Pingala, what it Denotes: According to Dictionaries5, the word Pingala and its derivatives / forms have the following meanings:
1. Pingala: reddish brown, yellowish, brown, tawny (Raguvamsa.12.71).
2. Pingalah:
i. the tawny colour,
ii. fire,
iii. monkey,
iv. an ichnemon,
v. a small owl,
vi. a kind of snake,
3. Pingalah (Noun):
i. an attendant on Sun,
ii. one of Kuberas treasures,
iii. a reputed sage, the father of Sanskrit prosody. His work is known as Pingalachandasastra. Chando gnanna nidhim jadhana makaro velatate pingale (Pancatantra, 2.33, Bombay).
4. Pingalam:
i. brass.
ii. Yellow orpiment.
5. Pingalaa:
i. a kind of owl.
ii. The Sisu tree (Simsapa).
iii. A kind of metal.
iv. A particular vessel of the body.
v. The female elephant of the south.
vi. N. of a courtesan, who became remarkable for her piety and virtuous life (the Bhagavata mentions how she and Ajamila were delivered from the trammels of the world.
6. Pingalaksha: an epithet of Siva.
But, its connotation in the context goes beyond this general understanding.
In Yoga, Chakras and physiological studies, Pingala is an important nerve or nervous system.
When Samaveda is quoted, it is usually with the words: The Chandagos say, Chandagos means Chandas-singer, and chandas combines in itself the meaning Magic song, Sacred text, and Metre.
The fundamental meaning of the word must be something like rhythmical speech; it might be connected with the root chand = to satisfy, to cause, to please, allure, invite etc.
The different meanings attributed to the word Pingala proves its usage and popularity since the Vedic period. Of which, our Pingala is thus is a reputed sage, the father of Sanskrit prosody and author of Pingalachandasastra. He is also considered as the brother of Panini, the Sanskrit Grammarian. The date of Panini has been fixed differently based on different syncronisms ranging from 1000 BCE to 3rd cent.BCE.
Philosophy and Mathematics: The philosophical background of mathematics has been established one. Philosophy is closely associated with logic and metaphysics. The mathematical thinking flows through these thought processes, the moment they want to symbolize them for others. Philosophy is associated with thinking, thinking with mind, mind with body, body with psychosomatic processes, and they are in turn connected with hereditary and environmental factors.
With such mind setting, the Study of truth involves systematic view of a subject in analyzing the fundamental concepts and principles with reasoned doctrine to produce theory of knowledge. Conception, perception, evolution, and formation result in the establishment of a specific subject. Standardization, codification and application lead to acceptance by people.
In mathematics, the theory of numbers, the processes involved in the combination of numbers, representation of numbers and other processes are subjective and objective too.
The Chanting of Vedas proves the Music: The chanting of Vedas proves the best memory power with perfect ability of recollecting and remembrance. The group chanting authenticates the trained method of removal of imperfection, deviation and distortion. The music and metrics registers the knowledge of numbers and mathematics. A trained musician or composer would not perform like modern ones keeping the prepared notes. Indian tradition has been in such a way, they musician engrosses with the spirit of music and thus many times, they are seen singing closing their eyes. This is the state of merging of subjective and objective symbolism. If a child is told to tell tables and the teacher listens to, no script is required. In fact, Indians used to learn by writing on the earth, that, when it is required. The significance of Aksharabyasam is to be noted here. It is the initiation of the practice of writing. Kharavela dated near to Asoka had learned all arts by 13 years. How then, the learned Mahavira, Buddha and others learned to become Princes, conditioned to become sanyasis and get enlightenedment!
The Evolution of Chandas: That Chandas has acquired importance during Vedic period is proved by a rendering of Mundayoka Upanishad (I, I, 5)
Rigvedo Yajurvedo Samavedo Atharvanah|
Siksha kalpo vykarnam niruktam chando jyotisam||
It explains two forms of Knowledge
1. Higher Knowledge - The study about Imperishable Brahman.
2. Lower Knowledge The study of Vedas (Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana) and Vedandas (Phonetics, Ritual, Grammar, Etymology, Metrics and Astronomy) as mentioned. Thus, it has been recognized as one of the Vedangas.
Anunduram Borooah (1850-1889) has traced the origin, evolution and development of Chandas / prosody in the context of Sanskrit literature as follows:
1. The Vedic Period6 Vedic Chandas: According to him, he noted that, Vedic hymns are composed without any knowledge of the law of rhythm7. This is based on the evolutionary concept. But, it has to be analyzed as to whether such composed poetry has a prosody is incidental or ancillary to the completion of the composition of Vedic hymns with Chandas is the crucial question. Satapata Brahmanas dealing with different chandas clearly proves that such codification had been there. The specific references to chandas by naming in Yajurveda, Taitreya Samhita, Chandogya Upanishad etc. also prove the fact8. This, he divided into three periods:
q The Age of Even Metres: The age of even metres contained Anustup, Jagati etc., among which precedence is always given to Gayatri.
q The Age of Uneven Metres: The age of uneven metres applied Usnik ans Bruhati.
q The Age of Compound Metres: The age of compound metres used Atishakvari.
The Vedas, in original form has not been recovered so far. The available hymns have been compiled and codified and presented. Thus, the observation of the division of age of Chandas within Vedic period is only speculative and not definitive.
2. Ramayana Period9 Valmiki Codifies Chandas: Valmiki discovered the common Anustup and rejected compound metres, thus he differentiated Vedic and common chandas. The broasd distinction between the Vedic and the common Anustup is that in the former the four feet are regulated by the same laws while in the latter the two odd feet materially differ. By any estimate, this could have happened c.3100 BCE, if Valmiki is placed before the Mahabharat period.
3. The Age of Pingala: Anunduram Borooah meticulously recorded that, According to his own showing, pingala is not the first writer either of Vedic or of Classical prosody, but, he is among the first, if not the first, to minutely study the construction of both syllabic and quantitative metres.
4. The Age of Kalidasa10: Kalidasa laid down simple rule for Anustup. The impact of Kalidasa on Indian literature has been well known.
The date of Kalidasa is placed from the range c.200 BCE to 400 CE confusing with Yavanas, Nine Gems, and so on.
5. The Mauyan Period11: Though, Anunduram Borooah has not specifically mentioned this period, for chronological studies, the two periods are included here, because, according to western / modern scholars, Mauryan period was influenced by the Greeks (with a lot of apocryphal stories like Chandragupta Maurya seeing / meeting Alexandar, when he was a boy etc) for the introduction and development of all arts and sciences in India and the so called Golden Gupta Period has been credited with the production of many works with florishing of many scholars, experts, engineers and scientists.
Though the Mauryan period is dated to c.300 BCE, now, it goes to c.1200-1000 BCE based on megalithic-Iron using culture of Karnataka.
6. Medieval (Gupta Period)12: So naturally, Poets would have laid down rules of poetry with prosody following the preceding experts.
7. Modern Period: With the vast coverage of available literature by the scholars, they identified and compiled the Chandas.
Date of Vedas and Pingala Sastra: The date of Vedas differs and varies from before 8000 BCE to 2500 BCE depending upon the different syncronisms, astronomical notings and above all the question of script and the development of language out of it and thereafter. If Vedas were dated to such widely differing periods or ranges, why the Vedic people should have taken 7500 or 2000 years to produce a treatise about the prosody around 500 BCE? That the Vedic hymns had already been there in such metric form proves the existence of such codified and established rules and regulations before Chanda Sastra i.e, before c.8000 to 2500 BCE period. The argument that literature should have been there and then only, grammar could have come, is not new one, but too what extent it is historically correct has to be analyzed. Therefore, with the above discussion, it is evident that the Chandas had been there during the Vedic period itself i.e, before 8000 BCE. Pingala himself has recorded its usage before him. Hence, the date of Pingala can be placed c.1500-1000 BCE.
Contradictions and Historicity: In Indian context, the scholars have been taking contradicting, self-denying, paradoxical stands during the last 100 to 150 years. Initially, they traced all origins to India praising India like anything. Then, they made sudden somersault denying all credit and started propounding that India derived everything from others, particularly after Alexanders invasion. Even in the case of decipherment of Indus script, they have not come to any conclusion, in spite of scientific attempts made. Imposing Aryan-Dravidian controversy over the research, they divided the Indian scholarship into perpetual warring groups. They have created enough barriers and hurdles for them to cross and come to any consensus.
Therefore, taking archaeological evidences, Indian historians have to come to conclusion as otherwise, it is absurd that the people of other civilizations were dealing with India, Indian goods etc., without Indians or
Indians with language without script,
literature without grammar,
numbers without mathematics,
philosophy without logic, geometrical figures (yagnasalas) without geometry,
weights and measures without trade,
ships without seafaring,
thousands of inscriptions without sense of history,
having different eras but without chronology
knowing planets and stars but without their names
and so on.
Thus, the available material evidences cannot be made contradicted evidences, negating the available evidences themselves. Negative evidence cannot be evidence, when corroborative and correlating evidences point to the existence of such denied evidence.
Conclusion: The modern method of constructing historical perspective of Indian civilization, taking only material evidence ignoring the non-material evidences like music, philosophy, logic, mathematics and their skill exhibited and preserved in the literature cannot be a correct one. As nothing comes from vacuum, such a refined literature with data and information could not have been produced by a hoard of barbarians, roaming nomads, itinerant bards, illiterate scribers, and others with their sheep and cows searching for the pastures and meadows, as has been projected by learned archaeologists and historians. This has been recorded in the minds of present-day Indian researchers and they have been proceeding in the same way ignoring the scientific study of development of mind, brain, body and their inter-related activities and processes, the ability of producing structured, systematic and standard literature, mention of such methodology in the literature itself, mention of psycho-somatic development and processes in the literature. These are the evidences, which cannot be produced without established, instituted material evidences. No scholar can ignore a field or subject, just because, it is beyond his comprehension or scope. Asserting that their methodology has been scientific, scientific evidences cannot be ignored. Thus, based on the above discussion, the following conclusions are drawn:
1. The philosophical, psychological and logical development must have taken place before the advent of the Vedas, thus, the philosophical period goes back to c.8000-2500 BCE.
2. The mathematical period comes thereafter with the established number system and their application to poetry and altars.
3. The poetical / literary period follows.
4. If the evolutionary scale is taken into account, archaeologically, Indian man could have achieved it after 30,000 to 20,000 YBP based on the Madhya Pradesh Cavemen, who drew the cave paintings and the Pallavararam Axe-man.
5. Thus, the philosophical to mathematical to literary periods would have progressed in phased manner. Under the circumstances, the date of Chandasutras could be before c.2500 BCE period.
6. Such civilized and advanced-minded people would have perished with the disappearance of Saraswati, IVC civilizations due to other natural catastrophes.
7. Even the archaeological evidences obtained have been mixed one at several places. Wherever, geological evidences have been found dated to millions of years, archaeological evidences have not been correlated and studied. The literary evidences describing such antiquity is also ignored.
8. Thus, the attempt of starting everything with Mauryan period is not tenable, as evidences are mounting (megalithic Iron users of Karnataka going back to c.1200-1000 BCE with Asokan inscriptions, Sri Lankan Brahmi script going back to c.600 BCE etc.) for the pre-Mauryan period, hitherto not explained by historians.
9. The western scholars determined the dates of Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian and others only with astronomical methods and they are followed in spite of difference of opinion and contradictions. The later found archaeological evidences are only correlated and corroborated with such constructed chronology. Therefore, in the Indian context, scholars cannot take double standards in disparaging such methodology.
10. As in the case of Indian astronomy, the works Sidhantas, Karanas are there covering three periods, the Vedic literature too must cover phased manner. Therefore, The Chanda Sutras must have been there before Vedic period and Pingala might have condensed into aphorisms for progeny during his period.
Notes and References
1. There has been undue interest shown about Pingala by the westerners recently, because, his aphorisms talk only about mathematics, series, logical sequences, number diagrams and so on, that too, dealing with notes, vibrations and sound propagation along with prosody and music.
Ernerst G. McClain, The Myth of Invariance, USA,
Subash Kak, Indian Binary Numbers and the Katapayadi Notation, ABORI, Vol.81, pp.269-272.
B. Van Nooten, Binary Numbers in Indian Antiquity, Journal of Indian Philosophy, Vol.21, pp.31-50, 1993.
A. N. Singh, On the Use of the Series in Hindu Mathematics, Osiris, Vol.I (The David Eugene Smith presentation volume), January 1936, pp.606-628.
2. Anundoram Baorooah, Prosody, Publication Board, Guahati, Assam, 1975.
3. Ibid, Stikam Vruttaratnakaram, Prastaradhyaya, p.79.
4. Ibid, Stikam Vruttaratnakaram, Prastaradhyaya, p.78.
5. V. P. Apte, Sanskrit Dictionary, etc.
6. Vedic period According to different authorities, it is dated to c.10,000 BCE to 2500 BCE.
7. Anundoram Baorooah, opt.cit, PREFACE, pp.i-v.
8. Antiquity of Chandas The period ranges from c.200 to c.200 BCE.
9. Ramayana Period It also varies from Tretayuga to the present current era i.e, from c.1,750,000 to 4430 BCE.
10. C. V. Vaidya, The Pandyas and the Date of Kalidasa, Annals of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (ABORI), Vol.2, 1921, pp.63-68
K. G. Sankara, Mr. Vaidyas Date for Kalidasa, ABORI, Vol.2, 1921, pp.189-191.
P. K. Gode, The Word Atmabha and the date of Kalidasa, ABORI, Vol.I, 1920.
K. G. Sankara, MM. H. P. Sastris Date for Kalidasa, Quaterly Journal of Mythic Society (QJMS), Vol.II, pp.232-237.
D. R. Bhandarkar, Can we fix the Date of Kalidasa more accurately?, ABORI, Vol.8, 1927, pp.200-204.
B. S. Upadhyaya, The Date of Kalidasa, Journal of Uttar Pradesh Historical Society (JUPHS), Vol.XIV, 1941, pp.23-40.
C. Kunhan Raja, Kalidasa and Astronomy, JUPHS, Vol.XV, pp.5-23.
D. V. Ketkar, Date of Kalidasa, ABORI, Vol.365, 1955, pp.150-156.
Chattopadhyaya, The Date of Kalidasa,
H. A. Shah, Kautilya and Kalidasa, QJMS, Vol.11, pp.138-145 and Vol.12, pp.238-248.
The date of Patanjali differs from c.1000 BCE to 400CE.
K. B. Pathak, The Age of Panini and Sanskriit as a Spoken Language, ABORI, Vol.11, 1929, pp.59-83. He fixes the date to last quarter of 7th cen.BC i.e, c.675 BCE.
11. Mauryan period. Scholars date to c.1400 BCE and c.300 BCE based on Megalithic / Iron evidences and Asokan synchronism.
12. Gupta Period Here also one group dates to c.300 BCE and another to 3rd - 4th centuries.