12 Unknown Facts about Ancient India That Will Mesmerize You

9The Vedas explained the science behind the eclipses

While in ancient times the world feared the eclipse as being the wrath of the sun god, the Vedas produced a scientific explanation. This can be found in the verse addressing the sun. “O Sun! When you are blocked by the one whom you gifted your own light (moon), then earth gets scared by sudden darkness.” - Rig Veda 5.40.5.

10The game of chess

The game of chess originated in India before the 6th century and was called chaturanga. From India, the game spread to Persia where it was further developed and later spread to southern Europe.

11Kung Fu originated in India

As early as the 6th century, India was frequented by several Chinese scholars like Hieun Tsang and Fahein. The trend spread to sharing of education, culture, and trade. To defend themselves from robbers, the travelers learned the skill of kalaripayattu an ancient South Indian martial art with movements that includes jumping, gymnastics and kickboxing. It also included the art of weaponry.

Moreover, the Chinese themselves regard the actual founder of Kung Fu to be the Indian Buddhist priest named Bodhidharma. The art was later developed by Buddhist monasteries in China of which the most famous is Shaolin.

12 The Numeral system and the zero was conceived in India

The numeral system of today known as the Hindu-Arabic numeral system was credited to the mathematician Aryabhatta who also developed the place value notation in the 5th century. This was later developed into a symbol for zero by another Indian mathematician called Brahmagupta.