Achyuta Pisharodi (c. 1550 at Thrikkandiyur (aka Kundapura),

Tirur Tirur is a Municipality in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala spread over an area of . It is one of the business centers of Malappuram district and is situated west of Malappuram and south of Kozhikode, on the Shoranur–Manga ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

– 7 July 1621 in Kerala) was a

Sanskrit grammar The grammar of the Sanskrit language has a complex verbal system, rich nominal declension, and extensive use of compound nouns. It was studied and codified by Sanskrit grammarians from the later Vedic period (roughly 8th century BCE), culminati ...

ian, astrologer,

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

and

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 On ...

who studied under Jyeṣṭhadeva and was a member of

Madhava of Sangamagrama 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 ...

Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics The Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics or the Kerala school was a school of mathematics and astronomy founded by Madhava of Sangamagrama in Tirur, Malappuram, Kerala, India, which included among its members: Parameshvara, Neelakanta S ...

. He is remembered mainly for his part in the composition of his student Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri's devotional poem, ''

Narayaneeyam ''Narayaniyam'' is a medieval-era Sanskrit text, comprising a summary study in poetic form of the ''Bhāgavata Purana''. It was composed by Melputhur Narayana Bhattathiri, (1560–1666 AD) one of the celebrated Sanskrit poets in Kerala. Even thou ...

''.

Works

He discovered the techniques of 'the reduction of the

ecliptic The ecliptic or ecliptic plane is the orbital plane of the Earth around the Sun. From the perspective of an observer on Earth, the Sun's movement around the celestial sphere over the course of a year traces out a path along the ecliptic agains ...

'. He authored ''Sphuta-nirnaya'', ''Raasi-gola-sphuta-neeti'' (''raasi'' meaning

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The pat ...

, ''gola'' meaning ''sphere'' and ''neeti'' roughly meaning ''rule''), Karanottama (1593) and a four- chapter treatise ''Uparagakriyakrama'' on lunar and solar eclipses. # ''Praveśaka'' #: An introduction to Sanskrit grammar. # ''Karaṇottama'' #: Astronomical work dealing with the computation of the mean and true longitudes of the planets, with eclipses, and with the vyatūpātas of the sun and moon. # ''Uparāgakriyākrama'' (1593) #: Treatise on lunar and solar eclipses. # ''Sphuṭanirṇaya'' #: Astronomical text. # ''Chāyāṣṭaka'' #: Astronomical text. # ''Uparāgaviṃśati'' #: Manual on the computation of eclipses. # ''Rāśigolasphuṭānīti'' #: Work concerned with the reduction of the moon’s true longitude in its own orbit to the ecliptic. # ''Veṇvārohavyākhyā'' #: Malayalam commentary on the ''Veṇvāroha'' of Mādhava of Saṅgamagrāma (ca. 1340–1425) written at the request of the Azhvanchery Thambrakkal. # Horāsāroccaya #: An adaptation of the ''Jātakapaddhati'' of Śrīpati.

Narayaneeyam

Pisharati is known to have scolded and provoked an errant

Narayana Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: ''Nārāyaṇa'') is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama, and is co ...

to take up the Brahmin's duties of prayer and religious practices. He accepted Narayana as his student. Later when Pisharati was struck with paralysis (or rheumatism by another account), Narayana, unable to bear the pain of his dear guru, by way of Gurudakshina took the disease upon himself. As a result, Pisharati is said to have been cured, but no medicine could cure Narayana. As a last resort, Narayana went to Guruvayur and requested

Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan (, ) (Malayalam: തുഞ്ചത്ത് രാമാനുജൻ എഴുത്തച്ഛൻ) ( ''fl.'' 16th century) was a Malayalam devotional poet, translator and linguist from Kerala, south India. ...

, a great devotee of

Guruvayoorappan Guruvayurappan ( ml, ഗുരുവായൂരപ്പന്‍, (transliterated guruvāyūrappan)) also often rendered Guruvayoorappan, is a form of Vishnu worshipped mainly in Kerala. He is the presiding deity of the Guruvayur temple, w ...

, to suggest a remedy for his disease. Ramajunan Ezhuthachan advised him to compose a poetical work on the Avatars (incarnations) of Lord Vishnu beginning with that of Matsya (Fish). Narayana composed beautiful slokas in praise of Lord Guruvayurappan and recited them before the deity. He was soon cured of his disease. The book of ''slokas'' written by Narayana were named

. The day on which Narayana dedicated his Narayaneeyam to Sri Guruvayurappan is celebrated as "Narayaneeyam Dinam" every year at

Guruvayur Guruvayur () is a municipal temple town in Thrissur District, of Kerala State in India. It is a suburban town of Thrissur city, located from Thrissur towards the north-west. It houses the Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple. It is located at ...

References

* David Pingree.
Acyuta Piṣāraṭi
. ''

Dictionary of Scientific Biography The ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'' is a scholarly reference work that was published from 1970 through 1980 by publisher Charles Scribner's Sons, with main editor the science historian Charles Gillispie, from Princeton University. It consi ...

''. * S. Venkitasubramonia Iyer. "Acyuta Piṣāroṭi; His Date and Works" in ''JOR Madras, 22 (1952–1953), 40–46. * K. V. Sarma (2008), "Acyuta Pisarati",

Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures ''Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures'' is an encyclopedia edited by Helaine Selin and published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1997, with a second edition in 2008, and third edition in 2016. ...

(2nd edition) edited by

Helaine Selin Helaine Selin (born 1946) is an American librarian, historian of science, author and the editor of several bestselling books. Career Selin attended Binghamton University, where she earned her bachelor's degree. She received her MLS from SUNY Al ...

, p. 19, Springer, . * K. Kunjunni Raja. ''The Contribution of Kerala to Sanskrit Literature'' (Madras, 1958), pp. 122–125. * "Astronomy and Mathematics in Kerala" in ''Brahmavidyā'', 27 (1963), 158–162. {{DEFAULTSORT:Acyuta Pisarati 1550s births 1621 deaths Scholars from Kerala Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics 16th-century Indian astronomers 17th-century Indian astronomers 16th-century Indian mathematicians 17th-century Indian mathematicians Scientists from Kerala People from Malappuram district 16th-century Indian linguists Writers from Kerala Sanskrit writers 17th-century Indian linguists People from Guruvayur

Works

Narayaneeyam

See also

References