Thirteen Facts About India
The name India is derived from Indus, which is derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, the people of the Indus.
The Constitution of India and common usage in various Indian languages also recognize Bharat (pronounced as an official name of equal status. The name Bharat is derived from the name of the legendary king Bharata in Hindu Mythology. Hindustan, originally a Persian word for “Land of the Hindus” referring to northern India, is also occasionally used as a synonym for all of India.
- India is the world’s largest, oldest, continuous civilization.
- India never invaded any country in her last 10,000 years of history.
- India is the world’s largest democracy.
- India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.
- The World’s first university was established in Takshashila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
- Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software – a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987.
- Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization.
- The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before the European mathematicians.
- Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India. Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10**53(10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 BCE during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera 10**12(10 to the power of 12).
- Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.
- India is one of the few countries in the World, which gained independence without going to war.
- India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers in the World.
- India is the largest English speaking nation in the world.
Famous Quotes on India (by non-Indians)
Albert Einstein said: We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.
Mark Twain said: India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.
French scholar Romain Rolland said: If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India.
Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA said: India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.
Interesting to learn India invented the Number System. In fact, reading all the facts about India says a lot for why we have all the Indian doctors here.
Hey Karen – I think the Indian doctors come here to take up the slack of not enough American doctors and to earn mega bucks.
Where are your Thirteen Facts About the United States? India. Pshaw.
There is so many more than 13 facts about the USA, ask Howard Zinn.
Fascinating. We learn too little about India in our public schools and beyond.
Especially Indian Food, I love it.
Interesting.
So Holt, is this were we can find you now?
Yes Mr. Charleston, how are you doing?
Another great piece my friend, and like everyone here I learned a lot.
Interesting post Holte, thanks for all the new education. I find myself learning new stuff every single day here and other places.
=^_^=
It’s not a good day if you don’t pick up something new to think about.
Great piece, Holte.
“Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization.”
Ayurveda is the Alpha / Omega (how’s that for storytelling multicultures?) of my business… My catalog is anchored in a beginning of Ayurvedic collections: Chakra oils – Quantum flower essence formulas of the four bodies of consciousness or Lightbody & meridian / nadis. The physical and nonphysical essential self (soul) that is explored and expressed as ‘holistic’ in Ayurvedic healing practice. The dynamics of our individual eternal nature. That’s my gig! LOL
I loved the post.
Gwen, curious about the name “Quantum Flowers”. Does that mean anything or is it just a name?
Hi Krell,
It’s what happens when I can’t type as fast as I think… things lag… LOL
I was referring to the flower essence formulas I made to companion my Chakra Oil blends… they are actually a product line called
Quantum Essences.
I do well with them. Energy medicine folks like acupuncturists, sacral cranial therapists, Reiki healers, all manner of metaphysical healers …etc.
here is a link that will allow to read about them:
http://daughtersofisisinc.wordpress.com/x-lightbody-activators-the-quantum-essences-x/
You forgot to mention that the largest (and most awesome) Lego set EVER (5922 pieces!) is of the Taj Mahal. Not even Star Wars sets rate so many pieces. http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?p=10189&cn=245&d=100
And I have no idea how a post about India could say nothing of the Kama Sutra!
Yep. Toys and sex. All MH thinks about.
Ah, you beat me to the Kama Sutra comment. So it is the Indians I can blame for algebra. I was fine at math till they started introducing letters to it. I am part East Indian myself and don’t know nearly enough about that side of my heritage.
That could make a post in and of itself Mother Hen…Toys and Sex!
Toys and sex or sex toys?
Yes. That is all
If I had done “Fourteen Facts About India” Kama Sutra would have made it.
Excellent post!! Very interesting facts about a country that is rapidly rising in the world economy.
“India never invaded any country in her last 10,000 years of history.” Incredible!
The contribution that India has made to the mathematics field is enormous.
One Indian person in particular, Srinivasa Iyengar Ramanujan, was the inspiration for the movie “Good Will Hunting”.
Great work, Holte!
I’m sure the guy who wrote those “facts” was an Indiaphile (if there is such a word), but nonetheless, an incredible history and contribution to human development.
Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages.
Actually, not quite. Most European languages (Basque, Finnish, and Hungarian being the best-known exceptions) are descended from Proto-Indo-European, which was spoken in what is now southern Russia over five thousand years ago. The Aryans who conquered India several millennia ago also spoke a language descended from Proto-Indo-European, a form of which became Sanskrit (other descendants include most languages of northern India). Sanskrit is a cousin of most European languages, and may well be the oldest Indo-European language to have existed in written form, but it’s not identical with the Proto-Indo-European language which is ancestral to the whole group.
One could also argue that it isn’t a continuous civilization since the Aryans destroyed the Indus Valley civilization (which was already very old and very advanced at that time) so thoroughly that its language has never been deciphered — there are too few written traces left. The Indian civilization which has existed since then — including the Hindu religion, the Sanskrit language, etc. — grew up after that. But I suppose that’s a question of terminology.
Interesting stuff.
I knew when I put the word “Facts” in the title I was skating on thin ice with all the educated people we have hereabouts. I thought about editing it and changing the title to:
Thirteen Half Truths About India