Its Impact on the Ancient and Modern Worlds

To understand modern science as a coherent story, it is essential to recognize the accomplishments of the ancient Hindus. 

They invented our base-ten number system and zero that are now used globally, carefully mapped the sky and assigned motion to the Earth in their astronomy, developed a sophisticated system of medicine with its mind-body approach known as Ayurveda, mastered metallurgical methods of extraction and purification of metals, including the so-called Damascus blade and the Iron Pillar of New Delhi, and developed the science of self-improvement that is popularly known as yoga. In the modern era, thinkers and scientists as diverse as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann Gottfried Herder, Carl Jung, Max Müller, Robert Oppenheimer, Erwin Schrödinger, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Henry David Thoreau have acknowledged their debt to ancient Hindu achievements in science, technology, and philosophy.

Ancient Hindu Science is well documented with remarkable objectivity, proper citations, and a substantial bibliography. It highlights the achievements of this remarkable civilization through painstaking research of historical and scientific sources. The style of writing is lucid and elegant, making the book easy to read. This book is perfect for all students and others interested in the developments of science throughout history and among the ancient Hindus, in particular.

ALOK KUMAR is a Distinguished Teaching Professor of physics at the State University of New York at Oswego. He was born and educated in India. He has been teaching in the American higher education for about four decades. He is a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany, and a NOVA/NASA fellow. Kumar is active in the fields of atomic physics, chemical physics, history of science, and science education.