The Speed of Light and Puranic Cosmology

We survey early Indian ideas on the speed of light and the size of the universe. A context is provided for Sayana's statement (14th century)that the speed is 2,202 yojanas per half nimesha (186,000 miles per second!). It is shown how this statement may have emerged from early Puranic notions regarding the size of the universe. Although this value can only be considered to be an amazing coincidence, the Puranic cosmology at the basis of this assertion illuminates many ancient ideas of space and time.