History of Indian Geography
📝 Exercise — Questions & Answers (Pages 12, 13 & 14)
| Festival | Month | Geographic Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Makar Sankrant | January / Paush | 1. Crops are ready after winter. 2. Temperature slowly rises. 3. Days start becoming longer as the Sun moves northward (Uttarayan begins). |
| Gudhi Padva | March / Chaitra | 1. A new harvest (crop) is brought home. 2. Beginning of the Hindu New Year and the spring season. 3. Days and nights are of equal length (Spring Equinox). |
| Diwali | October / Ashwin | 1. The joy after selling the Kharif crops. 2. The night is long and dark — so lamps are lit to celebrate. 3. Beginning of the winter season. |
| Christmas | December / Pausha | 1. The winter is severe. 2. The night is the longest of the year (Winter Solstice). 3. The Sun is at the southernmost point (Dakshinayan ends). |
| Ramazan Eid | Ninth month of the Hijari Calendar | 1. The beginning of the Ramzan month varies with latitude and seasons. 2. The festival is decided by the sighting of the new Moon. 3. It comes in different seasons every year as the Hijari calendar is a lunar calendar. |
(Pushkar, Asia, the Earth)
🌌 1. The Universe
The ancient Indians had a very deep understanding of the Universe. The concept of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam’ (the whole world is one family) was put forth by Indian thinkers. The Vedas contain a detailed explanation of the creation of the Universe. According to the Vedas, gases, space, the Sun, the Moon and the other planets are formed in the process of the creation of the Universe. In the Vedas, the Earth is mentioned as ‘Pruthvi’ or ‘Dharani’. In the Puranas, the Universe is called ‘Bhahyantar’ and there is information on ‘Saptamahadweep’ and ‘Saptasagar’. In the Upanishads, it is mentioned that the earth evolved from water.
🌏 2. The Earth
Ancient Indian thinkers were aware of the circular (round) shape of the Earth. In the 6th century BC, it was mentioned that the diameter of the Earth could be 13,000 km. In ancient Indian scriptures, the Earth is described as ‘Saptadweep’, in which seven Dweepas (islands) are included. There is a mention of ‘Meru Parvat (Mountain)’ which is supposed to be located in the middle of the Earth. Ancient astronomers considered Ujjayani (Ujjain) as the central point of the Earth and proposed the concept of base longitude for the first time. The Earth is also called ‘Pruthvi’ or ‘Bhu’ in Indian scriptures.
🏝️ 3. Dweep (Island)
Ancient Indians proposed the concept of Dweep, meaning the land naturally encircled by water. According to this concept, the entire world was divided into seven Dweepas (islands). These seven Dweepas are: Jambudweep, Plaksh Dweep, Shalmali Dweep, Kushdweep, Kraunchdweep, Shakdweep and Pushkardweep. Jambudweep is the largest of all and is situated in the middle of all the other islands. It covers most of the Asian continent and includes Bharatvarsh (India) and many other countries. The land of India is described as ‘Bharat’ in the Vishnu Purana — the land to the north of the Ocean and to the south of the Himalayas.
🌘 4. Eclipse
Ancient Indians had excellent knowledge of eclipses. During a lunar eclipse, the shadow of the Earth is cast on the Moon. Since the shadow of the Earth on the Moon is always circular in shape, the ancient Indians concluded that the Earth is circular (round) in shape. The ancient Indians also established specific terms for different stages of an eclipse. Grahansparsh means the start of the eclipse, Khagras means total eclipse, Khandgras means partial eclipse and Moksh Khandgras means the end of the eclipse. Through observations of eclipses, ancient Indians understood the positions of the Earth and other planetary objects.