Ancient India's Contribution to Astronomy In India I found a race of mortals living upon the Earth, but not adhering

to it. Inhabiting cities, but not being fixed to them, possessing everything but possessed by nothing. Apollonius Tyanaeus, Greek thinker and traveller, 1st Century AD Astronomy is one area which has fascinated all mankind from the beginnings of history. In India the first references to astronomy are to be found in the Rig Veda which is dated around 2000 B.C. Vedic Aryans in fact deified the Sun, Stars and Comets. Astronomy was then interwoven with astrology and since ancient times Indians have involved the planets (called Grahas) with the determination of human fortunes. The planets Shani, i.e. Saturn, and Mangal i.e. Mars, were considered inauspicious. In the working out of horoscopes (called Janmakundali), the position of the Navagrahas, nine planets plus Rahu and Ketu (mythical demons, evil forces) was considered. The Janmakundali was a complex mixture of science and dogma. But the concept was born out of astronomical observations and perception based on astronomical phenomenon. In ancient times personalities like Aryabhatta and Varahamihira were associated with Indian astronomy. It would be surprising for us to know today that this science had advanced to such an extent in ancient India that ancient Indian astronomers had recognized that stars are same as the sun, that the sun is the centre of the universe (solar system) and that the circumference of the earth is 5000 Yojanas. One Yojan being 7.2 km, the ancient Indian estimates came close to the actual figure. The Calculation of Eclipses and the Earth's Circumference In Indian languages, the science of Astronomy is today called Khagola-shastra. The word Khagola perhaps is derived from the famous astronomical observatory at the University of Nalanda which was called Khagola. It was at Khagola that the famous 5th century Indian astronomer Aryabhatta studied and extended the subject. Aryabhatta is said to have been born in 476 A.D. at a town called Ashmaka in today's Indian state of Kerala. When he was still a young boy he had been sent to the University of Nalanda to study astronomy. He made significant contributions to the field of astronomy. He also propounded the Heliocentric theory of gravitation, thus predating Copernicus by almost one thousand years. Aryabhatta's Magnum Opus, the Aryabhattiya was translated into Latin in the 13th century. Through this translation, European mathematicians got to know methods for calculating the areas of triangles, volumes of spheres as well as square and cube root. Aryabhatta's ideas about eclipses and the sun being the source of moonlight may not have caused much of an impression on European astronomers as by then they had come to know of these facts through the observations of Copernicus and Galileo. But considering that Aryabhatta discovered these facts 1500 years ago, and 1000 years before Copernicus and Galileo, makes him a pioneer in this area too. Aryabhatta's methods of astronomical calculations expounded in his Aryabhatta-

siddhanta were reliable for practical purposes of fixing the Panchanga (Hindu calendar). Thus in ancient India, eclipses were also forecast and their true nature was perceived at least by the astronomers. The lack of a telescope hindered further advancement of ancient Indian astronomy. Though it should be admitted that with their unaided observations with crude instruments, the astronomers in ancient India were able to arrive at near perfect measurement of astronomical movements and predict eclipses. Indian astronomers also propounded the theory that the earth was a sphere. Aryabhatta was the first one to have propounded this theory in the 5th century. Another Indian astronomer, Brahmagupta estimated in the 7th century that the circumference of the earth was 5000 yojanas. A yojan is around 7.2 km. Calculating on this basis we see that the estimate of 36,000 km as the earth's circumference comes quite close to the actual circumference known today. Heliocentric Theory of Gravitation There is an old Sanskrit sloka (couplet) which is as follows: Sarva Dishanaam, Suryaha, Suryaha, Suryaha. This verse means that there are suns in all directions. Describing the night sky as full of suns, it indicates that in ancient times Indian astronomers had arrived at the important discovery that the stars visible at night are similar to the Sun visible during daytime. In other words, it was recognised that the sun is also a star, though the nearest one. This understanding is demonstrated in another sloka which says that when one sun sinks below the horizon, a thousand suns take its place. This apart, many Indian astronomers had formulated ideas about gravity and gravitation. Brahmagupta, in the 7th century had said about gravity that Bodies fall towards the earth as it is in the nature of the earth to attract bodies, just as it is in the nature of water to flow. About a hundred years before Brahmagupta, another astronomer, Varahamihira had claimed for the first time perhaps that there should be a force which might be keeping bodies stuck to the earth, and also keeping heavenly bodies in their determined places. Thus the concept of the existence of some tractive force that governs the falling of objects to the earth and their remaining stationary after having once fallen; as also determining the positions which heavenly bodies occupy, was recognised. It was also recognised that this force is a attracing force. The Sanskrit term for gravity is Gurutvakarshan which is an amalgam of Guru-tva-akarshan. Akarshan means to be attracted. Thus the fact that the character of this force was of attraction was also recognised. This apart, it seems that the function of attracting heavenly bodies was attributed to the sun. The term Guru-tva-akarshan can be interpreted to mean, ''to be attracted by the Master". The sun was recognised by all ancient people to be the source of light and warmth. Among the Aryans the sun was deified. The sun (Surya) was one of the

chief deities in the Vedas. He was recognised as the source of light (Dinkara), source of warmth (Bhaskara). In the Vedas he is also referred to as the source of all life, the centre of creation and the centre of the spheres. The last statement is suggestive of the sun being recognised as the centre of the universe (solar system). The idea that the sun was looked upon as the power that attracts heavenly bodies is supported by the virile terms like Raghupati and Aditya used in referring to the sun. While the male gender is applied to refer to the sun, the earth (Prithivi, Bhoomi, etc.,) is generally referred to as a female. The literal meaning of the term Gurut-vakarshan also supports the recognition of the heliocentric theory, as the term Guru corresponds with the male gender, hence it could not have referred to the earth which was always referred to as a female. Many ancient Indian astron-omers have also referred to the concept of heliocentrism. Aryabhata has suggested it in his treatise Aryabhattiya. Bhaskaracharya has also made references to it in his Magnum Opus SiddhantaShiromani. But it has to be conceded that the heliocentric theory of gravitation was also developed in ancient times (i.e. around 500 B.C.) by Greek astronomers. What supports the contention that it could have existed in India before the Greek astronomers developed it, is that in Vedic literature the Sun is referred to as the 'centre of spheres' along with the term Guru-tva-akarshan which seemingly refers to the sun. The Vedas are dated around 3000 B.C. to 1000 B.C. Thus the heliocentric idea could have existed in a rudimentary form in the days of the Rig Veda and was refined further by astronomers of a later age. lndian Astronomers like Aryabhatta and Varahamihira who lived between 476 and 587 A.D. made close approaches to the concept of Heliocentrism. In the Surya-Siddhanta, an astronomical text dated around 400 A.D., the following appellations have been given to the sun. "He is denominated the golden wombed (Hiranyagarbha), the blessed; as being the generator". He is also referred to as "The supreme source of light (Jyoti) upon the border of darkness - he revolves, bringing beings into being, the creator of creatures". The Surya-Siddhanta also says that "Bestowing upon him the scriptures (Vedas) as gifts and establishing him within the egg as grandfather of all worlds, he himself then revolves causing existence". (Quoted from the Surya-Siddhanta, Translated by Rev. Ebenezer Burgess) Thus we can see that what ancient Indian astronomers say comes close to the heliocentric theory of gravitation, which was a thousand years later articulated by Copernicus and Galileo inviting severe reactions from the clergy in Rome.

THE APPEARANCE OF THE CONSTELLATIONS Despite the fact that the zodiac is not a material object, it is stiff related to a band around the sky. And it is always interesting to discover among the stars ones own

particular sign. The four diagrams included in this article depict the actual constellation of the zoaiac, and the celestial equator. The zodiac is an idea in the mind of the human race, and not a material object; yet it is related to a band around the sky. And since it is always interesting to discover among the stars ones own particular sign, four diagrams are included here showing the actual constellations of the zodiac, with a few neighbouring stars to help identification, and the celestial equator. The central line of the zodiac is called the Ecliptic, and is the line along which the Sun passes, taking just under 3651/4 days to complete the circle. This line is exactly the same every year, and perfectly straight. Its most northerly point is the summer solstice, where the Stm is on the longest day, and this falls at present in the constellations of the twins, Cancer (diagraml), but in AD. 0, it fell in Gemini, as the picture shows, and when the earliest pyramid was built (King Zosers step pyramid at Saqqarah, in the twenty- eighth centtlry B.C.) it was in Leo, at the spot marked on (Diagram 2). The most convenient marker for following the course of the zodiac is the Moon, and when full, she is right opposite the Sun, so the full Moon at the summer solstice marks the place where the Sun will be at the winter solstice, and vice versa. The Moon, however, does not always follow exactly the same path; she can be over 5 degrees north or south of the central line, and this means that she passes sometimes below and sometimes above the brightstars in the zodiac. And just occasionally she passes clean over one of them, as on the night of 16th November 1959, when she passed clean over and hid the star Aldebaran, which is the great red eye of Taurus, the Bull. A sign of the zodiac looks quite different with a planet in it, for the planet is usually brighter than any of its stars. Planets, like the Moon, vary in brightness from time to time, according to the angle at which we see them. Mars in the south at midnight is very bright and red because he is opposite the Sun and therefore fully illuminated, just like the full Moon; but two months later he is much dimmer and not so obviously red. A brilliant planet in the west or south- west after sunset is usually Venus, and sometimes Jupiter. Venus can never be more than 48 degrees from the Sun, so she is always either the evening star or the morning star, or else, when very close to the Sun, invisible altogether. Mercury is almost always invisible, except in clear climates with no street lighting, because his maximum distance from the Sun is only 28 degrees; so he too can only be seen at dusk and dawn. Saturn is white, but unlike Jupiter and Venus is not more bright than a first magnitudede star. Like Jupiter and Mars, Saturn first appears in the east one day before sunrise, and as the months go by, passes slowly across the sky from east to west, rising roughly four minutes earlier every day until, after over a year, it is seen for a week or two in the west at dusk and then is lost in -the sunset glow. Then it is in conjunction with the Stm and cannot be seen. (Just for grammatical convenience the planets are sometimes spoken of as he and she; these pronouns are less

ambiguous than it, in sentences where more than one planet is mentioned.) The twelve constellations of the zodiac take their him to be visible after sunset in the east and at midnight in the south, but this happens at that time of year when the Sun is in the opposite sign. Aries for instance, holds this position in October, Taurus in November, Gemini in December and so on all the way round. But a constellation cannot be seen at all when it holds the Sun, so it is useless to look for Aries in April and May, or for Taurus in May and June. And just after the Sun has passed through it, your constellation is only visible in the early morning. The constellations vary, off course, in brightness, and also appear to vary in size; indeed it is sometimes stated in books that some are bigger than others. But the zodiac originated in the first millennium B.C. as a calendar, and it was expressly devised to consist of twelve equal divisions, each 30 degrees long. So if astrologers say that the constellations are unequal, they are mistaken. In the original form, which is what counts for purposes of being born under them, they were of equal length. But because the stars are not distributed evenly in the sky some groups do look bigger than others; for instance, the noticeable part of Aries consists of only three stars, while Pisces, with no bright stars at all, stretches quite a long way; and hence unequal divisions between the constellations grew up later. On Diagrams 1-4, the 30 degree divisions are marked by the signs 00 I, 00 8 and so on. But these are not the same divisions as astronomers use, so it is not surprising that two stars which are now classified in Leo (Epsilon and Mu) fell originally in Cancer, and that two or three which are now put in Pisces (especially Alpha and Eta) overlap into Aries. There is, however, no disadvantage in being born under a constellation which, compared to some of the others, looks small and dim. To find a particular constellation, one must of course start from some bright and obvious group, and this may mean waiting until a suitable time of year. The best known of all constellations is the Wain, Plough or Big Dipper, but it stands a good way north of the zodiac and the only sign of the twelve which can be found from it is Leo, or by passing through Arcturus, Virgo. This can best be done at midnight in March, or two hours earlier in the night for each month later in the year. The next most famous constellation is Orion. It lies across the equator and a little way south of the zodiac, under the feet of Taurus and Gemini, so it makes a useful reference point. This is one of the brightest areas of the sky, for of the twenty brightest stars no less than seven are here Betelgeuse and Rigel in Orion, Sirius and Procyon to the left of him, Aldebaran in Taurus, Pollux in Gemini, and Canella overhanging the others from the north. The brightest stars in the zodiac are those from which it was originally measured, namely Aldebaran (the Bulls Eye) in 150 of Taurus, Regulus (the Lions Heart or the Little King) in 50 of Loe, Antares (the Scorpions Heart) in 150 Scorpio, and Spica (the Ear of Corn in the Virgins hand) in 290 Virgo. These are respectively the fourteenth, twentieth, seventeenth and sixteenth in brightness, of all the stars in the

sky. Pollux, which comes fifteenth in order, was not originally used, nor was Castor, which was brighter then. And Sirius, the brightest of all, was not used either, because like the other brightest stars it lies outside the zodiac. The ancient Egyptians used Sirius, indeed it was the fixed point of their whole calendar, but then they did not at that date use the zodiac; and Sirius rose just in time to announce the annual inundation of the Nile. Aries, the Ram, is not a conspicuous constellation (Diagram 4). It is most easily found either from Taurus to the left of it or, if Taurus has not yet risen, from the great square of Pegasus on its other side. The only noticeable part of it is the three stars of the head, which mark respectively its eye, nostril and mouth. Their names are Hamal (an Arabic word for sheep), Sharatain (the two marks), and Mesartim, and their shape is better seen from the diagram than described. Aries rises at sunset at the end of October and reaches the south at midnight in the same period. Taurus (Diagram 1) does not much resemble a bull, nor indeed anything else, but it has two obvious features, the Pleiades and Hyades. The Pleiades is a large but tight cluster of little stars of which only six are clearly distinguishable to most people, though there are dozens of others, so the effect is slightly foggy. The Hyades follow, 8 degrees to the left. They form a V of five stars, some of which are double, and the upper one on the left is a large red one called Aldebaran, also called the Forecaster, of great importance in Babylon because it represented the Tablet on which the gods inscribed the fates of men. There are two other fairly bright stars (though not of the first magnitude) on the tips of the horns, E1 Nath and Al Hecka; they extend quite a long way to the north- east, and lie between Capella (the fifth brightest star, in Auriga) and Orions head. Only the forepart of the Bull is shown on star atlases; the hind part is omitted to leave room for Aries, and has been ever since Greek times. Doubtless this is because the triangle of the Hyades could be compared to the Bulls face with the horns rising up as far as E1 nath and Al hecka. Yet the name is plainly not derived from the shape; for the ploughing season in Babylon was marked by the Moon being full in this constellation; and the Babylonian Plough, drawn by an ox, was not the Wain, but our small constellation Triangulum, over the head of Aries. The pleiades represented a tuft of hair on the shoulder which most bulls do not have. And in any case the Babylonian bull was smaller than ours, otherwise the earliest babylonian zodiac could not have contained eighteen signs instead of twelve. Of the two bright stars in the upper part of Orion, betelgeuze, the larger and redder, means shoulder of the giant, and Bellatrix means female warrior; so they mark his shoulders and not his face, which is the small triangle of stars between and above them. His belt, three equal stars in a straight line, is a very useful reference point. His sword, containing the famous nebula, hangs below it on ..the left side, and the brighter of his two feet is called Rigel, or Rijl, which is Arabic for foot.

Gemini, the Twins, is one of the very few constellations which owes its name to its shape; it consisted originally of only two stars, which were very bright and of equal magnitude. Indeed they were probably of equal brightness so recently as the sixteenth Century, or Castor would not have been given the letter Alpha and Pollux Beta. But Pollux now seems brighter, and Castor is not quite classified as a firstmagnitude star. The constellation as a whole now forms an oblong, with an extra star (Propus) sticking out at the upper right- hand comer. The feet extend southward towards Orions shoulders, and the brightest star in the feet is called Alhena. Cancer, the Crab, is the smallest and most inconspicuous constellation in the zodiac. Its principal feature is the two Asses eating out of the Manager, but the Manger has also been called the Beehive, and its astronomical name is Praesepe or M44. It is a large cluster of dim stars, and the Asses, called the North and South Aselli, are obliquely above and below it. But there seems no reason to suppose that people born under Cancer are more asinine than others. Leo, the Lion (Diagram 2), is a large and conspicuous constellation, and bears a vague resemblance to a couchant animal. The babylonians called it the Great Dog, so it is probably not Babylonian in origin, but Egyptian. The forepart is called the Sickle of Leo, and was known to the ancient Egyptians as the Knife -a curved knife. It has the shape of a reversed question mark, and under it, in the position of the full stop, is Regulus (Latin for Little king). This star, which was close to the Sun in the horoscopes of napoleon and Alexander the Great, was known in the Middle Ages as the Lions heart (Cor Leonis); but if this is his heart there is not much room for his paws to extend forwards without overlapping Cancer. There are fewer stars in the hind quarters, in fact only two of note. Zosma (Greek for girdle) marks his waist, or perhaps rather the upper curve of his rump, and Denebola, on a slightly lower are, is either the tip or the root of his tail (from the Arabic dhanab, meaning tail). Leo is not difficult to identify because it has a definite shape and rises high in the sky; also it is not far from the other obvious groups of Gemini and orion. Virgo lies on the equator, so she rises due east and sets due west. The place of the autumn equinox is beside her head, but the shape of her stars does not really suggest anything in particular. Spica, the Ear of Corn, which is her brightest star, was one of the original measuring-points of the whole zodiac, but it lies towards the left-hand end of the constellation and about 11 degrees south of the euqtor, so in northern latitudes it is often not very conspicuous, especially in regions where there is much industrial smoke. It can most easily be found from Arturus: the handle of the

Big Dipper is curved, and if one prolongs this curve to nearly three times its own length one comes to Arcturus, which is the seventh brightest star, at the foot of a constellation shaped like a large capital P. Continue the same curve almost exactly the same distance beyond Arcturus, and one comes to Spica -unless one hits the horizon first. From Libra to Aquarius the zodiac lies south of the equator, so in the northern hemisphere the constellations do not rise so high and are more difficult to find; they spend less time above the horizon. Libra, the balance, is roughly diamond-shaped, and has therefore four principal stars, but they are not very bright. It lies close in front of Scorpio, indeed the Greeks identified it with the Scorpions claws. The brighter two of its stars represent the two pans of the Scales, and are called the North and South Scale, or Kiffa Borealis and Kiffa Australis, or if one prefers the Arabic names Zuben-esh-shamali and Zuben-elgenubi respectively. Gamma (the left-hand one) is Zuben-el-hakrabi, because it is near the Scorpion. Scorpio (Diagram 3) contains Antares, a big red star which is one of the original markers of the zodiac. The name is Greek for rival of Mars. The Scorpions tail has a certain resemblance to the real thing; it is a long hook extending to the soluh-east. Blue since the sting now lies 37 degrees south of the equator, it only rises 12 degrees above the horizon at New York, 2 degrees at the latitude of London and in Scotland is never seen at all. (Perhaps astrologers will now suggest that Scorpionians born in Scotland are milder than those of other countries!) Antares comes only 11 degrees higher, so in Europe and North America the only months to look for it are May, June and July. Antares has a star fairly close on either side of it, set on a slight curve and roughly horizontal, so the trio can be identified easily because Antares is large and red. But ahead of these (to the right) come three on a slightly larger curve set vertically. These are the Scorpions head. The upper two are brighter and are called Akrab (Arabic for scorpion) and Dschubba, or else Isidis and Graffias. The constellations north of Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius are not very distinguished, so it is easiest to find these three from each other. Sagittarius, the Archer, has quite a number of stars, none outstanding, and not making any particular pattern except the three of the Bow, an called Kaus on the diagram, with Al nas1 as the point of the Arrow. The southernmost of the Bow

(Epsilon Sagittarii or kaus Australis) is not visible north of Edinburgh, and the time to see the Archer is in June and July. The best way to find it is to the right of Capricorn or to the left of Scorpio. Capricorn, the Sea-goat, can be found quite easily from Altair (the Eagle). Altair is the only first-magnitude star for quite a long way in any direction, and in the first part of the night will be high in the south any time between July and October. It is always above the horizon when the great processional cross of Cygnus is high in the sky, with Deneb marking the Swans tail, and Vega, the bluish star in the Lyre close by it, the brightest object in all the northern sky. Altair is easy to recognize because it lies midway between two smaller stars on a diagonal line; and if this line is prolonged down to the left it leads to the head of Capricorn. Capricorn itself consists of a straight horizontal line of stars, with a double one cocked a little way up at the right-hand end. This is the head, or eye, and its name is spelt Giedi or Algedi, from the Arabic al jady, the goat. Deneb algedi marks the fishy tail. Aquarius, the Water-bearer (Diagram 4), lies between Capricorn and the unmistakeble Great Square of Pegasus. It is quite a pretty constellation but has no very bright stars and and must be drawn rather than described. The descending line of stars at its left represents the water flowing out of the urn, but it is most easily recognized by the four like four notes of music in its centre. The right-hand one of these four notes of music in its centre. The right-hand one of these four is called Sadalmelik (the Lucky One of the King). Sadalsuud, to the right of it, means luckiest of the lucky, but oddly enough neither of these two stars was fortunate to have in ones horoscope, according to astrological tradition; there was a certain danger of having ones head cut off! Pisces, the Fishes, is a forked constellation, containing no very bright stars, but very easy to find because the southern fish lies just underneath the Square of Pegasus and the northern fish is just to the left of it. They are tied together by two strings which meet below the forefoot of the Ram. In pictures they are often drawn swimming in opposite. directions and tied with a single zigzag string which connects their mouths; but they cannot be seen thus in the sky because the northern fish is in a vertical position and the southern fish horizontal

SOLAR SYSTEM FACTS ABOUT PLANETS

The Solar System, probably formed 4.6 billion years ago, move around the Sun. The Sun lies at the centre of the Solar System. It holds the nine planets and their moons; and several thousand asteroids (very small planets) and a large number of comets (heavenly bodies with a shining tail) it its great field of gravity (force by which bodies are attracted towards it). These bodies move in orbits (path in which moving around another) at such a speed that the Suns pull of gravity is exactly balanced by the outward push of their motion. The Solar System also includes meteors and mateorites- small pieces of rock of unknown origin which move rapidly through space with rattling noise. The Sun, being a star, is the only body in the Solar system which produces light and shines with it. Every other body- planets, asteroids etc., shines by reflecting sunlight. The Solar System is very large. Its boundary is believed to be the orbit of the planet Pluto which, at its farthest, is 7, 400 million kilometres from the Sun. Beyond Pluto is the interstellar space. The nine planets of the Solar System are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Mercury, the hottest planet, is closest to the Sun. It is 57.9 million kilometres from the Sun. It revolves around the Sun every 88 earth- days. It takes 58.5 earth-days to complete a rotation. In has no atmosphere. Its sky is black. One Mercury day (from sunrise to sunrise) is equivalent to 176 earth-days. Its surface is almost like our Moon. Being nearest to the Sun, Mercury receives the largest amount of heat from it. Venus, the second closest to the Sun, is the brightest of all the planets. It is 108 million kilometres from the Sun. It takes 243 earth-days to complete a rotation. Venus rotation is thought to be backward, from the motion of the other planets. It revolves around the Sun every 225 earth-days. It is surrounded by thick clouds of sulphuric acids and sulphur. It is very hot and dry. There is no water on its surface as it boils all away. Earth, the third closest to the Sun, is 4 1/2 billion years old. It is about 150 million kilometres from the Sun. It takes 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.091 seconds to complete a rotation. It revolves around the Sun every 365 days, 5 hours and 48 minutes and 45.51 seconds or one year. It is surrounded by atmosphere. It contains nitrogen 78 percent, oxygen 21 percent and other gases one percent. Its surface is covered by 70 percent water and 30 percent land. It has one moon which revolves around it. Mars, the fourth closest to the Sun, is 228 million kilometres from the Sun. It is reddish in colour. It rotates once every 24 hours and 37 minutes, almost the same period of time as taken by the Earth. It revolves around the Sun every 687 earthdays. It has a thin atmosphere which consist of carbon dioxide and traces of oxygen. It has very large volcanoes of them, the largest is twice as high as Mt. Everest. Its

clouds are pink, blue and white in colour. It has two moons (satellites) called Phobos and Deimos. Jupiter; the fifth closest to the Sun, is the largest planet of our Solar System. It is 778 million kilometres from the Sun. Its rotation is the fastest. It rotates once every 9 hours, 50 minutes and 30 seconds. It revolves around the Sun every 12 earth-years. Its atmosphere consists of about 84 percent hydrogen and 15 percent helium. It has 16 known moons (satellites). It has a thin ring around it consisting of fine dust particles. Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, is the second largest planet of our Solar System. It is about 1 billion 427 million kilometres from the Sun .It revolves around the Sun every 1291/2 earth- years. It rotates once every 101 hours 14 minutes. It seems to be a huge ball of gas. It possesses seven rings that make it unique in the Solar System. It has 23 known moons (satellites). Saturns largest Moon, Titan, is about as big as planet Mercury. Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, is 2 billion 8666 million 1 kilometres from the Sun. It revolves around the Sun every 84 years. It rotates once every 17 hours. Its atmosphere has hydrogen and helium. It has 11 rings which surround it. It has 15 known moons (satellites). It is believed that Uranus is a frozen world. Neptune, the eighth planet from the Sun, is the fourth largest planet. It is 4 billion 497 million kilometres from the Sun. It revolves around the Sun every 165 earthyears. It rotates once every 18 hours and 26 minutes. Its atmosphere has hydrogen, helium, methane and nitrogen. It has 8 known moons (satellites). Pluto, the ninth planet from the Sun, is the smallest and coldest planet of the Solar System. It is 5 billion 913 million kilometres from the Sun. It revolves around the Sun every 248.54 earth-years. It rotates once every 6 earth-days. Its atmosphere . consists of methane gas. It has only 1 known moon (satellite). State: State is an organisation of a group of individuals for helping each other in the goal of individual evolution, and in that endeavour they realise the evolution of the State also, as a whole. We exist as individuals so long as we live in this earthly body. So, any talk of totalitarianism is a baseless misconception. A man exists for himself and himself alone. All his services for near and dear, his country, to the cause of humanity, and to any other causes are, voluntarily or involuntarily directed towards his own ends either material or spiritual. So, a man is essentially selfish and it is this natural quality that propels him towards evolution. The Objects of the State: The object of the State is to look after the welfare of its citizens. It has to provide proper scope for them to evolve without being hampered by others. It is not enough if the State confines itself merely to restrict the use of force and allow every man to do whatever he likes. This is an archaic and suicidal notion because

1. The area between the commission of an offence and detection is very vast and every undetected criminal is a positive source of danger to an honest citizen. 2. Allowing and in most cases almost tempting the man to commit a crime and then trying (In this feature, we would give Neeti Sutras in the modern context) PORSHARDHAH & POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY To catch him with meagre possiblities is an approach from the wrong end. It is a topsi turvi procedure. Is it not foolish to keep your doors open and then complain when the theft is committed. 3. Crime begets a crime and begins rolling as a vicious circle till the whole atmosphere smells foul. So also the notion of free competition is dangerous. It is another name for exploitation. It is the mother of aggression, creator of waste and promoter of guile. So also is the dictum that every man is free to do what he likes provided he does not interfere with the equal rights of others. There may be good guidelines when the populations were small and when the resources are vast, but not when the case is vice versa. Those theories are based on misconceived notions of equality. Equality: This theory is beset with many basic misconceptions 1. Every body has fundamental and inalienable right to evolve. It is common to all and in this respect he is equal to any other and all put together. 2. Equals are to be treated equally. This means that there can not be any partiality in evaluation, and judgement. These are the fields where unqualified and absolute equality prevails. There is no equality in other respects. It is unnatural. All men are on various rungs of evolution and so unequal. To say they are equal is to pull one down and push other up. It is partiality and opposed to the fundamental right to evolve, and so, injustice. To say equality consists in affording equal opportunity to all is a dangerous statement with calculated mischief embedded in it. Under its garb two dangerous theories are advocated.- 1. Everybody is free to do whatever he likes. 2. All have equal opportunities to compete with each other. These two notions encouraged aggression and unbridled exploitation. The aggressor and the crooked succeed at the cost of the milder and the honest innocent, especially where the chances of catching a criminal are meagre. In those days when there was plenty, the milder were able to survive selecting for themselves the more streneous and less paying fields; but now, their chances of survival are meagre as even those fields are occupied by the aggressors. Thus, the theory of equality and equal opportunity is a trap for the innocent and naive people. It pampers their vanity with dubious slogans and dupes them to meak submission of losing battles of unequal competition, brute force and guile, which succeed in preference to honesty and wisdom. So, equality means an invitation for the crooked imposters to unleash their

mischief against the honest and the wise. One may ask, why should State go to the extent of giving extra protection to the honest and the innocent. Is it not a violation of the equality theory? The answer consists in raising a counter question. Why should State try to control all violence? Because violence interferes with the proper development of desirable qualities which constitute evolution. So also vile and guile. Evolution consists in delivering the world from the clutches of vile and guile and transforming it into a heaven of honest living with mutual co-operation. All these mistaken notions of equality and liberty make our living an unbearable drudgery inspite of industrial development and scientific advancement. It is also wrong to state that State guides and directs the evolution of its citizens- as a father to his children. It amounts to assuming the absolute control of the mental advancement of its citizens and limiting the freedom of thought. It is the restriction of the worst order possible. All facist States are guilty of this tyranny. Controlling all aspects of human life to provide the basic necessities of life is also equally wrong and condemnable. This is the attitude of the present day socialistic States. Man does not live merely to eat. He eats to live and lives and carves out an evolution of his own. So State is an instrument to help its constituents to reach the goal of evolution, rendering every man his due and controlling all sorts of aggression and exploitation.