Episode 2
Religion and Mathematics
The popular story of Lord Murugha (Subramanya/ Skanda) in
direct competition with his brother Lord Ganesha, seeking the Divine Mango from
his parents Siva and Parvathi and the
parents directing the children to circumambulate
the world is well known to most of us.
The Prize for going around the world first is the Divine Mango, declares
Lord Shiva. Lord Skanda uses his divine vehicle (Peacock ) and jets across the
world, thinking that it will be a cake-walk for him, as his big-made brother in
a tinier vehicle Mouse(Mooshika) is going to take years to go around the world.
Ganesha, the writer (not author) of Mahabharatha, is not new
to twists in stories and decides to place a “twist” in this episode. Ganesha
goes around the parents and claims that Parents are synonymous with “The
World), hence, he is the winner and claims the Divine Mango.
Siva pretends an
innocent face.
Skanda cries foul and alleges match-fixing, ably supported
by die-hard Skanda devotees like “yours sincerely”.
Is this verdict right?
Mathematics has the answer.
A bit of introduction to astronomy , to start with.
Our Solar system and the milky way in which our solar system
is placed are tiny drops in the the
Universe.
Distances between cities are measured in kilometres, between
two nearby planets in light years ( One light year = 9.4607×(10 raised to ^
12 km)), distant stars by Astronomical units (AU)
……and when the
distances involve celestial objects beyond easy comprehension, they simply
switch over to “Angular Distances” OR “Angular Separation”.
In layman terms very vast distances are
measured in Angles .
Let us now come back to our “Mango Story”.
What is the distance covered by Skanda to circumbulate the
Universe??
…..trillions of light years and
distances beyond comprehension.
In other words 360 degrees.
What is the distance covered by Ganesh to circumbulate his
parents?
……may
be 50 metres.
No….No…No… when we are talking in comparative terms, we
should be using the same yardstick, applicable to both the routes.
……correction
….360 degrees.
Does it not go to prove that Skanda and Ganesha covered the
same distance?
……………….Yes
Does Ganesha not deserve the Divine Mango ?
………….Yes…Yes…Yes
(two lone voices are heard in the background
…………One that of a die-hard Murugha fan: This is not Not
acceptable
………..Another voice that of Lord Murugha…..I am Off to
Palani…… Elder son is always pet to the parents, last child is ever an orphan
in the hands of a Passerby….
(பெரிய
பிள்ளை செல்லப் பிள்ளை .....சின்னப் பிள்ளை எடுப்பார் கைப்பிள்ளை)
Thank Lord Shiva, that in the bargain he taught us a simple
mathematics principle that the sum of all angles in a circle is 360,
irrespective of the size (radius) of the circle
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