{
  "annotation_id": "f12bd315-9d6c-442e-9bf0-5248b7f1ad46",
  "date_created": "2026-03-02T18:01:21.827000Z",
  "date_modified": "2026-03-02T18:01:21.827000Z",
  "file_hash": "e8bf226de3738563a2f3fcca0e8f82dc9e24d15da1658493e9a2d3bc91ae10bf",
  "private": false,
  "record": {
    "abstract": "We survey early Indian ideas on the speed of light and the size of the\nuniverse. A context is provided for Sayana\u0027s statement (14th century)that the\nspeed is 2,202 yojanas per half nimesha (186,000 miles per second!). It is\nshown how this statement may have emerged from early Puranic notions regarding\nthe size of the universe. Although this value can only be considered to be an\namazing coincidence, the Puranic cosmology at the basis of this assertion\nilluminates many ancient ideas of space and time.",
    "arxiv_id": "physics/9804020",
    "authors": [
      "Subhash Kak"
    ],
    "categories": [
      "physics.hist-ph",
      "physics.pop-ph",
      "physics.soc-ph"
    ],
    "journal_ref": "Annals Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, vol. 80, pp.\n  113-123, 1999.",
    "title": "The Speed of Light and Puranic Cosmology",
    "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9804020"
  },
  "schema_id": "dorsal/arxiv",
  "source": {
    "execution_id": "6ffb4a6a-2524-4f60-9e5c-72f2153bcd59",
    "id": "arXiv Dataset IDs",
    "type": "Model",
    "variant": "snapshot-2026-03-01",
    "version": "0.1.0"
  },
  "user_id": 1000002
}