Aryabhata – Father Of Indian Mathematics

Aryabhatta was an Indian mathematician and astronomer, one of the most influential till now, who lived from 476 CE to 550 CE. He is generally regarded as the Father of Indian mathematics. He made valuable contributions to Astronomy and Mathematical sciences, especially in trigonometry, which revolutionised the path of mathematics as we know it.

These were the times when these subjects were in a development phase throughout the world. He contributed to and published several works, such as Aryabhatiya and Arya-Siddhanta, mainly in the Gupta era.

One of his most known and famous works was the system of rotation of phonemic numbers, where each of the numbers was represented by consonant-vowel monosyllables.

Aryabhatta’s famous works

His work was later subdivided into various domains of mathematics, such as Ganita, comprising the studies of primarily pure mathematics; Kalakriya consisted of his works on the calculation of time; and Golapada focused on spherical astronomy.

Aryabhatta’s contribution to mathematics in pure mathematics was focused on calculating the cube and square roots, geometric systems, problems of arithmetic progression, quadratic polynomial equations and indeterminate equations.

Before the calculation of Pi by Lambert, Aryabhatta calculated the value of Pi to 4 decimal places, 1300 years before, and may have also likely been aware that Pi is an irrational number.

Aryabhatta’s contributions to Spherical Astronomy comprised studies mainly aimed at determining the positions of solar and lunar eclipses through the applications of plane trigonometric principles.

From his observations, he concluded that the observed path of stars towards the western sky should be due to the rotation of the Earth about its own axis, in addition to the revolution of the Earth.

Through his knowledge of optics, he observed and concluded that the luminosity of the moon and other planets are due to the sunlight being reflected from their respective surfaces and atmospheres.

Golden History

One of his works, Aryabhatiya, notes that Aryabhata was 23 years old after about 3600 years into the Kali Yuga. He mentions in his works that he was a native of Kusumapara, and it becomes rather certain that he also received his education there.

Ancient traditions identify Kusumapura as Pataliputra, which is modern Patna. Since the University of Nalanda was near Patliputra, also an astronomical observatory during that time, it is widely speculated and believed that Aryabhata may have held a leading position at the University of Nalanda as well. 

It has been also speculated that Aryabhata might have set up his own astronomical observatory at the Sun temple in Bihar as well.

The Father of Indian Mathematics revolutionised the field of mathematics during his time. He has also been the architect of several editions of treasured works on mathematics and astronomy, which were lost in time.

His works in the Arya-Siddhanta, one of his works on calculating the astronomical distances, are known through established works of Varahamihira and subsequently through several philosophers and scientists like Brahmagupta, Bhaskara 1, etc.

These computations are mainly dependent on the techniques used in the Surya Siddhanta and use the principles of midnight-day reckoning, compared to the corresponding opted choice of sunrise in Aryabhatiya.

The most documented and detailed work of Aryabhata’s work is known from the Aryabhatiya. However, Aryabhata himself may not have written the book.

Aryabhatta, an Idol

Bhaskara 1 named his work Ashmakatantra. It is also known as Arya-shatas-aShTa or Aryabhata’s 108 since there are 108 verses in the text. The works are represented in a unique terse style of writing that appears to be quite similar to the literary sutra style.

He proposed several innovations in mathematics and astronomy in the form of verses, which proved to be quite influential for many centuries. The primary influence and importance of his works were elaborated in the comments by Bhaskara 1 and Nilakantha Somayaji in his Aryabhatiya Bhasya.

The Father of Indian Mathematics proposed a remarkable description of the subject material of the relativity of motion.

The father of Indian mathematics also worked on the concept of nullness, that is, zero, and the place value system. These were mentioned for the first time in the third-century Bakhshali Manuscript and observed for the first time in the third century.

The works mentioned above were also found in his books. Although Aryabhatta specifically didn’t mention zero in his works, various mathematicians argue that the required subjective knowledge of zero was not required in Aryabhata’s works on the place value systems.

One of the most intriguing facts is that Aryabhata did not use the Brahmi numerals but instead contributed to the Sanskritic tradition, which has been continuously used since the Vedic times. To carry on the tradition, he used letters of the language to denote variables, quantities and numbers.

Founder of the Pi

An example of this is the widely known table of sines in a mnemonic form. In his works on the calculation of Pi, he hinted that the calculated value of Pi is not only an approximation; the value is also irrational.

After the translation of Aryabhatiya into Arabic, the approximate value of the irrational term has also been noted in the book of Al-Khwarizmi.

In Ganitpada 6, the King of Indian Mathematics gave the area of the rectangle as “tribhujasya phalaśarīraṃ samadalakoṭī bhujārdhasaṃvargaḥ”.

This can be translated as: “for a triangle, the result of a perpendicular with the half-side is the area.”

Conclusion

Aryabhatta was an Indian mathematician, astronomer and scientist who made several contributions in his fields. He revolutionised the fields during the classical times and is regarded as an influential personality even today.