Mathematics in Ancient and Medieval India c4.s3.t9: Mahāvīra (c. 850 A.D.)
Mathematics in Ancient and Medieval India c4.s3.t9
- Language
- English
Mahāvīra (c. 850 A.D.)
c4.s3.t9.1
The fame of Mahāvīra, a Jaina mathematician rests on his brilliant work known as the *Gaṇitasārasaṃgraha*¹. This was written in 850 A.D. From the comparison of his work and that of Brahmagupta, it seems that Mahāvīra was familiar with latter's work but he has improved upon it a lot. He had associations with the school of Mysore and lived perhaps at the court of Amoghavarṣa Nṛpatuṅga, one of the Rāṣṭrakuṭa monarchs in Mysore.
c4.s3.t9.2
¹ Translated into Telugu by Pabuturi, 11 th century A. D., Edited and tr. into English with notes by M. Raṅgācārya, Madras, 1912.
c4.s3.t9.3
The work in nine chapters is exclusively written on arithmetic, geometry and algebra. He has dealt with almost all the problems of his predecessors. He made the classification of the arithmetical operations simpler and gave a number of examples to elucidate the rules. His treatment of the work appears quite lucid and elaborate. His most noteworthy work however is the treatment of fractions. Mahāvīra shows ability to handle geometrical as well as arithmetical series. He gives a general rule of the combination of *n* different things taken *r* at a time. He deals with different types of quadratic equations and with the right angled triangle whose sides are rational. He continued on the line of his predecessor in dealing with indeterminate equation and fundamental arithmetical operations.
Linked texts (1)
- Gaṇitasārasaṅgraha — Mahāvīra (mathematician), Sanskrit