An Anecdote on Mādhava School of Mathematics
Insight: An International Journal for Arts and Humanities Peer Reviewed and Refereed Vol: 1; Issue: 3 ISSN: 2582-8002 An Anecdote on Mādhava School of Mathematics Athira K Babu Research Scholar, Department of Sanskrit Sahitya, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, Abstract The Sanskrit term ‘Gaṇitaśāstra’, meaning literally the “science of calculation” is used for mathematics. The mathematical tradition of ancient India is an ocean of knowledge that is dealing with many topics such as the Vedic, Jain and Buddhist traditions, the mathematical astronomy, The Bhakshali manuscripts, The Kerala School of mathematics and the like. Thus India has made a valuable contribution to the world of mathematics. The origin and development of Indian mathematics are connected with Jyotiśāstra1. This paper tries to deconstructing the concept of mathematical tradition of Kerala with respect to Niḷā valley civilization especially under the background of medieval Kerala and also tries to look into the Mādhava School of mathematics through the life and works of great mathematician Mādhava of Saṅgamagrāma and his pupils who lived in and around the river Niḷā. Keywords: Niḷā, Literature review, Mathematical Tradition of medieval Kerala, Mādhava of Saṅgamagrāma, Great lineage of Mādhava. Introduction Niḷā, the Nile of Kerala is famous for the great ‘Māmāṅkam’ festival. The word ‘Niḷā’point out a culture more than just a river. It has a great role in the formation of the cultural life of south Malabar part of Kerala. It could be seen that the word ‘Peraar’ indicating the same river in ancient scripts and documents. The Niḷā is the life line of many places such as Chittur, Ottappalam, Shornur, Cheruthuruthy, Pattambi, Thrithala, Thiruvegappura, Kudallur, Pallippuram, Kumbidi, 1 The Sanskrit word used for Astronomy is Jyotiśāstra.
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