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Qutb Numa: Resham ke dhaage se latki Sui

Atemad E-Magazine 20 October 2026 · 6 minute ka mutalia

Badlon se dhaki raat mein, khule samandar par, jab na sooraj nazar aaye na sitare, mallah samt kaise maloom kare? Hazaron saal tak is ka koi pakka jawab nahin tha. Phir ek chhoti si cheez ne yeh masla hal kar diya: maqnatees se ragdi hui lohe ki ek Sui, jo azad chhodi jaye to hamesha ek hi samt mein thehrti hai. Qutb numa ki pehli wazeh tehreeri tafseel gyarahvin sadi ke China se milti hai.

Maqnatisi pathar se Sui tak

Kuch pathar qudrati taur par lohe ko khenchte hain. Unhein maqnatisi pathar (lodestone) kaha jata hai. Mohaqqiq Thomas Francis Carter ne 1925 ki apni kitab mein likha hai ke chini log is pathar ki khasiyatein qabl masih ke zamane se jante the. Pehle hazar saal eesvi ki chini tehreeron mein "janoob ki taraf ishara karne wali gadiyon" ke kai qisse milte hain, magar Carter ke mutabiq un ka asal matlab aaj bhi wazeh nahin.

Carter ke mutabiq kisi bhi zaban ki tehreer mein maqnatisi Sui ka sab se pehla wazeh zikr chini aalim Shen Kuo (Shen Kuo) ne kiya, jo 1030 se 1093 tak zinda rahe. Yeh wohi Shen Kuo hain jinhon ne isi kitab mein mutaharrik huroof ki chhapai ka haal bhi likha, jis ka zikr is silsile ke pichhle mazmoon mein hua.

Shen Kuo ki tafseel

Amriki science tanzeem AAAS ke mutabiq Shen Kuo ki kitab "khwabon ke talab ke mazameen" (Dream Pool Essays) taqriban 1088 mein likhi gayi. Engineeron ki aalmi tanzeem IEEE ke Taleemi mansoobe "REACH" ke ek Taleemi mazmoon mein is kitab ka yeh bayan angrezi tarjume mein naqal hai: karigar Sui ki nok ko maqnatisi pathar se ragadte hain, to woh janoob ki taraf ishara karne lagti hai.

Shen Kuo ne Sui ko kaam mein lane ke kai tareeqe azmaye. Un ke mutabiq Sui ko pani par tairaya ja sakta hai, magar woh zara dagmagati rehti hai. Un ke khayal mein sab se achha tareeqa yeh hai ke naye resham ka ek akela dhaaga mom ke zara se tukde se Sui ke darmiyan mein chipkaya jaye aur Sui ko aisi jagah latkaya jaye jahan hawa na lage. Phir woh hamesha janoob ki taraf rehti hai.

Sui theek janoob ki taraf kyun nahin

Shen Kuo ke bayan ka sab se dilchasp hissa ek chhoti si baat hai. Unhon ne likha ke Sui janoob ki taraf to ishara karti hai, magar hamesha thoda sa mashriq ki taraf jhuki rehti hai, bilkul theek janoob ki taraf nahin.

Aaj hum jante hain ke zameen ka maqnatisi qutb aur jughrafiyai qutb ek jagah nahin hain, is liye qutb numa ki Sui aur asal shimal janoob lakeer ke darmiyan ek chhota sa zawiya banta hai. Ise maqnatisi inhiraf (declination) kehte hain. AAAS ke mutabiq Shen Kuo ne maqnatisi aur haqiqi samt ke is farq ko pehchana.

Samandar par pehla istemal

Carter ke mutabiq aasar yeh batate hain ke China mein Sui ka istemal pehle maloom hua aur jahazrani mein baad mein aaya. Un ke baqaul chini tehreeron mein samandar par qutb numa ke istemal ka pehla zikr 1100 ke kuch baad ka hai, jo Zhu Yu (Zhu Yu) nami musannif ki kitab mein milta hai. Yeh zikr 1086 se 1099 ke zamane se mutaalliq hai, jab Canton (aaj ka Guangzhou) aur Sumatra ke darmiyan chalne wale jahazon ke mallah ise istemal karte the. Zhu Yu ki kitab barahvin sadi ke awail mein likhi gayi.

Europe tak

Europe mein maqnatisi Sui ka zikr barahvin sadi ke aakhir mein milta hai. IEEE REACH ke mutabiq England ke aalim Alexander Neckam (Alexander Neckam), jo 1157 se 1217 tak zinda rahe, ne 1180 ki dahai mein Paris University mein Taleem hasil ki aur parhaya. Apni kitab "De naturis rerum" (De naturis rerum) mein unhon ne likha ke jab abr alood Mausam mein sooraj nazar na aaye ya raat ka andhera chha jaye to mallah Sui ko maqnatees se chhute hain, aur Sui ghoom kar rukti hai to us ki nok shimal ki taraf hoti hai. Apni doosri kitab "De utensilibus" (De utensilibus) mein bhi unhon ne isi Sui ka zikr kiya.

Isi zamane mein, taqriban 1180 ya 1190 ki dahai mein, shayar Guyot de Provins (Guyot de Provins) ne ek nazm mein tinke par rakhi hui maqnatisi Sui ka zikr kiya jo andheri raat mein mallah ko durust rasta dikhati hai. Carter inhi ki nazm ko Europe mein qutb numa ka pehla zikr likhte hain. IEEE REACH ke mutabiq arabi tehreeron mein Sui ka pehla maloom zikr 1242 ka aur farsi mein 1232 ka hai. Yeh ilm theek kis raste se kahan pahuncha, is bare mein mohrrikheen ke paas abhi itne saboot nahin ke qatai faisla kiya ja sake.

Tairti Sui se jadeed qutb numa tak

IEEE REACH ke mutabiq chaudhvin sadi ke shuru tak Italy ke tijarati jahazon par aisa qutb numa aa chuka tha jis mein ek gol takhti mehwar par azadi se ghoomti thi, Sui us ke neeche lagi hoti thi aur upar samtein likhi hoti thin. 1600 mein England ke William Gilbert (William Gilbert) ne maqnatees par "De Magnete" (De Magnete) shaya ki, jise IEEE REACH maqnatisiyat aur zameen ki maqnatisiyat par pehli scientific kitab kehta hai.

Aaj hamare mobile phone mein bhi ek nanha maqnatisi sensor qutb numa ka kaam karta hai. Magar usool wohi hai jo Shen Kuo ne ek hazar saal pehle resham ke ek dhaage se latki Sui mein dekha tha: zameen khud ek bada maqnatees hai, aur ek chhoti si Sui us ki samt pehchan leti hai.

Makhaz

Thomas Francis Carter, The Invention of Printing in China and Its Spread Westward, New York: Columbia University Press, 1925, pp. 92–93 and 161, archive.org scan. https://archive.org/details/inventionofprint00cart_0 — lodestone known in China before the common era; south-pointing chariot stories obscure; earliest clear mention of a magnetic needle by Shen Kuo (1030–1093), who also described movable type; first Chinese mention of the compass at sea a little after 1100, referring to 1086–1099, between Canton and Sumatra (Zhu Yu); first European mention in Guyot de Provins about 1190.
Steven A. Edwards, "Shen Kuo, first Renaissance man", AAAS Scientia blog (15 Mar 2012). https://www.aaas.org/shen-kuo-first-renaissance-man — Dream Pool Essays written around 1088; first mention of the magnetic compass; Shen noted the difference between magnetic and true north (declination).
IEEE REACH, "Early Maritime Navigation: Teacher Background Information" (2016). https://reach.ieee.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/REACH-Early-Maritime-Navigation-Background-Information.pdf — Shen Kuo's passage (needle rubbed with lodestone points south but inclines slightly east; floating is unsteady; best suspended by a single silk fibre fixed with wax), dated 1088; Neckam (1157–1217), studied and lectured in Paris in the 1180s, De naturis rerum and De utensilibus passages; Guyot de Provins, 1180s or 1190s; Arabic mention 1242, Persian 1232–33; compass card on Italian ships by the start of the 14th century; Gilbert's De Magnete, 1600.

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