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Mathematics in Ancient and Medieval India c4.s4.t3: Prarameśvara (c. 1430 A.D.)

Mathematics in Ancient and Medieval India c4.s4.t3

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Prarameśvara (c. 1430 A.D.)

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Parameśvara, the founder of the *dṛggaṇita* system of astronomy in Kerala though mainly an astronomer was held with respect in the field of mathematics.

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He wrote commentaries on all the popular classical works on astronomy and mathematics besides some original works on astronomy¹. His commentaries are: the *Bhaṭadīpikā*² on the *Āryabhaṭīya*, the *Parameśvarī*³ on the *Laghubhāskarīya* of Bhāskara I, the *Siddhāntadīpikā*⁴ (or *Karmadīpikā*), a *bhāṣya* on the *Mahābhāskarīya*, the *Parameśvara*⁵ on Muñjāla’s *Laghumānasa*, the *Vivaraṇa*⁶ on the *Sūryasiddhānta*, and the *Vyākhyā*⁷ on the *Līlāvatī* etc.

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¹ *Dṛgganita* (Ed. K. V. Sarma, Hoshiarpur, 1963), *Goladīpikā* I (*TSS.* 49), *Goladīpikā* II (Ed. Adyar Library Pamphlet Series no. 32), etc. Vide. K. V. Sarma's article on Parameśvara, *Journal of the Oriental Research Institute, Madras*, 28, Pts. i-iv, p. 47, 1961; *Adyar Library Bulletin*, 27, 136-143, 1963; our *Bibliography*, National Institute of Sciences of India, p. 167-70, 1966.

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² Ed. by H. Kern, Leiden, 1874.

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³ *Ānandāśrama Sanskrit Series*, no. 128. Another work of the same title is referred to by V. Rājarāja Varma, op. cit., 2, p. 502.

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⁴ *Madras Govt. Oriental Ms. Library*, No. 130.

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⁵ *Ānandāśrama Sanskrit Series* No. 123.

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⁶ Ed. by Kripa Shankar Shukla, Department of Mathematics and Astronomy, Lucknow University, 1957.

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⁷ Vide. Our *Bibliography*, p. 169.

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Various information about Parameśvara is available from Nīlakaṇṭha's *Āryabhaṭīyabhāṣya* and from later works also. He belonged to the Alattūr village (Sanskritised as *aśvathagrāma*) and that his house was situated on the northern bank of the river Nīlā⁸. The name of his house Vaṭaśśeri (Sanskritised as *vaṭaśreṇi*¹ ) occurs in his name as usual in the Southern India. A meagre information is available about his parents. In his own work it is given that his grandfather was the pupil of Govinda (different from the author of *Mahābhāskarīyabhāṣya* who lived much earlier), the famous author of *Muhūrtaratna*. He came of the Bhṛgugotra and belonged to the Āśvalāyana school.

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⁸ *nīlāyāḥ sāgarasyāpi tīrasthaḥ parameśvaraḥ* | *vyākhyānamasmai bālāya līlāvatyāḥ karomyaham* || (Introductory verse of Parameśvara's Comm. on *Līlāvatī*, *Adyar Library* Ms. 68524). See also his Comm. on the *Sūryasiddhānta*. He has been referred sometimes as *Paramādīśvara*, but his name Parameśvara is also given frequently.

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¹ *Vide. Adyar Library Bulletin*, 27, p. 137, 1963.

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Parameśvara flourished during the first half of the fifteenth century as recorded in his own works *Dṛggaṇita*² (1431 A.D.) and *Goladīpikā*³ (1443 A.D.).

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² *evaṃ dṛggaṇitaṃ śake, triṣuviśvamite* (1353) *kṛtam* (*Dṛggaṇita*, Ch. 2, v. 46).

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³ *śake akṣaṣaṭtricandra* (1365) *mite parameśvaranāmneyam vada-nabhuvāgoladīpikā racitā* (*Goladīpikā* II, Ch. 4, v. 91-92).

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