NPTEL C OURSE ON

M ATHEMATICS IN I NDIA :
F ROM V EDIC PERIOD TO M ODERN TIMES
Lecture 1
Indian Mathematics: An Overview

M. D. Srinivas
Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai

Outline
I

Mahavracarya on the all-pervasiveness of Gan.ita

The algorithmic approach of Indian Mathematics

Development of Indian Mathematics I: Ancient and Early

Classical Period (till 500 CE)
I
I
I
I
I

Sulva-s
utra methods of construction
Pingala

and combinatorial methods

Development of decimal place-value system
Indian place value system acclaimed universally

Gan.itap
ada of Aryabhat
.ya (c 499 CE)

Development of Indian Mathematics II: Later Classical

Period (500 -1250)
I
I
I

Gandhayukti of Var
ahamihira
Mathematics of Brahmagupta (c 628)
Vargaprakr.ti and Cakrav
ala: From Brahmagupta to
Bh
askara (c 1150)
Instantaneous velocity (t
atk
alika-gati) in Astronomy

Outline
I

Development of Indian Mathematics III: Medieval Period

(1250 - 1850)
I
I

I
I
I
I

V
arasankalita

of N
ar
ayan.a Pan.d.ita (c.1356)
Folding method of N
ar
ayan.a for the construction of magic
squares
Kerala School and development of calculus (1350-1825)
M
adhava Series for and end-correction terms
A history of approximations and exact expressions for
Nlakan.t.has formula for instantaneous velocity (c.1500)

Proofs in Indian Mathematics

I
I

Bh
askara on Upapatti
Upapatti and Proof

The genius of Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920)

Lessons from History

Summary

Mah
avr
ac
arya on the all-pervasiveness of Gan
. ita

l;Ea:a.k+.k
e ;vEa:a.d:k
e
va.a:a.pa ta:Ta.a .sa.a:ma.a:
a.ya:k
e Y:a.pa yaH
v.ya.a:pa.a.=;~ta.a .sa:vRa.a .sMa:K.ya.a:na:mua:pa:yua.$ya:tea
k+a:ma:ta.n:eaY:TRa:Za.a:~:ea ..ca ga.a:nDa:veRa na.a:f:k
e Y:a.pa va.a
.sUa:pa:Za.a:~:ea ta:Ta.a ;vEa:d;ae va.a:~tua:a.va:d;a.a:
a.d:va:~tua:Sua

C+nd.eaY:l+*:;a.=;k+a:v.ye
a:Sua ta:k
R +.v.ya.a:k+=;Na.a:a.d:Sua

k+.l;a:gua:Nea:Sua .sa:veRa:Sua :pra:~tua:tMa ga:a.Na:tMa :pa.=;m,a

.sUa:ya.Ra:a.d:g{a:h:.ca.a:=e;Sua g{a:h:Nea g{a:h:sMa:yua:ta.Ea

ea ..ca:nd;vxa.a.Ea ..ca .sa:vRa.a.a:*:

x +.tMa ;a.h ta:t,a
;aa:pra.(
 ;a:k

Mah
avr
ac
arya on the all-pervasiveness of Gan
. ita

d
 .a:pa:sa.a:ga.=;ZEa:l;a:na.Ma .sMa:K.ya.a:v.ya.a:sa:pa:a=;a.[a:paH
Ba:va:na:v.ya:nta.=:$ya.ea: a.ta:l;eRa:k+.k+.pa.a: a.Da:va.a:a.sa:na.a:m,a
na.a.=;k+a:Na.Ma ..ca .sa:veRa:Sa.Ma (rea:Na.a:ba:nDea:nd;k+ea:tk+=:aH
:pra:k
 +a:NRa:k+.pra:ma.a:Na.a:d;a.a

bua:Dya:ntea ga:a.Na:tea:na .tea

:pra.a:a.Na:na.Ma ta.a .sMa:~Ta.a:na:ma.a:yua.=;:gua:Na.a:d:yaH
ya.a.a.a:d;a.aH

.sMa:a.h:ta.a:d;a.a:(
a .sa:veRa .tea ga:a.Na:ta.a:(ra:ya.aH

ba:hu:a.Ba:a.vRa:pra:l;a:pEaH ;a.k

M
:Ea:l;ea:k+.ae .sa:.ca.=:a:.ca:=e
ya:a.tk
M +.
a..ca:a.d
:~tua ta:tsa:va ga:a.Na:tea:na ;a.va:na.a na ;a.h

ma:h.a:va.a.=:a:.ca.a:yRa:a.va.=;
a. ca:ta-ga:a.Na:ta:sa.a.=;sa:*:
" +hH 1.9-16

Mah
avr
ac
arya on the all-pervasiveness of Gan
. ita
All activities which relate to worldly, vedic or religious affairs
make use of enumeration (sankhy

ana). In the art of love,

economics, music, dramatics, in the art of cooking, in medicine,
in architecture and such other things, in prosody, in poetics and
poetry, in logic, grammar and such other things, and in relation
to all that constitute the peculiar value of the arts, the science of
calculation (gan.ita) is held in high esteem. In relation to the
movement of the sun and other heavenly bodies, in connection
with eclipses and conjunction of planets, and in the determination of direction, position and time (triprasna) and in (knowing)
the course of the moon indeed in all these it (gan.ita) is
accepted (as the sole means).

Mah
avr
ac
arya on the all-pervasiveness of Gan
. ita
The number, the diameter and perimeter of the islands,
oceans and mountains; the extensive dimensions of the rows of
habitations and halls belonging to the inhabitants of the world,
of the interspaces between the worlds, of the world of light, of
the world of the Gods and of the dwellers in hell, and other
miscellaneous measurements of all sorts all these are
understood by the help of gan.ita. The configuration of living
beings therein the length of their lives, their eight attributes and
other similar things, their staying together, etc. all these are
dependent on gan.ita.
Why keep talking at length? In all the three worlds involving
moving and non-moving entities, there is nothing that can be
without the science of calculation (gan.ita).2

Gan.itas
arasangraha

of Mah
avr
ac
arya (c.850), 1.9-16.

Gan
. ita: Indian Mathematics of Computation
ga:Nya:tea .sMa:K.ya.a:ya:tea ta:d
, ga:a.Na:ta:m,a ta:tpra: a.ta:pa.a:d:k+.tvea:na ta:tsMa:Ma
Za.a:~:a:mua:.cya:tea

As noted by Gan.esa Daivaj

na, in his commentary Buddhivil
asin
(c.1540) on Ll
avat (c.1150), Gan.ita (Indian Mathematics) is
the science (art) of computation. Indian Mathematical Texts
give rules to describe systematic and efficient procedures of
calculation.
Here is an ancient rule for squaring as cited by Bhaskara I
(C.629 AD)
x +.tva.a ;a.d
A:ntya:pa:d:~ya va:ga k
:gua:NMa ta:de:va ..ca.a:ntya:pa:d:m,a
Zea:Sa:pa:dE.=:a:h:nya.a:t,a o+tsa.a:ya.eRa:tsa.a:yRa va:gRa:a.va:Da.Ea

In the process for calculating the square, the square of the

last digit is found (and placed over it). The rest of the digits
are multiplied by twice the last digit (and the results placed
over them). Then (omitting the last digit), moving the rest by
one place each, the process is repeated again and again.

Gan
. ita: Indian Mathematics of Computation
An Example: To calculate 1252
1

1
1

4
2

6
4
10
5

2
20

5
25

52 = 25
22 = 4, 5.2.2 = 20
12 = 1, 2.2.1 = 4, 5.2.1 = 10

Note: This ancient rule for squaring, uses

for squaring an n-digit number.

n(n1)
2

multiplications

The modern word algorithm derives from the medieval word

algorism, which referred to the Indian methods of calculation
based on the place value system. The word algorism itself is a
corruption of the name of the Central Asian mathematician al
Khwarizmi (c.825) whose Hisab al Hindi was the source from
which the Indian methods of calculation reached the Western
world.

astras: Present Systematic Procedures

S

Most of the canonical texts on different disciplines (s

astras) in
Indian tradition do not present a series of propositions; instead
they present a series of rules, which serve to characterize and
carry out systematic procedures to accomplish various ends.
These systematic procedures are variously referred to as vidhi,
kriy
a or prakriy
a, s
adhana, karma or parikarma, karan.a, etc., in
different disciplines.
These rules are often formulated in the form of s
utras or k
arik
as.

astras: Present Systematic Procedures

S
Pan.inis As..t
adhy
ay is acknowledged to be the paradigmatic
example of a canonical text in Indian tradition. All other
disciplines, especially mathematics, have been deeply
influenced by its ingenious symbolic and technical devices,
recursive and generative formalism and the system of
conventions governing rule application and rule interaction. In
recent times it has had a deep influence on modern linguistics
too.
Modern linguistics acknowledges it as the most complete generative grammar of any language yet written
and continues to adopt technical ideas from it.3

P. Kiparsky, P
an.inian Linguistics, in Encyclopaedia of Language and
Linguistics, VI, 1994

P
an.ini and Euclid
In Euclids geometry, propositions are derived from axioms with the
help of logical rules which are accepted as true. In Pan.inis grammar,
linguistic forms are derived from grammatical elements with the help
of rules which were framed ad hoc (i.e. s
utras)....
Historically speaking, P
an.inis method has occupied a place
comparable to that held by Euclids method in Western thought.
Scientific developments have therefore taken different directions in
India and in the West....
In India, P
an.inis perfection and ingenuity have rarely been matched
outside the realm of linguistics. Just as Plato reserved admission to
his Academy for geometricians, Indian scholars and philosophers are
expected to have first undergone a training in scientific linguistics....4
Note: The word derived means demonstrated in the case of
Euclidean Geometry; it means generated in the case of Pan.inis
Grammar (upapatti and nis.patti)
4

J. F. Staal, Euclid and P

an.ini, Philosophy East and West, 15, 1965,
99-116

Development of Indian Mathematics I

Ancient Period (Prior to 500 BCE)

I Sulvas
utras (prior to 800 BCE): The oldest texts of
geometry. They give procedures for construction and
transformation of geometrical figures and alters (vedi)
using rope (rajju) and gnomon (sanku).

I The ancient astronomical siddh

antas are from this period.
Early Classical Period (500 BCE - 500 CE)
I

I
I
I

Pervasive influence of the methodology of Pan.inis

As..t
adhy
ay
Pingalas

Chandah.s
utra (c.300 BCE) and the development
of binary representation and combinatorics
Mathematical ideas in Bauddha and Jaina Texts
The notion of zero and the decimal place value system

Mathematics and Astronomy in Aryabhat

.ya (c.499 CE):
Most of the standard procedures in arithmetic, algebra,
geometry and trigonometry are perfected by this time.


Baudh
ayana-Sulvas
utra (Prior to 800 BCE)
I

Units of measurement (Bh

umiparim
an.a)

Marking directions and construction of a square of a given

side (Samacaturasra-karan.a)
Construction of a rectangle and isosceles trapezium of
given sides
 

Construction of 2 (Dvikaran.), 3 and 13 times a

given length

The square of the diagonal of a rectangle is the sum of the

squares of its sides (Bhuj
a-Kot.i-Karn.a-Ny
aya Oldest
Theorem in Geometry)

d .a:GRa:.ca:tua.=;(ra:~ya.a:[Na:ya.a.=:
*.auH :pa.a.(;Ra:ma.a:na.a ; a.ta:yRa.*+;.
a:na.a . ca ya:t,a :pxa:Ta:gBUa:tea

ku++.ta:~ta:du:Ba:yMa k+=:ea: a.ta


Baudh
ayana-Sulvas
utra

Construction of squares which are the sum and difference of

two squares

Transforming a square into a rectangle, isosceles trapezium,

isosceles triangle and a rhombus of equal area and vice
versa

Approximate conversion of a square of side a into a circle of

radius
a

r
(2 + 2). [ 3.0883]
3

An approximation for (2) 2 (dvikaran.):

1
1
1
21+ +

= 1.4142156
3 3.4 3.4.34
Positions, relative distances and areas of altars. Shapes of
different altars and their construction.


K
aty
ayana-Sulvas
utra
To construct a square which is n-times a given square
ya.a:va:tpra:ma.a:Na.a:
a.na .sa:ma:.ca:tua.=;(ra.a:Nyea:k
 +a:k+.tua ;
a..ca:a.k+.SeRa:t,a O;:k+ea:na.a:
a.na ta.a:
a.na

Ba:va:a.nta
// ; a.ta:yRa:k
, ;a.d
a:va: a.ta
:gua:Na.a:nyea:k+.ta O;:k+a: a.Da:k+a:
a.na ya: a.~:a:BR
ta:~yea:Sua:~ta:tk+=:ea: a.ta

(k+a:tya.a:ya:na:Zua:ba:sUa.a:m,a

6 7

As many squares as you wish to combine into one, the

transverse line will be one less than that. Twice the side will
be one more than that. That will be the triangle. Its arrow
(altitude) will produce that.
AD 2

= AB 2 BD 2
2 
2

(n 1)a
(n + 1)a

=
2
2
= na2 .

Varn

. a-Meru of Pingala

The number of metrical forms with r gurus (or laghus) in the

prast
ara of metres of n-syllables is the binomial coefficient n Cr .
Halayudhas commentary (c.950) on Pingala-s

utras (c.300
BCE) explains the basic rule for the construction of the above
table, which is the recurrence relation
n

Cr =n1 Cr 1 +n1 Cr

Decimal Place Value System

The Indian Mathematicians developed the decimal place value
system along with the notion of the zero-number.
The place value system is essentially an algebraic concept:
5203 = 5.103 + 2.102 + 0.10 + 3 is analogous to 5x 3 + 2x 2 + 0x + 3
It is this algebraic technique of representing all numbers as
polynomials of a base number, which makes all the calculations
systematic and simple.
The algorithms developed in India for multiplication, division and
evaluation of square, square-root, cube and cube-root, etc., have
become the standard procedures. They have contributed immensely
to the simplification and popularisation of mathematics the world over.
Sometimes, the Indian texts also discuss special techniques of
calculation which are based on the algebraic formalism underlying
the place value system. For instance, the Buddhivil
asin (c.1540)
commentary of Gan.esa Daivaj
na discusses the vertical and
cross-wise (vajr
abhy
asa) technique of multiplication.

Development of Decimal Place Value System

I

The Yajurveda-Sam
a talks of powers of 10 up to 1012
. hit
(par
ardha).

The Upanis.ads talk of zero (su

nya, kha) and infinity (P
urn.a).

P
an.inis As..t
adhy
ay uses the idea of zero-morpheme (lopa).

The Bauddha and Naiy

ayika philosophers discuss the notions of
su
nya and abh
ava.

Pingalas

Chandah.s
astra uses zero as a marker (Rupe su
nyam).

Philosophical works such as the works of Vasumitra (C.50 CE)

and Vy
asabh
a.sya on Yogas
utra refer to the way the same symbol
acquires different meanings in the place value system.
ya:TEa:k+a

:=e;Ka.a Za:ta:~Ta.a:nea Za:tMa d:Za:~Ta.a:nea d:Za O;:k+a ..ca O;:k+.~Ta.a:nea ya:Ta.a

..cEa:k+.tvea:a.pa .~:a.a ma.a:ta.a ..ca.ea:.cya:tea d

u :a.h:ta.a ..ca .~va:sa.a ..cea: a.ta

Amongst the works whose dates are well established, decimal

place value system occurs for the first time in the
Vr.ddhayavanaj
ataka (c.270 CE) of Sph
ujdhvaja.

I Aryabhat
.ya (499 CE) of Aryabhat
. a presents all the standard
methods of calculation based on the place value system.
I

Development of Decimal Place Value System

An eighth century inscription in a Vis.n.u Temple in Gwalior,

depicting the number 270 in decimal place value format. There
are inscriptions of early 7th century in Southeast Asia which
depict numbers in place value format.

Indian Place Value System Acclaimed Universally

I will omit all discussion of the science of the Hindus, a people

not the same as Syrians, their subtle discoveries in the science
of astronomy, discoveries that are more ingenious than those of
the Greeks and the Babylonians; their computing that
surpasses description. I wish only to say that this computation
is done by means of nine signs. If those who believe because
they speak Greek, that they have reached the limits of science
should know these things, they should be convinced that there
are also others who know something.5

Syrian Monophysite Bishop Severus Sebokht (c.662)

Indian Place Value System Acclaimed Universally

By the time I was ten I had mastered the Koran and a great
deal of literature, so that I was marveled at for my
aptitude. . . Now my father was one of those who has responded
to the Egyptian propagandist (who was an Ismaili); he, and my
brother too, had listened to what they had to say about the
Spirit and the Intellect, after the fashion in which they preach
and understand the matter. . . Presently they began to invite me
to join the movement, rolling on their tongues talk about
philosophy, geometry, Indian arithmetic: and my father sent me
to a certain vegetable-seller who used the Indian arithmetic, so
that I might learn it from him.6

From The Autobiography of the Islamic Philosopher Scientist Ibn Sina

(980-1037)

Indian Place Value System Acclaimed Universally

It is India that gave us the ingenious method of expressing all
numbers by means of ten symbols, each symbol receiving a
value of position as well as an absolute value; a profound and
important idea which appears so simple to us now that we
ignore its true merit. But its very simplicity and the great ease
which it has lent to all computations put our arithmetic in the
first rank of useful inventions; and we shall appreciate the
grandeur of this achievement the more when we remember that
it escaped the genius of Archimedes and Apollonius, two of the
greatest men produced by antiquity.7
To what height would science now have been if Archimedes
made that discovery [place value system]!8

7
8

Pierre-Simon Laplace
Carl Friedrich Gauss


Gan
ada of Aryabhat
. itap
.ya (499 CE)
The following topics are dealt with in 33 verses of Gan.itap
ada of

Aryabhat

ya:
.
I

Sam
asth
ana: Place values.
. khy
Vargaparikarma, ghanaparikarma: Squaring and cubing.

Vargam
ul
anayana: Obtaining the square-root.

Ghanam
ul
anayana: Obtaining the cube-root.

Area of a triangle and volume of an equilateral tetrahedron.

Obtaining the area of a circle, volume of a sphere.

Obtaining the area of a trapezium.

Chord of a sixth of the circumference.

Approximate value of the circumference ( 3.1416)


Gan
ada of Aryabhat
. itap
.ya
I

Jy
anayana: Computing table of Rsines

Ch
ay
a-karma: Obtaining shadows of gnomons.

Karn.
anayana: Square of the hypotenuse is the sum of the
squares of the sides.
anayana: Arrows of intercepted arcs
Sar

I
I

. h-gan.ita: Summing an AP, finding the number of

Sred
terms, repeated summations

Varga-ghana-sankalan

anayana: Obtaining the sum of

squares and cubes of natural numbers.

M
ulaphal
anayana: Interest and principal

Trair
asika: Rule of three


Gan
ada of Aryabhat
. itap
.ya
I

Bhinna-parikarma: Arithmetic of fractions.

I
I

Pratiloma-karan.a: Inverse processes

Samakaran.a-uddesaka-pradarsana: Linear equation with
one unknown

Yogak
al
anayana: Meeting time of two bodies

Kut..t
ak
ara-gan.ita: Solution of linear indeterminate equation

Thus, by the time of Aryabhat

.ya, Indian mathematicians had
systematised most of the basic procedures of arithmetic,
algebra, geometry and trigonometry that are generally taught in
schools to-day, and many more that are more advanced (such
as kut..taka and sine-tables) and are of importance in astronomy.

Computation of Sines From Second Order

Sine-Differences
Computation of Rsine-table (accurate to minutes in a circle of
circumference 21,600 minutes), by the method of second-order

Rsine-differences, in Aryabhat
.ya of Aryabhat
. a (c.499)
:pra:Ta:ma.a:a.a:pa.$ya.a:Da.Ra:d;aE .+nMa Ka:a.Nq+tM
// a ;a.d
:ta.a:ya.a:DRa:m,a
ta:tpra:Ta:ma.$ya.a:Da.a:ZEa:~tEa:~tEa.+na.a:
a.na Zea:Sa.a:a.Na

Bj

= Rsin(jh), j = 1, 2, . . . , 24, h = 2250

4j

= Bj+1 Bj

Rsines are to be computed from the relations:



(41 42 )
4j+1 4j = Bj
B1
Bj

B1
B1 2250


Aryabhat
. as Sine Table

Development of Indian Mathematics II

Later Classical Period (500 CE - 1250 CE)
Works of Var
ahamihira: Pa
ncasiddh
antik
a (c.505). Br.hatsam
a
. hit

I Works of Bh
askara I (c.629): Aryabhat.yabh
a.sya,
Mah
abh
askarya and Laghubh
askarya

Works of Brahmagupta: Br
ahmasphut.asiddh
anta (c.628 CE)
Khan.d.a-kh
adyaka (c.665): Mathematics of zero and negative
numbers. Development of algebra.

Bakhsh
al Manuscript (c. 7-8th century?)
dhara, Lalla (c.750), Govindasv
I Works of Sr
amin (c.800)
I

Gan.itas
arasangraha

of Mah
avr
ac
arya (c.850)
I Works of Pr.th
udakasv
amin (c.860), Mu
nj
ala (c.932),

Aryabhat
a
II
(c.950),
Sr
pati
(c.1039)
and
Jayadeva (c.1050)
.
I Works of Bh
askar
ac
arya II (c.1150): Ll
avat, Bjagan.ita, and

Siddh
anta-Siroman
i:
They
became
the
canonical texts of Indian
.
mathematics and astronomy. Upapattis (proofs) in Bhaskaras
V
asan
abh
a.syas
I

Gandhayukti of Var
ahamihira
Chapter 76 of the great compilation Br.hatsam
a of Varahamihira
. hit
(c.550) is devoted to a discussion of perfumery. In verse 20, Varaha
mentions that there are 1,820 combinations which can be formed by

choosing 4 perfumes from a set of 16 basic perfumes 16 C4 = 1820 .
:Sa.ea:q+Za:k
e d;v.ya:ga:Nea ..ca:tua:a.vRa:k+.pea:na ;a.Ba:d;a:ma.a:na.a:na.a:m,

a
A:.a:d:Za .ja.a:ya:ntea Za:ta.a:
a.na .sa:a.h:ta.a:
a.na ;a.vMa:Za:tya.a

In verse 22, Var

aha gives a method of construction of a meru (or a
tabular figure) which may be used to calculate the number of
combinations. This verse also very briefly indicates a way of
arranging these combinations in an array or a prast
ara.

+;a.a:m,
:pUa:veRa:Na :pUa:veRa:Na ga:tea:na yua:
M .~Ta.a:nMa ;a.va:na.a:ntyMa :pra:va:d:a.nta
// .sa:*
a

I+.cC;a:a.va:k+.pEaH k
+.ma:Za.eaY:a.Ba:na.a:ya na.a:tea ;
a.na:vxa:aaH

:pua:na.=;nya:na.a: a.taH

Bhat.t.otpala (c.950) in his commentary has explained both the

construction of the meru and the method of los..taprast
ara of the
combinations.

Gandhayukti of Var
ahamihira
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

120
105
91
78
66
55
45
36
28
21
15
10
6
3
1

560
455
364
286
220
165
120
84
56
35
20
10
4
1

1820
1365
1001
715
495
330
210
126
70
35
15
5
1

In the first column the natural numbers are written. In the second
column, their sums, in the third the sums of sums, and so on. One
row is reduced at each step. The above meru is based on the relation.
n

Cr =n1 Cr 1 +n2 Cr 1 + . . . . . . +r 1 Cr 1

Br
ahmasphut.asiddh
anta of Brahmagupta (c.628)
Topics dealt with in Chapter XII, Gan.it
adhy
aya (Arithmetic and
Geometry)
I

Arithmetic of fractions

Cube root

Reduction of fractions

Rule of three

Interest problems

Area of a triangle, diagonals and area of cyclic

quadrilateral

Rational triangles and cyclic quadrilaterals

Circumference, area and chords of a circle

Excavations, piles etc

Shadow problems

Br
ahmasphut.asiddh
anta of Brahmagupta
Topics dealt with in Chapter XVIII, Kut..tak
adhy
aya (Algebra)
I

Solutions of linear indeterminate equations by kut..taka process

and its applications in astronomical problems

Rule of signs and arithmetic of zero

Surds (karan.)

Operations with unknowns (varn.a-s.ad.vidha or avyakta-s.ad.vidha)

Equations with single unknown (ekavarn.a-s.amkaran.a)

Elimination of middle term in quadratic equations

(madhyam
aharan.a)

Equations with several unknowns (anekavarn.a-samkaran.a)

Equations with products of unknowns (bh

avita)

Vargaprakr.ti: Second order indeterminate equation

x 2 Dy 2 = 1. Bh
avan
a and applications to finding rational and
integral solutions.

Various problems

Brahmaguptas Formulae for Cyclic Quadrilaterals

The diagonals e, f are given in terms of the sides a,b,c,d, by the

formulae
r
r
(ab + bc)(ac + bd)
(ab + cd)(ac + bd)
e=
, f =
ab + cd
ad + bc
The area is given by
1

A = [(s a)(s b)(s c)(s d)] 2 with s =

(a + b + c + d)
2

Brahmaguptas Bh
avan
a
mUa:lM ;a.d:Dea::va:ga.Ra:d, gua:Na:k+.gua:Na.a:a.d::yua:ta:a.va:h .a:na.a:a
A.a:d;a:va:Da.ea gua:Na:k+.gua:NaH .sa:h.a:ntya:Ga.a:tea:na kx+.ta:ma:ntya:m,a
va.j"a:va:DEa:k+.aM :pra:Ta:mMa :pra:[ea:paH [ea:pa:va:Da:tua:yaH
:pra:[ea:pa:Za.ea:Da:k+.&+tea mUa:le :pra:[ea:pa:ke .+pea

If X12 D Y12 = K1 and X22 D Y22 = K2 then

(X1 X2 D Y1 Y2 )2 D(X1 Y2 X2 Y1 )2 = K1 K2
In Particular given X 2 DY 2 = K , we get the rational solution
[(X 2 + DY 2 )/K ]2 D[(2XY )/K ]2 = 1
Also, if one solution of the equation X 2 DY 2 = 1 is found, an
infinite number of solutions can be found, via
(X , Y ) (X 2 + DY 2 , 2XY )

Cakrav
ala Algorithm of Bh
askar
ac
arya II (c.1150)
To solve X2 DY2 = 1
Set Xo = 1, Y0 = 0, K0 = 1 and P0 = 0.
Given Xi , Yi , Ki such that Xi2 DYi2 = Ki
First find Pi+1 so as to satisfy:
(I) Pi + Pi+1 is divisible by Ki
(II) |Pi+1 2 D| is minimum.
Then set
Ki+1

Yi+1

(Pi+1 2 D)
Ki
(Yi Pi+1 + Xi )
(Xi Pi+1 + DYi )
, Xi+1 =
|Ki |
|Ki |

These satisfy Xi+1 2 D Yi+1 2 = Ki+1

Iterate till Ki+1 = 1, 2 or 4, and then use bh
avan
a if necessary.

Bh
askaras Example: X 2 61Y 2 = 1
i
0
1
2
3

Pi
0
8
7
9

Ki
1
3
-4
-5

ai
8
5
4
3

i
1
-1
1
-1

Xi
1
8
39
164

Yi
0
1
5
21

To find P1 : 0 + 7, 0 + 8, 0 + 9 . . . divisible by 1. Of them 82 closest to

61. Hence, P1 = 8, K1 = 3
To find P2 : 8 + 4, 8 + 7, 8 + 10 . . . divisible by 3. Of them 72 closest to
61. Hence, P2 = 7, K2 = 4
After the second step, we have: 392 61 52 = 4
Since K = 4, we can use bh
avan
a principle to obtain




1
X = (392 + 2) 2 (392 + 1)(392 + 3) 1 = 1, 766, 319, 049


Y = 12 (39 5)(392 + 1)(392 + 3) = 226, 153, 980
17663190492 61 2261539802 = 1

T
atk
alika-gati: Instantaneous Velocity of a Planet

Approximate formula for velocity (manda-gati) in terms of

Rsine-differences was given by Bh
askara I (c.630) and he
also comments on its limitation (Laghu-bh
askarya 2.14-15).

True velocity (sphut.a-manda-gati) in terms of Rcosine (as

the derivative of Rsine) is given in Laghu-m
anasa of Mu
njala

(c. 932) and Mah

a-siddh
anta of Aryabhat.a II
(c. 950).

Bhaskara II (c.1150) discusses the notion of instantaneous

velocity (t
atk
alika-gati) and contrasts it with the so-called
true daily motion. He also evaluates the manda-gati and

sghra-gati (V
asan
a on Siddh
anta-Siroman
. i 2.37-39).
Bhaskara II notes the relation between maximum equation
of centre (correction to displacement) and the vanishing of
velocity correction (V
asan
a on Siddh
anta-siroman. i, Gola
4.3).

Development of Indian Mathematics III

Medieval Period (1250 -1850)
I

Gan.itas
arakaumud (in Prakrita) of T.hakkura Pher
u (c.1300) and
other works in regional languages such as Vyavah
aragan.ita (in
Kannada) of R
aj
aditya and P
avul
urigan.itamu (in Telugu) of
P
avul
uri Mallana.

Gan.itakaumud and Bjagan.it

avatam
ar
ayan.a Pan.d.ita
. sa of N
(c. 1350)

M
adhava (c.1350): Founder of the Kerala School. Infinite series
for , sine and cosine functions and fast convergent approximations to them.

Works of Paramesvara (c.1380-1460)

Works of Nlakan.t.ha Somay

aj (c.1444-1540): Revised planetary
model

Systematic exposition of Mathematics and Astronomy with

proofs in Yuktibh
a.s
a (in Malayalam) of Jyes.t.hadeva (c.1530) and
nkara
commentaries Kriy
akramakar and Yuktidpik
a of Sa

V
ariyar (c.1540).

Development of Indian Mathematics III (contd.)

Medieval Period (1250 - 1850)
I

Works of J
nanar
aja (c.1500), Gan.esa Daivaj
na (b.1507),
S
uryadasa (c.1541) and Kr.s.n.a Daivaj
na (c.1600):
Commentaries with upapattis

Works of Munsvara (b.1603) and Kamal

akara (b.1616)

Mathematics and Astronomy in the Court of Savai

Jayasim
. ha (1700-1743). Translation from Persian of Euclid
and Ptolemy.

Works of later Kerala astronomers Acyuta Pis.arat.i

(c.1550-1621), Putumana Somay
aj (c.1700) and
nkaravarman
Sa

(c. 1830)

Candrasekhara S
amanta of Orissa: All the major lunar
inequalities (1869)

N
ar
ayan.a Pan.d.ita on V
arasankalita

(c.1350)

Aryabhat
.ya, gives the sum of the sequence of natural numbers
n(n + 1)
2
as also the result of first order repeated summation:
1 + 2 + ... + n =

1.2 2.3
n(n + 1)
n(n + 1)(n + 2)
+
+ ... +
=
2
2
2
6

Aryabhat
. as result for repeated summation was generalised to
arbitrary order by N
ar
ayan.a Pan.d.ita (c.1350). Let
1 + 2 + 3 + ... + n =

n(n + 1)
(1)
= Vn
2

Then, N
ar
ayan.as result is
(r )

Vn

=
=

(r 1)

(r 1)

(r 1)

V1
+ V2
+ . . . + Vn
[n(n + 1) . . . (n + r )]
[1.2 . . . (r + 1)]

N
ar
ayan.
as Folding Method for Samagarbha (4nx4n)
Magic Squares
.sa:ma:ga:BeRa :d
e k+a:yeRa C;a:d:k+.sMa:Ma ta:ya.ea:BRa:vea:de:k+.m,a
C;a:d;a.a:
a.Ba:Da.a:na:ma:nya:tk+=;sMa:pua:f:va:a .sMa:pua:f.ea ea:yaH

a:a.a:d;a.a

I+.a:d.a::.ca:ya.a:*:;a
Ba:d;a.ma:ta.a mUa:l+pa:a.*:+sM

*:+(
ta:d
///
a:Ka:.ca:ya:pa:a.
a.a:nya.a :pa.=:a:K.ya.a .~ya.a:t,a
:d:Ba.a:a.psa:ta:mu

a:ga.ea:
a.na:tMa :P+lM :pa.=;sa:ma.a:sa:sMa:Ba:+.m,a
mUa:l;a:K.ya:pa:a.*:+ya.e

l+b.Da:h:ta.a :pa.=;pa:a.*:+gR
ua:Na.ja.a:K.ya.a .sa.a Ba:vea:t,a :pa:a.*:H

 ;a yea .tea Ba:d:a:DRa:ta:~tua :pa:a=;vxa.ea

mUa:l+gua:Na.a:K.yea :pa:*:

aH
+.DvRa:a.~Ta:tE
//// a:~ta:d:*:
E +ZC;a:d:k+.sMa:C;a:d;a:ya.e

:pxa:Ta:gya.a:
a.na

; a.ta:yRa:*:+e
a::a:nya.a:d;ae Y:nya:ta.=;a.sma:U
/////// a:DvRa:ga.a:
a.na k+ea::a:
a.na
Ba:d;~ya.a:Da k
+.ma:gEa.+.tk
+.ma:gEaH

:pUa.=;yea:d:DRa:m,a

Ba:d:a:Na.a:a.ma:h:sa:}.pua:f:a.va: a.Da.+.+ea nxa:h:a=;ta:na:yea:na

N
ar
ayan.as Folding Method
Narayan.as Example: To construct 4x4 square adding to 40
Choose a m
ulapankti:

1, 2, 3, 4
Choose a parapankti:

0, 1, 2, 3
The find the gun.a =

[40(1+2+3+4)]
[0+1+2+3]

=5

Form the gun.apankti

by multiplying the parapankti

by gun.a:
0,5,10,15
Then form the ch
adya (covered) and ch
adaka (coverer) squares:
2
1
3
4

3
4
2
1

2
1
3
4

3
4
2
1

5
10
5
10

0
15
0
15

10
5
10
5

15
0
15
0

N
ar
ayan.as Folding Method
To construct 4x4 square adding to 40
Samput.karan.a (folding) gives
2+15
1+0
3+15
4+0

3+10
4+5
2+10
1+5

2+0
1+15
3+0
4+15

3+5
4+10
2+5
1+10

17
1
18
4

13
9
12
6

2
16
3
19

8
14
7
11

Narayan.a also displays the other square which is obtained by

interchanging the coverer and the covered.
Note: This method leads to a pan-diagonal magic square. That
is, the broken diagonals also add up to the same magic sum.

M
adhava Series for and End-correction Terms
The following verses of M
adhava are cited in Yuktibh
a.s
a and
Kriy
akramakar, which also present a detailed derivation of the
relation between diameter and the circumference:
v.ya.a:sea va.a:a=; a.Da:
a.na:h:tea .+pa:&+tea v.ya.a:sa:sa.a:ga.=:a:a.Ba:h:tea

+;a.a:Ba:+.m
xa:NMa .~vMa :pxa:Ta:k
;aa:Za.=:a:a.d:a.va:Sa:ma:sa:*
, k
+.ma.a:t,a k
u +.ya.Ra:t,a 1

x +.tea ;
a.na:vxa.a.a &+ a.ta:~tua .ja.a:a.ma:ta:ya.a
+;a:ya.aY.a
ya:tsa:*
h.=;Nea k

+;a.a
ta:~ya.a +.DvRa:ga:ta.a ya.a .sa:ma:sa:*
ta:;lM gua:Na.eaY:ntea .~ya.a:t,a 2

ta:d
/
:ga.eRa .+pa:yua:ta.ea h.a.=:ea v.ya.a:sa.a:a.b.Da:Ga.a:ta:taH

:pra.a:gva:t,a

x +.tea ;Da:nea [ea:pa O;:va k+=;Na.a:yaH 3

ta.a:Bya.a:ma.a:Ma .~va:mxa:Nea k
l+b.DaH

x +.tva.ea h.=;Na:ta.eaY: a.ta:sUa:[maH

:pa:a=; a.DaH .sUa:[ma.ea ba:hu:k

.~ya.a:t,a 4

The first verse gives the M

adhava series


1 1 1
Paridhi = 4 Vy
asa 1 + + . . . . . .
3 5 7

M
adhava Series for and End-correction Terms
The M
adhava series for the circumference of a circle (in terms of odd
numbers p = 1, 3, 5, . . .) can be written in the form


(p1) 1
1
2
C = 4d 1 + . . . + (1)
+ ...
3
p
This is an extremely slowly convergent series. In order to facilitate
computation, M
adhava has given a procedure of using end-correction
terms (antya-sam
ara), of the form
. sk


(p1) 1
(p+1) 1
1
+ (1) 2
C = 4d 1 + + (1) 2
3
p
ap
In fact, the famous verses of M
adhava, which give the relation
between the circumference and diameter, also include an
end-correction term


(p1) 1
1
2
C = 4d 1 + . . . + . . . (1)
3
p
n
o
+(1)

(p+1)
2

p+1
2

{(p + 1)2 + 1}

M
adhava Series for and End-correction Terms
Madhava has also given a finer end-correction term

A:ntea .sa:ma:sa:*
+;a.
a:d:l+va:gRaH .sEa:k+ea gua:NaH .sa O;:va :pua:naH

yua:ga:gua:a.Na:ta.ea .+pa:yua:taH .sa:ma:sa:*

+;a.
a:d:l+h:ta.ea Ba:vea:d, h.a.=H



(p1) 1
1
C = 4d 1 + . . . + . . . (1) 2
3
p


2
p+1
+1
2
(p+1)
2
h

i
+(1)
((p + 1)2 + 5) (p+1)
2

M
adhava Series for and End-correction Terms

To Madhava is attributed a value of accurate to eleven

decimal places which is obtained by just computing fifty terms
with the above correction.
;a.va:bua:Da:nea.a:ga.ja.a:a.h:hu:ta.a:Za:na:aa:gua:Na:vea:d:Ba:va.a.=;Na:ba.a:h:vaH
na:va:
a.na:Ka:vRa:a.ma:tea vxa: a.ta:a.va:~ta:=e :pa:a=; a.Da:ma.a:na:a.ma:dM .ja:ga:du:bRua:Da.aH

The value given above is:

2827433388233
= 3.141592653592 . . .
9 1011

A History of Approximations to
Approximation to

Accuracy
(Decimal
places)
1

Method Adopted

25
8

= 3.125
3.0883

1
1

Geometrical
Geometrical

p
(10) = 3.1623
<<3 71
3 10
71

1
2

Ptolemy (150 CE)

17
= 3.141666
3 120

Lui Hui (263)

3.14159

Tsu Chhung-Chih
(480?)

Aryabhat
. a (499)

355
113

6
7
4

Geometrical
Polygon doubling
(6.24 = 96 sides)
Polygon doubling
(6.26 = 384 sides)
Polygon doubling
(6.29 = 3072 sides)
Polygon doubling
(6.29 = 12288 sides)
Polygon doubling
(4.28 = 1024 sides)

Rhind Papyrus - Egypt

(Prior to 2000 BCE)
Babylon (2000 BCE)

Sulvas
utras (Prior to
800 BCE)
Jaina Texts (500 BCE)
Archimedes (250 BCE)

256
81

= 3.1604

= 3.1415929
3.1415927
62832
= 3.1416
20000

Geometrical

A History of Approximations to
Approximation to

Accuracy

Method Adopted

(Decimal
places)
M
adhava (1375)

2827433388233
9.1011

11

= 3.141592653592 . . .
Al Kasi (1430)

3.1415926535897932

Infinite series with

end corrections

16

Polygon doubling
(6.227 sides)

Francois Viete (1579)

3.1415926536

Polygon doubling
(6.216 sides)

Romanus (1593)

3.1415926535 . . .

15

Polygon doubling

Ludolph Van Ceulen

3.1415926535 . . .

32

Polygon doubling
(262 sides)

(1615)
Wildebrod Snell

3.1415926535 . . .

34

Modified Polygon doubling

(230 sides)

(1621)
Grienberger (1630)

3.1415926535 . . .

39

Modified Polygon doubling

Isaac Newton (1665)

3.1415926535 . . .

15

Infinite series

A History of Approximations to

Abraham Sharp (1699)

3.1415926535 . . .

71

Infinite series
 
for tan1 1

John Machin (1706)

3.1415926535 . . .

100

Infinite series relation

 

= 4tan1 15
4


1
tan1 239

Ramanujan (1914),

17

Modular Equation

Gosper (1985)

Million

Kondo, Yee (2010)

Trillion

Modular Equation

A History of Exact Results for

M
adhava (1375)

/4 = 1 1/3 + 1/5 1/7 + . . .

/ 12 = 1 1/3.3 + 1/32 .5 1/33 .7 + . . .

/4 = 3/4 + 1/(33 3) 1/(53 5) + 1/(73 7) . . .

John Wallis (1655)

/16 = 1/(15 + 4.1) 1/(35 + 4.3) + 1/(55 + 4.5) . . .

q
p
p
2
= [1/2] [1/2 + 1/2 (1/2)]

r
q
p
[1/2 + 1/2 (1/2 + 1/2 (1/2))] . . . (infinite product)
      
4
3
5
5
7
7
= 32
. . . (infinite product)

4
4
6
6
8

William Brouncker

Francois Viete (1593)

=1+

12 32 52
2+ 2+ 2+

. . . (continued fraction)

(1658)
Isaac Newton (1665)

3 3
4

+ 24

1
12

1
5.32

1
28.128

1
72.512

...

A History of Exact Results for

James Gregory (1671)

tan1 (x) = x

Gottfried Leibniz

=1

1
3

1
5

x3
3

+
1
7

x5
5

...

+ ...

(1674)
Abraham Sharp

12

=1

1
3.3

1
32 .5

1
33 .7

+ ...

(1699)
John Machin (1706)

= 4tan1

 
1
5

tan1

1
239

Ramanujan (1914)

1
2 2 X (4K )!(1103 + 26390k)
=

9801
(k !)4 3964k
k=0

Nlakan.t.has Formula for Instantaneous Velocity

Instead of basing the calculation of instantaneous velocity on

the approximate form of manda-correction, Nlakan.t.ha Somayaj
uses the exact form of the manda correction

   
1
r0
1
= m + Rsin
Rsin(m )
R
R
In his treatise Tantrasangraha,

Nlakan.t.ha gives the correct

formula for the correction to the mean velocity which involves
the derivative of the arc-sine function.

Nlakan.t.has Formula for Instantaneous Velocity

. ca:nd;ba.a:hu:P+l+va:gRa:Za.ea: a.Da:ta:aa.$ya:k+a:kx+. a.ta:pa:de :na .sMa:h:=e ;t,a
ta.a k+ea: a.f:P+l+
a.l+ a.a:k+a:h:ta.Ma :ke+.nd;Bua: a.+.a=;h ya:a l+Bya:tea
ta:a.d:Za.ea:Dya max :ga.a:a.d:ke ga:teaH ;a.[a:pya:ta.a:a.ma:h tua k+.kR+.f.a:a.d:ke
ta:;
;vea:t~.Pu+f:ta.=:a ga: a.ta:a.vRa:Da.eaH A:~ya ta:tsa:ma:ya.ja.a .=;vea.=;a.pa

Nlakan.t.ha gives the derivative of the second term above in the

form

 

r0

Rcos(m

)
d
R

(m )
1

dt
2
r0
2
2
2
R R Rsin (m )

Upapattis in Indian Mathematics

While there have been several extensive investigations on the
history and achievements of the Indian mathematics, there has
not been much discussion on the Indian mathematicians and
philosophers understanding of the nature and validation of
mathematical results and procedures, their views on the nature
of mathematical objects, and so on.
Traditionally, such issues have been dealt with in the detailed
bh
a.syas or commentaries, which continued to be written till
recent times and played a vital role in the traditional scheme of
learning. It is in such commentaries that we find detailed
upapattis or proofs of the results and procedures, apart from a
discussion of methodological and philosophical issues.
Amongst the available texts of Indian mathematics, a discussion of the way of validating the results (pratyayakaran.a), or of
demonstrating them (upapatti) is found first in the

Aryabhat
a.sya of Bh
askara I (c.629)
.yabh

Yuktibh
as.
a of Jyes.t.hadeva (c.1530)
The most detailed exposition of upapattis in Indian mathematics
is found in the Malayalam text Yuktibh
a.s
a of Jyes.t.hadeva, a
student of Damodara.
At the beginning of Yuktibh
a.s
a, Jyes.t.hadeva states that his
purpose is to present the rationale of the procedures given in
the Tantrasangraha.

Many of these rationales have also been

nkara
presented (mostly in the form of Sanskrit verses) by Sa

Variyar (c.1500-1556) in his commentaries Kriy

akramakar (on
Ll
avat) and Yuktidpik
a (on Tantrasangraha)

Yuktibh
a.s
a comprising 15 chapters is naturally divided into two
parts, Mathematics and Astronomy.

Yuktibh
as.
a of Jyes.t.hadeva
In the Mathematics part, the first five chapters deal with
logistics, arithmetic of fractions, the rule of three and the
solution of linear indeterminate equations.
Chapter VI presents a derivation of the M
adhava series for ,
his estimate of the end-correction terms and their use in
transforming the series to ensure faster convergence.
Chapter VII discusses the derivation of the M
adhava series for
Rsine and Rversine, followed by a derivation of various results
on cyclic quadrilaterals and the surface area and volume of a
sphere.
The Astronomy part of Yuktibh
a.s
a gives a detailed derivation of
all the spherical trigonometrical results used in spherical
astronomy.

Bh
askara on Upapatti (c.1150)
In Siddh
antasiroman.i, Bh
askar
ac
arya II (1150) presents the raison
tre of upapatti in the Indian mathematical tradition:
de
ma:Dya.a:d;aM d;au :sa:d.Ma ya:d.a ga:a.Na:tMa ta:~ya.ea:pa:pa:aMa ;a.va:na.a
:pra.Ea: a.QM :pra.Ea:Q;sa:Ba.a:sua .nEa: a.ta ga:Na:k+ea ;
a.naH sMa:Za:ya.ea na .~va:ya:m,a
ga.ea:le .sa.a ;a.va:ma:l;a k+=:a:ma:l+k+.va:t,a :pra:tya:[a:ta.ea dx:Zya:tea
ta:sma.a:d:s}yua:pa:pa:aa:ba.ea:Da:a.va:Da:yea ga.ea:l+pra:ba:nDa.ea:d;a:taH

Without the knowledge of upapattis, by merely mastering

the calculations (gan.ita) described here, from the madhyam
adhik
ara (the first chapter of Siddh
antasiroman.i) onwards,
of the [motion of the] heavenly bodies, a mathematician will
not be respected in the scholarly assemblies; without the
upapattis he himself will not be free of doubt (nih.sam
. saya).
Since upapatti is clearly perceivable in the (armillary)
sphere like a berry in the hand, I therefore begin the
Gol
adhy
aya (section on spherics) to explain the upapattis.

Gan.e
sa on Upapatti (c.1540)
The same has been stated by Gan.esa Daivaj
na in the introduction to
his commentary Buddhivil
asin (c.1540) on Ll
avat of Bhaskaracarya
v.ya:
e va.a:v.ya:+.sMa:ea ya:d
u :a.d:ta:ma: a.Ka:lM na.ea:pa:pa:aMa ;a.va:na.a ta:t,a
;
a.na:Bra.Ra:nta.ea va.a +tea ta.Ma .sua:ga:Na:k+.sa:d:a.sa :pra.Ea:Q;ta.Ma .nEa: a.ta ..ca.a:ya:m,a
:pra:tya:[Ma dx:Zya:tea .sa.a k+=;ta:l+k+.
a.l+ta.a:d:ZRa:va:t,a .sua:pra:sa:a.a
ta:sma.a:d:g{ya.ea:pa:pa:aMa ;
a.na:ga:a.d:tua:ma: a.Ka:l+m,a o+tsa:he bua:
a;d
:vxa.;d
;aE

Thus, according to the Indian mathematical texts, the purpose of

upapatti is mainly:
i To remove confusion and doubts regarding the validity and
interpretation of mathematical results and procedures; and,
ii To obtain assent in the community of mathematicians.
This is very different from the ideal of proof in the Greco-European
tradition which is to irrefutably establish the absolute truth of a
mathematical proposition.

Upapatti and Proof

The following are some of the important features of upapattis in
Indian mathematics:
1. The Indian mathematicians are clear that results in
mathematics, even those enunciated in authoritative texts,
cannot be accepted as valid unless they are supported by
yukti or upapatti. It is not enough that one has merely
observed the validity of a result in a large number of
instances.
2. Several commentaries written on major texts of Indian
mathematics and astronomy present upapattis for the
results and procedures enunciated in the text.
3. The upapattis are presented in a sequence proceeding
systematically from known or established results to finally
arrive at the result to be established.

Upapatti and Proof

4. In the Indian mathematical tradition the upapattis mainly

serve to remove doubts and obtain consent for the result
among the community of mathematicians.
5. The upapattis may involve observation or experimentation.
They also depend on the prevailing understanding of the
nature of the mathematical objects involved.
6. The method of tarka or proof by contradiction is used
occasionally. But there are no upapattis which purport to
establish existence of any mathematical object merely on
the basis of tarka alone.

Upapatti and Proof

7. The Indian mathematical tradition did not subscribe to the
ideal that upapattis should seek to provide irrefutable
demonstrations establishing the absolute truth of
mathematical results.
8. There was no attempt made in Indian mathematical
tradition to present the upapattis in an axiomatic framework
based on a set of self-evident (or arbitrarily postulated)
axioms which are fixed at the outset.
9. While Indian mathematicians made great strides in the
invention and manipulation of symbols in representing
mathematical results and in facilitating mathematical
processes, there was no attempt at formalisation of
mathematics.

The Genius of Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920)

In a recent article commemorating the 125th birth-day of
Ramanujan, Bruce Berndt has presented the following overall
assessment of the results contained in his notebooks (which
record his work prior to leaving for England in 1914):
Altogether, the notebooks contain over three thousand claims,
almost all without proof. Hardy surmised that over two-thirds of
these results were rediscoveries. This estimate is much too
high; on the contrary, at least two-thirds of Ramanujans claims
were new at the time that he wrote them, and two-thirds more
likely should be replaced by a larger fraction. Almost all the
results are correct; perhaps no more than five to ten are
incorrect.

The Genius of Srinivasa Ramanujan

The topics examined by Ramanujan in his notebooks fall

primarily under the purview of analysis, number theory and
elliptic functions, with much of his work in analysis being
associated with number theory and with some of his discoveries
also having connections with enumerative combinatorics and
modular forms. Chapter 16 in the second notebook represents
a turning point, since in this chapter he begins to examine the
q-series for the first time in these notebooks and also to begin
an enormous devotion to theta functions.9

B. Berndt, Notices of AMS 59, December 2012, p.1533.

Ongoing Work on Ramanujans Lost Notebook

The manuscript of Ramanujan discovered in the Trinity College

Library (amongst Watson papers) by G. E. Andrews in 1976, is
generally referred as Ramanujans Lost Notebook. This
seems to pertain to work done by Ramanujan during 1919-20
in India. This manuscript of about 100 pages with 138 sides of
writing has around 600 results. G. E. Andrews and B. Berndt
have embarked on a five volume edition of all this material.
They note in the preface of the first volume that:

Ongoing Work on Ramanujans Lost Notebook

...only a fraction (perhaps 5%) of the notebook is devoted to
the mock theta functions themselves. A majority of the results
fall under the purview of q-series. These include mock theta
functions, theta functions, partial theta function expansions,
false theta functions, identities connected with the Rogers-Fine
identity, several results in the theory of partitions, Eisenstein
series, modular equations, the Rogers-Ramanujan continued
fraction, other q-continued fractions, asymptotic expansions of
q-series and q-continued fractions, integrals of theta functions,
integrals of q-products, and incomplete elliptic integrals. Other
continued fractions, other integrals, infinite series identities,
Dirichlet series, approximations, arithmetic functions, numerical
calculations, Diophantine equations, and elementary
mathematics are some of the further topics examined by
Ramanujan in his lost notebook.

The Enigma of Ramanujans Mathematics

For the past hundred years, the problem in comprehending and
assessing Ramanujans mathematics and his genius has
centred around the issue of proof. In 1913, Hardy wrote to
Ramanujan asking for proofs of his results. Ramanujan
responded by asserting that he had a systematic method for
deriving all his results, but that could not be communicated in
letters.
Ramanujans published work in India, and a few of the results
contained in the note books have proofs, but they have often
been said to be sketchy, not rigorous or incomplete. Ramanujan
had never any doubts about the validity of his results, but still
he was often willing to wait and supply proofs in the necessary
format so that his results could be published. But, all the time,
he was furiously discovering more and more interesting results.

The Enigma of Ramanujans Mathematics

The Greco-European tradition of mathematics does almost
equate mathematics with proof, so that the process of
discovery of mathematical results can only be characterised
vaguely as intuition, natural genius etc. Since mathematical
truths are believed to be non-empirical, there are no systematic
ways of arriving at them except by pure logical reason. There
are some philosophers who have argued that this philosophy of
mathematics is indeed barren: it seems to have little validity
when viewed in terms of mathematical practiceeither in history
or in our times.
In the Indian mathematical tradition, as is known from the texts
of the last two to three millennia, mathematics was not equated
with proof. Mathematical results were not perceived as being
non-empirical and they could be validated in diverse ways.
Proof or logical argumentation to demonstrate the results was
important. But proofs were mainly for the purpose of obtaining
assent for ones results in the community of mathematicians.

Ramanujan: Not a Newton but a M

adhava

In 1913, Bertrand Russell had jocularly remarked about Hardy

and Littlewood having discovered a second Newton in a Hindu
clerk. If parallels are to be drawn, Ramanujan may indeed be
compared to the legendary M
adhava.
It is not merely in terms of his methodology and philosophy that
Ramanujan is clearly in continuity with the earlier Indian
tradition of mathematics. Even in his extraordinary felicity in
handling iterations, infinites series, continued fractions and
transformations of them, Ramanujan is indeed a successor, a
very worthy one at that, of M
adhava, the founder of the Kerala
School and a pioneer in the development of calculus.

Lessons from History

It is high time that the full story of Indian mathematics from
vedic times through 1600 became generally known. I am not
minimizing the genius of the Greeks and their wonderful
invention of pure mathematics, but other peoples have been
doing math in different ways, and they have often attained the
same goals independently. Rigorous mathematics in the Greek
style should not be seen as the only way to gain mathematical
knowledge. In India where concrete applications were never far
from theory, justifications were more informal and mostly verbal
rather than written. One should also recall that the European
enlightenment was an orgy of correct and important but semirigorous math in which Greek ideals were forgotten. The recent
episodes with deep mathematics flowing from quantum field
theory and string theory teach us the same lesson: that the
muse of mathematics can be wooed in many different ways and
her secrets teased out of her. And so they were in India...10
10

David Mumford, Review of Kim Plofker, Mathematics in India, Notices of

AMS 2010, p.390.

Lessons from History

Ever since the seminal work of Needham, who showed that till
around the sixteenth century Chinese science and technology
seem to have been more advanced than their counterparts in
Europe, it has become fashionable for historians of science to
wonder Why modern science did not emerge in non-western
societies?
In the work of the Kerala School, we notice clear anticipations
of some of the fundamental discoveries which are associated
with the emergence of modern science, such as the mathematics of infinite series and the development of new
geometrical models of planetary motion.

Lessons from History

It seems therefore more appropriate to investigate Why

science did not flourish in non-western societies after the 16th
Century?
It would be worthwhile to speculate What would have been the
nature of modern science (and the modern world) had sciences
continued to flourish in non-western societies? In this way we
could gain some valuable insights regarding the sources and
the nature of creativity of geniuses such as Srinivasa
Ramanujan, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Prafulla Chandra Roy,
Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, and others, in modern India.

Summary
The most striking feature of the long tradition of Indian mathematics is
the efficacy with which complex mathematical problems were handled
and solved.
The basic theorems of plane geometry had already been discovered

in Sulvas
utras.

By the time of Aryabhat

.ya (c.499), a sophisticated theory of
numbers including the concepts of zero, and negative numbers had
also been established and simple algorithms for arithmetical
operations had been formulated using the place-value notation. By
then, the Indian tradition of mathematics was aware of all the basic
mathematical concepts and procedures that are today taught at the
high school level and much more.
By the 11th century sophisticated problems in algebra, such as
quadratic indeterminate equations, were solved.
By the 14th century, infinite series for trigonometric functions like sine
and cosine were written down. By the same time, irrational character
of was recognised, and its value was determined to very high levels
of approximation.

Summary
The reason for this spectacular success of the Indian mathematicians
probably lies in the explicitly algorithmic and computational nature of
Indian mathematics.
Indian mathematicians were not trying to discover the ultimate
axiomatic truths in mathematics; they were interested in finding
methods of solving specific problems that arose in the astronomical
and other contexts.
Therefore, Indian mathematicians were prepared to work with simple
algorithms that may give only approximate solutions to the problem at
hand, and to evolve theories of error and recursive procedures so that
the approximations may be kept in check.
This algorithmic methodology persisted in the Indian mathematical
consciousness till recently. Srinivasa Ramanujan in the twentieth
century seems to have made his impressive mathematical
discoveries through the use of this traditional Indian methodology.
It is important that we teach at least the highlights of this great
tradition of mathematics to all our students in Schools and
Colleges.

References
1. B. Datta and A. N. Singh, History of Hindu Mathematics, 2
Parts, Lahore 1935, 1938; Reprint, Asia Publishing House,
Bombay 1962; Reprint, Bharatiya Kala Prakashan, Delhi
2004.
[Supplementary material (revised by K. S. Shukla): Hindu
Geometry, IJHS, 15, 121-188, 1980; Hindu Trigonometry,
IJHS, 18, 39-108, 1983; Use of Calculus in Hindu
Mathematics, IJHS, 19,95-104, 1984; Magic Squares in
India, IJHS, 27, 51-120, 1992; Use of Permutations and
Combinations in India, IJHS, 27, 231-249, 1992; Use of
Series in India, IJHS, 28, 103-129, 1993; Surds in Hindu
Mathematics, IJHS, 28, 253-275, 1994]
2. C. N. Srinivasa Iyengar, History of Indian Mathematics,
The World Press, Calcutta 1967.
3. A. K. Bag, Mathematics in Ancient and Medieval India,
Choukhambha, Varanasi 1979.

References
4. T. A. Saraswati Amma, Geometry in Ancient and Medieval
India, Motilal Banarsidass, Varanasi 1979; 2nd Ed., 1999.
5. G. G. Joseph, The Crest of the Peacock: The
Non-European Roots of Mathematics, Penguin 1990; 3rd
Ed., Princeton 2010.
6. R. C. Gupta, Pracina Kalin Bharatiya Ganit ki Aitihasik va
Sanskritik Jhalakiyan and Madhya Kalin Bharatiya Ganit ki
Aitihasik va Sanskritik Jhalakiyan (in Hindi), NCERT, New
Delhi 1997.
7. S. Parameswaran, The Golden Age of Indian Mathematics,
Swadeshi Science Movement, Kochi 1998.
8. S. Balachandra Rao, Indian Mathematics and Astronomy:
Some Landmarks, 3rd Ed. Bhavans Gandhi Centre,
Bangalore 2004.

References
9. G. G. Emch, M. D. Srinivas and R. Sridharan Eds.,
Contributions to the History of Mathematics in India,
Hindustan Publishing Agency, Delhi, 2005.
10. Venugopal D. Heroor, The History of Mathematics and
Mathematicians of India, Vidya Bharati, Bangalore 2006.
11. H. Selin Ed., Encyclopaedia of the History of Science,
Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures,
Springer, New York 2008.
12. Kim Plofker, Mathematics in India, Princeton University
Press, Princeton, 2010.
13. C. S. Seshadri Ed., Studies in History of Indian
Mathematics, Hindustan Book Agency, Delhi 2010.

Thanks!

Thank You