''A History of the Kerala School of Hindu Astronomy (in perspective)'' is the first definitive book giving a comprehensive description of the contribution of

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 ...

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

and mathematics. The book was authored by K. V. Sarma who was a Reader in Sanskrit at Vishveshvaranand Institute of Sanskrit and Indological Studies,

Panjab University Panjab University (PU) is a collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Laho ...

Hoshiarpur Hoshiarpur () is a city and a municipal corporation in Hoshiarpur district in the Doaba region of the Indian state of Punjab. It was founded, according to tradition, during the early part of the fourteenth century. In 1809, it was occupied b ...

, at the time of publication of the book (1972). The book, among other things, contains details of the lives and works of about 80 astronomers and mathematicians belonging to the Kerala School. It has also identified 752 works belonging to the Kerala school. Even though C. M. Whish, an officer of

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

, had presented a paper on the achievements of the mathematicians of Kerala School as early as 1842, western scholars had hardly taken note of these contributions. Much later in the 1940s, C. T. Rajagopal and his associates made some efforts to study and popularize the discoveries of Whish. Their work was lying scattered in several journals and as parts of books. Even after these efforts by C. T. Rajagopal and others, the view that Bhaskara II was the last significant mathematician pre-modern India had produced had prevailed among scholars, and surprisingly, even among Indian scholars. It was in this context K. V. Sarma published his book as an attempt to present in a succinct form the results of the investigations of C. T. Rajagopal and others and also the findings of his own investigations into the history of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics.

Outline of the contents

The book is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 gives an outline of the salient features of Kerala astronomy. Sarma emphasizes the spirit of inquiry, stress on observation and experimentation, concern for accuracy, and continuity of tradition as the important features of Kerala astronomy. Adherence to the Aryabhatan system, use of the katapayadi system for expressing numbers, the use of the Parahita and Drik systems for astronomical computations are some other important aspects of Kerala astronomy. Chapter 2 gives a brief account of the mathematical discoveries of Kerala mathematicians which anticipate many modern day discoveries in mathematics and astronomy. Among other topics, Sarma specifically mentions the following:

Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe; generally called Tycho (14 December 154624 October 1601) was a Danish astronomer, known for his comprehensive astronomical observations, generally considered to be the most accurate of his time. He was ...

's reduction to the ecliptic, Newton-Gauss

interpolation formula In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has a ...

Taylor series In mathematics, the Taylor series or Taylor expansion of a function is an infinite sum of terms that are expressed in terms of the function's derivatives at a single point. For most common functions, the function and the sum of its Taylor ser ...

for sine and cosine functions,

power series In mathematics, a power series (in one variable) is an infinite series of the form \sum_^\infty a_n \left(x - c\right)^n = a_0 + a_1 (x - c) + a_2 (x - c)^2 + \dots where ''an'' represents the coefficient of the ''n''th term and ''c'' is a con ...

for sine and cosine functions, Lhuier's formula for the circum-radius of a

cyclic quadrilateral In Euclidean geometry, a cyclic quadrilateral or inscribed quadrilateral is a quadrilateral whose vertices all lie on a single circle. This circle is called the ''circumcircle'' or ''circumscribed circle'', and the vertices are said to be ''c ...

Gregory's series Gregory's series, is an infinite Taylor series expansion of the inverse tangent function. It was discovered in 1668 by James Gregory. It was re-rediscovered a few years later by Gottfried Leibniz, who re obtained the Leibniz formula for π as the ...

for the inverse tangent, and approximations to the value of pi. Chapter 3 contains a discussion on the major trends in the Kerala literature on Jyotisha. This gives an indication of the range and depth of the topics discussed in the Kerala literature on Jyotisha. Chapter 4 is devoted to providing brief accounts of the Kerala authors of mathematical and astronomical works. There are accounts of as many as 80 authors beginning with the legendary

Vararuchi Vararuci (also transliterated as Vararuchi) () is a name associated with several literary and scientific texts in Sanskrit and also with various legends in several parts of India. This Vararuci is often identified with Kātyāyana. Kātyāyana is ...

I who is believed to have flourished in the 4th century CE and ending with Rama Varma Koittampuran (1853–1910). Chapter 5 is a bibliography of Kerala Jyotisha literature. This chapter contains essential information about as many as 752 works produced by Kerala astronomers and mathematicians. Chapter 6, the last one of the book, discusses works produced in regions outside Kerala, based on Kerala jyotisha.

Notes

#The full text of the book can be accessed from

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

A History of the Kerala School of Hindu Astronomy (in perspective)
#The full text of a review of the book appeared in the ''Indian Journal of History of Science'':

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:History of the Kerala School of Hindu Astronomy 1972 non-fiction books 20th-century history books Books about the history of mathematics Hindu astronomy Indian mathematics Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics Works about the history of astronomy

Outline of the contents

See also

Notes

References