Lilavati Of Bhaskaracarya

Līlāvatī of Bhāskarācārya

In 1150 AD, Bhaskaracarya (b. 1114 AD), renowned mathematician and astronomer of Vedic tradition composed Lilavati as the first part of his larger work called Siddhanta Siromani, a comprehensive exposition of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, mensuration, number theory and related topics. Lilavati has been used as a standard textbook for about 800 years. This lucid, scholarly and literary presentation has been translated into several languages of the world. Bhaskaracarya himself never gave any derivations of his formulae. N.H. Phadke (1902-1973) worked hard to construct proofs of several mathematical methods and formulae given in original Lilavati. The present work is an enlargement of his Marathi work and attempts a thorough mathematical explanation of definitions, formulae, short cuts and methodology as intended by Bhaskara. Stitches are followed by literal translations so that the reader can enjoy and appreciate the beauty of accurate and musical presentation in Lilavati. The book is useful to school going children, sophomores, teachers, scholars, historians and those working for cause of mathematics.

Colebrooke's Translation of the Lílávatí

Lilawati: Or A Treatise on Arithmetic and Geometry

An important mathematician and astronomer in medieval India, Bhascara Acharya (1114-85) wrote treatises on arithmetic, algebra, geometry and astronomy. He is also believed to have been head of the astronomical observatory at Ujjain, which was the leading centre of mathematical sciences in India. Forming part of his Sanskrit magnum opus Siddhānta Shiromani, the present work is his treatise on arithmetic, including coverage of geometry. It was first published in English in 1816 after being translated by the East India Company surgeon John Taylor (d.1821). Used as a textbook in India for centuries, it provides the basic mathematics needed for astronomy. Topics covered include arithmetical terms, plane geometry, solid geometry and indeterminate equations. Of enduring interest in the history of mathematics, this work also contains Bhascara's pictorial proof of Pythagoras' theorem.