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A History of Sanskrit Literature c35.s3: 3. Āryabhaṭa and later Astronomers

A History of Sanskrit Literature c35.s3

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English

3. Āryabhaṭa and later Astronomers

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Before the discovery of the *Pañcasiddhāntikā* the credit of introducing the new ideas into Indian astronomy was usually given to Āryabhaṭa of Kusumapura, who was born in A.D. 476 and wrote in 499. We have of him only the *Āryabhaṭīya*,⁴ in the shape of 10 stanzas in Āryā verses; the *Daçagītikāsūtra*, in which he gives his numerical notation; and the *Āryāṣṭaçata*, 108 Āryās, divided into the *Gaṇita*, 33 stanzas on mathematics; *Kālakriyā*, 25 stanzas on measurement of time; and *Gola*, 50 stanzas on the sphere. His other works are lost; Albērūnī already could judge of him only by Brahmagupta's attacks. His fame in the light of our larger knowledge seems overdone, as he does not advance much beyond the old *Sūrya Siddhānta* and his views often agree with those of *Pauliça*, but he may have earned commendation by the brevity and elegance of his composition; moreover, his is the first work to show a distinct chapter on mathematics in relation to astronomy, and the division of astronomical topics may have seemed effective. It is, however, of very real interest that he held that the earth was a sphere and rotated on its axis; the idea was not approved by either Varāhamihira or Brahmagupta; if it were so, why can falcons return from the sky to their nests, and why are not flags always blown in one direction as a result of the motion? It is tempting to see here a borrowing by Āryabhaṭa from Greece, but obviously that is a mere guess. He did not believe, we learn, in the height of Meru, he equated the four Yugas despite traditional difference of length, and he ascribed eclipses not to the operation of Rāhu, but to the moon and the shadow of the earth, for which Brahmagupta severely censures him. From Āryabhaṭa a second writer of that name must be distinguished; he was known to Albērūnī and we have a work of considerable size, the *Ārya Siddhānta*,¹ which has been ascribed to *c.* 950, and which in its numerical notation differs entirely from Āryabhaṭa.

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⁴ Ed. H. Kern, Leiden, 1874. Cf. Kaye, JPASB. 1908, pp. 111 ff.

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¹ Ed. Benares, 1910. Cf. Fleet, JRAS. 1911, pp. 788 ff.; 1912, pp. 459 ff.

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In addition to Lāṭa and Āryabhaṭa, Varāhamihira mentions Siṅha, Pradyumna, and Vijayanandin. His own work lay mainly in the field of astrology, but his *Pañcasiddhāntikā* is of very high historical importance, despite its obscurity through the corruption of the text and lack of old commentaries. Albērūnī thought well of him, and he shows common sense, as when he declines to accept conjunctions of planets as explaining eclipses. Much more important was Brahmagupta, born A. D. 598, son of Jiṣṇu of Bhillamalla near Multan, who wrote his *Brāhma Siddhānta*² or *Sphuṭa Siddhānta* in 628; as has been said, this is believed traditionally to be based on a section of the *Viṣṇudharmottara*, but it may be rather that that version is borrowed from Brahmagupta. In 665 he wrote the *Khaṇḍakhādyaka*,³ a Karaṇa, that is, a practical treatise giving material in a convenient shape for astronomical calculations, but this was based on a lost work of Āryabhaṭa, who again agreed with the *Sūrya Siddhānta*. Brahmagupta is essentially on the same level as that text, but he is far more systematic and complete, and in chapter xi of the *Siddhānta* he attacks very severely Āryabhaṭa in a tone which called down upon him the just censure of Albērūnī. It is clear also that he was under the control of orthodoxy more than his predecessor, while, like him, he excelled in mathematics. One chapter of the *Siddhānta* he devotes to solving astronomical problems.

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² Ed. *Pandit*, N.S. xxiii and xxiv.

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³ Ed. Babuya Misra, Calcutta, 1925.

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Later than Brahmagupta probably must be put Lalla, author of the *Çiṣyadhīvṛddhitantra*,⁴ treatise to increase the pupil's intelligence, which was commented on by Bhāskara, though tradition makes him a pupil of Āryabhaṭa. To Bhōja is ascribed the *Rājamṛgāṅka*, a Karaṇa of 1042, and the *Bhāsvatī*,¹ a Karaṇa by Çatānanda, begins its reckoning from A.D. 1099. Far more important is the *Siddhāntaçiromaṇi*² of Bhāskarācārya, written in 1150. It falls into four parts, the *Līlāvatī* and *Bījagaṇita*, containing the mathematical part of his work, and the *Graha-gaṇita* and *Gola*, chapters giving astronomy proper. In the *Gola* there is a section on astronomical problems, a treatise on astronomical instruments, and a description of the seasons. His *Karaṇakutūhala*³ dates from 1178. His attitude is that of the *Sūrya Siddhānta* and Brahmagupta, but he is clear and precise, while his commentary on his Āryā stanzas has the merit of making his ambiguous phrases intelligible. After Bhāskara no progress can be recorded in Indian astronomy, though there were written popular works like the tables of Makaranda (1478), *Tithyādipattra*, or the *Grahalāghava* of Gaṇeça, son of Keçava, who wrote in 1520. The advent of Persian and Arabic influences has left Indian astronomy unchanged, nor has it ever been extinguished by western science.

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⁴ Cf. Kern, *Āryabhaṭīya*, p. vi.

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¹ Ed. Benares, 1883.

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² Ed. Benares, 1866; M. Jhā, *Pandit*, N.S. xxx-xxxiii.

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³ Ed. Benares, 1881.

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