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JANUARY, 1986
105
Besides the above two differences, B (100 BC) and RV (650 AD) have same names of other ten units upto angula. In contrast, there is similarity in names in TP and JDP (names of hair heads and yaya or yavamadhya). This difference should also be looked into and formalised for the current age.
It is clear from Table 5 that each of the 12 stages from angula backwards is eighth part of the preceding unit. The first unit, thus, has a value of 1.6 x 10-10 angula. If we multiply this value by its cm. equivalent of 1.70, the first unit has a value of 2.72 x 10-10 cm. If one takes JDP as a little more practical, and the practical atom or truțirenu is taken as 8x8=64 times the first unit, the practical atom has a dimension of 1.75 X 10-10 cm. which is the size of the current scientific atom. This suggests that JDP concept of practical atom unit has the same atomic dimension as the current one. In contrast, the unit of length smaller than atomic one is that of atomic nucleus of 10-13 cm. This does not coincide with the cannonical smallest unit 10-10 cm. It is, therefore, reasonable to suggest that truțirenu or practical atom unit should be recognised as standard unit with a value of 10-8 cm. and the cannonical descriptions should be made consistent on this basis.
The units smaller than this may be simile based, the unit of 1/.xas seems to be imaginary as it does not have a measurable value. This inference does not seem to be consistent with definitions of trasareņu and ratharenu of ADS, but this seems better for accuracy. The ADS definitions of these terms seems to be akin to the Vaisesikas who have truțireņu as their standard length unit equal in size to the colloidal dirt particles seen floating in light path. This unit is almost about 105 times larger than the Jaina smallest unit.22 The discrepancy between the values of ADS unit and other reference units has to be explained. The common names of some of the units in Jaina and Vaisesika systems further suggests about looking into the original source of these units.
Besides concurring with size of atom, the 1.70 cm. value of utsedha angula has another result to its credit. If one takes yojana=8 miles and pramāna yojana=500 yojanas=4000 miles, the velocity of light based on Vedic data comes to be 1,40,930 miles/sec (2.34 x 1010 cm./sec). The value of 1.90 cm. for utsedha angula gives this value as 1,87,300 miles (3.10 x 1010 cm.) per second. These values are reasonably approaching the current values. This is quite encouraging. But when we move for distances in solar system, we find that we have the distance 14 times
21 Gautam Akshapada, Nyayadarsana, Bauddhabharati, Varanasi, 1976, p. 326.
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