(6) Varahmihir's Fragrant Magic Square!
Pankaj Khanna
9424810575
Previous/Next Blog Posts:
(1) Beauty Squarely Introduction & Kuber Yantra
(2) Murphy Radio!? अले वाह!! My first Experience of Magic Square.
(3) Decoding the Quadratum Mirabile! How to solve 3x3 Magic Squares.
(4) Lo Shu Square History of Chinese Magic Square.
(5) The Unhurried Odyssey of a Turtle!! History of Magic Squares in short.
Brief Introduction.
Varāhamihira was the sixth-century genius who mixed astronomy, astrology, mathematics, weather science, and his sheer brilliance into one cosmic cocktail. Prolific writer of masterpieces like Brihatsamhita ( बृहतसंहिता) and Panchasiddhantika( पंचसिद्धांतिका), perhaps he could predict monsoons, earthquakes, eclipses—basically everything except when his ink pot would run dry! His calculations were so sharp that even the planets must have felt shy deviating from their paths!
A scholar at King Vikramāditya’s court at Ujjain, he blended Science with poetic elegance, leaving behind knowledge that still sparkles today. In short: calm mind, sharp intellect, timeless impact.
In his encyclopedic बृहत संहिता he describes a 4×4 magic square also which is called “Sarvatobhadra”( सर्वतोभद्र), which means “Auspicious in all situations.”
Unlike purely recreational Magic Squares till that era, this one was practical.Varāhamihira, also expert in Perfumery (गंधयुक्ति), used the numbers of his Magic Squares to design perfume recipes! Just smell it:)
Really aromatic! Reminding Vellichor, the smell of old books!? No!? Go, fly kite!!
Each of the 16 cells of the above square corresponds to a particular ingredient (substance), and the number in the cell gives its proportion.
When you pick four substances in any combination along a row, column, or diagonal, their proportions sum to the same total (18).
It’s a Pandiagonal or Nasik Magic Square, which means not just the main diagonals, but the broken diagonals (wrap-around diagonals) also sum to the magic constant (18). And sum of all nine small 2x2 squares is also 18.
Interestingly, in Varāhamihira’s square, the numbers 1 through 8 each appear twice. This is considered the oldest dateable 4×4 magic square in India.
Soon Indian Mathematicians were able to make Pandiagonal Magic' squares with distinct numbers also.( More about such a great Square in the next Blog Post.)
Varāhamihira’s square is not just mystical. He treats it as a Combinatorial design, not attributing “Supernatural Power” to it. It's multi-disciplinary: astrology, perfumery, and mathematics all in one!
It demonstrates that ancient scholars didn’t just “do math for fun”; they used it in a very practical, their 'real-world' ways.
The fact that it's Pandiagonal shows quite advanced combinatorial thinking for that time. And today what about our Mathematical prowess!? We need an app even to split a dinner bill!
It must be an absolutely crushing, ego-shattering realization for today's Magic Square aficionados to learn that a bunch of robed scholars, 1,500 years ago, were just casually whipping up these mathematically perfect grids. They did it, mind you, without a laptop, a Wi-Fi connection, or the urgent need to "Google it."
Truly humbling for all of us!🙏🙏🙏
Pankaj Khanna
9424810575
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हिन्दी में:
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साइकल संगीत: साइकल पर आधारित हिंदी गाने।
कुछ भी: विभिन्न विषयों पर लेख।
तवा भाजी: वन्य भाजियों को बनाने की विधियां!
मालवा का ठिलवा बैंड: पिंचिस का आर्केस्टा!
ईक्षक इंदौरी: इंदौर के पर्यटक स्थल। (लेखन जारी है।)
अंग्रेजी में:
Love Thy Numbers : गणित में रुचि रखने वालों के लिए।
Epeolatry: अंग्रेजी भाषा में रुचि रखने वालों के लिए।
CAT-a-LOG: CAT-IIM कोचिंग।छात्र और पालक सभी पढ़ें।
Corruption in Oil Companies: HPCL के बारे में जहां 1984 से 2007 तक काम किया।
