Bhubaneswar, Dec. 15: The singular scientific achievements of eminent Indian astronomer, mathematician, and scholar Mahamahopadhyay Chandrasekhar Singh Samanta, who could measure the distance between celestial bodies using a bamboo pipe and traditional instruments, were highlighted at his 190th birth anniversary at the SOA Deemed to be University here on Monday.
As a 14-year-old boy, Samanta scanned the sky and measured the length of the shadows throughout the day using equipment made of bamboo and wood to measure distance, height, and time, speakers who attended the event said.
Dr. Subhendu Patnaik, former Director of the Pathani Samanta Planetorium in Bhubaneswar, who was the chief guest at the program, said the birth anniversary of the great astronomer was being observed on different days at present, which was not correct. The birth anniversary of Pathani Samanta should be universally observed on December 13, he said.
Dr. Patnaik said Pathani Samanta, after studying the planets for ten years, could identify errors in the lunar calendar and wrote his findings in his astronomical treatise ‘Siddhant Darpan’.
Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice-Chancellor of SOA, who presided over the program, said the astronomer who had no formal education was taught Sanskrit, Mathematics and Astronomy by his father. “He never studied in a university but achieved great things,” he said.
Citing the example of eminent theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking, Prof. Nanda said he could achieve greatness in spite of his physical constraints.
Prof. Manjula Das, SOA’s Controller of Examination, and Prof. Ayasa Kanta Mohanty, Dean of the Institute of Business and Computer Studies, SOA’s faculty of management sciences, also addressed the gathering of students. Prof. Jyoti Ranjan Das, Dean (Students’ Welfare) conducted the meeting.
As Pathani Samanta came from the princely family of Khandapada, Siddhartha Sekhar Singh Mardaraj, a former legislator and a scion of the family, had conducted the birth anniversary of the astronomer two years ago at Khandapada in association with SOA. In a message read on the occasion, Mardaraj thanked the university for taking up the cause of astronomy and highlighting the achievements of Samanta.
Prof. Nachieketa K. Sharma, Head of Indian Knowledge System (IKS) Centre run by SOA, and Director of University Outreach Program, displayed miniature models of Pathani Samanta’s equipment known as ‘Jyotirjantra’. Prototypes of such equipment have become the focus of a national-level competition, he said.
Prof. Sharma also explained the development of Pathani Samanta’s equipment---‘Manajantra’, ‘Dhanurjantra’, ‘Sanku’, ‘Vertical Sundial’, ‘Horizontal Sundial’, ‘Equatorial Sundial’, and ‘Polar Sundial’—which helped in measuring time, distance, and ascertaining direction. The same were being developed at the IKS Centre at SOA, and workshops on the same were being held in schools and colleges, he said, adding he had conducted a two-day workshop for teachers at IIT Indore recently.
