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A History of the Kerala School of Hindu Astronomy (in Perspective) c10.s5: 8. Udayadivākara (11th cent.)

A History of the Kerala School of Hindu Astronomy (in Perspective) c10.s5

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8. Udayadivākara (11th cent.)

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Udayadivākara, surnamed Jyotiṣikabhaṭṭa, author of the elaborate commentary called *Sundarī* on the *Laghubhāskarīya*, which takes as its epoch 1073,⁶ probably hailed from Kerala. In the *Sundarī* he quotes as many as twenty verses from an unnamed work of a mathematician Jayadeva and comments on them.¹ His comments on Jayadeva are quoted also in the *Līlāvatīvyākhyā* (Kriyākramakarī) by Nārāyaṇa (Madras Ms. R. 2754, pp. 182, 183-84, 185). Possibly Udayadivākara has commented on Jayadeva’s work in full.

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⁶ *Sala* 995, as given in his com. on *Laghu*., II. 29.

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¹ For a study on these verses, see K. S. Shukla, ‘Ācārya Jayadeva, the mathematician’, *Gaṇita*, (Bharat Ganita Parishad, Lucknow), 5 (1954) 1-20.

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9. Acyuta I

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An extensive work on analytic astrology, called severally as *Devakerala*,² *Keralajyotiṣa*, *Candranāḍī* and *Candrakalānāḍī*, introduces itself as to have been compiled from the teachings of Acyuta, a brahman from Kerala. Acyuta propitiated, by penance, Bṛhaspati, who taught him the *Jātakaskandha*. In a similar manner, Acyuta propitiated Śukra and Parameśvara also and got from them their teachings as well, which he propagated.³ Neither the date of this Acyuta nor any personal details about him is known. The *Devakerala* which represents his teachings is, obviously, a compilation by his disciples, among whom Veṅkaṭeśa of the Kāśyapagotra is specifically mentioned as the redactor of the *Uttarabhāga* of the work.⁴

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² Ed. by T. S. Ranganatha Josyar, in 3 parts, *Madras Gov. Or. Ser.*, Madras, 1952-56.

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³ *Cf.*: *Kerale viṣaye kaścid Acyuto nāma bhūsuraḥ* | *Bṛhaspatim samuddiśya sa cakre tapa uttamam* || *prasādasumukhas tasmai prāha devapurohitaḥ* | *tapasā tava tuṣṭo 'smi vatsa kim te karomy aham* || ... *yan mayānukṛtam pūrvam Jātakaskandham uttamam* | *dvisahasreṇa saṅkṣipya tvatkṛte procyate 'dhunā* || ... *Acyuto 'pi punaḥ prītas tapasārādhya Bhārgavam* | *tasmāt sahasrasaṅkhyākam prāptavān Bhārgavam matam* || ... *śiṣyān adhyāpayāmāsa śāstram tad Devakeralam* | ...

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⁴ *Cf.*: *abhivandya mataṅgākhyam śrīmad-veṅkaṭanāyakam* | *Kaśyapo Veṅkaṭeśo 'ham phalam vakṣyāmi bhūbhujām* || (Intro. verse)

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10. Keralācārya (? 12th cent.)

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According to current tradition, Keralācārya hailed from Trichur in Central Kerala and belonged to the Kāśyapagotra. It is also said that he was a minister of King Rāma Varmā who ruled in Kerala from 1108-32. He wrote on Jyotiṣa, Āyurveda and Tantra. His works on Jyotiṣa included *Kerala-saṃhitā*, *Kerala-nāḍigrantha*, *Keralīyapraśnamārga* and *Keralapraśnasāra*. However, as observed earlier, these works must, obviously, be non-Keralite treatises based on Keralite teachings attributed to Keralācārya.¹

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¹ See above, pp. 38-40.

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11. Vyāghrapāda

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*Aṅkaṇaśāstra*,² called also *Grahasamaya* and *Navagrahasamaya*, has, obviously, been composed by a devotee of god Śiva enshrined at Vaikkom (Skt. Puṇḍarīkapura) in Central Kerala and attributed to sage Vyāghrapāda, the establisher of that place. It is an interesting treatise in analytical astrology, intended as a supplement and corrector to general horoscopic astrology and contains 389 verses, divided into four chapters. Herein, each of the twelve *lagna-rāśis* (ascending zodiacal segments) are divided into nine *aṅkaṇa-s* ('court-yards'), each *aṅkaṇa* being presided over by a planet having individual characteristics. Minute prognostications are made on the basis of the effects of these planets.³

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² Ed. by K. Raghavan Pillai, *TSS*, No. 222, Trivandrum, 1968.

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³ On this work, see Intro. to the edn. cited above and Ul. Sup. I. 221-22.

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12. Kṛṣṇa (c. 1200)

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Kṛṣṇa, called also Kṛṣṇācārya, is the author of *Cintajñāna*, a comprehensive work on astrology in thirtytwo chapters. No personal details about him are known but his being quoted frequently as an authority by later writers, the earliest of them being Govinda Bhaṭṭatiri of Talakkulam (1237-95), is a pointer to his popularity and his date, which might be taken to be about 1200 or before. He may be identical with Kṛṣṇa, the author of a commentary on the *Horā* of Varahamihira, of which a manuscript has come to light. Kṛṣṇa's *Cintajñāna* has a popular commentary called *Caturasundarī* by Viṣṇu.⁴

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⁴ On Kṛṣṇa, see Ul. I. 169-70.

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13. Kṛṣṇa-śiṣya (c. 1200)

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Kṛṣṇa had in one of his disciples, who does not disclose his name or give any other personal details, an ardent admirer and propagator of his teachings. This disciple has composed two works, one a metrical commentary on the *Horā* and the other a short treatise in verse on astrological query, entitled *Praśnaphalaprāptikalanirṇaya*. In both these works, he mentions his teacher in high terms and, in the latter, goes to the extent of saying that the minds of those who have imbibed the teachings of Kṛṣṇācārya would remain unassailed so far as prognostication is concerned.¹

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¹ See the verses extracted in the Inventory, below, under the respective works.

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14. Sūryadeva Yajvan (1191-c. 1250)

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Sūryadeva Yajvan of the Nidhruva gotra and nephew of another Sūryadeva was a versatile commentator and recognised authority. He gives his date of birth as ‘viśveśa’ (1113) śaka in the colophon to his commentary on the *Tripraśnādhyāya* of the *Laghumānasa* of Muñjāla. His elaborate commentaries on the *Laghumānasa* and the *Āryabhaṭīya* are available, but that on the *Mahābhaskarīya-bhāṣya* of Govindasvāmin is known only from his reference to it. On astrology, he commented on the *Mahayātra* of Varāhamihira, and the *Jataka-karmapaddhati* of Śrīpati, both of which are popular.²

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² On Sūryadeva, see Raja, 131-32, Sen, p. 124; Ul. II. 97-98; Ul. Sup. I. 219; Va. I. 390-92.

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15. Vidyāmādhava

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Vidyāmādhava, whose commentary on the *Kirātārjunīya*, is perhaps, the best exposition of that *mahakāvya*, was equally at home in Jyotiṣa. His *Muhūrtadarśana*, called also *Muhūrtamādhavīya* and *Vidyāmādhavīya*,³ is an extensive work in 15 chapters, discussing and prescribing auspicious times for all types of social and religious functions. He was a member of the Tulu brahman family of Nilamana, his village being Guṇavatī (Guṇavanta), near Gokarna, on the Arabian coast. He was the son of Nārāyaṇa, an eminent scholar attached to the court of King Mallappa. The *Muhūrtadarśna* has been extremely popular in Kerala and has six Keralite commentaries on it, two in Sanskrit and the others in Malayalam.⁴

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³ Ed. by Shama Sastry, *Vidyāmādhavīyam* with Viṣṇuśarma’s *Muhūrtadīpaka*, Bibl. Sanskrita, Nos. 63, 67, 70, Or. Res. Inst., Mysore, 1923, 1925, 1926.

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⁴ On Vidyāmādhava, see, Ul. II. 95; Ul. Sup. I.540; Va. I. 441-44.

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16. Viṣṇu of Nilamana

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Viṣṇu was the son of Vidyāmādhava and had the distinction of commenting upon his father’s *Muhūrtadarśana*. This commentary, called *Dīpikā*,¹ is highly elucidatory and informative and has been as much popular in the land as its text.²

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¹ Ed. with text, *op. cit.*

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² The colophon to the commentary on ch. XI reads : *Muhūrtadarśanādarśavyākhyāne Viṣṇunā kṛte |* *vyācaṣṭaikādaśādhyāyam Vidyāmādhavanadanaḥ ||* On the basis of this Ulloor (II. 95) distinguishes between Viṣṇu and Vidyāmādhava's son and states that while the disciple Viṣṇu is the main commentator, ch. XI was commented by Vidyāmādhava's son. But, for the identity of the two, see colophon to the com. on ch. V : *ittham Vidyāmādhavīye Muhūrtadarse 'Vidyāmādhavasyātmajena' |* *vyākhyāto 'bhūd gumphite 'Viṣṇunāmnā' vīryāvīryam darśanam pañcamo 'yam ||*

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17. Govinda Bhaṭṭatiri of Talakkuḷam (1237-95)

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Govinda Bhaṭṭatiri of Talakkuḷattūr family belonged to the village of Ālattūr in S. Malabar and is renowned as the progenitor of the famous Pāzhūr Kaṇiyār family of astrologers A line of astronomical tradition which he started continued for more than 700 years.³ The dates of his birth and death are given by tradition by the Kali chronograms *rakṣed govindam arkaḥ* (15,84,362) and *kalindīpriyatuṣṭaḥ* (16,12,891), which fall, respectively, in A. D. 1237 and 1295. His elaborate commentary *Daśādhyāyī* on the *Horā*, called so on account of its commenting only chs. I to X of the work, deals, in substance, with the entire *Horā*.⁴ His *Muhūrtaratna* has been very popular. He is said to have written also a *Muhūrtapadavī*, which formed the basis for several later works of that name (Ul. II, 110).⁵

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³ See above, pp. 5-6.

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⁴ Pub. under the title *Daśādhyāyī*, Venkatesvara Press, Bombay, Sam. 1969 (A.D. 1912) ; Vidyakalpataru Press, Palghat, (1905), (in grantha script).

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⁵ On Govinda Bhaṭṭatiri, see: Raja, 132-33; Ul. I. 167-69, II. 110; Va. I. 353-59, II 499-500. For the legends about him see, Koṭṭārathil Śaṅkuṇṇi, 'Talakkuḷattūr Bhaṭṭatiriyum Pāzhūr paṭippurayum' (Mal.), *Aitihyamāla*, I, (6th edn., Trichur, 1961), 99-108.

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18. Tāmaraṇallūr (14th cent.)

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A member of the Tāmaraṇallūr family has produced an authoritative work entitled *Muhūrtavidhi*, called also *Muhūrtam Bhāṣā*. The work is popularly known as *Tāmaraṇallūr Bhāṣā*, after its author. It deals with the fixation of auspicious times for functions and is composed in early *bhāṣā-miśra* (Skt.-Mal.) verses. The author, who does not reveal his personal name, makes mention of his patron Ceyyūr (?Cellūr) Nārāyaṇan Nampūtiri and might have hailed from Periñcellūr in Malabar.¹

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¹ On Tāmaranallūr, see Ul. I. 450-1; Ul. Sup. I 146; Va. III 396. Two manuscripts of the work, Ker. 4147-A and PM 4113-B, call themselves *Muhūrtapadavī Bhāṣā*. It remains to be seen whether it is related to the *Muhūrtapadavī* of Govinda Bhaṭṭatiri of Talakkuḷam.

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19. Nityaprakāśa Yati (14th-15th cent.) Nityaprakāśa Yati or °Bhaṭṭāraka, about whom the only personal information known is the name of his preceptor, viz., Ānandaprakāśa, has commented on the *Hora*, both in Sanskrit and in Malayalam. Both the commentaries are elaborate and are called *Prakāśikā*. The Sanskrit commentary is called also *Viṣamākṣaravivṛti*. The language of the Malayalam commentary, which is characterised by mediaeval traits,² would suggest for it a date in the 14th-15th century.

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² E. g., see the lines: *yāvad gataḥ śitakaro etc. (Horā 24. 6) : enpatu praśnam pennina pozhutu praśnarāśikku ettanayām rāśiyile candran ninṟan enṟu inta candran ninṟa rāsi piṭittu akkaṇnakkeni avvirāśiyile candran nilkaṟpirantān enṟu colluka* / (Des. Cata. of Skt. Mss. in H H. the Maharaja’s Palace Library, Trivandrum, Ms. No. 995, (vol. IV, p. 1315).

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20. Kumāra Gaṇaka (c. 14th-15th cent.) Kumāra Gaṇaka is the author of *Raṇadīpikā*,³ which he composed at the instance of Deva Śarmā, younger brother of Govinda, a Kerala prince, probably of the principality of Cempakaśśeri (modern Ampalappuzha). The work deals with politics, royal conduct and war, on the background of natural and horary astrology. It is divided into eight chapters, called *viveka-s*, devoted, respectively, to *Naya*, *Yatrā*, *Jayajaya*, *Kāla*, *Śulacakrādi*, *Pañcasvara*, *Mṛgavīrya* and *Bhūbala*. The author writes very readable poetry and reveals a liberal and progressive bent of mind.⁴

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³ Ed. TSS, No. 95, Trivandrum, 1923.

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⁴ On Kumāra Gaṇaka, see Ul. II. 112-13; Va. II. 7.5-29

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21. Rudra I (c. 1325-1400) Parameśvara Vaṭaśreṇi (1360-1455), of *Dṛggaṇita* fame, has mentioned in several of his works, Rudra, the eminent astronomical authority at whose feet he learnt the discipline. This Rudra’s has, however, not been identified as the author of any work.⁵ 22. Mādhava of Saṅgamagrāma (c. 1340-1425) : Mādhava I

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⁵ On Rudra, see Raja, 138.

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Mādhava, referred to by later astronomers as *Golavid* ('Master of spherics'), was an astute mathematician who belonged to Saṅgamagrāma, identified with Irinjālakkuḍa, near Cochin. According to an old astronomical document, he belonged to the sub-caste of Kerala brāhmans called Emprān-s and the name of his house was Ilaññippaḷḷi.¹ In his *Veṇvāroha*,² he evolved a facile procedure to read out the true positions of the Moon every 36 minutes.³ He uses, in this work, a date in A. D. 1400 as the epoch, which gives a clue to his date. Among his known works are *Lagnaprakaraṇa* and a table of moon-mnemonics correct to the seconds. His *Mahājyānayanaprakāra* and *Madhyamānayanaprakāra*, for which short commentaries are available, contain novel theorems and computational methods evolved by him and used by later writers.

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¹ Cf. the words: *Mādhavan Veṇvārohādīnām karttā. ... Mādhavan Ilaññippaḷḷi Emprān*, in a Kerala manuscript, No. 9886, preserved in the Oriental Institute, Baroda, and ed. by K. V. Sarma in the paper 'Some direct lines of astronomical tradition in Kerala', Pt. Charudeva Shastri Felicitation Vol., Delhi, 1972.

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² Cr. ed by K. V. Sarma, with the commentary of Acyuta Piṣaraṭi, Sanskrit College, Trippunithura, 1956.

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³ For a note on other works of this genre, see above, pp. 32-33.

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An important work of Mādhava, which may be identified here, is his *Agaṇita*. The astronomical document mentioned above states that Mādhava is the author also of an *Agaṇitapañcāṅga*. An anonymous *Agaṇitagrahacāra* which has been quoted by *Karaṇapaddhati* (IV. 14, 16, 18) and is available in manuscript form mentions the *śodhyābdas* ('deductive years') for the computation of Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Moon's Higher Apsis as Śaka 1320, 1318, 1340, 1158, 1301 and 1276, corresponding to A.D. 1398, 1396, 1418, 1236, 1379 and 1354.⁴ Since the principle underlying the *sodhyabdas* is to fix them in such a way that the largest possible number of

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⁴ Cf. Ms. T. 280, Cata. of the Skt. Mss. in the Curator's Office, Trivandrum, Vol. IV, p. 1305 :

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*śakābdat 'naraloko'nad rāghavair dhitsunā kujaḥ |*
*'divyaloko'-nanilāgrais tattvajñair bhājite budhaḥ ||*
*'navaloko'-nasāraṅgair gajair āpte gurur bhavet |*
*'hemapunyo'-naśakābdat sāravair govarair bhrguḥ ||*
*'yajñaloko'-nanitāmsair dharmair āpte śanir bhavet |*
*'tirthapriyo'na-śakābdad gandhajñair bhājite tamaḥ ||*

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years will be cut off from the number of the current year, thereby providing maximum ease in calculation, the *śodhyabdas* selected would be as near as possible to the date of the composition of a work, which date would, naturally, be just ahead of the largest *śodhya*. In the case of the *Agaṇitagrahacāra* in question, the *śodhyābdas*, with A. D. 1418 as the latest among them, agrees, surprisingly, with the date of Mādhava. This goes to confirm that in the present *Agaṇitagrahacāra* we have a hitherto unidentified work of Mādhava, viz. his *Agaṇitapañcāṅga* which is mentioned in the said astronomical document. Again, it seems quite possible that Mādhava had composed a comprehensive treatise on astronomy and mathematics, which yet remains to be identified and which may be supposed to contain the numerous single and groups of verses enunciating computational procedures, theorems and formulae which are quoted as Mādhava's by later writers. Possibly, Mādhava wrote also a work named *Golavāda*¹ which gained for him the appellation *Golavid* by later scholars.²

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¹ A matter of melancholy interest might be mentioned here, at least for record. The presence of a work entitled *Golavāda* written in continuation of Mādhava's *Veṇvāroha* in a manuscript preserved in the Eḷankunnappuzha Naṭakkal Kovilakam, near Ernakulam, raised in the present writer the hope that that could, possibly, be a thitherto unknown work of Mādhava. When, however, he proceeded to the said Kovilakam and, with a good deal of persuasion, caused the wooden box containing the family collection of manuscripts to be opened, he found that all the manuscripts in that box, including that of *Golavāda*, had been completely eaten away by white ants. For further details, see his note on the subject in the *Mathrubhumi W*, (Kozhikode), 17.6.1956, p. 4.

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² On Mādhava, see: K. V. Sarma, Intro. to the edn. of *Veṇvāroha*, op. cit.; 'Saṅgamagrāma Mādhava', (Mal.), *Mathrubhumi W*, 4. 11. 1956, pp. 17-18, 59; Raja. 133-36; UI. II. 91-100; Va. I. 387-88, III. 388-90.

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