Brahmagupta, one of the greatest Indian mathematicians

Brahmagupta:

Brahmagupta (c. 598- c. 670) was one of the most significant mathematicians of ancient India. He introduced extremely influential concepts to basic mathematics, including the use of zero in mathematical calculations and the use of mathematics and algebra in describing and predicting astronomical events.

He was born in 598 at Bhillmala, a city in the state of Rajasthan of present-day Northwest India. As a result, he is often referred to as Bhillmalacharya (the teacher from Bhillmala). He was the head of the astronomical observatory at Ujjain. His father’s name was Jisnugupta.

Works of Brahmagupta:

Brahmagupta wrote two surviving treatises, both on mathematics and astronomy:

1. The Brahmasphutasiddhanta and
2. The Khandakhadyaka
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Aryabhatta, the pioneer of astronomy

Aryabhatta

Aryabhatta or Aryabhatta I (476–550 CE) was the first of the major mathematician astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. He was born in 476 in Ashmaka, the region between the Narmada and Godavari rivers in central India.

He went to Kusumapura (Pataliputra, modern Patna) for advanced studies and lived there for some time. He was the head of an institution (kulapa) at Kusumapura and might have been the head of the Nalanda University.

Works:

Aryabhatta is the author of several treatises on mathematics and astronomy, some of which are lost. His works include-

1.          Aryabhatiyam and
2.          Arya-siddhanta.
   

Aryabhatiyam:

The Aryabhatiyam is also known as Ashmakatantra (the treatise from the Ashmaka) and Arya-shatas-asta (literally, Aryabhata's 108). It was extensively referred to in the Indian mathematical literature. It presented a number of innovations in mathematics and astronomy in verse form, which were influential for many centuries. The extreme brevity of the text was elaborated in commentaries by his disciple Bhaskara I and by Nilakantha Somayaji in his Aryabhatiya Bhasya. The text consists of the 108 verses and 13 introductory verses, and is divided into four Pādas or chapters: