Sayana

Encyclopedia : S : SA : SAY : Sayana

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Sayana (सायण) (c. 1315-1387) was an important commentator on the Vedas.

He is claimed to have mentioned the speed of light c, in the following comment he wrote on verse 1.50 of the Rig Veda:

"Thus it is remembered: [O Sun] you who traverse 2202 yojanas in half a nimesa."

According to [Kak] these ancient units translate into a speed of 186,536 miles/second, a value amazingly close to the modern value of c of 186,282.397 miles/second.

Apparently[link] a similar comment about the speed of light was also made by Bhatta Bhaskara around the 10th century on the Taittiriya Brahmana.

References

• S. Kak. "The Speed of Light and Purāṇic Cosmology". In T. R. N. Rao and S. Kak, Computing Science in Ancient India, pages 80–90. USL Press, Lafayette, 1998. Available as [e-print physics/9804020] on the arXiv.

See also

• Light#Theories about light
• Speed of light#Medieval and early modern theories

 

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