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A History of the Kerala School of Hindu Astronomy (in Perspective) c9.s2: 2. The Classical texts

A History of the Kerala School of Hindu Astronomy (in Perspective) c9.s2

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English

2. The Classical texts

c9.s2.1

Some scholars have claimed that the foremost Indian astronomer, Āryabhaṭa hailed from Kerala. Though this claim yet remains to be fully authenticated, the popularity of the *Āryabhaṭīya* among Kerala astronomers is apparent from the profusion of manuscripts of that work recorded from that region¹ and from as may as eleven commentaries on it, in Sanskrit and Malayalam, written by Kerala astronomers, the more important among them being those composed by Sūryadeva Yajvan, Parameśvara of Vaṭaśreṇi, Nīlakaṇṭha Somayājī and Ghaṭigopa.¹ Two other texts of the Āryabhaṭan school, viz., the *Laghu-bhāskarīya* and the *Mahābhāskarīya* of Bhāskara I,—of which, too, most of the recorded manuscripts are from Kerala,—have been equally popular in the land. There are seven Keralite commentaries on the former by Śaṅkaranārāyaṇa, Sūryadeva Yajvan, Parameśvara, Udayadivākara and Śaṅkaran Nampūtiri, the other two being anonymous. The latter work has five Keralite commentaries, including those by Govindasvāmin, Sūryadeva Yajvan and Parameśvara. The other classical astronomical texts which were popular in Kerala are the *Sūryasiddhānta* which claims three Kerala commentaries and the *Laghumānasa* of Muñjāla, which has at least four Kerala commentaries The most popular textbook on mathematics has been the *Līlāvatī* of Bhāskara II, for which at least a dozen commentaries, besides several other works based on it, have been recorded. On the side of horary astrology, the *Horā* or *Bṛhajjātaka* of Varāhamihira enjoyed the greatest popularity; about twenty commentaries on this work by Kerala authors have been identified; besides these, there are also several abridgements and adaptations of that work. On the same subject, the *Jātakakarmapaddhati* of Śrīpati, which has three Kerala commentaries, had also been quite popular and in *Praśna* (Astrological query), the pride of place goes to *Praśnaṣaṭpañcāśikā* of Pṛthuyaśas with two Kerala commentaries.

c9.s2.2

¹ Out of about 120 manuscripts of *Āryabhaṭīya* recorded in the *New Catalogus Catalogorum of Sanskrit and allied works and authors*, Vol. II, (Madras, 1966), p. 171, as many as 85 are from Kerala.

c9.s2.3

¹ For details of the manuscripts, editions, extent, dates, and available studies on these works, as also of other works that might be referred to here-in-below, see Ch. V, ‘Inventory of Kerala Jyotiṣa’.

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