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Technical Sciences in Jaina Canons
N.L. Jain*
The Numerically minor Jaina System of India under striver - tradition has over-contributed to enrich her science, technology and philosophy besides spirituale quaninity. Its early texts composed between 400 BC to 500 AD mention about six-fold learnings involving (1) agriculture and (2) technology of the days besides (3) warfare and weaponry, (4) ink-users, (5) physical, abstract sciences & arts and supernatural learnings' and (6) trade and commerce. In later literature, they mention about 220 subjects of studies which have grown from time to time to eke out living and practice religiosity.2 This author has classified them under twelve current faculties and found nearly 17% of them form technical subjects like (1) civil engineering & temple architecture, (2) aircraft engineering, (3) Ayurveda or medical sciences, (4) home science and dairy products, (5) metallurgy, (6) Iconography and the like. Civil Engineering
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 i : 0.5-1.0." 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 centres and boundary walls, etc.
In general, the building should have a ratio of 1:b:h:: 1: 1:1.5-2. Their doors should have this ratio as 1:1:2.4 The dancing
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Jain Kendra, Rewa, M.P. (India)
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