Lilawati; or a Treatise on Arithmetic and Geometry

An important twelfth-century arithmetical treatise by medieval India's greatest mathematician, first published in English translation in 1816.

Bhascara Acharya (Author), John Taylor (Translated by)

9781108055406, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 28 March 2013

222 pages, 6 b/w illus.
24.4 x 17 x 1.2 cm, 0.36 kg

An important mathematician and astronomer in medieval India, Bhascara Acharya (1114–85) wrote treatises on arithmetic, algebra, geometry and astronomy. He is also believed to have been head of the astronomical observatory at Ujjain, which was the leading centre of mathematical sciences in India. Forming part of his Sanskrit magnum opus Siddh?nta Shiromani, the present work is his treatise on arithmetic, including coverage of geometry. It was first published in English in 1816 after being translated by the East India Company surgeon John Taylor (d.1821). Used as a textbook in India for centuries, it provides the basic mathematics needed for astronomy. Topics covered include arithmetical terms, plane geometry, solid geometry and indeterminate equations. Of enduring interest in the history of mathematics, this work also contains Bhascara's pictorial proof of Pythagoras' theorem.

Introduction
Part I. Arithmetic
Part II. Of Geometrical Operations: 1. Of circles
2. Of ponds
3. Of the bricks or stones in a wall
4. Of cutting timbers, etc.
5. Of heaps
6. Of shadows
Part III: 1. Of the kutaka
2. Of the sthira or fixed kutaka
3. Of the sanslista kutaka
Part IV. Of Transpositions
Appendix.

Subject Areas: History of mathematics [PBX]