Govindasvāmi (or Govindasvāmin, Govindaswami) (c. 800 – c. 860) was an Indian

mathematical Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

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most famous for his ''Bhashya'', a commentary on the ''Mahābhāskarīya'' of

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, written around 830. The commentary contains many examples illustrating the use of a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

place-value system and the construction of a

sine In mathematics, sine and cosine are trigonometric functions of an angle. The sine and cosine of an acute angle are defined in the context of a right triangle: for the specified angle, its sine is the ratio of the length of the side that is opp ...

table. His works have been quoted extensively by Sankaranarayana (fl. 869), Udayadivakara (fl. 1073) and

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(c. 1444-1544). Sankaranarayana was the director of the observatory founded in Mahodayapuram, the capital of the Chera kingdom, and is believed to be the student of Govindasvami. In his book, Sankaranarayana gives explanations to the insightful questions of the king

Ravi Varma Ravivarma is a Hindu male name used in India. It may refer to: People * Ravi Varma Kulasekhara, 14th century warrior king of Quilon, Kerala * Ravi Varma of Padinjare Kovilakam (1745–1793), rebel prince regent of Calicut, Malabar * Raja Ravi Varm ...

, then ruler of Mahodayapuram and from these references the period of Sankaranarayana is known. His work ''Govindakriti'' was a sequel to

Āryabhaṭīya ''Aryabhatiya'' (IAST: ') or ''Aryabhatiyam'' ('), a Indian astronomy, Sanskrit astronomical treatise, is the ''Masterpiece, magnum opus'' and only known surviving work of the 5th century Indian mathematics, Indian mathematician Aryabhata. Philos ...

and is lost. Other works attributed to Govindasvami include''Govinda-paddhati'' (on astrology) and ''Ganita-mukha'' (on mathematics). Like ''Govinda-kriti'', these are lost, and known only from mentions and quotations by later writers such as Sankaranarayana and Udayadivakara.

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A Chronology of Interpolation
800s births 860 deaths 9th-century Indian mathematicians {{Asia-mathematician-stub

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