Mathematics in Ancient and Medieval India c10.22

c10.22

Rājā Jayasiṃha (1693-1743) flourished under the patronization of Maḥammad Shāh (1719-1748 A. D.) and tried to rectify and improve the almanacs already constructed by his predecessors.¹ He started organising new observations with the help of the Muslim, Hindu and European experts. After seven years of observations in Delhi, Jaipur, Mathura, Benares, and Ujjain, he deputed Padre Manoel with some competent hands to Europe who brought back with them the astronomical tables of De la Hire. He was also familiar with Euclid’s *Elements of Geometry*, Ptolemy’s *Almagest*, certain writings on astrolabe, the tables of Ulugh Beg of Samarkand and Flamsteed’s *Historia Celestis Britannica*. The materials are compiled in his *Zīj-i Jādīd -i Muḥammad Shāhī*, which was completed in 1727 A. D.