Logo

This volume is a compilation of scholarly contributions that highlight the achievements of the twelfth century Indian astronomer Bhaskaracarya. The articles arose from an International Conference held in 2014 to celebrate the 900th birth anniversary of this legendary scholar.

Besides a detailed introduction, the volume comprises of twenty articles, and is divided into seven parts. Part I Presents an account of the Cangadeva inscription, with details about Bhaskara's lineage and his extraordinary scholarship, and also examines the origins of the famous 'Legend of Lilavati. Bhaskaracarya's mathematical contributions contained in his famous works the Lilavati and the Bijagaita are highlighted in Parts II and III. His astronomical contributions are surveyed in the following three parts. Parts IV and V investigate aspects of his famous astronomical work, the Siddhantasiromani, whereas Part VI deals with his astronomical handbook, the Karanakutuhala. Finally, Part VII, considers the transmission and circulation of the text in the Mughal period as well as the relevance and suitability of his works in modern pedagogy.

With its extensive and comprehensive coverage, this volume would be a valuable resource for anyone interested in the history of astronomy and mathematics.

As this volume is ground breaking in its coverage and comprehensiveness and attests to but one of the many illustrious thinkers in Indian history, it would be a very useful companion to anyone interested in the history of astronomy.

Contents: Preface. Introduction. Part I: Bhaskaracarya and his poetic genius: 1. Cangadeva’s inscription of 1207/Editors. 2. The legend of Lilavati/Sreeramula Rajeswara Sarma. 3. The poetical face of the mathematical and astronomical works of Bhaskaracarya/Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat. Part II: The Lilavati: 4. The lila of the Lilavati/K. Ramasubramanian, K. Mahesh, Aditya Kolachana. 5. Ganesa Daivajna’s upapattis for some rules in the Lilavati/K. Ramakalyani. 6. A study of two Malayalam commentaries on the Lilavati/N. K. Sundareswaran and P. M. Vrinda. 7. Mensuration of quadrilaterals in the Lilavati/S. G. Dani. 8. Ankapasa in the Lilavati/Takanori Kusuba. Part III: The Bijaganita: 9. The Bijaganita of Bhaskaracarya: Some highlights/Sita Sundar Ram.10. A critical study of algorithms in the Karanisasvidham/Shriram M. Chauthaiwale. Part IV: The Siddhantasiromani: Ganitadhyaya: 11. Grahaganitadhyaya of Bhaskaracarya’s Siddhantasiromani/M. S. Sriram. 12. Bhaskaracarya and Ksayamasa/Michio Yano. Part V: The Siddhantasiromani: Goladhyaya: 13. The Vasanabhasyas of Bhaskaracarya/M. D. Srinivas.14. The production of Sines: Bhaskaracarya’s Jyotpatti/Clemency Montelle. 15. An application of the addition and subtraction formula for the Sine in Indian astronomy/Setsuro Ikeyama. 16. Astronomical instruments in Bhaskaracarya’s Siddhantasiromani/Sreeramula Rajeswara Sarma. Part VI: The Karanakutuhala:17. Bhojaraja and Bhaskara: Precursors of Karanakutuhala algebraic approximation formulas in the Rajamganka/Kim Plofker. Part VII: Reach of Bhaskaracarya’s works and its pedagogical importance: 18. Persian translations of Bhaskara’s Sanskrit texts and their impact in the following centuries/S. M. Razaullah Ansari.19. The use of Bhutasankhyas in the Lilavati of Bhaskaracarya/Medha Shrikant Limaye. 20. Implications of Bhaskaracarya’s Lilavati to the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics/Hari Prasad Koirala. Bibliography.