Newton's laws of motion are three physical laws which has laid the foundation of Classical Mechanics. These laws were first compiled and published by Issac Newton in 1687. But do you know these Laws of Motion were discussed in Vaishesika Sutras 1800 years before Newton! Vaishesika was one of the six schools of philosophy in Vedic India. They were orignally proposed by saga Kanāda.
Acharya Kanāda was Vedic sage and philosopher born in place near Dwarka, Gujrat. He believed that all living beings are composed of five elements - water, fire, air, ether, earth. He was the first person to identify & describe Gravity during 6000 BC, much before Newton.
He theorized it as Gurutva (Gravity) and claimed it as responsible for falling of objects on the Earth. The three major Vaishesika Sutras which discuss the Laws of motion. Let's have a look over these.
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| Acharya Kanāda |
(1) वेगः निमित्तविशेषात कर्मणो जायते Ι
Change of motion is due to impressed force. This is the First Law of Motion. The object in the state of rest remains in rest unless an external force acts on it. So when this external force acts on an object, it brings any change in their state of motion.
(2) वेगः निमित्तापेक्षात कर्मणो जायते नियतदिक क्रियाप्रबंधहेतु Ι
Change of motion of an object is directly proportional to impressed force which is in direction of force. This is the Second Law of Motion.
(3) वेगः संयोगविशेषविरोधी Ι
Action and reaction are equal and opposite to each other. This is the Third Law of Motion. You may have heard about Rule of Karma - "What goes around comes around". Karma is Sanskrit word for action. It is also considered similar to Newton Third Law of Motion.