to light. It is a form of light beyond
One cannot see it or through human visible range (IR/ it. It is atomic.
UV).
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