Bhskara II

Bhskara[1] (also known as Bhskarcrya ("Bhskara the teacher"), and as Bhskara II to avoid confusion with Bhskara I)
(11141185), was an Indian mathematician and astronomer. He was born in Bijapur in modern Karnataka.[2]
Bhskara and his works represent a significant contribution to mathematical and astronomical knowledge in the 12th
century. He has been called the greatest mathematician of medieval India. [3] His main work Siddhnta
Shiromani, (Sanskrit for "Crown of Treatises")[4] is divided into four parts
called Lilvat, Bjagan ita, Grahagan ita and Goldhyya,[5] which are also sometimes considered four independent
works.[6]These four sections deal with arithmetic, algebra, mathematics of the planets, and spheres respectively. He
also wrote another treatise namedKarana Kauthala.[6]
Bhskara's work on calculus predates Newton and Leibniz by over half a millennium.[7][8] He is particularly known in
the discovery of 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 Bhskara was a pioneer in some of the principles of differential calculus. He was perhaps the first to
conceive the differential coefficient and differential calculus. [9

Date, place, and family

Bhskara gives his date of birth, and date of composition of his major work, in a verse in the ry
metre:[6]
rasa-guna-prna-mahsama
aka-nr pa samaye 'bhavat mamotpattih /
rasa-guna-varsena may
siddhnta-iroman racitah //
This reveals that he was born in 1036 of the aka era (1114 CE), and that he composed the
Siddhnta iroman when he was 36 years old.[6]He also wrote another work called the Karan akuthala when he was 69 (in 1183).[6] His works show the influence
of Brahmagupta, Sridhara,Mahvra, Padmanbha and other predecessors.[6]
He was born near Vijjadavida (believed to be Bijjaragi of Vijayapur in modern Karnataka).
Bhskara is said to have been the head of anastronomical observatory at Ujjain, the leading
mathematical center of medieval India. He lived in the Sahyadri region (Patnadevi, in Jalgaon
district, Maharashtra).[1]