After Bhāskara II (b. AD 1114), the most significant contributions to mathematics and astronomy in India came from Kerala, in the southwestern part of India. Kerala has had a continuous tradition of astronomy and mathematics from much earlier times. Sarma has listed nearly 750 independent works on astronomy, astrology and mathematics including minor works by 110 authors in the Kerala tradition.
Vararuci (date unconfirmed), who is credited with the authorship of 248 Candravākyas (sentences for computation of the moon's longitude) by the manuscript tradition, is considered to be the father figure in the astronomical tradition of Kerala. Āryabhaṭīya (ca. AD 499) of Āryabhaṭa which set the tone for all further work on mathematical astronomy in India, appears to have become popular in Kerala soon after its composition. In fact, out of the 20 or so available commentaries on Āryabhaṭīya, as many as 12 are from Kerala. The astronomical parameters in Āryabhaṭīyawere revised by a group of...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Primary Sources
Āryabhaṭīya of Āryabhaṭa. Trans. Ed. K. S. Shukla and K. V. Sarma. New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy, 1976.
Āryabhaṭīya with the Bhāsya of Nīlakaṇṭha Somasutvan, Part I Gaṇita pāda. Trans. Ed. K. Sāmbaśiva Śāstri. Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 101. Trivandrum: Government of Travancore, 1930.
Āryabhaṭīya with the Bhāsya of Nīlakantha Somasutvan, Part II Kalakriyāpāda. Trans. Ed. K. Sāmbaśiva Śāstri. Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 110. Trivandrum: Government of Travancore, 1931.
Āryabhaṭīya with the Bhāsya of Nīlakantha Somasutvan, Part III Golapāda. Trans. Ed. S. K. Pillai. Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 185. Trivandrum: University of Kerala, 1957.
Āryabhaṭīya with the Commentary Bhatadīpikā of Paramādiśvara. Trans. Ed. H. Kern, Leiden. 2nd edn. Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers, 1990.
Candracchāyāgaṇita of Nīlakantha Somāyāji. Trans. Ed. K. V. Sarma. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshvaranand Institute, 1976.
Drggaṇita of Parameśvara. Ed. K. V. Sarma. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshvaranand Institute, 1963.
Gaṇita yuktayah. Ed. K. V. Sarma. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshvaranand Institute, 1977.
Gaṇita‐Yuktibhāṣā. Trans. Ed. K. V. Sarma. and with explanatory notes by K. Ramasubramanian, M. D. Srinivas, and M. S. Sriram. 3 vols. Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 2005 (in press).
Goladīpikā of Parameśvara, with Autocommentary. Trans. K. V. Sarma. Madras: Adyar Library and Research Centre, 1957.
Golasāra of Nīlkantha Somayāji. Trans. K. V. Sarma. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshvaranand Institute, 1970.
Grahacārambandhana, a Parahita Manual by Haridatta. Ed. K. V. Sarma. Madras: Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute, 1954.
Grahanamandana of Parameśvara. Trans. K. V. Sarma. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshvaranand Institute, 1965.
Grahananyāyadīpikā of Parameśvara. Trans. K. V. Sarma. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshvaranand Institute, 1966.
Jyotirmīmāmsa of Nīlkantha Somayāji. Ed. K. V. Sarma. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshvaranand Institute, 1977.
Karanapaddhati of Putumana Somayāji. Ed. P. K. Koru. Cherp, Kerala: Astro Press, 1953.
Laghubhāskarīya with the Commentary by Śaṅkaranārāyana. Ed. P. K. Narayana Pillai. Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 162, 1949.
Līlāvatī of Bhāskarācārya with Kriyākramakarī of Śaṅkara and Nārāyana. Ed. K. V. Sarma. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshwaranand Institute, 1975.
Mahabhāskarīyam with Govindaswamin's Vyākhyā and Siddhāntadīpikā of Parameśvara. Ed. T. S. Kuppanna Sastri. Madras Government Oriental Series, No. 130, 1957.
Raśigolasphutāniti According to Acyuta. Trans. K. V. Sarma. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshwaranand Institute, 1977.
Sarma, K. V. A Bibliography of Kerala and Kerala‐based astronomy and astrology, Hoshiarpur: Vishveshvaranand Institute, 1972.
Siddhāntadarpana. Trans. K. V. Sarma. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshwaranand Institute, 1977.
Siddhāntaśiromani of Bhāskaracārya. Ed. Muralidhara Chaturvedi. Varanasi: Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, 1981.
Sphutacandrāpti of Mādhava. Trans. K. V. Sarma. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshwaranand Institute, 1973.
Sphutanirṇayatantra of Acyuta. Ed. K. V. Sarma. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshwaranand Institute, 1974.
Tantrasaṅgraha of Nīlakantha Somasutvan with the Commentary Laghuvivritti of Vārier. Ed. S. K. Pillai. Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, 188, 1958.
Tantrasaṅgraha of Nīlakantha with the Commentaries Yuktidīpikā and Laghuvivritti of Śaṅkara. Ed. K. V. Sarma. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshwaranand Institute, 1977.
Vakyākarana. Ed. T. S. Kuppanna Śastri and K. V. Sarma. Madras: Kuppuswamy Sastri Research Institute, 1964.
Venvāroha of Mādhava of Sangamagrama. Ed. K. V. Sarma. Tripunitira: Sanskrit College, 1956.
Yuktibhāṣā (Part I). Ed. H. H. Ramavarma (Maru) Tampuran and A. R. Akhileswara Iyer (with notes in Malayalam). Thrissur: Mangalodayam Ltd, 1948.
Secondary Sources
Bag, A. K. Mathematics in Ancient and Medieval India. Delhi: Chowkhambha Orientalia, 1979.
Balachandra Rao, S. Indian Mathematics and Astronomy, Some Landmarks. Rev. 3rd ed. Bangalore: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 2004.
Hayashi, T., T. Kusuba and M. Yano. The Correction of the Madhava Series for the Circumference of the Circle. Centaurus 33 (1990): 149–74.
Joseph, G. G. The Crest of the Peacock: The Non‐European Roots of Mathematics. 2nd ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000.
Katz, V. J. Ideas of Calculus in Islam and India. Mathematics Magazine 68 (1995): 163–74.
Paramesvaran, S. The Golden Age of Indian Mathematics. Kerala: Swadeshi Science Movement, 1998.
Mukunda Marar, K. Proof of Gregory's Series. Teacher's Magazine 15 (1940): 28–34.
Rajagopal, C. T and M. S. Rangachari. On Medieval Kerala Mathematics. Archives for History of Exact Sciences 35.2 (1986): 91–9.
Ramasubramanian, K., M. D. Srinivas and M. S. Sriram. Modification of the Earlier Indian Planetary Theory by the Kerala Astronomers (ca. 1500 AD) and the Implied Heliocentric Picture of Planetary Motion. Current Science 66 (1994): 784–90.
Sarasvati Amma, T. A. Geometry in Ancient and Medieval India. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1999 (revised edition).
Sarma, K. V. A History of the Kerala School of Hindu Astronomy. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshvaranand Institute, 1972.
Shukla, K. S. Acarya Jayadeva, the Mathematician. Gaṇita. Vol. 5. Lucknow: Bharat Gaṇita Parishad, 1954.
Srinivas, M. D. Indian Approach to Science: The Case of Jyotihsastra. P.P.S.T. Bulletin 19 and 20: 2000.
Sriram, K. Ramasubramanian and M. D. Srinivas eds. 500 Years of Tantrasaṅgraha: A Landmark in the History of Astronomy. Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 2002.
Subbarayappa, B. V and K. V. Sarma. Indian Astronomy: A Source‐Book. Bombay: Nehru Centre, 1985.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Sriram, M.S. (2008). Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4425-0_8683
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4425-0_8683
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-4559-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4425-0
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law