Bhāskara II

Bhāskara (1114–1185) also known as Bhāskarāchārya ("Bhāskara,

the teacher"), and as Bhāskara II to avoid confusion with Bhāskara Bhāskara II
I, was an Indian mathematician and astronomer. He was born in Born c. 1114 AD
Bijapur in Karnataka.[1] Bijjaragi, Karnataka
Died c. 1185 AD
Bhāskara and his works represent a significant contribution to
mathematical and astronomical knowledge in the 12th century. He Other names Bhāskarāchārya
has been called the greatest mathematician of medieval India.[2] His
Academic work
main work Siddhānta Shiromani, (Sanskrit for "Crown of
Treatises")[3] is divided into four parts called Lilāvatī, Bījagaṇita, Era Shaka era
Grahagaṇita and Golādhyāya,[4] which are also sometimes Discipline Mathematician
considered four independent works.[5] These four sections deal with Main Algebra, Calculus,
arithmetic, algebra, mathematics of the planets, and spheres
interests Arithmetic,
respectively. He also wrote another treatise named Karaṇaa
Trigonometry
Kautūhala.[5]
Notable Siddhanta-
Bhāskara's work on calculus predates Newton and Leibniz by over works Shiromani, Karaṇaa
half a millennium.[6][7] He is particularly known in the discovery of Kautūhala
the principles of differential calculus and its application to
astronomical problems and computations. While Newton and Leibniz have been credited with differential
and integral calculus, there is strong evidence to suggest that Bhāskara was a pioneer in some of the
principles of differential calculus. He was perhaps the first to conceive the differential coefficient and
differential calculus.[8]

On 20 November 1981 the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the Bhaskara II satellite
honouring the mathematician and astronomer.[9]

Contents
Date, place and family
The Siddhanta-Shiromani
Lilavati
Bijaganita
Grahaganita
Mathematics
Arithmetic
Algebra
Trigonometry
Calculus
Astronomy
Engineering
Legends
"Behold!"
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links

Date, place and family

Bhāskara gives his date of birth, and date of composition of his major work, in a verse in the Āryā metre:[5]

rasa-guṇa-porṇa-mahīsama
śhaka-nṛpa samaye 'bhavat mamotpattiḥ /
rasa-guṇa-varṣeṇa mayā
siddhānta-śiromaṇī racitaḥ //

This reveals that he was born in 1036 of the Shaka era (1114 CE), and that he composed the Siddhānta
Śiromaṇī when he was 36 years old.[5] He also wrote another work called the Karaṇa-kutūhala when he
was 69 (in 1183).[5] His works show the influence of Brahmagupta, Sridhara, Mahāvīra, Padmanābha and
other predecessors.[5]

He was born in a Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin family[10] near Vijjadavida (believed to be Bijjaragi of
Vijayapur in modern Karnataka). Bhāskara is said to have been the head of an astronomical observatory at
Ujjain, the leading mathematical centre of medieval India. He lived in the Sahyadri region (Patnadevi, in
Jalgaon district, Maharashtra).[11]

History records his great-great-great-grandfather holding a hereditary post as a court scholar, as did his son
and other descendants. His father Mahesvara[11] (Maheśvaropādhyāya[5]) was a mathematician,
astronomer[5] and astrologer, who taught him mathematics, which he later passed on to his son Loksamudra.
Loksamudra's son helped to set up a school in 1207 for the study of Bhāskara's writings. He died in 1185
CE.

The Siddhanta-Shiromani

Lilavati

The first section Līlāvatī (also known as pāṭīgaṇita or aṅkagaṇita), named after his daughter, consists of
277 verses.[5] It covers calculations, progressions, measurement, permutations, and other topics.[5]

Bijaganita
The second section Bījagaṇita(Algebra) has 213 verses.[5] It discusses zero, infinity, positive and negative
numbers, and indeterminate equations including (the now called) Pell's equation, solving it using a kuṭṭaka
method.[5] In particular, he also solved the case that was to elude Fermat and his European
contemporaries centuries later. [5]

Grahaganita

In the third section Grahagaṇita, while treating the motion of planets, he considered their instantaneous
speeds.[5] He arrived at the approximation:[12]

for close to , or in modern notation:[12]

In his words:[12]

bimbārdhasya koṭijyā guṇastrijyāhāraḥ phalaṃ dorjyāyorantaram

This result had also been observed earlier by Muñjalācārya (or Mañjulācārya) in 932, in his astronomical
work Laghu-mānasam, in the context of a table of sines.[12]

Bhāskara also stated that at its highest point a planet's instantaneous speed is zero.[12]

Mathematics
Some of Bhaskara's contributions to mathematics include the following:

A proof of the Pythagorean theorem by calculating the same area in two different ways and
then cancelling out terms to get a2 + b2 = c2.[13]
In Lilavati, solutions of quadratic, cubic and quartic indeterminate equations are explained.[14]
Solutions of indeterminate quadratic equations (of the type ax2 + b = y2).
Integer solutions of linear and quadratic indeterminate equations (Kuṭṭaka). The rules he gives
are (in effect) the same as those given by the Renaissance European mathematicians of the
17th century
A cyclic Chakravala method for solving indeterminate equations of the form ax2 + bx + c = y.
The solution to this equation was traditionally attributed to William Brouncker in 1657, though
his method was more difficult than the chakravala method.
The first general method for finding the solutions of the problem x2 − ny2 = 1 (so-called "Pell's
equation") was given by Bhaskara II.[15]
Solutions of Diophantine equations of the second order, such as 61x2 + 1 = y2. This very
equation was posed as a problem in 1657 by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat, but
its solution was unknown in Europe until the time of Euler in the 18th century.[14]
Solved quadratic equations with more than one unknown, and found negative and irrational
solutions.
Preliminary concept of mathematical analysis.
Preliminary concept of infinitesimal calculus, along with notable contributions towards integral
calculus.[16]
 Conceived differential calculus, after discovering an approximation of the derivative and
differential coefficient.
Stated Rolle's theorem, a special case of one of the most important theorems in analysis, the
mean value theorem. Traces of the general mean value theorem are also found in his works.
Calculated the derivatives of trigonometric functions and formulae. (See Calculus section
below.)
In Siddhanta Shiromani, Bhaskara developed spherical trigonometry along with a number of
other trigonometric results. (See Trigonometry section below.)

Arithmetic

Bhaskara's arithmetic text Leelavati covers the topics of definitions, arithmetical terms, interest
computation, arithmetical and geometrical progressions, plane geometry, solid geometry, the shadow of the
gnomon, methods to solve indeterminate equations, and combinations.

Lilavati is divided into 13 chapters and covers many branches of mathematics, arithmetic, algebra,
geometry, and a little trigonometry and measurement. More specifically the contents include:

Definitions.
Properties of zero (including division, and rules of operations with zero).
Further extensive numerical work, including use of negative numbers and surds.
Estimation of π.
Arithmetical terms, methods of multiplication, and squaring.
Inverse rule of three, and rules of 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11.
Problems involving interest and interest computation.
Indeterminate equations (Kuṭṭaka), integer solutions (first and second order). His contributions
to this topic are particularly important, since the rules he gives are (in effect) the same as those
given by the renaissance European mathematicians of the 17th century, yet his work was of
the 12th century. Bhaskara's method of solving was an improvement of the methods found in
the work of Aryabhata and subsequent mathematicians.

His work is outstanding for its systematisation, improved methods and the new topics that he introduced.
Furthermore, the Lilavati contained excellent problems and it is thought that Bhaskara's intention may have
been that a student of 'Lilavati' should concern himself with the mechanical application of the method.

Algebra

His Bijaganita ("Algebra") was a work in twelve chapters. It was the first text to recognize that a positive
number has two square roots (a positive and negative square root).[17] His work Bijaganita is effectively a
treatise on algebra and contains the following topics:

Positive and negative numbers.

The 'unknown' (includes determining unknown quantities).
Determining unknown quantities.
Surds (includes evaluating surds).
Kuṭṭaka (for solving indeterminate equations and Diophantine equations).
Simple equations (indeterminate of second, third and fourth degree).
Simple equations with more than one unknown.
 Indeterminate quadratic equations (of the type ax2 + b = y2).
Solutions of indeterminate equations of the second, third and fourth degree.
Quadratic equations.
Quadratic equations with more than one unknown.
Operations with products of several unknowns.

Bhaskara derived a cyclic, chakravala method for solving indeterminate quadratic equations of the form ax2
+ bx + c = y.[17] Bhaskara's method for finding the solutions of the problem Nx2 + 1 = y2 (the so-called
"Pell's equation") is of considerable importance.[15]

Trigonometry

The Siddhānta Shiromani (written in 1150) demonstrates Bhaskara's knowledge of trigonometry, including
the sine table and relationships between different trigonometric functions. He also developed spherical
trigonometry, along with other interesting trigonometrical results. In particular Bhaskara seemed more
interested in trigonometry for its own sake than his predecessors who saw it only as a tool for calculation.
Among the many interesting results given by Bhaskara, results found in his works include computation of
sines of angles of 18 and 36 degrees, and the now well known formulae for and .

Calculus

His work, the Siddhānta Shiromani, is an astronomical treatise and contains many theories not found in
earlier works. Preliminary concepts of infinitesimal calculus and mathematical analysis, along with a
number of results in trigonometry, differential calculus and integral calculus that are found in the work are
of particular interest.

Evidence suggests Bhaskara was acquainted with some ideas of differential calculus.[17] Bhaskara also goes
deeper into the 'differential calculus' and suggests the differential coefficient vanishes at an extremum value
of the function, indicating knowledge of the concept of 'infinitesimals'.[18]

There is evidence of an early form of Rolle's theorem in his work

If then for some with

He gave the result that if then , thereby finding the
derivative of sine, although he never developed the notion of derivatives.[19]
Bhaskara uses this result to work out the position angle of the ecliptic, a quantity required
for accurately predicting the time of an eclipse.
In computing the instantaneous motion of a planet, the time interval between successive
positions of the planets was no greater than a truti, or a 1⁄33750 of a second, and his measure
of velocity was expressed in this infinitesimal unit of time.
He was aware that when a variable attains the maximum value, its differential vanishes.
He also showed that when a planet is at its farthest from the earth, or at its closest, the
equation of the centre (measure of how far a planet is from the position in which it is predicted
to be, by assuming it is to move uniformly) vanishes. He therefore concluded that for some
intermediate position the differential of the equation of the centre is equal to zero. In this result,
there are traces of the general mean value theorem, one of the most important theorems in
analysis, which today is usually derived from Rolle's theorem. The mean value theorem was
later found by Parameshvara in the 15th century in the Lilavati Bhasya, a commentary on
Bhaskara's Lilavati.
Madhava (1340–1425) and the Kerala School mathematicians (including Parameshvara) from the 14th
century to the 16th century expanded on Bhaskara's work and further advanced the development of calculus
in India.

Astronomy
Using an astronomical model developed by Brahmagupta in the 7th century, Bhāskara accurately defined
many astronomical quantities, including, for example, the length of the sidereal year, the time that is
required for the Earth to orbit the Sun, as approximately 365.2588 days which is the same as in
Suryasiddhanta. The modern accepted measurement is 365.25636 days, a difference of just 3.5 minutes.[20]

His mathematical astronomy text Siddhanta Shiromani is written in two parts: the first part on mathematical
astronomy and the second part on the sphere.

The twelve chapters of the first part cover topics such as:

Mean longitudes of the planets.

True longitudes of the planets.
The three problems of diurnal rotation.(Diurnal motion is an astronomical term referring to the
apparent daily motion of stars around the Earth, or more precisely around the two celestial
poles. It is caused by the Earth's rotation on its axis, so every star apparently moves on a
circle, that is called the diurnal circle.)
Syzygies.
Lunar eclipses.
Solar eclipses.
Latitudes of the planets.
Sunrise equation
The Moon's crescent.
Conjunctions of the planets with each other.
Conjunctions of the planets with the fixed stars.
The paths of the Sun and Moon.

The second part contains thirteen chapters on the sphere. It covers topics such as:

Praise of study of the sphere.

Nature of the sphere.
Cosmography and geography.
Planetary mean motion.
Eccentric epicyclic model of the planets.
The armillary sphere.
Spherical trigonometry.
Ellipse calculations.
First visibilities of the planets.
Calculating the lunar crescent.
Astronomical instruments.
The seasons.
Problems of astronomical calculations.
Engineering
The earliest reference to a perpetual motion machine date back to 1150, when Bhāskara II described a wheel
that he claimed would run forever.[21]

Bhāskara II used a measuring device known as Yaṣṭi-yantra. This device could vary from a simple stick to
V-shaped staffs designed specifically for determining angles with the help of a calibrated scale.[22]

Legends
In his book Lilavati, he reasons: "In this quantity also which has zero as its divisor there is no change even
when many quantities have entered into it or come out [of it], just as at the time of destruction and creation
when throngs of creatures enter into and come out of [him, there is no change in] the infinite and
unchanging [Vishnu]".[23]

"Behold!"

It has been stated, by several authors, that Bhaskara II proved the Pythagorean theorem by drawing a
diagram and providing the single word "Behold!".[24][25] Sometimes Bhaskara's name is omitted and this is
referred to as the Hindu proof, well known by schoolchildren.[26]

However, as mathematics historian Kim Plofker points out, after presenting a worked out example, Bhaskara
II states the Pythagorean theorem:

Hence, for the sake of brevity, the square root of the sum of the squares of the arm and upright
is the hypotenuse: thus it is demonstrated.[27]

This is followed by:

And otherwise, when one has set down those parts of the figure there [merely] seeing [it is
sufficient].[27]

Plofker suggests that this additional statement may be the ultimate source of the widespread "Behold!"
legend.

See also
List of Indian mathematicians

Notes
1. Mathematical Achievements of Pre-modern Indian Mathematicians by T.K Puttaswamy p.331
2. Chopra 1982, pp. 52–54.
3. Plofker 2009, p. 71.
4. Poulose 1991, p. 79.
 5. S. Balachandra Rao (13 July 2014), ನವ ಜನಶ ಯಗ ತ ಸ ಯ (https://scientistsin
formation.blogspot.com), Vijayavani, p. 17
6. Seal 1915, p. 80.
7. Sarkar 1918, p. 23.
8. Goonatilake 1999, p. 134.
9. Bhaskara (https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1979-051A) NASA 16
September 2017
10. The Illustrated Weekly of India, Volume 95 (https://books.google.com/books?id=AsU7R69gqDI
C). Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. 1974. p. 30.
"Deshasthas have contributed to mathematics and literature as well as to the cultural and
religious heritage of India. Bhaskaracharaya was one of the greatest mathematicians of
ancient India."
11. Pingree 1970, p. 299.
12. Scientist (13 July 2014), ನವ ಜನಶ ಯಗ ತ ಸ ಯ (https://scientistsinformation.bl
ogspot.com), Vijayavani, p. 21
13. Verses 128, 129 in Bijaganita Plofker 2007, pp. 476–477
14. Mathematical Achievements of Pre-modern Indian Mathematicians von T.K Puttaswamy
15. Stillwell1999, p. 74.
16. Students& Britannica India. 1. A to C by Indu Ramchandani
17. 50 Timeless Scientists von K.Krishna Murty
18. Shukla 1984, pp. 95–104.
19. Cooke 1997, pp. 213–215.
20. IERS EOP PC Useful constants (http://hpiers.obspm.fr/eop-pc/models/constants.html). An SI
day or mean solar day equals 86400 SI seconds. From the mean longitude referred to the
mean ecliptic and the equinox J2000 given in Simon, J. L., et al., "Numerical Expressions for
Precession Formulae and Mean Elements for the Moon and the Planets" Astronomy and
Astrophysics 282 (1994), 663–683.[1] (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1994A%26A...282..663
S)
21. White 1978, pp. 52–53.
22. Selin 2008, pp. 269–273.
23. Colebrooke 1817.
24. Eves 1990, p. 228
25. Burton 2011, p. 106
26. Mazur 2005, pp. 19–20
27. Plofker 2007, p. 477

References
Burton, David M. (2011), The History of Mathematics: An Introduction (7th ed.), McGraw Hill,
ISBN 978-0-07-338315-6
Eves, Howard (1990), An Introduction to the History of Mathematics (6th ed.), Saunders
College Publishing, ISBN 978-0-03-029558-4
Mazur, Joseph (2005), Euclid in the Rainforest, Plume, ISBN 978-0-452-28783-9
Sarkār, Benoy Kumar (1918), Hindu achievements in exact science: a study in the history of
scientific development, Longmans, Green and co.
Seal, Sir Brajendranath (1915), The positive sciences of the ancient Hindus, Longmans, Green
and co.
Colebrooke, Henry T. (1817), Arithmetic and mensuration of Brahmegupta and Bhaskara
 White, Lynn Townsend (1978), "Tibet, India, and Malaya as Sources of Western Medieval
Technology", Medieval religion and technology: collected essays (https://archive.org/details/me
dievalreligion00whit), University of California Press, ISBN 978-0-520-03566-9
Selin, Helaine, ed. (2008), "Astronomical Instruments in India", Encyclopaedia of the History of
Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures (2nd edition), Springer Verlag Ny,
ISBN 978-1-4020-4559-2
Shukla, Kripa Shankar (1984), "Use of Calculus in Hindu Mathematics", Indian Journal of
History of Science, 19: 95–104
Pingree, David Edwin (1970), Census of the Exact Sciences in Sanskrit (https://books.google.c
om/books?id=RQoNAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=o
nepage&q&f=false), Volume 146, American Philosophical Society, ISBN 9780871691460
Plofker, Kim (2007), "Mathematics in India", in Katz, Victor J. (ed.), The Mathematics of Egypt,
Mesopotamia, China, India, and Islam: A Sourcebook, Princeton University Press,
ISBN 9780691114859
Plofker, Kim (2009), Mathematics in India (https://books.google.com/books?id=DHvThPNp9yM
C&printsec=frontcover&vq=bhaskara&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=bha
skara&f=false), Princeton University Press, ISBN 9780691120676
Cooke, Roger (1997), "The Mathematics of the Hindus", The History of Mathematics: A Brief
Course (https://archive.org/details/historyofmathema0000cook/page/213), Wiley-Interscience,
pp. 213–215 (https://archive.org/details/historyofmathema0000cook/page/213), ISBN 0-471-
18082-3
Poulose, K. G. (1991), K. G. Poulose (ed.), Scientific heritage of India, mathematics, Volume
22 of Ravivarma Samskr̥ta granthāvali, Govt. Sanskrit College (Tripunithura, India)
Chopra, Pran Nath (1982), Religions and communities of India, Vision Books, ISBN 978-0-
85692-081-3
Goonatilake, Susantha (1999), Toward a global science: mining civilizational knowledge (http
s://archive.org/details/towardglobalscie0000goon), Indiana University Press, ISBN 978-0-253-
21182-8
Selin, Helaine; D'Ambrosio, Ubiratan, eds. (2001), Mathematics across cultures: the history of
non-western mathematics, Volume 2 of Science across cultures, Springer, ISBN 978-1-4020-
0260-1
Stillwell, John (2002), Mathematics and its history, Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics,
Springer, ISBN 978-0-387-95336-6

Further reading
W. W. Rouse Ball. A Short Account of the History of Mathematics, 4th Edition. Dover
Publications, 1960.
George Gheverghese Joseph. The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of
Mathematics, 2nd Edition. Penguin Books, 2000.
O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Bhāskara II" (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.a
c.uk/Biographies/Bhaskara_II.html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St
Andrews. University of St Andrews, 2000.
Ian Pearce. Bhaskaracharya II (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Projects/Pearc
e/Chapters/Ch8_5.html) at the MacTutor archive. St Andrews University, 2002.
Pingree, David (1970–1980). "Bhāskara II". Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 2. New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 115–120. ISBN 978-0-684-10114-9.

External links
 MacTutor biography (http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Bhaskara_II.ht
ml)
4to40 Biography (https://web.archive.org/web/20110707064659/http://www.4to40.com/legend
s/index.asp?p=Bhaskara)
Calculus in Kerala (https://web.archive.org/web/20060806040307/http://www.canisius.edu/topo
s/rajeev.asp)

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