103.165.168.54 at 17:25, 12 December 2021

2021-12-12T17:25:16Z

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{{Refimprove|date=October 2020}}{{Infobox person
| name = Pathani Samanta
|image = Pathani_samant.jpg
|alt =
| native_name = ପଠାଣି ସାମନ୍ତ
| native_name_lang = or
|birth_name =
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1835|12|13|df=y}}
|birth_place =[[Khandapada]], [[Nayagarh District]], [[Odisha]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|708|06|11|1836|12|13|df=y}}
|death_place =
|death_cause =
|other_names =
|alma_mater =
|known_for = Astronomy
|spouse =
|children =
}}

'''Mahamahopadhyaya Chandrasekhara Singha Harichandana Mahapatra Samanta''' ([[Odia language|Odia]]: ମହାମହୋପାଧ୍ୟାୟ ଚନ୍ଦ୍ରଶେଖର ସିଂହ ହରିଚନ୍ଦନ ମହାପାତ୍ର ସାମନ୍ତ), better known as '''Pathani Samanta''' ([[Odia language|Odia]]: ପଠାଣି ସାମନ୍ତ), was an Indian astronomer and scholar who measured the distance from the Earth to the Sun with a bamboo pipe, and traditional instruments. He was born on 13 December 1835 in Purnimanta Pousha Krishna Ashtami, and died on 11 June 1904 in Purnimanta Adhika Jyeshtha Krishna Trayodashi.

His research and observations were compiled into a book called '''Siddhanta Darpana,''' which was written in both [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]] and the [[Oriya alphabet|Odia script]]. He earned the [[Mahamahopadhyaya|Mahamahopadhyaya Award]] in 1893, for his usage of traditional instruments for astronomical observations.<ref name="naik">{{cite journal|last=Naik|first=P. C.|title=Samanta Chandra Sekhar : The great naked eye astronomer|journal=Bulletin of the Astronomical Society of India|year=1998|volume=26|pages=33–49|url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1998BASI...26...33N|author2=Satpathy, L.|bibcode=1998BASI...26...33N}}</ref>

==Biography==
Samanta was born in the [[princely state]] of [[Khandpara State|Khandpara]], in the [[Nayagarh district]] of the Indian state of [[Odisha]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nayagarh.nic.in/sonofsoil/eminent%20person.html|title=EMINENT PERSONALITY}}</ref> He was the son of Samanta Syamabandhu Singha and Bishnumali Devi. He was born into a royal family. He went on to study [[Sanskrit]], and later researched traditional Indian astronomy.

During his youth, Samanta measured the length of the shadows throughout the day by using bamboo and wood to create measuring instruments, which he called ''mana yantra''. He also measured time by using his version of a [[sundial]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Katti|first1=Madhuri|title=Chandrasekhar Samanta: India's Eye in the Sky|url=https://www.livehistoryindia.com/history-daily/2019/12/12/chandrasekhar-samanta-indias-eye-in-the-sky|accessdate=28 September 2020|website=Live History India|publisher=Live History India}}</ref>

He was the only Indian astronomer who discovered all three irregularities of the moon independently of European astronomers, which were unknown to ancient Indian astronomers.<ref name=":0" />

Samanta suffered from [[insomnia]] throughout his life and died on June 11, 1904, from fever & infection. <ref>{{cite web|last1=Katti|first1=Madhuri|title=Chandrasekhar Samanta: India's Eye in the Sky|url=https://www.livehistoryindia.com/history-daily/2019/12/12/chandrasekhar-samanta-indias-eye-in-the-sky|accessdate=28 September 2020|website=Live History India|publisher=Live History India}}</ref>

== Instrument maker ==
Samanta was a self-taught astronomer, and learnt by reading the books available at the Royal Library until the age of 15. During his research, Samanta designed many of his instruments by using everyday materials such as wooden sticks and bamboo.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Panda|first=Bipin Bihari|date=2000|title=PATHANI SAMANTA AND HIS THEORY OF PLANETARY MOTION|url=http://www.oocities.org/uuphy2000/psbipin.PDF|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref> After studying mathematics and traditional astronomy he used his knowledge to match predictions made by ancient Indian mathematicians and astronomers such as [[Aryabhata]], [[Varāhamihira|Varahamihira]], and [[Brahmagupta]].

He carried out research in measurements using only a bamboo pipe and two wooden sticks.<ref>{{cite web|title=Samanta Chandrasekhar|url=http://www.scaaabbsr.com/scs.html|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222033743/http://www.scaaabbsr.com/scs.html|archivedate=February 22, 2014}}</ref> His findings were recorded in his book titled '''Siddhanta Darpana''' and were mentioned in the European and American press in 1899. Samanta’s calculations were eventually used in the preparation of [[almanacs]] in Odisha.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|editor=Satpathy, L.|chapter=Samanta Chandra Sekhar and his Contributions to Ancient Indian Astronomy.|title=Ancient Indian Astronomy and Contributions of Samanta Chandra Sekhar|year=2003|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=nh6jgEEqqkkC}}|isbn=9788173194320}}
*{{cite book|chapter=Samanta Chandra Sekhara and His Treatise Siddhantadarpana.|title=500 years of Tantrasangraha: a landmark in the history of astronomy|year=2002|page=127|isbn=9788179860090|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=Wf4UAQAAMAAJ|page=127}}|last1=Sriram|first1=M. S.|last2=Ramasubramanian|first2=K.|last3=Srinivas|first3=M. D.}}

{{Indian astronomy}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samant, Pathani}}
[[Category:1835 births]]
[[Category:1904 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian astronomers]]
[[Category:Scientists from Odisha]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian astronomers]]
[[Category:People from Nayagarh district]]
[[Category:Scholars from Odisha]]

Pathani Samanta - Revision history

103.165.168.54 at 17:25, 12 December 2021