A History of Sanskrit Literature c35.s3.7

c35.s3.7

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.