Studies In Indian Mathematics And Astronomy

This volume presents a collection of some of the seminal articles of Professor K. S. Shukla who made immense contributions to our understanding of the history and development of mathematics and astronomy in India. It consists of six parts: Part I constitutes introductory articles which give an overview of the life and work of Prof. Shukla, including details of his publications, reminiscences from his former students, and an analysis of his monumental contributions. Part II is a collection of important articles penned by Prof. Shukla related to various aspects of Indian mathematics. Part III consists of articles by Bibhutibhusan Datta and Avadhesh Narayan Singh—which together constitute the third unpublished part of their History of Hindu Mathematics—that were revised and updated by Prof. Shukla. Parts IV and V consist of a number of important articles of Prof. Shukla on different aspects of Indian astronomy. Part VI includes some important reviews authored by him and a few reviews of his work. Given the sheer range and depth of Prof. Shukla’s scholarship, this volume is essential reading for scholars seeking to deepen their understanding of the rich and varied contributions made by Indian mathematicians and astronomers.

This volume is the outcome of a seminar on the history of mathematics held at the Chennai Mathematical Institute during January-February 2008 and contains articles based on the talks of distinguished scholars both from the West and from India. The topics covered include: (1) geometry in the oulvasatras; (2) the origins of zero (which can be traced to ideas of lopa in Paoini's grammar); (3) combinatorial methods in Indian music (which were developed in the context of prosody and subsequently applied to the study of tonal and rhythmic patterns in music); (4) a cross-cultural view of the development of negative numbers (from Brahmagupta (c. 628 CE) to John Wallis (1685 CE); (5) Kunnaka, Bhavana and Cakravala (the techniques developed by Indian mathematicians for the solution of indeterminate equations); (6) the development of calculus in India (covering the millennium-long history of discoveries culminating in the work of the Kerala school giving a complete analysis of the basic calculus of polynomial and trigonometrical functions); (7) recursive methods in Indian mathematics (going back to Paoini's grammar and culminating in the recursive proofs found in the Malayalam text Yuktibhaua (1530 CE)); and (8) planetary and lunar models developed by the Kerala School of Astronomy. The articles in this volume cover a substantial portion of the history of Indian mathematics and astronomy. This book will serve the dual purpose of bringing to the international community a better perspective of the mathematical heritage of India and conveying the message that much work remains to be done, namely the study of many unexplored manuscripts still available in libraries in India and abroad.

Indian Mathematics gives a unique insight into the history of mathematics within a historical global context. It builds on research into the connection between mathematics and the world-wide advancement of economics and technology. Joseph draws out parallel developments in other cultures and carefully examines the transmission of mathematical ideas across geographical and cultural borders. Accessible to those who have an interest in the global history of mathematical ideas, for the historians, philosophers and sociologists of mathematics, it is a book not to be missed.

Based on extensive research in Sanskrit sources, Mathematics in India chronicles the development of mathematical techniques and texts in South Asia from antiquity to the early modern period. Kim Plofker reexamines the few facts about Indian mathematics that have become common knowledge--such as the Indian origin of Arabic numerals--and she sets them in a larger textual and cultural framework. The book details aspects of the subject that have been largely passed over in the past, including the relationships between Indian mathematics and astronomy, and their cross-fertilizations with Islamic scientific traditions. Plofker shows that Indian mathematics appears not as a disconnected set of discoveries, but as a lively, diverse, yet strongly unified discipline, intimately linked to other Indian forms of learning. Far more than in other areas of the history of mathematics, the literature on Indian mathematics reveals huge discrepancies between what researchers generally agree on and what general readers pick up from popular ideas. This book explains with candor the chief controversies causing these discrepancies--both the flaws in many popular claims, and the uncertainties underlying many scholarly conclusions. Supplementing the main narrative are biographical resources for dozens of Indian mathematicians; a guide to key features of Sanskrit for the non-Indologist; and illustrations of manuscripts, inscriptions, and artifacts. Mathematics in India provides a rich and complex understanding of the Indian mathematical tradition. **Author's note: The concept of "computational positivism" in Indian mathematical science, mentioned on p. 120, is due to Prof. Roddam Narasimha and is explored in more detail in some of his works, including "The Indian half of Needham's question: some thoughts on axioms, models, algorithms, and computational positivism" (Interdisciplinary Science Reviews 28, 2003, 1-13).