2017-03-14 Tue

‘Mathematicians are born, not made.’ – Henri Poincare

We all know the strength of zero in the world of mathematics, one of the greatest inventions that changed the world of numerical. But do you know who invented it? Who was he? What role did he play in revolutionising the field of mathematics?
This great scholar was an Indian called Aryabhata.

Aryabhata is famous for his writing ‘Aryabhatiya’ which is well known in South India and as ‘Aryabhatasiddhanta’ in Northwest India. The verses are written in couplets and were used in Mathematics and Astronomy. His work was divided into three sections: ‘Ganita’(Mathematics), ‘Kala-kriya’( Time calculation) and ‘Gola’(Sphere).

In Aryabhatiya, Ganita deals with 10 decimal places and algorithm for obtaining cubic roots using Decimal Number System. It further introduced the concept of “?” or “pi” (62,832/20,009= 3.1416). He also mentions about the right-angle triangle and Pythagorean Theorem. He also developed the concept of “Sines”. Equations like Quadratic, Compound Interest, Ratio, Linear, Arithmetic and Algebra were also a part of his work in Aryabhatiya.

The section of Kala-kriya is a study of astronomy, particularly the planetary motion, ecliptic revolutions, unit of time, etc. The Gola section deals with trigonometry and geometry which covers lunar and solar eclipses, the motion of stars due to the rotation of the earth. He also correctly stated the luminosity (light) of moon and planets is the reflection of sunlight.

Today the world is celebrating ‘Pi’ day which was introduced in the 18th century by William Jones but India already had this treasure of knowledge with her since 5th century AD itself.

To respect this great mathematician and astronomer Indian government has named its first satellite Aryabhata.

This satellite also features on the Two rupee note issued by the Reserve Bank of India in 1976, to mark this great achievement.

India post has also issued a commemorative stamp to celebrate this significant event.