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Technical Sciences in Jaina Canons : (187)
Status of Scientific Contents of Jinistic Literature
Most of the early and post- Aryarakṣita literature of the Jains was composed between some five or six pre-Christian centuries and 10-12 post-Christian centuries. This was the period of keen observation and analytical power of the seers accumulating powers by austerities and ācāryas. Some were householders. It was a pre-instrumental age and an era of individual thought process. The descriptions, therefore, represent the scientific knowledge of the respective periods. When compared with current state of our knowledge, we find a number of differences in observational descriptions along with equivalence with today's knowledge in many mental and intellectual concepts. Hence, these contents should be taken with historical perspective when Jaina ācāryas established their high credibility". However, the current scholars are trying to study these contents with comparative approach and some good results are observable in many areas.
Description of Technical Sciences: (1) Civil Engineering
Chintamani12 has given some inklings about the technical sciences in Jaina literature with not much details. We have now many detailed information on civil works, iconography, medicine, home industries, metallurgy and other sciences, which are given below:
The Civil Engineering deals with town-planning. Many cities are mentioned in texts with details according to their overall shape (squared or otherwise). The length and breadth of the cities should very between 1:0.5-1.013. The city is divided into sub-areas which contain quadrangular, circular or squared palaces, buildings, houses and temples with provisions of wells, lakes, lotus-pools, rivers, forests, parks, entry gates, arched gates, trenches, agricultural lands, meeting halls, dancing halls, delivery halls or hospitals, observation galleries, sports centers, boundary walls etc.
In general, the buildings should have a ratio of I: b: h:: 1: 0.5: 2. Their doors should have this ratio as 1: 1: 214. The dancing halls should have a height of 12 times of heights of men with a stage-size of 32 dancers show. The meeting halls should have 1:b: h: ratio of 1.5:1:0.3, i.e. they should have a larger length than width or 1:1:0.25. Their doors should have 1:1:2 I-b-h ratio. The sports centers are halls with 1: 1: 2: ratio suggesting a predominance of indoor games The
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