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Pathani Samanta used to spend his entire day measuring the length of the shadows. (Photo credit: bhubaneswartourism.in)
New Delhi: Mahamahopadhyaya Chandrasekhara Singha Harichandana Mahapatra Samanta, popular as Pathani Samanta, was an extraordinary naked-eye astronomer. He used everyday items like bamboo pipes and traditional instruments to measure the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Born on December 13, 1835, he was a self-taught astronomer. This is why people often compared him with Nicolaus Copernicus. He made several observations which were compiled in a book. The book, written in both Sanskrit and the Odia script, was called Siddhanta Darpana. He was awarded Mahamahopadhyaya Award in 1893 for his extraordinary skills in using traditional instruments for astronomical observations. The findings of his observations are very comparable with the modern data.
Early life
Pathani Samanta was born in Khandpara, a princely state during British rule, in Odisha’s Nayagarh district. He was born into a royal family and his father was Samanta Syamabandhu Singha. After studying Sanskrit, he started researching in traditional Indian astronomy.
Samanta used to spend his entire day measuring the length of the shadows. He would do this using measuring instruments that he created using bamboo and wood. He gave these measuring instruments a name – ‘mana yantra.’
Designed many instruments
He was a self-taught astronomer. Samanta used to read a lot of books available at the Royal Library. He accumulated a lot of knowledge and used it to design many of his instruments. After studying mathematics and traditional astronomy, he started matching predictions that were made by ancient Indian mathematicians and astronomers.
Siddhanta Darpana, the book that has all his findings, as mentioned in the European and American press in 1899. Eventually, his calculations were used in the preparation of almanacs in Odisha.
Pathani Samanta Planetarium
The planetarium named after him was established on 8th January. It is situated near Acharya Vihar Square, Bhubaneswar and spread over an area of 5 acres. The planetarium runs 6 days a week with Monday being a holiday.
