Pruthvi Ke Akar Evam Bhraman Ke Vishay Me Samikshtmak Prashnavali - Book Summary

Here's a comprehensive summary of the provided Jain text, "Pruthvi ke Akar evam Bhraman ke Vishay me Samikshtmak Prashnavali" (A Critical Questionnaire on the Shape and Rotation of the Earth), authored by Abhaysagar and published by Jambudwip Nirman Yojna:

Overall Purpose and Context:

This book is a critical examination of modern scientific notions regarding the shape and rotation of the Earth, presented from a Jain perspective. The author, Muni Shri Abhayasagar Maharaj, along with editor Rudradev Tripathi, aims to challenge prevailing scientific theories and encourage readers to re-evaluate them based on what they consider to be more logical and in line with ancient Jain philosophical and cosmological understanding. The publication is presented as a response to the perceived decline in faith towards traditional scriptures due to the overwhelming influence of modern science.

Key Themes and Arguments:

The core of the book is a series of questions (Prashnavali) that systematically challenge widely accepted scientific facts about the Earth. The author suggests that many of these scientific beliefs are based on "misconceptions, imagination, and incompleteness."

Book Structure and Content:

The book is divided into sections, each posing a series of questions related to specific aspects of Earth's shape and movement.

Section 1: Regarding the Shape of the Earth (Pruthvi ke Akar ke Vishay me Samikshtmak Prashnavali)

This section focuses on the Earth's shape and related phenomena, questioning the validity of scientific claims. Key questions include:

Is the Earth round? What are the logical proofs?
How was it determined that the Earth is flattened at the North and South poles?
How was the distance between the Earth and the Sun (6.5 crore miles) determined?
How was the speed of light (186,000 miles per second) established?
How were assumptions about the vast distances to stars and their nature (similar to our Sun, some light not yet reaching us, light taking 134 light-years) formulated? Are they based on imagination?
Why is the Moon illuminated? Why is its light soft? What are scientists' explanations?
How is it possible that the Earth is also illuminated like the Moon, and that other planets see Earth shining? Are photos of this possible?
Why do the Moon's phases change?
How do summer and winter occur?
If the Sun is 13.5 lakh times larger than the Earth, why is there deep darkness in the Earth's hemispheres? (Comparing it to a small object blocking light from a bulb).
What are the North and South Poles? Has anyone physically verified them, or is it mere imagination? Are they the "end of the world"?
How was the distance to the Moon (21.5 lakh miles) measured?
What is gravity?
What are the strong proofs behind scientific theories about nebulae and meteors?
What evidence supports the American scientists' claim of life on other planets?

Section 2: Does the Earth Rotate? (Kya Pruthvi ghoomti hai?)

This section directly challenges the concept of Earth's rotation. Key questions include:

What is the proof of Earth's rotation?
If the Earth rotates, why don't all things on it scatter?
Why aren't oceans, buildings, mountains, and living beings thrown off when the Earth inverts?
Why is Earth's orbit elliptical?
Who controls the elliptical orbit, and why?
How can the Earth remain in empty space?
If the Earth rotates, who spins it? How can an action occur without an agent?
Who controls the constant rotation of the Earth on its axis and around the Sun without any mishap?
If the Earth moves at high speed, why can't airplanes or other vehicles easily travel to other locations by staying stationary relative to the Earth? Why do rockets need to orbit Earth?
What is Earth's daily speed, and how was it determined?
What is Earth's annual speed, and what is its basis?
Why does the Moon revolve, and why around the Earth?
Does the Moon rotate on its axis? If not, why?
What is the Moon's speed, and how was it determined?
What is the proof of the Sun's movement with its solar system? How was the destination and speed of this movement determined? What does "with its entire family" mean?
How was it determined that the Earth orbits the Sun at a 23.5-degree angle?
What is the basis of this 23.5-degree angle? Why not more or less?
Who or what controls the Earth to maintain this 23.5-degree angle?
If the Earth rotates rapidly, shouldn't the wind also have a high westward-to-eastward speed?
If both the Moon and Earth rotate on their axes, why do we always see only one side of the Moon?

Section 3: Analytical Consideration of Geography and Earth Rotation Principles (Bhugol tatha Bhubhraman ke Siddhanton ke Sambandh mein Samikshak Vicharna)

This section presents a series of observations and questions that, according to the author, contradict the spherical Earth model. These include:

If the Earth is round, how can oceans remain in place on uneven surfaces when water normally flows downhill?
If the Earth is round, why do all circumnavigations (historical and by rockets) travel from East to West?
If the Earth is round, is it possible to travel along the equator, through the North Pole, to America, the South Pole, and back to the equator? Has anyone done this?
If the Earth is round, how could a solar eclipse on August 30, 1905, be visible simultaneously in America and Asia, which are in opposite directions on a globe?
If the Earth is round, why aren't the heights of snow ranges equal at the North and South Poles? (Citing differences in South America vs. North America).
If the Earth is round, why isn't the vegetation in the Southern Hemisphere at similar latitudes as the Arctic comparable to that in the North? (e.g., crops in cold northern regions vs. lack of life at 70 degrees South).
If the Earth is round, why is the duration of dawn (pre-sunrise light) not the same at equal latitudes in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres? (Giving specific examples of Philadelphia and Melbourne).
If the Earth is round, how can Father Jones Johnston's account of his Southern Hemisphere journey, describing only a 5-6 minute dawn and immediate darkness after sunset, be reconciled with the expectation of equal dawn/dusk times at similar latitudes?
If the Earth is round, how did Captain J. Ross in 1838, after a four-year, 40,000-mile journey in the Antarctic, fail to find the end of an ice wall (1000-13000 feet high)? This contradicts the Earth's circumference at that latitude being only 10,700 miles.
If the Earth is round, why does one degree of latitude at the Tropic of Cancer measure 40 miles, while at the Tropic of Capricorn, it measures approximately 75 miles and increases further south (up to 103 miles)?
If the Earth is round, why can a 100-pound weight be lifted with great difficulty at the North Pole, while 300-400 pounds can be lifted easily at the South Pole, according to explorers?
If the Earth is round, why should the Mediterranean Sea be only 6 inches higher than the Red Sea?
If the Earth rotates, how can all living beings, mountains, oceans, and rivers remain organized on a planet moving at 1080 miles per hour per hour (based on a 25,800-mile diameter Earth rotating in 24 hours)?
If the Earth rotates, can one travel from New York to Chicago (1000 miles away) by balloon or aircraft, remaining stationary in the air for an hour, and land in Chicago?
If the Earth rotates, is it necessary to account for its speed when aiming a gun? How do people who believe the Earth doesn't move hit their targets accurately?
If the Earth is round, why doesn't the curvature of the 60-mile Erie Canal (from Lockport to Rochester) with a 610-foot bend and 256-foot difference in height at the center match observations?
If the Earth is round, why is the surface of the Suez Canal level, even though it has seas on both sides? If the Earth were round, the center should be 1666 feet higher than the edges.
If the Earth is round, when a steamer approaches, why is only the top part visible initially, and then more of the steamer becomes visible? The author questions whether anyone has actually performed this experiment without telescopes. If telescopes show the entire ship, does the telescope lens remove the Earth's curvature? If photos taken from the same spot show the entire ship, does the camera lens remove the curvature?
If the Earth is round, how is the Pole Star visible to someone traveling below the equator? How is it visible up to 30 degrees South latitude?
If the Earth is round, why do the Arctic regions have three months of night and three months of day, while the Southern regions do not? (Citing differences in day length at 70 degrees North in Norway vs. 70 degrees South in Shetland Islands).
If the Earth is round, why does a simple pistol shot echo like a cannon in the Southern Arctic, while in the Northern Arctic, a gunshot is barely audible beyond 30 feet?
If the Earth is round, why can Arctic explorers see 150-200 miles, while ordinary humans have a vision limit of 40 miles in the Arctic?
If the Earth is round, how were messages sent via heliograph over 183 miles between Colorado election places and Mount Allen in 1934, given that Earth's curvature would present a 22,306-foot obstruction?
If the Earth is round, why are lighthouses on both sides of the English Channel clearly visible from steamers in the channel, without the Earth's curvature interfering?

Supporting Literature:

The book also provides lists of recommended readings:

Ancient Jain Texts: To understand Earth's shape from a scriptural perspective, readers are directed to texts like Shri Jambudweep-Pragnapti, Shri Suryapragnaapti, Shri Chandrapraptpti, etc.
Modern Literature: To support their critical stance, the authors recommend works like "One Hundred Proofs That The Earth Is Not A Globe" by William Carpenter, "Modern Science and Jain Philosophy," and various Hindi and Gujarati books on geography and cosmology.

Jambudwip Nirman Yojna (Jambudweep Construction Project):

The book concludes with a description of the "Jambudweep Nirman Yojna" (Jambudweep Construction Project). This project, supported by Jain monks, aims to build a replica of the Jambudweep (a significant cosmological concept in Jainism) in Palitana, Gujarat. The replica will be constructed to scale (using feet and inches) and will visually represent the Jain cosmology, including the movements of the sun and moon, and the Earth's current situation, to provide practical and understandable solutions to geographical questions that contradict modern science. The project has already acquired land for this purpose and invites public support.

Overall Message:

The book "Pruthvi ke Akar evam Bhraman ke Vishay me Samikshtmak Prashnavali" is a bold critique of modern scientific consensus on Earth's shape and movement, advocating for a re-examination of these concepts through a Jain philosophical lens. It encourages readers to question established scientific "truths" and to find solace and affirmation in ancient Jain scriptures, which the authors believe offer a more accurate and logically consistent understanding of the universe.