FLIC Unit 1 PDF

Foundational Literature of Indian Civilization (FLIC) Unit 1 – Overview of Indian Knowledge System (IKS) Importance of ancient knowledge Defining Indian Knowledge System (IKS) IKS classification framework Historicity of IKS Some unique aspects of IKS 1.1 Importance of anci...

Foundational Literature of Indian Civilization (FLIC) Unit 1 – Overview of Indian Knowledge System (IKS) Importance of ancient knowledge Defining Indian Knowledge System (IKS) IKS classification framework Historicity of IKS Some unique aspects of IKS 1.1 Importance of ancient knowledge Ancient knowledge is the accrued knowledge over the several generations and preserve in formal and informal means. Formal means include documental knowledge and informal means include the shared value and practice through oral and traditions. Many of the documented works are in manuscripts. Many of them are accumulating dust. While several scholars are trying to bring the hidden knowledge out of these manuscripts by researching and republishing such works. “Does any society need to preserve, protect and pass on the ancient knowledge to the future generations?” 1) The thinking patterns and the repository of the knowledge created by the forefathers in any society enable the current generation to understand the thought prosses and frameworks of the previous generations. 2) It will allow them to analyse the received wisdom in a contemporary context and identify new opportunities to assimilate the accrued wisdom and synthesize new knowledge. 3) Ancient knowledge provides a head start to society to march on the highway of innovation and new knowledge creation. Therefore, keeping the current generation in the dark about the contributions of the ancestors is an inefficient and shortsighted option for society. Ancient knowledge serves multiple roles for society.  Identity Economic Ancient Culture value Knowledge Received Wisdom 1.1.1 Identity The quintessential value that ancient knowledge brings to society is the identity, it provides to fellow members of the society. Essentially it defines the context for several aspects of day-to-day living of every individual. The social practice and norms have continuity as most of them transmitted from generation to generation through practices and supporting knowledge repositories. Therefore, preserving this knowledge and baton passing them on to the next generation is an important step for contemporary society. In the absence of this continuity, individuals lose their conviction on several living practices. They lose their ability to ‘meaning making’ of much of the knowledge. Eventually it challenges one’s own identity and that of the society. 1.1.2 Culture Culture has several dimensions. It is the manifestation of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively by society over time. From a social perspective, culture is nothing but the set of ideas, customs and behaviour of society, in other words, cultures provides a sense of identity at a social level by providing a common medium for communication and the transaction of ideas. The prevailing knowledge and the literary traditions play a significant role in shaping the culture of the society. If the underlying knowledge systems are abruptly withdrawn from society, the cultural practices will be rudely jolted. It may create distortions and discontinuities in societal progress. 1.1.3 Received Wisdom Knowledge and innovations are in a continuum. Innovation and new knowledge creation in any society is ‘path dependent’. What is essentially mean is that the road travelled so far determines the future path. Without the continuity of thoughts, it is very difficult to make further progress in term of new ideas. The other equally important issue is the risk of reinventing the wheel. When the benefits of prior knowledge and the thought process lost by society, it will lead to reinventing the wheel, making innovation and new knowledge creation inefficient. In this context, ancient knowledge plays the valuable role of ‘received wisdom’ and provides a head start to a society to march on the highway of innovation and new knowledge creation. 1.1.4 Economic Value One of the compelling arguments in support of the ancient knowledge system is the huge potential it offers from an economic value standpoint. The emerging world order puts greater emphasis on knowledge society. The prevailing ‘military power’ will give way for ‘knowledge power’ and such nations who demonstrate the superiority of knowledge tradition are bound to lead the rest of the world. Transforming knowledge into economic value has been fully formalized with global intellectual property rights regulations and patent laws. Therefore the ancient knowledge system will be beneficial to a country like India. In present time the foreign universities and research institutes claim patents on medicinal properties of plant extracts such as Neem (Azadirachta indica), turmeric (Curcuma longa), pigeon pea or red gram (Cajanus cajan) etc. However in India during the ancient time The Ayurveda already stated about their medicinal benefits. The scientist at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) observed that there is a need to gather strong evidences from our traditional text to challenge for such patents. 1.2 Defining the Indian Knowledge System Indian knowledge system (IKS) is a generic phrase that covers practically everything about India. For a nation with more than 5000 years of recorded history, abundant cultural and archaeological artifacts, literature and social and community practices defining what constitutes Indian knowledge is itself the huge challenge. Literature, culture and social practices, historical evidence and other such knowledge assets available in all Indian languages, dialects and geographical region will fall under the ambit of IKS. The other aspect of the issue is time dimension. Knowledge is continuously synthesized by any society. Knowledge assets available in India from the pre-historic times of the current day will all qualify to be part of the IKS. IKS can invoke different meaning to different stakeholders. To better understand what we mean by IKS, we shall analyse each of the three words present in IKS. 1.2.1 Indian By the term ‘Indian’ we mean the indigenous sources of knowledge generated by the Indian society. The current political formation called India is of recent origin and it alone does not qualify to be called ‘Indian’. The term ‘Indian’ points to the undivided Indian Sub-continent (Akhaṇḍa Bhārata). We mean the geographical area spanning from Burma (Myanmar) on the east to modern day Afghanistan in the west and Himalayas in the north to the Indian ocean in the south. This region has common cultural, literary and social practices, and has witnessed among them throughout the history undivided India. Despite several political formations and princely state ruling this entire region for the last several hundred years until the consolidation began from the 16th century CE, the society was unified under the common umbrella of social practices. Cāṇakya could get educated in Takṣaśilā in the western part of the Indian sub-continent and be instrumented in establishing a powerful Mauryan empire with Pāṭalīputra as the capital in the eastern part. Similarly, Pāṇini, a Sanskrit Grammarian from Gāndhāra in the North-Western corner of undivided India (now in Afghanistan) could influence the thinking of people in the entire country on the Sanskrit language. A second aspect to this is only such knowledge synthesized, codified and made available by Indians is considered Indian Knowledge. This implies that they ought to have been part of the Indian sub-continent, born and lived there, and are the part of knowledge system in an integral fashion. 1.2.2 Knowledge The second component of IKS is the ‘knowledge’ which is always tacit. It primarily arises in the form of the wisdom of the knowledge seekers. It is obtained by the insights, gained by the personal experiences with life situations, facing problems, and coming up with means of solving them. At other times, one obtains knowledge by means of intense observation of events, experimentation, conjecturing and analysis. Knowledge, may or may not be converted to a literary format. The tacit knowledge can be preserved and transmitted through an oral tradition without loss. India has rich tradition of folklore practices even to date that belongs to this category. While both these forms of knowledge are equally important and valuable. It is impossible to formally study knowledge transmitted through oral traditions. Therefore by knowledge, we mean, in this context, a formal repository of knowledge available in literary sources. The tacit knowledge gained by a seeker is eventually transmitted systematically in the form of some explicit knowledge. This happens by way of proposing a new theory, framework or literary work. Furthermore, knowledge extend throughout all the three domains : spiritual, religious and other addressing social and day-to-day issue. We can summarise the term ‘knowledge’ as that emanating from the wisdom and insights arising out of deep experiences, observation, experimentation, and analysis and validated, improved and augmented further. 1.2.3 System By ‘system’ in IKS, we mean a structural methodology and a classification scheme to access the available corpus of knowledge. By its inherent nature, knowledge could be accessed in any manner depending on the interest, purpose and capacity of the seeker. For an uninitiated, this vastness could throw a challenge as the seeker may be clueless as to where to begin and how to proceed. Therefore, the available knowledge needs to be collected, grouped and arranged logically. Codification and classification of the available knowledge using a definite framework would constitute one dimension of the word ‘system’ in IKS. The other important requirement is the interconnection between the part of the knowledge in the classification framework.  The framework used to represent should also provide some logical relationships between the different parts of the proposed framework. This helps easy understanding of the overall contribution of the knowledge and how the different component of the knowledge complement each other. 1.3 IKS Classification Framework There are many ways to define and identify what constitutes IKS. For example, one approach is to merely pick the important topics representative of the knowledge corpus such as the Vedas, Yoga, Vāstu, Śilpa Sāstras, Āyurveda, Buddhism, and Jainism to define IKS. Another approach is to select phrases such as Indian Psychology, Indian Arts, Dance, and Architecture and put together related works into it to construct IKS. These examples bring out the components of IKS However, whether they will qualify to be a good framework for IKS or not depends on their ability to meet the requirements of a classification framework for IKS. The usefulness of a classification framework depends on three factors: completeness, compactness, and Inter-connectedness. Completeness ensures that all important components of the IKS are included in the proposed framework. If significant omissions are found in the classification, it makes the IKS non- exhaustive and non-representative. Compactness Indicates the efficacy of the grouping of various topics in IKS in a congruent and logical fashion. This makes the representation simple, concise, and easy to understand and remember. Inter-connectedness brings logical relationships among the various sub-classifications The classification framework will identify how the different components are logically connected. Thus, it presents a unified picture of the entire knowledge. Closer scrutiny of the IKS knowledge repository provides us the following details: (a) As already noted, the knowledge is available in both formal literary sources and Informal non- literary sources. (b) Among the literary sources, we can broadly identify three categories. One of the major sources is the Vedic and allied literature, which we shall designate as Sanātana-dharma literature, presented mainly in the Sanskrit language. This comprises the religious and philosophical part consisting of the Vedic and allied corpus, which forms the core and a good repository of other literature spanning areas such as sciences, architecture, and aesthetics. The second major source is the literature on other dharmic traditions. The third group is a large repository of knowledge in other Indian languages and dialectics. (c) The non-literary source is predominantly available through a rich set of oral traditions found throughout the country.  IKS Non- Literary Literary Other Sanātana Oral Dhārmic Regional Dharma Traditions Traditions 1) Buddhist Core Other 2) Jain Wealth of religious 1) Art Forms and other literature 1) 14 Vidyāsthāna 2) Health 1) Basic and applied sciences in all Major Indian 2) Works of Several Languages 3) Food and Life 2) Engineering, Technology, Religious leaders and Architecture, Alchemy practices Philosophers 3)Aesthetics, Kāvyas, Arts 4) Folklore 4) Health, wellness, Psychology 5) Public Administration 6) Code of Living etc. 1.3.1 Sanātana-dharma - 1.3.1.1 Sanātana-dharma-Core Literature This comprises a vast repository of knowledge starting with the Vedas, known as Śruti. Although the Vedic corpus is oral in nature and is still transmitted using oral methods, these have been later systematically documented in written form. The Vedas are considered foundational by the Indian society and several important literary works were developed later, which substantially added to the Vedic corpus by facilitating better understanding and implementation of the Ideas presented in the Vedas. This literature owed its allegiance to the Vedas and extracted their cardinal assumptions and principles from the Vedas. For example, six schools of philosophical thought, known as Darśanas developed their basic assumptions from the Vedas while stating their prescriptions. The Vedic and allied repository has several sub-components and divisions and is best understood from a classification methodology adopted. 1.3.1.2 Sanātana-dharma-Other Literature The other literature consists of works that addressed key issues of day-to-day life such as health, wellness, science, engineering, technology that aided societal progress and development, and aesthetics and art forms. Although they were primarily addressing a variety of issues, they still owed their allegiance to Sanatana-dharma and acknowledged the core assumptions laid out in the Vedas as the ultimate source for valid knowledge and drew relevant ideas wherever it applied to their work. For example, the work on astronomy of Āryabhaṭṭa recognizes the ideas of what constitutes a year, and the notion of four yugas from the Vedic corpus while proceeding with specific discussions on the mathematical aspects. This literature flourished from the first millennia in the BCE and was continuously augmented by multiple works. Several areas were covered in this category, and the following are prominent among them: Basic and applied sciences (Mathematics, Astronomy, Plant Sciences). A series of studies were carried out continuously from the beginning of CE. Later works improved, expanded, and added new components to the existing knowledge repository as evident from the literary sources. Engineering and Technology (Metalworking Technology, Shipbuilding, Dams and Watershed Management, Alchemy, Cosmetics, Perfumes, Dyes, Town Planning, and Architecture). Health, Wellness, and Psychology addressed the crucial issue that we face in contemporary society. Three important works on Āyurveda (Caraka-samhitā, Suśruta-samhitā, and Aṣṭāṇga- hṛdaya) provide a wealth of information on health and wellness. Other related works dealing with alchemy such as Rasaratna-samuccaya provide information on Āyurvedic formulations. The philosophical systems such as Yoga and Sāṃkhya and the Upaniṣads have discussed the issue of psychology. Nīti-śātrās is a collection of literature that informs the society of the good code of living through poetic verses and stories. The sāmanya-nīti deals with elements of good living, and the role of ethics and morality in life. Several life situations and wide-ranging topics are addressed through stories, parables, and short poetic works. The famous Pañcatantra and the works of Bhartṛhari are some representative examples of this category of literature. An extensive collection of such ideas scattered in the various works is compiled into what is known as subhaśitas. Chapter 4 of the book introduces glimpses of this literature. Another aspect of niti-śāstra is the Rajaniti, dealing with public administration and governance. Public administration deals with the idea of governance of state and public policy measures required for administration. Manu-smṛti provides rich information on governance and administration. Arthaśāstra compiled during the 3rd century BCE is a seminal work and it triggered further works in the area. Notable among them is the Nitisāra of Kamandaka. Chapter 14 of the book takes up this issue for discussion. Aesthetics, Kavyas, and Performing Arts is another area with rich contributions. The Sanskrit language is the vehicle through which the entire knowledge corpus of the Sanātana- Dharma (both the core and the other) is presented. Linguistics and phonetics of the Sanskrit language is a fundamental work that sets the stage for rich literature development. Works of great poets such as Kalidāsa, Danḍin, and Baṇabhaṭṭa, works such as Kāmasutra of Vātsyāyana, and Naṭyaśāstra of Bharata are some of the examples. 1.3.2 Other Dhārmic Traditions Other dhārmic traditions have stayed out of the Vedic framework but have immensely contributed to IKS in the religious, philosophical, and other domains. Two of them, the Buddhist and the Jain literature are noteworthy, and they have contributed right from 500 BCE to IKS. While the religious and philosophical part of the literature is based on the respective tenets of the school of thought, other literature has applications in areas of science, technology, and other areas. Buddhist literature has dealt with the religious concepts in its canonical texts. However, there are several Buddhist works in which many issues such as mathematical concepts, maritime activities and alchemy are also discussed. The work of Nāgārjuna, Rasaratnākara in the 1st century CE is an early contribution to alchemy. The Jain sacred literature consists of canonical texts. They considered mathematics as an integral part and have dedicated 'Gaṇitānuyoga, a portion of their literature to mathematics'. Tattvārtha-sutra, composed by Umāsvāti during 2nd-3rd century CE is an important Jain literature. Some popular Jain texts dealing with mathematics include Anuyogadvāra-sutra, Vyavahāra-sutra, and Surya-prajñapti. Mahaviracārya's work, Ganita-sara-samgraha (850 CE) is one of the important contributions to the development of mathematics in India. 1.3.3 Regional Literature The separation of regional languages in this figure is only for convenience. Ideally, it could be included under Sanātana-dharma. Indian subcontinent has a rich and diverse mix of cultural and linguistic variations. The 8th schedule of the Indian constitution has listed 22 languages of the country. In each of these languages, there is a huge corpus of religious, have contributed significantly to philosophical, and other literature. For example, Tamil literature has several contributions in the Saṅgam period (1st millennium BCE). Several of the works in the regional literature have drawn from the Sanskrit resources and have either explained them in detail in the chosen regional language or extrapolated them further with some more ideas. The new literature created broadly follows the Sanātana-dhārmic literature and utilises the basic framework laid in the Sanātana-dharma literature. 1.3.4 Oral Traditions The diversity of cultural practices and regional preferences have paved the way for oral traditions to preserve and transmit knowledge across generations. These have been primarily in the form of folklore artistic endeavours, skilful jobs, food and life practices, and health. The 64 Kalās mentioned in the IKS literature are mostly skill-based and artistic chores that are orally transmitted. Sanskrit has been the dominant language for transacting knowledge for a long time in India. Therefore, for the purpose of the book, the main sources of knowledge to discuss various aspects of IKS are drawn from the Sanskrit literature. As we have already seen, the Sanatana- dharma literature, the Jain and some of the Buddhist literature are presented using Sanskrit as the medium of language. The choice of a Sanskrit-based knowledge repository does not imply that similar knowledge was not available in other regional languages in the country. However, as noted earlier, the process becomes complex and unwieldy to present all these in a single book. The other aspect for inclusion is that the knowledge shall be quoted, cross-referenced, and acknowledged by the indigenous people in the domain. This provides internal consistency and validation of the knowledge by the indigenous society. The other issue that merits attention is, "how recent a history we must include in the definition?" The culture of new knowledge creation is an unhindered process in the country until the early 19th century. However, beginning the 16th century CE, there has been a wave of invasions in the country, introducing newer dimensions and priorities in society. Therefore, there is a greater focus to preserve the existing knowledge repository. Further, beginning the 16th century the ascend of the Western knowledge systems and scientific discoveries had its influence on the native knowledge practices also. Therefore, The knowledge sources dated up to the 16th century CE are mainly considered for the this context.  CATURDAŚA-VIDYĀSTHĀNA A classification framework for the Sanātana-dharma literature as we have defined in the previous section is available within the resources itself. In this framework, the literature is systematically organised under 14 major divisions. Therefore, it is referred to as "Caturdaśa- Vidyasthāna" (Caturdaśa in Sanskrit means fourteen). The components of the 14-part knowledge contain the four Vedas (and their Upa-Vedas), the six Vedāṅgas, Purāṇas, the Dharma-śāstra, Nyāya in its detailed form and Mimaṁsā (both Purva and the Uttara portions). The Mīmāṃsā and the Nyāya (in its expanded form) together constitute the six darśanas. Veda The Vedas are the primordial source of knowledge in the scheme of the Sanātana-dharma literature. They are also known as Śruti as they are not authored by anyone but heard by the seers of the Vedic lore. The mantras that were revealed to them were later orally passed down the generations through a lineage of 'Guru- Śiṣya. The other sources of knowledge are considered secondary to the Vedas. The primary purpose of the other knowledge is to expand the ideas contained in the Vedas so that it has the material being found in the respective Vedas. In this sense, they are integral to the Vedas. Since the primordial source of the Sanātana-dharma literature is the Vedas, it provides the overall defining framework for living. The larger issue of meaning and purpose of life as stated In the Vedas need to be understood clearly. Therefore, there is a need to expand the tenets contained in this framework. Detailed explanations in terms of 'how-to' aspects of the ideas expressed in the Vedas is also required. Moreover, whenever conflicting situations emerge in the applications of the principles, we need to know how to resolve them. Some of the other components of caturdaśa-vidyāsthana serve to address these requirements in the context of the Vedic repository. Vedāṅgas To benefit fully from the Vedas some complementary tools and skills are required. These help to understand the exact meaning and intent of what is presented in the Vedas and follow them based on specific instructions provided. These are collectively referred to as Vedāṅgas. Darśanas It is a natural quest for everyone to understand three forces that operate and interact with one another: an individual (Jīva), the Universe (Jagat), and a larger force governing the other two (variously referred to as Īśvara, Brahman etc.). Establishing the connection between these three becomes an issue of philosophical thinking. Daršana essentially means a philosophical thought or view. There are six schools of philosophy in the Sanātana-dharma literature and other schools outside the realm of this. Puraṇas and Itihāsas  Puraṇas contains a rich repository of ideas that seek to explain various aspects of the Vedic thoughts using detailed stories and anecdotes. They present several socio-cultural ideas and practices for living Furthermore, they address some of the common issues that mankind faces and provide answers using the overarching framework of the Vedas. The stories in the Puranas relate to pre- historic events and the subject matter discussed follows a set pattern. Itihāsas, on the other hand, relate to historical events that have taken place which can be associated with specific timelines. As we know, Mahābhārata and Rāmayaṇa are two well-known Itihāsas. In some sense, this literature represents the wisdom that we have accrued through the ages. Dharma-śāstra and Smṛtis Let us think for a moment about what we practice in our modern-day work life. For example, if we need to be part of a company as an employee, we are supposed to know the rules and norms of the organisation, the do's and don'ts, expectations on the part of the employer and the co-workers, social etiquettes, our limits and entitlements and the consequences of wrong actions. If this clarity is not there, there will be chaos and we will end up with unproductive work. If this is the situation in an office, such norms and rules are essential in a society where several entities have complex interactions among them, both in structured and unstructured ways. In other words, a guide to lead a dharmic life based on the principles of the Veda is required. The dhārmic principles engrained in the Vedic corpus are presented in multiple formats in our knowledge traditions. Smṛtis are rule books with specific operating guidelines of how to put the dhārmic principles into action and what are the consequences of not doing so. Itihāsas demonstrate dhārmic principles in action, through case studies and real-life situations. Niti-śāstra and Subhāṣitas are pearls of wisdom articulated by learned people in the society, clearly showing the value of adhering to the dhārmic principles in life. 1.4 HISTORICITY OF IKS Dating of the Indian literature is a major challenge for today's researchers, primarily on account of several reasons. The Indian knowledge repository pre-dates the western civilisational knowledge repository by several millennia. The western knowledge sources originated mostly in the common era (several of them in the last millennia). On the other hand, several works constituting the Indian knowledge belong to the BCE and attributed to 500 BCE or before. The method of representing knowledge, storing and archiving ought to be very different between these two eras. Applying our contemporary methods of dating the knowledge to such old knowledge sources can pose serious limitations. The other related challenge is that as we already mentioned, most of the Indian knowledge repositories in the BCE were oral. The earliest available sources in the form of temple inscriptions and palm leaf manuscripts are often considered by contemporary researchers as reliable. In this manner, the dating of the Indian knowledge becomes conservative, approximate, and much later than what ought to have been its original date. Western knowledge repository began in an era well established with written literature and therefore using the parameters that work well for such knowledge repository to others who preceded them may not yield the correct picture. This is perhaps the reason that Western scholars and independent Indology researchers have been able to accurately date the Indian contributions in the common era (post 100 CE for example) but not those belonging to the BCE. Sometimes, some stone Inscriptions date of the Indian knowledge and archaeological artifacts help the process of resolving some of these confusions.  Another useful source of data to fix the date of the Indian knowledge is the astronomical references found in the texts. This could be one of the possible sources and so far, we have not been able to cover much ground. Fortunately, in an era of information technology-driven research, some novel methods help us to date the literature using the wealth of astronomical data that we have in the Indian knowledge repository. A case in point is the dating of the Śatapatha-brahmaṇa using the astronomy software Skymap Pro. There is a mention of the fact that Kṛttikā stars never deviate from the east in. The Skymap Pro software can plot a night sky in any place in the Universe between 4000 BCE and 8000 CE Using this software, some studies suggest that the Śatapatha-brahmaṇa ought to have been written sometime around 3000 BCE." Despite these limitations and constraints, an effort has been made to present the available Information to get some idea of the historicity of the IKS. As evident from the table, we can broadly divide the IKS into three time periods: 1.4.1 Before 3,000 BCE In modern parlance, this era is categorised as the dark ages. This is indeed a dark age for Western civilisation since no evidence of any organised knowledge repository (either oral or written) is available. However, in India considerable amount of work had already been done and the resultant knowledge was orally shared among generations of people living. The main contributions include the Vedas, Purāṇas, and the Itihāsas. Despite several attempts to date these resources. as new evidence (such as the discovery of new underwater archaeological artifacts in Dvārakā), and methods to date the knowledge becomes available (such as new planetarium software) the earlier estimations are proved to be erroneous. Culturally, in India, it is believed that these texts belong to antiquity and any attempt to date them will be futile. 1.4.2 3,000 BCE to 500 CE This period roughly starts with the beginning of recorded human history as per the western context and extending as far as 500 CE, which coincides roughly with the fall of the roman empire. As evident from the table, while the rest of the World was picking up the elementary skills of organised living, the Indian counterpart had been actively creating many new and useful knowledge for the society. Significant contributions were made in the areas of Linguistics, Literature, Health and wellness, Mathematics, and code of living. In modern parlance, this is an indication of the vibrancy of society and its receptiveness to new ideas and methods of improving the quality of life. 1.4.3 500 CE to 1,800 CE During this era, Indians have made significant strides in the area of mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and spirituality. With strong foundations in mathematics, several allied areas have also grown, notable among them are architecture and technology. It is no wonder that some of the best temple complexes, rust-free iron pillars in the open ground, and musical pillars in several temples have withstood the onslaught of time and bear testimony to these skills even today. In this period the supremacy of the Indians in the areas of astronomy and mathematics continued to be strengthened as there were continuous contributions on several aspects. Several contributions have also been made in other areas such as alchemy, metalworking, etc. Table 1.1 presents a sample of some important works on IKS separated by some periods. Before 3,000 BCE Sr. Name of the Work Subject matter Other Topics No. 1 Veda Dharma (Code of living) Several other topics 2 Puraṇas Dharma (Code of living) Several other topics 3 Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābharata Dharma (Code of living) Several other topics 3,000 BCE to 500 CE Sr. Name of Work Subject matter Other Topics No. 1 Vedāṇga-jyotiṣa Astronomy 2 Manu-smṛti Public Administration Dharma (Code of living) 3 Śulba-sūtra Mathematics Dharma (Code of living) 4 Suśruta-saṃhitā Health Wellness 5 Aṣṭādhyāyī, Nirukta Linguistics Grammar 6 Nāṭyaśātra Art forms Dance, Theatre 7 Buddhist text Philosophy Mathematics 8 Nyāya and Vaiśeṣika sūtra Logic, Epistemology Knowledge Framework Sr. Name of Work Subject matter Other Topics No. 9 Jaina Mathematical works Mathematics 10 Arthaśāstra Public Administration Finance, Foreign Policy 11 Chandaḥ-śāstra Metrical Pattern, Prosody Binary Maths Ideas 12 Yoga-sūtra Control of Mind Philosophy 13 Kāmasūtra Art Forms Dharma (Code of living) 14 Mahā-bhāṣya Sanskrit Language Grammar 15 Rasaratnākara Aichemy 16 Caraka-saṃhitā Health Wellness 17 Sāṃkhya-darśana Philosophy Psychology 18 Amarakośa Linguistics Lexicography 19 Sūrya-siddhanta Astronomy Mathematics 20 Bṛhat-saṃhitā Astronomy, Mathematics Several Other Topics 500 CE to 1800 CE Sr. No. Name of the Work Subject matter Other Topics 1 Āryabhaṭṭīya, Āryasiddhānta Astronomy Mathematics 2 Pañca-siddhāntikā Astronomy 3 Mayamata Architecture 4 Brāhmasphuṭa-siddhānta Astronomy Mathematics 5 Mānasāra Architecture Town planning 6 Āryabhaṭṭīya- bhāṣya, Mahābhāskarīya Astronomy Mathematics Sr. No. Name of Work Subject matter Other Topics 7 Nārada-śilpa-śāstra Architecture Iconography 8 Gaṇita-sāra-saṅgraha Mathematics 9 Siddhānta-śekhara Astronomy 10 Yukti-kalpataru Shipbuilding Several Other Topics 11 Samarāṅgaṇa-sūtradhāra Architecture Several Other Topics 12 Siddhānta-śiromaṇi Astronomy Mathematics 13 Kāśyapa-śilpa-śāstra Temple Architecture Iconography 14 Aṣṭāṅga-hṛdaya, Rasaratna-samuccaya Alchemy Health, Wellness 15 Kerala School of Mathematics Mathematics Astronomy 16 Graha-lāghava Astronomy 1.5 SOME UNIQUE ASPECTS OF IKS 1.5.1 Nuances of an Oral Tradition IKS is by and large an oral tradition by its very nature as we have already seen. If knowledge needs to be transmitted orally, it requires a few things. In a written tradition there is scope for being elaborate. Specific ideas can be taken up for a detailed discussion running to several pages. For example, one can have a separate discussion on the philosophical ideas in a certain work, another can analyse from a perspective of aesthetics and grammatical structure, a third can dwell on religious aspects, etc. However, in an oral tradition, the entire knowledge is to be transmitted orally and committed to one's memory. Therefore, it needs to be concise, and specific. Moreover, it may be difficult to have one treatise for one subject, say mathematics, and another for spirituality, etc. Therefore, we will find that in several works the issues discussed are many. The Nyaya, though being a philosophical school of thought discusses other subjects such as Logic and argumentation and valid means of knowledge. The Puranas and Itihasas, for example, are encyclopaedic in nature. Issues discussed include cosmology, cosmogeny, politics, public administration, aesthetics, morals of life, and so on. Even in a work on mathematics, we may find apart from mathematical concepts, poetry, and philosophy among other things. To generalise the above discussion, the pattern of IKS literature shows that a single work can provide simultaneously ideas on three streams seamlessly: Spiritual, Religious, and Secular. Therefore, the charm and power of IKS lie in its multi-dimensional perspective. Let us take the case of Bhagavadgītā as an example to understand this aspect prevalent in IKS literature. A true devotee of Lord Kṛṣna may want to read Gītā as it is a matter of religion to him. On the other hand, a spiritual seeker may view Gītā as a spiritual text. However, there is a third aspect to Gītā, which many of us maybe not aware of. This is the 'secular' perspective. By this we mean a set of ideas that help us conduct our life sensibly from day-to-day, working perspective. Let us look at specific examples from Gītā to bring clarity to the idea. 1.5.1.1 Religious vs Material Dimensions Verses 7 and 8 in Chapter 4 of the Gītā quintessentially brings the Avatāra-puruşa dimension. Whenever there is a deterioration of dharma the God takes one more incarnation (Avatāra) to uphold the dharma. The incarnation of God is to protect the good people, destroy the evil ones and restore dharma in society once again. That is how the Avatāra Purusa concept manifests in terms of the context, and purpose of the incarnation. The above verses could be interpreted from a 'secular' perspective to convey an idea often taught in several engineering and management schools, Stability and long-term sustainability of the system happens because there are regenerative points. When the system attains disequilibrium and shows signs of being unstable, measures have to be taken to restore the equilibrium in the system. If the regenerative points are not there, the system will become unstable and eventually perish. This is a typical systems engineering' idea according to which there are regenerative points in the system. The regenerative points indicated in the above translation corresponds to the incarnation idea in the original verse. One can relate this idea even to some well-known concepts in Economics and Management. The demand-supply equilibrium, pricing decisions in alternative market structures, how organisations continue to root out bad CEOs or Managers over time, the mechanisms to prevent opportunistic behaviours, in the long run, could all be explained by this idea expressed through these verses. 1.5.1.2 Spiritual vs Material Dimensions In Chapter 2 of Gītā, Krishna brings into focus the notion of time. Let us consider verse 22 in the chapter. The meaning of this verse is as follows. Just as a person discard worn pieces of cloth and takes new ones, the atman also discards old bodies and acquires new ones. This verse explains the idea of a chain of birth and death events taking the analogy of a shirt. There is a spiritual angle to it as true seekers of knowledge will deeply contemplate it. However, if we reflect on this verse furthermore, we can explore other interpretations. One such interpretation is, To be successful and sustainable organisations need to continuously engage themselves in discarding old ideas (mindset!) and embrace new ones. This is the fundamental building block of innovation and creating competitive advantage. When we interpret the verse in this manner, it reminds us of the recent work in economics on creative destruction and innovation. The biggest challenge in organisations is mindset inertia. This puts realistic limits to creating better organisations over time. In this verse, the need for discarding old ideas and mindset is emphasized by describing the process of death. Another example can be found, that shows how a verse in Chapter 3 of Gītā (3.27) indeed connects to some of the issues related to cybernetics and control theory. 1.6.2 Typical Presentation Style - Sūtras, Encryptions A related aspect to the above, which makes IKS unique is the use of specific structural aspects to make it a concise piece of work. Notable among them are the following: A large number of them are in verses set to a metrical structure. This is used irrespective of whether the work is original or a commentary on another work. It is also independent of whether the subject matter is literature, mathematics, or engineering. Since the work is in prosody, it requires the author to use minimum words and syllables that conform to the metrical structure. For example, one of the approximations for the value of π is given in a verse as follows: चतुरधिकं शतमष्टगुणं द्वाषष्टष्टस्तथा सहस्राणाम्। अयुतद्वयष्टिष्कम्भस्यासन्नो िृत्तपररणाहः ॥ caturadhikaṃ śatamaṣṭagunaṃ dvaṣaṣṭistathā sahasrāṇāṃ | ayutadvayaviṣkambhasyāsanno vṛttapariṇāhaḥ || This verse computes the value: π = चतुरधिकं शतमष्टगुणं = (4+100)×8 = 832  अयुत = 10000 अयुतद्वय = 2×10000 = 20000 Circumference/Diameter = 62832/20000 = 3.1416 Typically, mnemonics (Sūtras) are employed to convey the message. A mnemonic is a memory mechanism and a learning technique that facilitates information retention or retrieval in human memory. For example, Piṅgala in his work on Chandaḥ- śāstra dating back to the 2nd century BCE defined eight groups of binary numbers each of word length 3 (equivalent to what is now known in computer science as De Bruijn sequence). This can be represented using a simple mnemonic: यमाता-राजभान-सलगम् (yamatā-rājabhāna-salagaṃ). Several innovative methods are used to make the message concise and amenable to a metrical presentation. A good example is to use encryptions to represent an idea. There are two methods, the Kaṭapayādi system, and the Bhūta-saṃkhyā system to represent numbers in unique ways so that these could be easily remembered and incorporated in a verse while discussing mathematical operations, numbers, and results. Another shining example is the Āryabhaṭan system for number representation, with which he could represent the entire sine table (of differences) values in a verse (a couplet)". Aryabhata gives the sine difference table using his system of representation of numbers in the following verse: मखि भकि फखि धखि णखि ङखि हस्झ स्ककि किष्ग श्घकि किघ्व। घ्लकघ किग्र हक्य धकि किच स्ग झश ङ्व क्ल प्त फ छ िलाधधज्ााः ॥ makhi bhaki phakhi dhakhi nakhi fakhi nakhi hasjha skaki kişga śghaki kighva | ghlaki kigra hakya dhaki kica sga jhaśa va kla pta pha cha kalärdhajyah || These represent the following numbers which are nothing but Rsine differences: 225, 224, 222, 219, 215, 210, 205, 199, 191, 183, 174, 164, 154, 143, 131, 119, 106, 93, 79, 65, 51, 37, 22, 7. For more details, see Kripa Kumar Shankar (1976). " Āryabhaṭiya of Āryabhaṭa", Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi. Chapter 1, Gītikā Section, Verse 12, p. 29. SUMMARY The ancient knowledge in India was preserved and transmitted 'orally' until a few centuries back. There was a rather abrupt end to this process of knowledge transmission. It is very important to know the thinking patterns and the repository of knowledge created by the forefathers as it provides numerous values to society. Transforming knowledge into economic value has been fully formalized with the intellectual property rights regulations and patent laws. This is one area where the ancient knowledge system will benefit a country like India.  Knowledge is a systematic body of literature emanating from the wisdom and insights arising out of deep experiences, observation, experimentation, and analysis and validated and augmented over time. The knowledge is available in both formal literary sources and informal non-literary sources. Among the literary sources, we can broadly identify three categories: Sanatana-Dharma literature, presented mainly in the Sanskrit language, literature on other dharmic traditions, and a large repository of knowledge in other Indian languages and dialectics. Buddhist and the Jain literature have significantly contributed to IKS from 500 BCE. The Jain sacred literature consists of canonical texts. 'Ganitanuyoga', a portion of their literature is dedicated to mathematics. In each of the regional languages, there is a huge corpus of sacred and other literature. A classification framework for Sanatana- Dharma literature, referred to as 'Caturdaśa- Vidyasthāna, has organised the knowledge repository under 14 major divisions. The Vedas are the primordial source of knowledge in the scheme of IKS. Vedāngas provide complementary tools and skills to fully appreciate the content and also benefit from the Vedas. Normal methods used to date literature are grossly inadequate and misleading in the case of IKS. IKS literature shows that a single work can provide simultaneously ideas on three streams seamlessly: Spiritual, Religious, and Material. On account of the oral transmission, IKS literature is fundamentally a concise piece of work. To make it concise, specific structural aspects are deployed. Review Questions 1) What is the current status of IKS in India? Briefly explain the reasons for its current status. 2) Do you think ancient knowledge is useful for a society? Support your answer with suitable arguments. 3) Define the Indian Knowledge System. Briefly explain what you understand by each word in this term. 4) Outline the broad classification of the IKS repository. How do the categories in the classification framework differ from one another? 5) What do you understand by the term ‘Caturdaśa-vidyāsthāna’? Briefly explain the various components of this framework. 6) Comment on the statement, “The components of ‘Caturdaśa-vidyāsthāna’ are all related to the Vedas”. 7) Briefly state the salient features of IKS when viewed from historical point. What are the areas of key contributaions? 8) Indian knowledge repository pre-dated several of the Western works in several areas. Do you agree with the statement? Prepare a note either supporting the statement or otherwise. 9) Comment on the statement, “The oral tradition employed by ancient Indian necessitated use of some unique methods to represent the knowledge”.