Science in Sanskrit

   Naming Some Extinct Animals in Sanskrit What type of taxonomy enthusiast would I be if I didn't reder any extinct animal names into  Sanskrit? I am going to discuss guidelines I made that will help us in naming extinct animals. These guidelines should streamline the process of translating so many extinct animal names into Sanskrit.  These guidelines are in the form of words that serve "prefixes" and "suffixes"  that describe the animal. Below is the list: भीम​ (bhIma) - terrible, mighty, large, buff, etc. The word  भीम  will be used to denote an animal that is buff or mighty looking. This is inspired from how "gorilla" is  भीमवानर​ , meaning "mighty monkey/ape".  भूरि (bhUri) - mighty, large, etc. [but secondary to भीम​ (bhIma)] The word  भूरि  will be used to like  भीम,  but it will have a secondary importance in terms of might or largeness. . So for an ape that is slightly  less  mighty looking than a gori...

Corocdilian Taxonomy in Sanskrit I will name the crocodilian groups into Sanskrit. Crocodylia is the order of reptiles that include crocodiles, alligators, gharials, and caimans.  They are a very cool species that have been around since the dinosaurs. Being of the group Archosauria, they are more closely related to birds than to lizards.  Crocodiles have a notable imprtance in Indian culture, with the legendary Makara , being based on a crocodile. Infact the word makara  often refers to a crocodile when it is not being used for the legendary animal. The crocodile is found in Indus Valley Seals and in later history, is found a place in the Bhagavatam, namely in the Gajendra Moksha story.  Below is the phylogenetic tree for the Crocodilians. This is not how you draw a phylogenetic tree, but I did it this way for convenience. Now let us begin. So we all probably know that crocodiles are different from alligators. For the fourmer, they have long V-shaped snouts and the f...

Sanskrit Chemistry Here, I am going to be translating some modern chemistry terms into Sanskrit, including naming almost all the elements of the periodic table. This is not going to be official and will be subject to revision. Most of the terms liek solution,solute, pressure, charge have been rendered in to Indian languages, so I won't cover them. However, I will finish off coining Sanskrit words for chemichal terms. This topic is interesting because Ancient Indians did speculate on the idea of what we would label as atoms.  Found earliest in Vaiseshika and Nyaya philosophies (older than the Buddha) and then in Hindu literature the indivisible particle was known as अणु or परमाणु .  In modern Indian languages the same words are used though some textbooks confusingly say  अणु  is molecule while  परमाणु  is atom, so for simplicity molecule is घनाणु which is what the Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit has coined. Atom will be  अणु  or  परमाण...

  Cephalapod Taxonomy in Sanskrit I will name the cephalopods into Sanskrit. It is a shame that Indian literature has little to no attestation of cephalopods, which means that I am mainly starting from scratch. But here goes. Cephalopods are basically octopodes, squids, and nautluses, ammonites, etc. They are molluscs charecterised by a head with a sac or organs on the top and "feet" (arms and tentacles) on the bottom. Between their arms is parrot-like beak. Cephalopods, being molluscs have shells, with the exception being the octopus. For squids the shell is on the inside.  Below is the phylogenetic tree for the Cephalopods. This is not how you draw a phylogenetic tree, but I did it this way for convenience. Before I continue, there is no true definition of what a "squid" is in current taxonomy. However, in my taxonomy, I have defined a Squid as being those fo the clade Decapodimorpha  or "having 10 feet". On that note, let us cover the difference between...

  Anseriforme Taxonomy in Sanskrit I will name the Ducks and Goose and Swan clades and families into Sanskrit. While doing so, I will also coin new words for some of the Anseriformes. I will also touch upon the issue of Swan vs Goose regaridng the word हंस​. Ducks, Geese, and Swans, and Screemers beling to the order Anserfiformes. These birds are known for their aquatic life style, and spoon shappened bills (expection being the Screemerss).   I also refer to the Elfrune Linke Bird dictionary: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41694943 Below is the Phylogentic tree for Anseriformes. Again not how you draw one, but I drew it this way for convenience: The Sanskrit word  हंस is usually translted as  Swan, but scholars are debating as to whetehr this word refers to a a Swan or a white goose. The word " हंस"  is cognate to thw word "goose". Swans are found in India though not too much. Given that  हंस is suppsoed to invoke a sense of elegence,  I w...

  Snake Taxonomy in Sanskrit I will name the Snake clades and families into Sanskrit. While doing so, I will also coin new words for some of the Snakes. Snakes are an interesting group of reptiles. Throughout human cultures, they have been both feared and reveared. In India, we have the Nagas, which are a race of snakes. Ananta Shesha and Vasuki are examples of Nagas revered in Hinduism.  Part of the order Squamata, Snakes are closely related to the monitor lizards and the famous Mosasaurus. This also means that snakes are technically lizards. They evolved from ancient lizards that decided to live in borrows. Travelling underground is a lot better without legs, so evolution selected for no legs in snakes, but you can see vestigial legs in some snakes, like Pythons. They are two little spurs. Belwo is the Phylogentic tree for Snakes. Again not how you draw one, but I drew it this way fro convenience: Snakes belong to suborder (उपगण​) of Squamata (सरट​) Serpentes (सर्प​). They a...

Primate Taxonomy in Sanskrit I will name the primate clades and families into Sanskrit. While doing so, I will laso coin new words for some of the primates. Primates are an interesting taxonomic group, namely because of their binocular visiion, opposable thumbs, great inteligence, and the fact that humans belong to this group  The Sanskrit name for the order Primata that I gave is  कपि . The word means monkey or ape. Note that not all languages distinguish between an ape and a monkey like in English, and that apes are technically monkeys. If we want to be ambigious we can use the Sanskrit word " कपेय", meaning "apish" or "monkeyish", or more accurately "relating to apes or monkeys". ​    Below is the Phylogenetic tree of Primates: This is not how you draw a phylogenetic tree, but I drew it this way for convenience. The first thing you will notice is that Primates are divided into 2 groups. Strepsirrhini , which includes Lemurs and Lorises, and Ha...