Bhaskara-1 and his astronomy English
- 1st ed
- Tirupati Rashtriya sanskrit vidyapeetha 2003
- 100
- Sanskrit science series-4 .
Bhaskaracharya’s astronomical findings on planetary position, occurrence of eclipses and cosmography, written in his treatise titled “Siddhanta Shiromani”, stuns everyone, write MEERA S. SASHITAL.
We are told the period between 500 and 1200 A.D. was the Golden Age of Indian Astronomy. During this golden period an Indian wizard was born who contributed greatly to the conception of Astronomy and Mathematics. He was none other than Bhaskaracharya. He was bestowed an apt title by Ganesh Daivadnya for his genius work in Astronomy and Mathematics calling Bhaskaracharya “Ganakachakra chudamani” which means “a Gem among all the calculators of astronomical phenomena.”
Bhaskaracharya’s ‘Siddhanta Shiromani’ is considered as the pinnacle of all the astronomical works of those 700 years. It can be aptly called the “essence of ancient Indian Astronomy and Mathematics. In the 9th century Brahmagupta’s Brahmasputa Siddhanta was translated in Arabic. These translations proved to be an important event in the history of numbers. The Arabs quickly grasped the importance of Indian Decimal system of numbers. They played a key role in transmitting this system of numbers to Europeans. For a long time Europeans were using Roman numerals but after accepting the Decimal System of numbers, European Mathematicians made remarkable progress in Mathematics, but that was about 500 years A.D. after Bhaskaracharya.