Stories acquire deep importance in pedagogy in ancient India and were a key instrument to communicate some wisdom. Several ancient works including Upanishads and Puranas contain conversations that recourse to entertaining stories to reinforce a moral or an aphorism. Most people are familiar with the Panchatantra and Vikramaditya-Vetala stories that contain moral and common-sense instructions. Lesser known are stories that communicate astronomy wisdom.

About The Talk:–

The speaker presents selected stories from ancient Indian works and discusses the astronomy encoded in such stories. Even after the passage of many thousands of years, these stories give us a glimpse into the accomplishments of the ancient Rishis, who constantly sought to understand nature, the universe and life itself.

About Speaker:

Dr Raj Vedam holds a doctorate degree in Electrical Engineering with many years of multi-disciplinary experience, and has developed a strong research interest in the history of sciences, mathematics and technology. His research shows unacknowledged but significant contributions of ancient Indians to sciences and math, impacting several civilizations over different periods of time.

While Western texts on the subject enforce a parochial narrative sourcing all sciences and math from ancient Greece or Rome or Egypt, Raj Vedam presents contrary facts and evidence to show their indebtedness to the Indian civilization. He has presented his findings in over 200 public talks, several teacher training workshops, several research publications, and offers two courses on the same at Hindu University of America.