History of Hindu Mathematics: A Source Book v2.c17.s17.1

v2.c17.s17.1

The earliest mention of the solution of the general indeterminate equation of the second degree is found in the *Bîjagaṇita* of Bhâskara II (1150). But there are good grounds to believe that he was not its first discoverer, for he is found to have taken from certain ancient authors a few illustrative examples the solutions of which presuppose a knowledge of the solution of such equations.² Neither those illustrations nor a treatment of equations of those types occurs in the algebra of Brahmagupta or in any other extant work anterior to Bhâskara II.