A History of the Kerala School of Hindu Astronomy (in Perspective) c10.s3.1

c10.s3.1

In Govindasvāmin, teacher of Śaṅkaranārāyaṇa (see below) who was the court astronomer of King Ravi Varma Kerala, we have one of the ablest exponents of Bhāskara I and of the *Āryabhaṭan* system. His elaborate *Bhāṣya* on the *Mahābhāskarīya*⁶ contains new ideas and mathematical elaborations which remain to be fully recognised and expounded in terms of modern mathematics.⁷ An original work of his on astronomy and mathematics, which is quoted under the title *Govindakṛti* by later writers like Śaṅkaranārāyaṇa, Nīlakaṇṭha Somayāji and Nārāyaṇa,¹ is yet to be recovered. So also is his work on astrology which is referred to by Nilakaṇṭha as *Govindapaddhati*.² However, manuscripts of his short commentary called *Prakaṭārtha* or *Sampradāyapradīpikā* on *Parāśarahorā* are known but it is yet to be issued in print.³