Evidently, they had composed voluminous mathematics texts, for Bhāskara I explains why Āryabhaṭa records only a “bit of mathematics” (, pp. 600 CE) makes an incidental reference to names like Maskarī, Pūraṇa, Mudgala, Pūtana, referring to them as ācāryas (masters) however, nothing is known to us about such revered mathematicians. Āryabhaṭa acknowledges at the beginning (verse 1) of the mathematics chapter Gaṇita of Āryabhaṭīya that he is recording ancient knowledge “honoured at Kusumapura” (probably near modern Patna). But, thanks to this treatise, most of the preceding mathematics texts became redundant and hence became lost to posterity.
499 CE) of Āryabhaṭa is considered a landmark in Indian astronomy and mathematics. To cite a concrete example, the intensely concise Āryabhaṭīya (c. It would be natural under the circumstances not to make the tedious efforts to preserve a mathematics treatise of a certain period if there arises a later mathematics treatise by a stalwart containing the essence of the knowledge of the earlier period alongside new original results. Further, scholars had to be selective regarding the texts to be preserved, especially during the earlier periods. Therefore the more concise the work, the better its chance of survival through faithful memorisation or copying. Thus a treatise could be preserved only through memorisation, or through repeated copying. Treatises were written in ancient India on materials like palm leaves or barks of trees which usually do not last long. The Vedāṅga body of literature was considered essential for a proper study of the sacred Vedas and the performance of the Vedic rituals.
These texts, being a part of the Vedāṅga literature, have been carefully preserved by successive generations for around 25 centuries or more. 800–500 BCE), and the last section of the Chandaḥ-Sūtra of Piṅgalācārya (c. In the previous two parts of the article in this series, we had presented glimpses of the mathematics present in Vedic and Sūtra Literature, and highlighted the chief source materials, especially the two major direct sources of mathematical results and techniques: the Śulba-sūtras of Baudhāyana, Mānava, Āpastamba and Kātyāyana (c. The picture, adapted from Ifrah’s book, shows how the numeral 2 in various Indian and other languages has evolved from it’s Brahmī genesis in particular, the Brahmī–Gupta–Nagari–western Arabic–European route taken by the numeral to reach the modern universally used 2 is also seen.
0 kommentar(er)
