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Bhaskara was an Indian mathematician inspired by Brahmagupta. He was born in the year c600 AD and died in the year c680 AD.[1] 

Notable Works[]

He is known for his three famous treatises he composed on works of Aryabhata. Two of these treatises known today as Mahabhaskariya*"Great Book of Bhaskara") and Laghubhaskariya("Small Book of Bhaskara"), are astronomical works in verse. His works were specifically popular in south India.

Planetary longitudes, heliacal rising and setting of the planets, conjunctions among the planets and stars, solar and lunar eclipses, and the phases of the Moon are among the topics Bhaskara discusses in his astronomical treatises. He also includes a remarkably accurate approximation for the sine function: in modern notation,

In his commentary on the Aryabhatiya, Bhaskara explains in detail Aryabhata’s method of solving linear equations and provides a number of illustrative astronomical examples. Bhaskara particularly stressed the importance of proving mathematical rules rather than just relying on tradition or expediency. In supporting Aryabhata’s approximation to π, Bhaskara criticized the traditional use of √10 for it (common among Jain mathematicians).[2]

References[]

  1. "Bhaskara I biography". School of Mathematics and Statistics University of St Andrews, Scotland. http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Bhaskara_I.html. Retrieved 06.07.2015. 
  2. "Bhaskara I". Britannica (Takao Hayashi). http://www.britannica.com/biography/Bhaskara-I. Retrieved 10.07.2015. 


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