Shloka:
Taranirviśvadarśato jyotishkridasi sūrya | Viśvamā bhāsirocanam ||
Meaning:
Oh Sun! (You) overwhelm all in speed, visible to all source of light.
(You) shine pervading the Universe
Source- Rig Samhita, Mandala 1,Suktam 50,Mantrah 4(6000BCE)
Shloka:
Tatha ca smaryate yojananam sahasre dve dve sate dve ca yojane ekena
nimishardhena kramaman.
Meaning:
It is rememberd (that) salutation to Thee(sun), the traveler of 2,202
yojanas in half a nimisha.
Source-Sayanacarya’s commentary (14th Century AD)
Shloka:
Juug sahastra yojan par Bhanu |
Leelyo tahi madhur phal janu ||
Meaning:
This means that the sun (Bhanu) is at Juug Sahastra Yojans
Proof:
Computation:
1 Juug = 12000
1 Sahastra= 1000 sahasra
1 Yojan = 8 Miles
Thus
12000 X 1000 X 8 = 96,000,000 miles
1 mile = 1.6 kms
96,000,000 * 1.6 kms = 153,600,000 Kms
Sayana’s computation of Speed of Light
What is Nimisha?
Unit of Time= Nimisha
In Moksha dharma parva of Shanti Parva Nimisha is as follows
15 Nimisha = 1 Khasta
30 Kashta = 1 Kala,
30.3 Kala = 1 Muhurta,
30 Muhurtas = 1 Diva-Ratri (Day-Night i.e 24hrs)
Therefore 24hours = 15*30*30.3*30= 409,050 Nimisha
We know 1 hour = 60 x 60 = 3600 seconds.
So 24 hours = 24 x 3600 seconds = 86,400 seconds
Therefore 409,050 Nimisha = 86,400 Seconds
1 nimesa = 0.2112 seconds
½ nimesa = 0.1056 seconds
What is Yojana?
Unit of Distance = 1 Yojana
10 ParamAnus = 1 Parasúkshma
10 Parasúkshmas = 1 Trasarenu
10 Trasarenus = 1 Mahírajas (particle of dust)
10 Mahírajas = 1 Bálágra (hair’s point)
10 Bálágra = 1 Likhsha
10 Likhsha = 1 Yuka
10 Yukas = 1 Yavodara (heart of barley)
10 Yavodaras = 1 Yava (barley grain of middle size)
10 Yava = 1 Angula (1.89 cm or approx 3/4 inch)
6 fingers = 1 Pada (the breadth of it)
2 Padas = 1 Vitasti (span)
2 Vitasti = 1 Hasta (cubit)
4 Hastas = a Dhanu or pauruSa (a man’s height) / 2 Nárikás = 6 feet
2000 Dhanus = 1 Gavyuti (distance to which a cow’s call that can be heard) = 12000 feet
4 Gavyutis = 1 Yojana = 9.09 miles
Distance travelled = 2202 Yojanas
1 Yojana = 9 miles, 110 Yards = 9.0625miles
2202 Yojanas in ½ Nimisha = 2202*9.06 per 0.1056 seconds
= 19,950 / 0.1056
= 1,88,920.454 miles/second
Modern Value =1,86,282.397 miles/ second
Who is Sayana?
The commentary on Rig veda Suktam was given by Sayana who was in the court of King Bukka I of Vijayanagar Empire of South of India, Sayana was one of the minister in the kingdom
The Rig veda Suktam is credited to son of Kanva Maharshi and is suggested for use in two different occasions- in Suryeshti sacrifice(a ritual to please the Sun God) and in Chaturmasya Yajna( a Vedic ritual)
Modern Age:
It was always assumed that the speed of light was infinite.
Galileo Galilei an Italian physicist was the first modern age scientist who conducted an experiment to measure the light.
He conducted an experiment with two people standing with a lantern, few meters apart. One person would expose his lantern as soon as the other see the light he would expose his lantern. Galileo wanted to record the time difference, but was unsuccessful. The distance was too small between lanterns and the light merely moved too fast.
The speed of light was first determined in 1676 AD by Danish Astronomer Olaus Roemer who was studying about one of Jupiter’s Moon Io. Roemer noticed that occurrence of eclipse would vary the entire year. He wanted to find out whether the Earth was moving towards the Jupiter or away. He curiously started taking notes about the time the Io(Jupiter’s Moon) would come into earth’s view and cross verify with the expected time, and thus he began to find the lag.
Thus he was the earliest scientist to determine that the light travels in finite time.
The modern value of speed of light in vacuum is 299 792 458 meters/second or approximately equivalent to 3.00*10^8 meters/second.
