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A History of the Kerala School of Hindu Astronomy (in Perspective) c10.s6: 23. Parameśvara of Vaṭaśreṇi (c. 1360-1455) : Parameśvara I

A History of the Kerala School of Hindu Astronomy (in Perspective) c10.s6

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23. Parameśvara of Vaṭaśreṇi (c. 1360-1455) : Parameśvara I

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Parameśvara, one of the foremost astronomers of Kerala who revised the *Parahita* system of computation through his *Dṛggaṇita* in 1430. has made significant contributions to Hindu mathematics and astronomy. He was a Ṛgvedin of the Āśvalāyana-sūtra and the Bhṛgu-gotra. He hailed from the village of Aśvatthagrāma (Mal. Ālaṭṭūr) and his house Vaṭaśreṇi (Mal. Vaṭaśśeri) was situated on the confluence of river Nīla (Mal. Bhāratappuzha) with the Arabian Sea, where, on the sandy expanse, he carried on investigations for fiftyfive years. He also observed a large number of eclipses, of which he has recorded the details in his *Siddhāntadīpikā*.³ His grandfather was a disciple of Govinda Bhaṭṭatiri of Talakkuḷam and he himself was a pupil of Rudra I, Nārāyaṇa son of Parameśvara and Mādhava of Saṅgamagrāma.

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³ On Parameśvara's extensive astronomical observations, see above, pp. 2-4.

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Parameśvara was a prolific writer, author of about 30 works, including original treatises and commentaries, both on astronomy and astrology. Among his original writings on astronomy might be mentioned the *Dṛggaṇita* (1430),¹ three works on spherics, being the *Goladīpikās* I-III (1443),² three works on improved computation and rationale of eclipses, viz., *Grahaṇāṣṭaka*,³ *Grahaṇamaṇḍana*⁴ and *Grahaṇanyāyadīpikā*,⁵ a text on the computation of the Moon-shadow, entitled *Candracchāyāgaṇita* and a rationale on the computation of mnemonic tables, *Vākyakaraṇa*.⁶ He has commented on the *Ārya-bhaṭīya*,⁷ *Mahābhāskarīya*,⁸ *Mahābhāskarīya-bhāṣya*,⁹ *Laghubhāskarīya*,¹⁰ *Suryasiddhānta*, *Laghumānasa*¹¹ *Līlāvatī*, *Goladīpikā* I¹² and *Vyatipātaṣṭaka*. Some of his commentaries, like, for instance, those on the *Āryabhaṭīya* and *Mahābhāskarīya-bhāṣya*, are extremely valuable for the historian of Hindu astronomy, since they contain the enunciation of some of his new findings, theories and interpretations. Two of his works on astronomy, viz., *Vākyadīpikā* and *Bhādīpikā*, are yet to be recovered. His writings on astrology include *Ācārasaṅgraha* in two versions, one of them ending with *Vivahānukulyam*, *Jātakapaddhati*, and *Ṣaḍvargaphalam* and commentaries on the *Jātakakarmapaddhati* of Śrīpati, *Praśnaṣaṭpañcāśikā* of Pṛthuyaśas, an anonymous *Muhūrtaṣṭaka* and the *Muhūrtaratna* of Govinda Bhaṭṭatiri.¹

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¹ Cr. ed., K.V. Sarma, V.V.R.I., Hoshiarpur, 1963.

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² I: Cr. ed., K.V. Sarma, Adyar Library, Madras, 1957; II: Ed. T. Ganapati Sastri, TSS, No. 49, Trivandrum, 1916. The traditional date of composition of one the *Goladīpikās* (which one it is not possible to say) is given by the chronogram *dīyatām* (M.E. 618) equivalent to A.D. 1443, is given by Achyutattu Vasudevan Moossatu in his collection of chronograms entitled *Marakkaṭṭa nalukal* (‘Unforgettable days’), Kunnamkulam, M.E. 1130 (A.D. 1955).

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³ Cr. ed., K.V. Sarma, K S R. Inst., Madras, 1959.

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⁴ Cr. ed., K.V. Sarma, V.V.R.I., Hoshiarpur, 1965.

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⁵ Cr. ed., K.V. Sarma, V.V.R.I., Hoshiarpur, 1966.

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⁶ This *Vākyakaraṇa*, in about 75 verses, is different from the *Vākyakaraṇa* attributed to Vararuci III.

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⁷ Ed., H. Kern, Leiden, 1874; Udaya Narain Singh, Etawah, 1936.

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⁸ Pub, *Anandasrama Skt. Ser.*, No. 126, Poona, 1945.

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⁹ Cr. ed., T.S. Kuppanna Sastri, Gov. Or. Mss. Lib. Madras, 1957.

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¹⁰ Pub., *Anandasrama Skt. Ser.*, No, 128, Poona, 1946.

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¹¹ Pub., *Anandasrama Skt. Ser.*, No, 123, Poona, 1944.

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¹² Cr. ed., K.V. Sarma, Adyar Library, Madras, 1957.

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¹ On Parameśvara, see : K.V. Sarma, Intro. to his edns. of Parameśvara's works, op. cit.; 'Dṛgganita of Parameśvara', (Mal.), *Mathrubhumi W*, 7.10.1956, pp. 29-30; 'Fiftyone years' penance' (Mal.), *Mathrubhumi W*, 7.10.1956, pp. 29-30; Raja, 136-43; Sen, pp. 166-70; Ul. II. 100-5; Ul Sup., I. 215-19; Va, I. 378-83.

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24. Dāmodara of Vaṭaśreṇi (c. 1410-1510) : Dāmodara I

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Of Dāmodara, son of Parameśvara of Vaṭaśreṇi, no fullfledged work is known, but his pupil Nīlakaṇṭha Somayājī refers to him as an erudite astronomer and quotes from his writings. Thus, in his *Bhāṣya* on *Āryabhaṭīya* (Kālakriyā 17-21), Nīlakaṇṭha says : *tac coktam asmad Ācaryaiḥ : sarvatra viṣkambhadalam śrutau vā vyāsārdhake syāt viparītakarṇaḥ* | (Edn., TSS, No. 110, p. 47). Further down, in the same context, Nīlakaṇṭha quotes a longer piece with the introductory statement : *nibaddham ca tat tadaiva asmadgurubhiḥ pañcabhir upajātibhiḥ* :

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*arkasphuṭanānayanam prakuryāt*
*svamadhyamasyātra vituṅgabhānoḥ |*
*bhujaguṇam koṭiguṇam ca kṛtvā*
*mṛgādikendre 'ntyaphylākhyakoṭyoḥ ||*

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*bhedaḥ kulīrādigate tu yogas*
*tadvargayuktad bhujavargato yat |*
*padam viparyāsakṛtaḥ sa karṇas*
*trijyākṛtes tadvihṛtas tu karṇaḥ ||*

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*tenahatām uccavihīnabhānor*
*jīvām bhajed vyāsadalena labdham |*
*svocce kṣipec cāpi tam ādyapāde*
*cakrārdhataḥ śuddham api dvitīye ||*

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*cakrārdhayuktam tu tṛtīyapāde*
*saṃsodhitam maṇḍalatās caturthe |*
*evamkṛtaḥ sūkṣmataras tu madhyaḥ*
*pūrvam padam yāvad ihādhikam syāt |*

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*antyāt phalāt koṭiguṇaś caturthe*
*tv arabhyate yady adhikātra koṭiḥ |*
*sarvatra viṣkambhādalam śrutau vā*
*vyāsārdhake syād viparītakarnaḥ ||*
(Ibid., p. 48)

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Elsewhere, too, Nīlakaṇṭha quotes Dāmodara: E.g., *prakārāntareṇa* ‘*candrabahuphala*’ *ityādina śrīmad-Dāmodarāhvayasmadgurumukhodgatena ślokenokta* | (Grahaṇādigrantha, ms., p. 61). Later writers also mention Dāmodara. Dāmodara might have composed certain works which are yet to be identified, and from which the above-mentioned passages should have been quoted.¹

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¹ On Dāmodara, see Ul. Sup. I. 210-11; Va. I. 388. Va. identifies (I. 388) the present author with Dāmodara, au. of *Muhūrtābharaṇa*, but this is not possible, for the former belonged to the Bhārgava-gotra while the latter was of the Bhāradvāja-gotra; *cf.* the Intro. verse to *Muhūrtābharaṇa* (Ms. Kerala T. 71): *teṣām viduṣām madhye Bhāradvājagotrajātā ye* |

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25. Ravi Nampūtiri (c. 1425-1500)

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Nīlakaṇṭha Somayājī (1444-1545) mentions in the colophon to his *Aryabhaṭīya-bhāṣya*, Gaṇitapāda, Ravi as his teacher on Vedānta. He pays his respects to Ravi also in the beginning of his *Siddhāntadarpaṇa*. Ravi was also an erudite scholar in Jyotiṣa and has been identified as the author of *Acāradīpikā*, an elaborate metrical commentary on the *Muhūrtadīpikā*.²

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² On Ravi, see K.V. Sarma, Intro. to the edn. of *Golasāra*, p. xv; Ul. II. 113-14.

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26. Nīlakaṇṭha Somayājī (1444-1545) : Nīlakaṇṭha I

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Nīlakaṇṭha Somayājī, the centenarian astronomer of Kuṇḍapura (Mal. Tṛkkaṇṭiyūr) in South Malabar, was, perhaps, as eminent as his grand-teacher, Parameśvara of Vaṭaśreṇi. In a detailed colophon to his *Bhāṣya* on the *Aryabhaṭīya*, Gaṇitapāda, he gives full details about himself. Elsewhere also, in his works, he records particulars about his person. He was a Numpūtiri of the Garga-gotra and hailed from the family of Keḷallūr (Mal. Kerala-nal-ūr, Skt. Kerala-sadgrāma). He was the son of Jātavedas and had a younger brother named Śaṅkara. His date of birth is given in the chronogram given in his *Siddhāntadarpaṇa-vyākhya*, viz., *tyajamyajñatām tarkaḥ* (16,60,181) which falls in Dec. 1444. He is referred to as a ‘living’ authority by Mādhava of Iñcakkāzhva in his *Praśnasāra*, composed in 1542-43. Both he and his brother Śaṅkara were patronised by Kauṣitaki Āḍhya Netranārāyaṇa (Āzhvāñceri Tamprākkal), the hereditary religious head of the Nampūtiris. Nīlakaṇṭha spent his student days at the house of Parameśvara of Vaṭaśreṇi and received occasional instruction from him, his regular teacher being Parameśvara's son, Dāmodara. Nīlakaṇṭha had also another teacher by name Ravi, who is identified as the author of Ācāradarśana.

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Nīlakaṇṭha was a versatile scholar, though his writings, which are prolific and erudite, are all on astronomy. His *Tantrasaṅgraha* (A.D. 1500)¹ is a comprehensive treatise on astronomy. His *Grahaṇanirṇaya* and *Candracchāyāgaṇita*, the latter with his own commentary, deal with revised procedures on the respective topics. In his *Golasāra*² he gives a résumé of some of his views on certain astronomical topics and in his *Siddhāntadarpaṇa*,³ he sets out the astronomical constants, as determined by him, the rationale of which he expounds in his commentary on that work. In some elaborate tracts on eclipses and certain other topics (*Grahaṇādigrantha*) he expounds the tradition and rationale of eclipse computation, methods for determining corrections (*saṃskāra-s*) etc. His *Sundararājapraśnottara* forms his answers to certain astronomical problems posed by a contemporary astronomer from the adjoining Tamil region who has commented on the *Vākyakaraṇa* ascribed to Vararuci.⁴ Nīlakaṇṭha sets out much original contribution through his extensive *Bhāṣya* on the *Āryabhaṭīya*⁵ which is considered to be his masterpiece. But, by far the most instructive work of Nīlakaṇṭha is the *Grahaparīkṣākrama*,⁶ where, in about 200 verses, he sets out the procedures for the observation of the planets, sometimes with instruments, and for their computation using the data obtained from the observations. A commentary in Malayalam expounding the said procedures is also known.¹

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¹ Ed. with the commentary of Śaṅkara Vāriyar, TSS, No. 185 (Trivandrum, 1958).

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² Cr. ed., K.V. Sarma, V.V.R.I., (Hoshiarpur, 1970).

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³ Cr. ed., K.V. Sarma, Adyar Library, (Adyar Library, Madras, 1955).

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⁴ Cr. ed., T.S.K. Sastri and K.V. Sarma, K.S.R. Inst., Madras, 1962.

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⁵ Ed. TSS, Nos. 101, 110, 185, (Trivandrum, 1930, 1931, 1957).

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⁶ This work has been quoted in full in his *Āryabhaṭīya-bhāṣya*, Gola. 48, (TSS, No. 185, pp. 132-49). An adapted edition of this has been issued by Puliyur Purushottaman Namputiri, (Bombay, 1950). A perfect ms. of the work is available with K.V. Sarma.

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¹ On Nilakaṇṭha, see : K.V. Sarma, ‘Gārgya Kerala Nilakaṇṭha Somayājin’, Jl. of Or. Res., 26 (1956-57) 21-39; Intro. to the edns. of Siddhāntadarpaṇa and Golasāra, op. cit.,; Raja, 143-52; Sen, 155-57; Ul. II. 117-20; Ul. Sup. I. 235-37; Va. I. 3 3-87.

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27. Śaṅkara of Keḷallūr (c. 1475-1575) : Śaṅkara I

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Nilakaṇṭha Somayāji's younger brother Śaṅkara, an astronomer in his own right, was, like his brother, patronised by the Azhvāñceri Tamprākkaḷ, at whose house he was teaching astronomy as mentioned in Nilakaṇṭha's Āryabhaṭīya-bhāṣya, Gaṇita. 26, (edn., p. 156). The said Bhāṣya had been composed for the sake of Śaṅkara, who was also entrusted with its propagation.²

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² On Śaṅkara, see K V. Sarma, Intro. to Golasāra, op. cit., p. xiii.

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28. Citrabhānu (c. 1475-1550)

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Citrabhānu Nampūtiri, author of Karaṇāmṛta, an advanced manual on astronomical computation in four chapters, was a pupil of Nilakaṇṭha Somayāji, whom he mentions as ‘Gārgya’ in the beginning of his work. He belonged to the Gautama-gotra and hailed from the village of Covvaram (Skt. Śivapuram) near Trichur. The date of composition of Karaṇāmṛta which is indicated in that work by the Kali chronogram buddhyonmathyoddhṛtam yatnat (16,91,513) (A.D. 1530) gives the clue to its author's date.³

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³ On Citrabhānu, see Raja, 153-55; Ul. II. 273-75; Ul. Sup. I. 365-6.

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29. Citrabhānu-Śiṣya (c. 1500-75)

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Bhavacintāvali, in three chapters, is a work on astrology by an anonymous pupil of Citrabhānu. That the pupil has written on astrology would suggest that the teacher Citrabhānu, besides being an astronomer, was also an authority on astrology.⁴

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⁴ On Citrabhānu-Śiṣya, see Raja, 154 (where the work is wrongly called Bhavacintāmaṇi); Ul. II.275.

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30. Nārāyaṇa I (c. 1500-75)

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Nārāyaṇa, disciple of another Nārāyaṇa and Citrabhānu, ardent admirer of Nilakaṇṭha Somayāji and highly devoted to Subrahmaṇya, an esteemed associate of Nīlakaṇṭha, was an original thinker and highly informed commentator. He wrote, in A.D. 1529, an instructive commentary called *Laghuvivṛti* on *Pañcabodha* IV.¹ His *Uparaga-kriyākrama* in five chapters is a detailed exposition of eclipse computation. He also wrote two commentaries on the *Līlāvatī*, one short and the other nearly five times as long, both called *Kriyākramakarī* and *Karmadīpikā* (called also *Karmapradīpa* and *Karmapradīpikā* according to the exigencies of the metre of the verses containing these names).² The longer *Kriyākramakarī* is especially valuable to the historian of Kerala astronomy and mathematics for the profuse references it contains to earlier authors and authorities, some of which are now lost, and for the theories and procedures enunciated in that commentary.³

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¹ Cf. the chronograpm *prajñālokoddhṛtam yas* (Kali day 16,91,302) in the verse at the end of this work :

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² Some scholars distinguish between the authors of the two commentaries on the *Līlāvatī* and suggest that Śaṅkara Vāriyar of Tṛkkuṭaveli might have written the longer *Kriyākramakarī* (cf. Raja, 155) ; again, some miss to recognize ‘two’ *Kriyākramakarī*-s (Ulloor II, 121). The matter has been examined in detail and the authorship of Nārāyaṇa of both the commentaries is being set out by the present writer, elsewhere.

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³ Of Nārāyaṇa, see Ul. II. 121 ; Ul. Sup. I. 222, 227-28.

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31. Śaṅkara Vāriyar (*c.* 1500-60) : Śaṅkara II

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The author of *Laghuvivṛti* (A. D. 1556), which is an erudite commentary on the *Tantrasaṅgraha*, was a disciple of Nīlakaṇṭha Somayājī and protege of (Netra) Nārāyaṇa (Āzhvāñceri Tamprākkaḷ), both of whom are mentioned in the beginning of that commentary, is identified with Śaṅkara Vāriyar of Tṛkkuṭaveli family. Though the name of the author is not mentioned in the commentary itself, some manuscripts of that commentary (Kerala Univ. 8351, 8906, C. 524) carry the following post-colophonic statement, in Malayalam, by the scribe : *ī vyākhyānam Tṛkkuṭaveli-c-Caṅkaravāriyar oṭukkattu camaccatu | Āzhvāñcerikku veṇṭiṭṭu sukhame śikṣiccu camacu ennu Paraññoṭṭu paraññu keṭṭu* | : ‘This commentary was composed last by Tṛkkuṭaveli Śaṅkara Vāriyar. It is stated to have been said by Paraññoṭṭu that it was composed with great care for the sake of Āzhvāñceri’. The person referred to here as Paraññoṭṭu is very likely to be Paraññoṭṭu

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*prajñālokoddhṛtam yasmāt gūḍham artham vivṛṇvati |*
*vyākhyaivam Pañcabodhasya ciram tiṣṭhatu bhūtale ||*

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Jyeṣṭhadeva, an younger contemporary of Nīlakaṇṭha, and, therefore, the statement is quite likely to be authentic.

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Hitherto, Śaṅkara Vāriyar has been credited with the authorship only of the above-said commentary. However, three more of his works can now be identified. Thus, in the beginning of the present commentary, he makes mention of a larger commentary of his on *Tantrasaṅgraha*:

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Nārāyaṇaṃ jagadanugrahajāgarūkam
Śrī-Nīlakaṇṭham api sarvavidam praṇamya |
yat Tantrasaṅgraha-gatam grahatantrajātam
tasya'paraṃ ca Vivṛtim vilikhāmi Laghvīm ||

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Again, in the final colophon at the end of the work, he states that the present commentary is an adaptation of a larger commentary of his named *Kriyākalapa* (‘Detailed demonstration’) on the *Tantrasaṅgraha*. Cf. :

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iti Tantrasaṅgrahasya Kriyākalāpaṃkrameṇa saṅgṛhya |
racite tadyākhyāne pūrṇo 'bhūd aṣṭamo 'dhyāyaḥ ||

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A unique manuscript of this longer commentary has been recorded in the Inventory below. It can also be shown that the anonymous work entitled *Karaṇasāra*, in four chapters, whose authorship has been left open (cf., Ul. II. 121-22) and a Malayalam commentary on it which is, at present, attributed to Śaṅkaran Nampūtiri of Mahiṣamaṅgalam (Ul. II. 272, 474), are really the works of Śaṅkara Vāriyar.¹

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¹ Evidences for these identifications are being set out by the present writer elsewhere. Some scholars (cf. Raja, 155) ascribe to Śaṅkara Vāriyar the elaborate commentary *Kriyākramakarī* on the *Līlāvatī* on the basis of the similarity of some expressions in one of the introductory verses of that work with those in his commentary on the *Tantrasaṅgraha* However, there are clear evidences, which, as indicated above are being set out elsewhere, to show that the *Kriyākramakarī* is a work of Nārāyaṇa and not of Śaṅkara Vāriyar.

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