Aryabhatta Biography

Introduction

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The introduction of Aryabhatta to the world happened through his

remarkable work

in the field of mathematics and astronomy. Aryabhata is one of the most

renowned

Indian Mathematicians, in fact, one of the firsts. Born in the Gupta era that
is during

the rule of the Gupta Dynasty in 475 CE in Kusumapura, Pataliputra, he

was known

for his extraordinary knowledge in the astronomical field. He has written

many

treaties in both mathematics and astronomy. He was also the author of

many

mathematical books which to date is considered holy and reverend

immensely.

Many of his works were lost, but some are still available for modern
scholars and

hold great credibility. And his inventions, discoveries and contributions

have brought

pride to our country. It has also inspired many budding scientists to follow
his path

and make discoveries.

Who is Aryabhatta?

To understand who Aryabhatta is it is important to dig a little deeper

beyond the

Aryabhata Scientist and learn more by finding Aryabhata Information

about his

inventions and discoveries. There is not enough information about his

personal life.

Rather, all are curious to know what did Aryabhatta invented? And
therefore
Aryabhatta Inventions and Aryabhatta Discoveries is still a topic of
interest, as there

is a new generation curious to find about this Mathematical genius.

Basic Information

Birth- 476 CE

Birth Place- Kusumapura, capital Patalipitra in the Gupta Era.

Present Day- birthplace is known to be Bihar, Patna, India.

Works- His Most Notable work is Aryabhatiya and Arya Siddhanta.

Death- 550 CE

Aryabhatta Biography

Aryabhata Information

Vedartt

The birthplace and year of Aryabhata are still estimated based on his
works and

influences. In one of his widely popular works Aryabhatiya, it was

mentioned, he was

23 years old when we were 3600 years into Kaliyug, which dates back to
499 CE and

thus estimating his birth year to be 476 CE. Not to be misunderstood, the
text

Aryabhatiya was published 3600 years into Kaliyug, it was much later
when his

works of discoveries and text were found. He always considered

Kusumapura,

Pataliputra his native place which is present-day Patna, Bihar. His actual
birthplace

and the family he was born into is still unknown.

Abu Rayhan al-Biruni who is also known as Al-Biruni, a famous Islamic

Mathematician who studied the works of Aryabhata stated that Aryabhata

must be
called Aryabhata 1 or Aryabhata the Elder. This statement was given
claiming there

were two scientists named Aryabhata who lived during the same period.
This

created commotion and confusion and did not help in understanding

Aryabhata’s

life rather created much more confusion. The confusion was cleared much
later in

the year 1926 by B Datta when he said the works AI-Biruni confused to be
of two

scientists, is only of one, and that is Aryabhata.

Pataliputra which was the capital of Kusumapura in the Gupta Empire was
a major

learning hub and was the center of a communication network. Because of

which the

works around the world reached the place easily that helped Aryabhata to
make

major mathematical and astronomical advancements. It was believed that

he was

the head of his school Kulpa in Kusumapura. Later to pursue his interest in

astronomy also went to study at Nalanda University located in Pataliputra,

the

speculations of him being the head of his university also remained intact.

Aryabhata’s Works and Legacy

The legacy of Aryabhata is truly unmatched, and no one can replicate his
major

achievements at a world-class level that is relevant to this day ever since.

His

visionary approach was noteworthy. Let’s take a look at Aryabhatta

Inventions and

Aryabhatta Discoveries.

Aryabhatta Inventions And Aryabhatta Discoveries

The major works of his that have not been lost are Aryabhatiya and Arya-
Siddhanta.
In both his works he explored Mathematics and astronomy and correlation.
And he

also explained how mathematical equations could help find out the
workings of the

world via astronomy.

Vedartt

Aryabhatiya:- This book is also called Arya-status-ash which is directly

translated

as Aryabhata’s 108 because in the text there are 108 verses. It is written
in the form of

a sutra that is a collection of aphorisms which is a concise way of writing a

statement or a scientific principle.

These verses are his works that are a way to remember the complex
calculations in

a simple format, in the form of 13 introductory verses. These are divided

into 4

chapters or padas, the Ist Chapter is Gitikapada that has 13 verses. It

deals with

cosmology. The planetary revolutions, in a maha yuga, is mentioned to be

up to 4.32

million years.

The 2nd Pada or chapter is the Ganitapada, Ganita in Sanskrit means

calculations. It

has 33 verses, all dedicated to mathematics. Explaining, mensuration,

simple,

quadratic, and indeterminate equations and arithmetic and geometric

equations.

The 3rd Pada is the Kalakriya Pada consisting of 25 verses, where using
varying units

of time the count of days, weeks and months. And the 4th Chapter is
Golapada that
consists of 50 verses. In this chapter, Aryabhata delves into the causes of
days and

nights, rising of zodiac signs, eclipse, celestial equator, node and the
shape of the

earth.

Mathematical Discoveries:- In Aryabhatiya Indian Mathematical Literature

was

extensively mentioned. The Vedic way to solve mathematical problems

was

explored and unsurprisingly this has also survived to modern times. The
details of

algebra, arithmetic, plane trigonometry, spherical trigonometry were

discussed. He

followed the Sanskrutik tradition or method of calculations that were

prevalent in the

Vedic Times. The title of ‘Father Of Algebra’ was given to Aryabhata, due
to his

notable understanding and explanation of planetary systems using it.

Aryabhata

correctly concluded the value of pi up to 2 decimal places, 3.14. He also

used null

coefficients and very rightly was aware of the use of zero in such a place.
He used

sanskritic tradition that was mainly denoted by letters and alphabets,

unlike the

Brahmi numerals.

Astronomy Discoveries:- Aryabhatta rightly insisted that the earth rotates

daily on

its axis around the sun and the movement of stars appeared to be
because of the

relative motion caused due to the rotation of the earth. This was in
contrast to the

then very popular belief that it was the sky that rotates. With calculated
evidence, it
was explained that heliocentrism is the rotation of planets around the sun,
axially.

Vedartt

His astronomical discoveries are majorly divided into four sections. These
include an

explanation of the motion of the solar system, eclipses, sidereal periods

and

heliocentrism.

The Motion ofthe Solar System

Aryabhatta suggested that the earth rotates on its axis daily. And the
relative

movement of the stars is caused bythe motion of the earth.

In this first chapter of his book Aryabhatiyam, he mentions the number of

earth

rotations in a yuga.

To explain this phenomenon, he proposed a geometrical model of the solar

system

in which the moon and sun were carried by epicycles which means a circle
moving

on another circle. According to this model, the motion of the planets was
governed

by two epicycles. The smaller one was slow and the larger one was fast.

In terms of the distance from the earth, the order of the planets was- the
Moon,

Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the asterisms (group of
stars). The

periods and positions of the planets were calculated on the relative

motion of the

points.

In the case of Venus and Mercury, they moved with the same mean speed
as the
Sun around the Earth. However, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, stars or points
moved

around the Earth at a specific velocity representing the motion of each

planet

through a zodiac.

Eclipses

Aryabhata explained lunar and solar eclipses with scientific experiments.

He stated

that the planets and the Moonshine due to the reflected sunlight. He
explained the

eclipses in terms of shadows falling on the Earth.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth’s shadow is blocked by the Moon.
Later, he

discussed the extent and size of the Earth’s shadow and then computed
the size of

the eclipsed part during an eclipse. Aryabhatta experiments laid the

foundation for

Indian astronomers to improve the calculations.

Sidereal Periods

Vedartt

Considering the modern units of time, Aryabhatta calculated the sidereal

rotation (

the rotation of the Earth concerning the stars) as 23 hours, 56 minutes

and 4.1

seconds. The modern value of time was written as 23:56:4.091.

Heliocentrism

Aryabhatta gave an astronomical model which stated that the Earth

rotates on its

axis. His model also gave corrections for the calculations of mean speeds
of the
planets concerning the Sun. His calculations were based on the
heliocentric model

in which the planets and the Earth revolve around the Sun at the centre of
the

universe.

The geocentric model of the solar system was described by Aryabhata,

scientifically

explaining the solar and lunar eclipses. He also estimated the length of
the year to

be 365 days 6 hours 12 minutes 30 seconds which only deviates from

today’s

calculations by3 minutes 20 seconds.

Death ofAryabhata Scientist

Aryabhata died a successful mathematician, astronomer and scientist at

the age of

74. The place and time of death are still unknown. It was believed he
spent most of

his life in Kusumapura, Pataliputra.

Aryabhata's Legacy

Indian astronomical traditions and other cultures were highly influenced

by

Aryabhata's work. His works, experiments and calculations were

translated into

several languages to help other astronomers. During the Islamic Golden

Age, the

Arabian translation was specifically influential. Some of his results were

cited by

great Arabian mathematicians such as Al-Biruni and Al-Khawarizmi who

believed

that the Earth rotates on its axis.

Aryabhata's definitions for cosine, sine, inverse sine, verse sine gave birth
to

Trigonometry. He was one of the first mathematicians to determine sine

and versine
(I-cosx) tables from 0 to 90 degrees in the interval of 3.75 degrees to an
accuracy of

4 decimal places.

The modern names of Trigonometric functions, sine and cosine are derived
from the

sanskrit words “jya” and “Kojya” which were introduced by him.

Vedartt

His astronomical calculation techniques were also very popular among

different

astronomers. They were widely used to form Arabic astronomical tables

“zijes”.

Along with this, his calendrical calculations have been used in India to
form the

Hindu calendar “Panchgram”. This calendar formed the basis of the

Islamic

calendar “Jalali’ which was introduced by a group of Islamic astronomers

in 1073 CE.

The modified versions of this calendar are still in use in Afghanistan and
Iran.

To honour Aryabhata for his works, the Bihar Government has established

Aryabhatta Knowledge University to promote astronomical knowledge

among

interested students. As well as the first Indian satellite was also named
after him.

Conclusion

The contributions of a scientist since Aryabhata has never been the same.
He truly

made the world notice India, in terms of holding scientific knowledge and
value that

made a difference to the world. He challenged and contradicted many

beliefs that
were going on at the time and through calculations provided pieces of
evidence for

it to be true. And after all these years, his work does not flinch from
meticulous

accuracy. There are very few scientists who achieved in their lifetime an

extraordinary duty of work and Aryabhata was one of them. India

recognizes his

contributions. His work was widely popular and appreciated in the Islamic
world

especially his astronomical discoveries which were translated into Arabic

in the 8th

Century. The first Indian Satellite to be sent to space was named after him
as a

tribute. He was the first in the classical age of India that excelled as a

mathematician and an astronomer. At the time, without any advanced

technology

available, being able to estimate and approximate his discoveries was

truly

remarkable. We must take pride in his works as Indians.