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T. A. Sarasvati Amma
T. A. Sarasvati Amma (Tekkath Amayankottukurussi Kalathil Sarasvati, also spelled as T. A. Saraswathi Amma; 26 December 1918 – 15 August 2000) was a scholar born in Cherpulassery, Palakkad District, Kerala, India. She has contributed to the fields of history of Mathematics and Sanskrit, through her work on ''Geometry of ancient and medieval India''. Biography Sarasvati Amma (born in Cherpulachery, Palakkad district, Kerala) was the second daughter of her mother Kuttimalu Amma and father Marath Achutha Menon. She took her basic degree in mathematics and physics from Madras University and obtained an M.A. degree in Sanskrit from Benares Hindu University. She did her research under the guidance of Dr. V. Raghavan, a Sanskrit scholar. Sarasvati Amma taught at Sree Kerala Varma College, Thrissur, Maharaja's College, Ernakulam and also at Women's College, Ranchi. She served Shree Shree Lakshmi Narain Trust Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Dhanbad, Jharkhand as its principal from 1973 to 198 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History One of the earliest known mathematicians were Thales of Miletus (c. 624–c.546 BC); he has been hailed as the first true mathematician and the first known individual to whom a mathematical discovery has been attributed. He is credited with the first use of deductive reasoning applied to geometry, by deriving four corollaries to Thales' Theorem. The number of known mathematicians grew when Pythagoras of Samos (c. 582–c. 507 BC) established the Pythagorean School, whose doctrine it was that mathematics ruled the universe and whose motto was "All is number". It was the Pythagoreans who coined the term "mathematics", and with whom the study of mathematics for its own sake begins. The first woman mathematician recorded by history was Hypati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rajalakshmi
Thakkathu Amayankottu Rajalakshmi (June 2, 1930 – January 18, 1965), better identified as Rajalakshmi, was an Indian novelist, short story writer and poet of Malayalam literature. She was the author of three novels, two poetry anthologies and a short story anthologies. Kerala Sahitya Akademi awarded her their annual award for novel in 1960, making her the third recipient of the award. Her novel, ''Oru Vazhiyum Kure Nizhalukalum'', has been adapted into a tele-series as well as into a play by the All India Radio. Biography Rajalakshmi was born on June 2, 1930 at Cherpulassery, Palakkad district of the south Indian state of Kerala to Marath Achutha Menon and Thakkathu Amayankottu Kuttymalu Amma as their youngest daughter; T. A. Sarasvati Amma, who would later become a noted mathematician and scholar, was her elder sister. She graduated in Physics from Maharaja's College, Ernakulam and joined the University College Thiruvananthapuram for MA Malayalam but discontinued to mov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malayali People
The Malayali people () (also spelt Malayalee and also known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. They are predominantly native speakers of the Malayalam language, one of the six Classical languages in India. The state of Kerala was created in 1956 through the States Reorganisation Act. Prior to that, since the 1800s existed the Kingdom of Cochin, the Kingdom of Travancore, Malabar District, and South Canara of the British India. The Malabar District was annexed by the British through the Third Mysore War (1790–92) from Tipu Sultan. Before that, the Malabar District was under various kingdoms including the Zamorins of Calicut, Kingdom of Tanur, Arakkal kingdom, Kolathunadu, Valluvanad, and Palakkad Rajas."Travancore." Encyclopædia Britannica. ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 11 November 2011. According to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nilakantha Somayaji
Keļallur Nilakantha Somayaji (14 June 1444 – 1544), also referred to as Keļallur Comatiri, was a major mathematician and astronomer of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics. One of his most influential works was the comprehensive astronomical treatise ''Tantrasamgraha'' completed in 1501. He had also composed an elaborate commentary on Aryabhatiya called the ''Aryabhatiya Bhasya''. In this Bhasya, Nilakantha had discussed infinite series expansions of trigonometric functions and problems of algebra and spherical geometry. ''Grahapariksakrama'' is a manual on making observations in astronomy based on instruments of the time. Known popularly as Kelallur Chomaathiri, he is considered an equal to Vatasseri Parameshwaran Nambudiri. Early life Nilakantha was born into a Brahmin family which came from South Malabar in Kerala. Biographical details Nilakantha Somayaji was one of the very few authors of the scholarly traditions of India who had cared to record detai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paramesvara
Vatasseri Parameshvara Nambudiri ( 1380–1460) was a major Indian mathematician and astronomer of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics founded by Madhava of Sangamagrama. He was also an astrologer. Parameshvara was a proponent of observational astronomy in medieval India and he himself had made a series of eclipse observations to verify the accuracy of the computational methods then in use. Based on his eclipse observations, Parameshvara proposed several corrections to the astronomical parameters which had been in use since the times of Aryabhata. The computational scheme based on the revised set of parameters has come to be known as the ''Drgganita'' or Drig system. Parameshvara was also a prolific writer on matters relating to astronomy. At least 25 manuscripts have been identified as being authored by Parameshvara. Biographical details Parameshvara was a Hindu of Bhrgugotra following the Ashvalayanasutra of the Rigveda. Parameshvara's family name (''Illam'') was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sangamagrama Madhava
Iriññāttappiḷḷi Mādhavan known as Mādhava of Sangamagrāma () was an Indian mathematician and astronomer from the town believed to be present-day Kallettumkara, Aloor Panchayath, Irinjalakuda in Thrissur District, Kerala, India. He is considered the founder of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics. One of the greatest mathematician-astronomers of the Middle Ages, Madhava made pioneering contributions to the study of infinite series, calculus, trigonometry, geometry, and algebra. He was the first to use infinite series approximations for a range of trigonometric functions, which has been called the "decisive step onward from the finite procedures of ancient mathematics to treat their limit-passage to infinity". Historiography Madhavan was born in an embranthiri brahmin family of tulu origin on 1340 in kingdom of Cochin. Although there is some evidence of mathematical work in Kerala prior to Madhava (''e.g.'', ''Sadratnamala'' c. 1300, a set of fragmentary r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sulba Sutras
The ''Shulva Sutras'' or ''Śulbasūtras'' (Sanskrit: शुल्बसूत्र; ': "string, cord, rope") are sutra texts belonging to the Śrauta ritual and containing geometry related to fire-altar construction. Purpose and origins The Shulba Sutras are part of the larger corpus of texts called the Shrauta Sutras, considered to be appendices to the Vedas. They are the only sources of knowledge of Indian mathematics from the Vedic period. Unique fire-altar shapes were associated with unique gifts from the Gods. For instance, "he who desires heaven is to construct a fire-altar in the form of a falcon"; "a fire-altar in the form of a tortoise is to be constructed by one desiring to win the world of Brahman" and "those who wish to destroy existing and future enemies should construct a fire-altar in the form of a rhombus"., p. 387, "Certain shapes and sizes of fire-altars were associated with particular gifts that the sacrificer desired from the gods: 'he who desires heaven is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vedas
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda. Each Veda has four subdivisions – the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions), the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the Upanishads (texts discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge).Gavin Flood (1996), ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', Cambridge University Press, , pp. 35–39A Bhattacharya (2006), ''Hindu Dharma: Introduction to Scriptures and Theology'', , pp. 8–14; George M. Williams (2003), Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Oxford University Press, , p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Mathematics
Indian mathematics emerged in the Indian subcontinent from 1200 BCE until the end of the 18th century. In the classical period of Indian mathematics (400 CE to 1200 CE), important contributions were made by scholars like Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, Bhaskara II, and Varāhamihira. The decimal number system in use today: "The measure of the genius of Indian civilisation, to which we owe our modern (number) system, is all the greater in that it was the only one in all history to have achieved this triumph. Some cultures succeeded, earlier than the Indian, in discovering one or at best two of the characteristics of this intellectual feat. But none of them managed to bring together into a complete and coherent system the necessary and sufficient conditions for a number-system with the same potential as our own." was first recorded in Indian mathematics. Indian mathematicians made early contributions to the study of the concept of zero as a number,: "...our decimal system, which (by t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematics In India (book)
''Mathematics in India: 500 BCE–1800 CE'' is a monograph about the history of Indian mathematics. It was written by American historian of mathematics Kim Plofker, and published in 2009 by the Princeton University Press. The Basic Library List Committee of the Mathematical Association of America has classified the book as essential for undergraduate mathematics libraries, their highest rating. Topics Plofker has organized ''Mathematics in India'' into nine chapters, roughly chronologically, according to the "mainstream narrative" of Indian chronology in a subject where accurate chronology is difficult and disputed. It covers the mathematics of the entire Indian subcontinent, including the modern areas of Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan, but largely restricts itself to Sanskrit-language sources. Unlike many previous works in this area, it views Indian mathematics as a coherent whole, strongly connected to Indian culture and religion, both influencing and being influenced by the ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kim Plofker
Kim Leslie Plofker (born November 25, 1964) is an American historian of mathematics, specializing in Indian mathematics. Education and career Born in Chennai, India, Plofker received her bachelor's degree in mathematics from Haverford College. She received her Ph.D. in 1995 while studying with adviser David Pingree (Mathematical Approximation by Transformation of Sine Functions in Medieval Sanskrit Astronomical Texts) from Brown University, where she conducted research and later joined as a guest professor. In the late 1990s, she was Technical Director of the American Committee for South Asian Manuscripts of the American Oriental Society, where she was also concerned with the development of programs for the text comparison. From 2000 to 2004, she was at the Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During 2004 and 2005, she was a visiting professor in Utrecht and at the same time Fellow of the International Institute fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Mumford
David Bryant Mumford (born 11 June 1937) is an American mathematician known for his work in algebraic geometry and then for research into vision and pattern theory. He won the Fields Medal and was a MacArthur Fellow. In 2010 he was awarded the National Medal of Science. He is currently a University Professor Emeritus in the Division of Applied Mathematics at Brown University. Early life Mumford was born in Worth, West Sussex in England, of an English father and American mother. His father William started an experimental school in Tanzania and worked for the then newly created United Nations. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy, where he received a Westinghouse Science Talent Search prize for his relay-based computer project. Mumford then went to Harvard University, where he became a student of Oscar Zariski. At Harvard, he became a Putnam Fellow in 1955 and 1956. He completed his PhD in 1961, with a thesis entitled ''Existence of the moduli scheme for curves of any genus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
