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VII ]
COMPARISON AND EVALUATION
"That not only do the astronomical works of Jainas furnish information about the conceptions of a religious sect but may, if rightly investigated, yield valuable material for the general history of Indian ideas."
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(xii) Visesa (v. 351-372) provides us with a chapter on sound
(accoustics) and Pannavana, with that of light (optics)subjects coming under the class of Applied Mathematics. (xiii) It may be that the 3 Prakṛta verses quoted by Bhaskara I in his com. on v. 10 of the Ganitapada of the Aryabhatiya of Ayrabhata I, may be belonging to some extinct Agama2.
(xiv) Rājāditya (1120 A. D.) has written Jaina-ganitasūtrodaharana. It may be that the examples given here may have something to do with the Agamas and their exegis. Alchemy-The first verse of Dasaveyaliya mentions the process of preparing gold. Verse 336 of Avassayanijjtti does the same.
The science of medicine-Some topics dealing with this subject have been already dealt with (vide pp. 136-137). So it now remains to add that Thana (VIII; s. 611) gives us names of the 8 kinds of Ayurveda, and Viahapannatti deals with the medicinal properties of certain articles of food.
Modern branches of knowledge-Pannavana provides us with information pertaining to metaphysics and Physics, and Nandi regarding psychology and logic. Jīvājīvabhigama gives us some information about geology. Jambuddivapannatti gives us an idea about cosmo1 See "Sacred Literature of the Jainas" (I, p. 372 and II, p. 574 ff. ), and "Indian Antiquary" (XXI, p. 14 ff.).
See Dr. B. Datta's article entitled as A lost Jaina treatise on Arithmetic and published in "The Jaina Antiquary" (vol. II, No. 2, pp. 38-41, September 1936).
3 See my intro. (p. x) to Ganita tilaka.
4
See Appendix III of my translation of Caturvimsatiprabandha. In Appendix I Gahajuyalathui of Padalipta Suri is given along with its avacāri. The latter interprets this hymn whereby a base metal can be turned into gold.
See pp. 116, 136, 137,
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