An unbiased reading of the Vedic corpus will throw up some rather early dates. These early dates in Vedic texts are quite in keeping with the ancient historical traditions preserved in our Vedic heritage - however many Western indologists, and Leftist academicians disregard such early dates and prefer to follow timelines of the theoretical so-called Aryan Invasion Theory (a.k.a Arya Migration Theory or Aryan Trickle-In theory), hereinafter referred to as the AIT.
In this post, I have done a Survey of Indian Mathematics over the Ages starting from Yajur Veda, through Sulba Sutras, Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, Kerala School upto Shrinivasa Ramanujam.
Indian Mathematics has had a glorious development over the ages since the most ancient times. Hindu Mathematciains gave the world 0 and the place value system - the basis of modern science and technology. Yet they never asked for or received any credit for their work.
Why did Indian Mathematics decline after 11th Century CE?
This is a common question that many people ask - why did Indian Mathematics decline with the advent of Islam in India? Let us see if we can answer the question.
Mathematics in India developed in parallel to Greek and Babylonian tradition, although there were interactions and collaborations between these civilizations from time to time. However, Hindu Mathematics suffered a devastating set-back from 10th century AD with the advent of Islamic rule. This happened because of:
large-scale destruction of all major universities like Nalanda and Odantapuri and others by barbaric Islamic general Bakhtiyar Khilji[1], and destruction of numerous other centers of learning by the Mughal hordes. This destroyed the back-bone of collaborative education which was common prior to that
burning of major libraries where millions of manuscripts were burnt
killing and slaughter of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain scholars in Universities by invading Islamic warlords
destruction of Hindu temples, Buddhist monasteries and Jain viharas - These religious centers were also the seat of secular science and learning - however they were razed and their inhabitants slaughtered by Mughals and other invaders like Mahmud Ghazni, Allah-uddin Khilji and the likes
The Arab geographer and scholar, Alberuni, who wrote an account of India and spent much time at Mahmud of Ghazni's[2] court, wrote of his raids that "the Hindus became like the atoms of dust scattered in all directions and like a tale of old in the mouths of people. This is the reason, too, why Hindu sciences have retired far away from those parts of the country conquered by us, and have fled to places which our hands cannot yet reach, to Kashmir, Benaras, and other places." [3],[4]
Despite such brutality, the spirit of Jain and Hindu scientists never wavered - they kept on producing one great result after another, often pre-dating their Western counterparts by centuries!
Survey of Indian Mathematics
This survey of Indian Mathematics is based on NPTEL course Mathematics in India - From Vedic Period to Modern Times by Prof. M.D.Srinivas, Prof.M.S.Sriram & Prof. K. Ramasubramanian, Department of mathematics, IIT Bombay.
Please do watch this lecture.
1500 BCE - Yajurveda
Yajurveda-Samhita talks about powers of 10 upto 1012 (parardha)
1000 BCE to 800 BCE - Baudhayana Sulvasutra
Methods of Construction and transformation of geometrical figures and alters using rope (rajju) and gnomon (shariku)
Units of Measurement (bhumiparimana)
Construction of a square of a given side (sama chaturashra karana)
Construction of √2, √3 and 1/√3 times a given length
Oldest Theorem in geometry (or the so-called Pythagoras Theorem) - The square of diagonal of a rectangle is the sum of the square of its sides
Construction of Squares which are the sum and differences of different 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: r = a/3 * (2 + √2)
Gnomon - A gnomon is the part of a sundial that casts the shadow.
750 BCE - Upanishads
Talks of zero (shunya, kha) and infinity (Purna)
Ishavasya Upanishad of Shukla Yajur Vead - पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते [When infinity is removed from infinity, infinity remains]
500 BCE - Astronomical Siddhantas 500 BCE - Panani's Ashtadhyayi
Uses idea of zero-morpheme (lopa)
300 BCE - Pingala and Combinatorial Methods (Varna Meru)
250 BCE - Katyayana Sulvasutra
How to construct a square which is n-times a given square
1 CE - Complete formalization of decimal place-value system
50 CE - Works of Vasumitra uses place-value system
100 CE - Vyasya Bhashya on Yogasutra refers to place-value system
270 CE - Vriddha-yavana-jataka of Sphujidhvaja uses a full-fledged place-value system
499 CE - Aryabhata
Ganitapada of Ariyabhatiya | Most of the standard procedures in arithmetic, algebra, geometry and trigonometry are perfected by this time.
Place value, square root, cube root, squaring, cubing
Area of triangle, circle, trapezium
Volume of sphere, equilateral tetrahedron
Approximate value of π 3.1416
Computing table of rsines
Obtaining shadows of gnomons
Square of the hypotenuse is the square of the sides
Summing an Arithmetic progression, repeated summations
Obtaining the sum of squares and cubes of natural numbers
Interest and Principal
Rule of three
Arithmetic of fractions
Inverse Processes
Linear Equations with one unknown
Meeting time of two bodies
Solution of linear indeterminate equation
550 CE - Varahamihira
In Brihat Samhita, Varahamihira talks about combinatorics and how to create a prastara
Gandhayukti / Panchasiddhantika
628 CE - Brahmagupta
Brahma-sphuta-siddhanta / Khanda-khadyaka
Mathematics of zero and negative numbers
Development of algebra
Chapter 12 - Ganitadhyaya deals with fractions, cube root, interest, areas of various figures, shadow problems
Chapter 18 - Kuttakadhaya (Algebra) of Brahmasphutasiddhanta deals with solution of linear indeterminate equations, surds, operations with unknown, equations with single or several unknowns, second order indeterminate equation
629 CE - Bhaskara I
Efficient squaring of number
Aryabhatiya Bhashya, Mahabhaskariya and Laghubhaskariya
750 CE - Sridhara and Lalla
800 CE - Govindasvamin
850 CE - Mahaviracharya's Ganita-sara-sangraha
860 CE - Prithudaka-svamin
932 CE - Munjala
950 CE - Important Commentaries
Halayudha's commentary on Pingala-sutra
Bhattotpala's commentary on Varahamihira's brihat samhita
950 CE - Aryabhata II
1039 CE - Sripati
1050 CE - Jayadeva
1150 CE - Bhaskara II
Lilavati, Bijaganita and Siddhanta Siromani become canonical texts
Bhaskara II solved X2 - 61Y2 = 1 for integral solutions. The results are X= 1766319049 and Y = 226153980, which are huge numbers.
Fermat posed this problem 500 years later in 1657 as a challenge to European Mathematicians, unaware that Hindu Mathematicians had already solved it half a millennia earlier!
1250 CE - Regional Works
Vyavahara ganita in Kannada of Rajaditya
Pavuluri ganitamu in Telugu of Pavuluri Mallana
1350 CE - Narayana Pandita
Varasankalita of Narayana Pandita / Construction of Magic Squares
Ganitakaumudi / Bija-ganitavatamsa
1350 CE - Madhava
Infinite series for π. After this it was Newton after 200 years later who came up with an infinite series approximation of π in 1665!
Infinite series for sine and cosine
Fast convergent variants
1400 CE - Works of Paramershvara
1500 CE - Nilakantha
Formula for instantaneous velocity
Revised planetary model (sun-centric)
1500 CE - Jnana Raja
1530 CE - Yukti Bhasha of Jyeshtha Deva
A Malayalam Text with the most detailed exposition of upapattis (proof/ logic/ rationale) in Indian Mathematics
1540 CE - Ganesha Daivajna, commentary Buddhivilasini on Lilavati
1541 CE - Suryadasa
1580 CE - Achyuta Pisarati of Later Kerala School
1600 CE - Krishna Daivajna
1603 CE - Munishvara
1616 CE - Kamalakara
1700 CE - Putumana Somayaji of Later Kereala School
1830 CE - Sankara Varman
1869 CE - Chandrasekhara Samanta of Odisha
- All major lunar inequalities
1900 CE - Srinivasa Ramanujam, Mathematical Genius
Modular equation for π upto 17 million digits accuracy
3000 results in his "Lost Notebook" most of which are coming true now almost 100 years after his death
This completes the brief survey of Indian mathematics through the ages. Hope you enjoyed it and appreciate the fact that what we have been made to believe regarding our heritage through English media and NCERT text-books is but a fraction of the true worth of our civilizational achievements in Mathematics and Technology. Courses like these help us appreciate the true genius of our ancestors and of Jain and Hindu science. We Indians need to recognize our heritage and stop believing that science and mathematics came to India from the west.
An unbiased reading of the Vedic corpus will throw up some rather early dates. These early dates in Vedic texts are quite in keeping with the ancient historical traditions preserved in our Vedic heritage - however many Western indologists, and Leftist academicians disregard such early dates and prefer to follow timelines of the theoretical so-called Aryan Invasion Theory (a.k.a Arya Migration Theory or Aryan Trickle-In theory), hereinafter referred to as the AIT.
