On Saturday (26 August), after completing his foreign visit, PM Modi straight away visited ISRO’s Bengaluru command centre to meet and hail ISRO scientists for the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Addressing the scientific community, PM Modi argued that in the 21st century, only that country will move ahead of others which would take the lead in science and technology.
PM Modi highlighted that Bharat is a fortunate nation that conducted astronomical observations thousands of years ago and delved into the depths of space. The PM has now asked the students to study the ancient scriptures containing astronomical theories afresh so that they can be proved scientifically. He cited the examples of great Indian sages like Aryabhatt, Brahmagupta, Varāhamihira, and Bhaskaracharya, elaborating on how they had written about astronomical facts ‘discovered’ by Western scientists much later.
He emphasised that when there was a dispute regarding the shape of Earth, Aryabhatt categorically described in his book Aryabhattiya that Earth is spherical in shape and rotates on an axis along with other important distances.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi quoted a sloka in Sanskrit from Surya Siddhanta, which says, ‘some people on earth think their place is on the top, but the spherical earth is in space, there can’t be anything like up and down’. The Sanskrit verse quoted by PM Modi is, “sarvatraiva mahigole svasthanam uparisthitam, manyante khe yato golas tasyakvorddham kvavapyadhah.”
He said that this is just one verse, and there are thousands of such verses in ancient Indian scriptures detailing about earth and other bodies in space.
He further stressed that many of the other scriptures also give detailed knowledge about solar and lunar eclipses. Going further, PM Modi pointed out that thousands of years back, Bharat had obtained such vast knowledge and know-how of large and small numbers that the nation used to make panchang (calenders) for eons and gave information regarding the distances between planets and shapes of these celestial bodies.
It is notable that Surya Siddhanta is a major astronomical book that has rules to calculate the motions of various planets and the moon relative to various constellations, which is the basis of the panchangs. It also has processes of measuring the diameters of various planets and the orbits of various astronomical bodies.
Afterwards, the Prime Minister gave a task to the young generation of the country. He asked the younger generation to undertake scientific endeavours to look back, study, and research our ancient scriptures and prove them as per modern scientific laws.
मैं चाहता हूं कि भारत के शास्त्रों में जो खगोलीय सूत्र हैं, उन्हें साइंटिफिकली प्रूव करने और नए सिरे से उनके अध्ययन के लिए हमारी युवा पीढ़ी आगे आए। pic.twitter.com/cFD5JiUOua
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 26, 2023
He said, ‘I want to assign a task to the young generation separately, without homework children do not enjoy doing work. I want the new generation to come forward to scientifically prove the astronomical formulas in the scriptures of India, and to study them anew. It is also important for our heritage and also important for science. In a way, this is a double responsibility for the students of schools, colleges, and universities today.’
Stating that slavery had wrecked our ancient knowledge and has been deeply buried, PM argued that it is time to explore that treasure as the nation has entered into Amrit Kal and has to do away with all forms of slavery in coming years.
He added, “The treasure of scientific knowledge that India has, has been buried, hidden during the long period of slavery. In this Azadi ka Amrit Kaal, we have to explore this treasure too, do research on it, and also tell the world about it.”
Furthermore, PM Modi requested ISRO to organise national hackathons on ‘Space Technology in Governance’. He asserted that various departments of central and state governments will collaborate with it in doing so.
He said, “I am confident that this National Hackathon will make our governance more effective and provide modern solutions to the countrymen.”
Apart from asking students to undertake research work, the PM also urged students across the country to take part in a quiz competition on the Chandrayaan mission that will be organised by MyGov from the 1st of September.
