Ancient India Facts

• According to Greek philosophers slavery did not exist in ancient
  India.
• Aryabhatta, the great astronomer and scientist, discovered zero.
  The number system was also invented in ancient India.
• The Indus valley civilization was one of the most advance
  civilizations in terms of town planning etc.
• During the ancient period there were many famous and important
  centers of learning in India- Taxila and Nalanda, where thousands of
  students from all over studied different subjects.
• The earliest school of medicine known to humans is Ayurveda.
  Ayurveda was developed mainly by Charaka, the great Indian
  physician, during ancient times. It is the only system which takes
  the holistic view of the person being treated.
• India was known as golden bird because of her wealth. The later
  invaders came to India in search of wealth.
• Bhaskaracharya, the great astronomer and mathematician of ancient
  India, was the first person to calculate the time taken by the earth
  to orbit the sun.
• It was during the 6th century that Budhayana first calculated the
  value of pie and explained the concept of Pythagoras theorem.
• It is interesting to note that ancient India was so advanced in
  science and mathematics that Algebra, trigonometry and calculus all
  came from India. In the 11th century Sridharacharya propounded the
  Quadratic equations.
• Ancient Indians had a well developed concept of water harvesting.
  The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in
  Saurashtra. This lake was called Sudarshana and built by the Shaka
  king, Rudradaman.
• Chess was a popular game in ancient India.
• The great physician of ancient India, Sushruta conducted
  complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs,
  fractures, stones, plastic surgery and brain surgery.
• Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India.

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• Indians established Harappan culture in Indus Valley Civilization, at a time when many cultures comprised of nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago.
• The game of chess was invented in India.
• The birth of Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus happened in India.
• The Decimal and Place Value system originated and developed in India.
• In the 13th century, a poet saint named Gyandev introduced the game of Snakes and Ladders. Known as Mokshapat during those times, the game had a significant meaning. The snakes stood for vices, while the ladders represented good virtues. The essence of the game was that the ladders or good virtues take people to heaven while snakes or vices take people to a cycle of re-births.
• In 700 BC, the world's first university was established in India, in Takshila. It was one of the biggest achievements in the field of education, as more than 10,500 students came from all over the world to receive education in over 60 different subjects. The University of Nalanda was another milestone that was achieved in the field of education in 4th century BC.
• The earliest school of medicine known to mankind was Ayurveda and it originated in India. It was consolidated 2500 years ago by Charaka, the Father of Medicine.
• As many as 6000 years back, the art of navigation was developed in the River Indus, which was known as Sindh then. In fact, the word 'navigation' is a derivation of the Sanskrit word, 'Navgatih'.
• The correct time taken by the earth to revolve around the sun was calculated by the famous astronomer Bhaskaracharya. His calculation showed that the earth takes around 365.258756484 days to go around the sun once.
• In the 6th century, the famous Indian Budhayana mathematician calculated the value of "Pi" and also explained the concept of Pythagoras Theorem.
• In the 11th century, Quadratic Equations were introduced by Sridharacharya. Indians used numbers that were way too big than European numbers. While the latter limited themselves to 106, the Indians went a step ahead and used numbers as big as 1053.
• Surgery existed in India even 2600 years ago, when Sushruta, known as the Father of Surgery, conducted many complex surgeries. The valuable ancient scriptures have detailed information on Cataract, Artificial Limbs, Cesareans, Fractures, Urinary Stone Surgery, Plastic Surgery and Brain Surgeries.
• Anesthesia was used in ancient India and one finds detailed knowledge of the human anatomy and its functions.
• Two major religions, Buddhism and Jainism were established in India in 500 and 600 BC.
• The oldest city in the world that is inhabited even today is Varanasi or Benaras.
• The art of Yoga that is now popular worldwide originated in India only and was performed by highly revered sages, in the ancient times.