4/30/2023 0 Comments India ancient space technology![]() ![]() Where do we place all these works in the overall development of Astronomy? As far as positional calculations of planets or calculation of eclipses are concerned, these methods were far superior to any other civilisation at that time. ![]() They mostly followed rules given in Surya Siddhanta and Brahmasphutasiddhanta (of Brahmagupta). The 15th-century mathematician Nilakantha, in fact, proposed an alternate model of the solar system (later independently proposed by Tycho Brahe) which gave the most accurate positional predictions for all planets till the invention of the Heliocentric model of Copernicus.Īstronomers like Brahmagupta (~600 CE), Lalla and Sripati agreed with Aryabhata on timekeeping systems but were not in favour of his ideas like rotating earth. Towards the end of Kerala School, they were using numerical methods, which we now teach under calculus. They all developed better and better techniques to calculate positions of planets with high precision. Most of the Astronomers of Kerala School of Mathematics (12th to 15th century CE) were part of this tradition. ![]() 600 CE) or Nilakantha Somayaji (Aryabhatiya Bhasya, 1465 CE). Many accomplished astronomers followed Aryabhata in toto and wrote commentaries on Aryabhatiya e.g. The splitĪfter this, the Siddhantic Astronomers of India almost split into two branches. Although he was the first Indian to give rules of astrological predictions, he himself did not think that it is necessary for a good astronomer to believe in astrology. Varahamihira was almost a contemporary of Aryabhata and he wrote his own treatise called Brihad Samhita (~505 CE). But sadly, no copy of Garga Samhita is available today and large uncertainty in the exact date of Surya Siddhanta would mean that it might have been written after Aryabhatiya. Early Siddhantic astronomers also mention another compilation called Garga Samhita. In terms of books, there is Suryasiddhanta, a book which was written between 4th to 8th century CE. So when Aryabhata says he was taught all this, it may just be him being humble. On the other hand, we should also remember that Indian tradition teaches humility and it was a common practice to give the credit for one’s own scholarly work to the ancestors. Hence it is possible that at least some of the things which he wrote were indeed passed to him from previous generations. Was Aryabhatiya the first text of its kind and was Aryabhata truly the first Siddhanta astronomer? Aryabhata says that he is merely codifying what he learnt from the ancestors and it is also reasonable to argue that it is very unlikely that a 23-year-old would have discovered all this knowledge on his own in the limited time available to him after his studies. He also argued that the movement of stars and planets that we see is just an effect of the earth’s rotation. In just 121 verses, he covers calendrical system, large units of time, ratios of orbital periods of planets, tables of sines and cosines (needed for positions of planets), methods for measuring areas, arithmetic and geometric progressions, gnomon based timekeeping devices, linear, quadratic, simultaneous and indeterminate equations, cause of day and night, rising of different zodiac signs, the shape of the earth, etc. It formally begins with the book Aryabhatiya (~499 CE) written by Aryabhata, which is a very compact (121 verses) but very complex text. The word Siddhantic astronomy is associated with the formulation of Mathematical rules of calculations of various astronomical aspects. We know this era as the Siddhantic Astronomy era (500 CE to 1400 CE). However, for nearly 1000 years starting since Aryabhata, Indian astronomers wrote specialised books about the mathematics behind the motion of planets and stars. Before Aryabhata, we knew about astronomy mostly as a list of observations recorded or facts listed. The Indian Astronomy in the Middle Ages looks very different from astronomy in prehistoric times. There, one could have the testimony to the long history of Indian astronomy. However, globally, the answer to this question will most likely be Copernicus (born 1473 CE). Ask any child in India, who is the first astronomer, he would say Aryabhata I (born 476 CE). ![]()
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