They were pretty smart and observant, and they had a lot of interest in astrology and astronomy. They used the stars and the planets to make predictions and charts, and they came up with some cool theories and math models.
One of the earliest texts that talks about astronomy is the Rigveda, which dates back to around 2000 BC or even earlier.
It shows that the Indians had a calendar based on the solar year, and they knew about the four cardinal points.
They also recorded some events like eclipses and comets. The Jyotisa Vedanga is another text that has some astronomical data from around 4000 BC or maybe even 11000 BC.
It's hard to tell for sure, because some of the stuff is written in religious terms.
The Indians also had contact with other cultures like the Babylonians, Greeks, and Persians, and they exchanged ideas and theories.
They learned a lot from them, but they also had their own contributions. For example, they had a heliocentric model of the solar system, which means they thought that the Sun was at the center and the planets orbited around it.
That's pretty impressive, considering that some people in Europe still believed in a geocentric model until the 16th century.
The Indians also had a concept of Navagraha, which means nine heavenly bodies.
They included the Sun, the Moon, and five planets that are visible to the naked eye: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
The other two were Rahu and Ketu, which are not really planets but points where the Moon crosses the ecliptic plane.
They thought that these points caused eclipses when they swallowed the Sun or the Moon.
So, that's how Indians 3,000 years ago came to know about planets in the solar system. They used their eyes, their brains, and their curiosity to explore the sky and figure out how it works.
They had some mistakes and myths, but they also had some facts and insights. Their legacy is still alive today in math, science, and culture
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