Project Report Aryabhata

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DECEMBER 19, 2024

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Aryabhata Report

Project Report: Aryabhata

Introduction

Aryabhata, an ancient Indian mathematician and astronomer, is one of the

most celebrated figures in Indian history. Born in 476 CE in Kusumapura
(modern-day Patna, Bihar), Aryabhata’s contributions to mathematics and
astronomy have significantly influenced both ancient and modern scientific
thought. His seminal work, the Aryabhatiya, remains a cornerstone of Indian
scientific heritage and a testament to his intellectual prowess.

Biography

Name While often misspelled as "Aryabhatta," the correct spelling is

"Aryabhata." Astronomical texts, including Brahmagupta's references,
consistently spell his name this way. The name "Aryabhatta" does not fit the
metrical requirements of ancient Sanskrit verses.
Time and Place of Birth Aryabhata mentioned in the Aryabhatiya that he was
23 years old 3,600 years into the Kali Yuga, corresponding to 499 CE. This
implies his birth year as 476 CE. Aryabhata identified himself as a native of
Kusumapura, also known as Pataliputra (modern-day Patna, Bihar).
Alternative Hypotheses Some scholars suggest Aryabhata may have been
associated with the Ashmaka region, located between the Narmada and
Godavari rivers. Others propose Kerala as his place of origin based on later
commentaries and astronomical evidence, though this theory remains
inconclusive.
Education Aryabhata likely pursued advanced studies in Kusumapura, a
prominent center of learning. He is thought to have been associated with the
Nalanda University and reputedly headed an institution there. He also
established an observatory at Taregana, Bihar.

Works

Aryabhata authored several treatises on mathematics and astronomy, though

only the Aryabhatiya has survived. His works encompassed subjects such as
arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, and celestial mechanics. Another notable
but lost work, the Arya-siddhanta, is known through later commentaries.

Key Features of the Aryabhatiya:

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 1. Gitikapada: Discusses time measurement and the calendar system.
2. Ganitapada: Covers arithmetic, algebra, and trigonometry.
3. Kalakriyapada: Explores astronomy and time reckoning.
4. Golapada: Delves into celestial spheres and astronomical calculations.

Contributions to Mathematics

1. Decimal System: Aryabhata’s use of the decimal system laid the

foundation for modern arithmetic.
2. Trigonometry: He introduced trigonometric functions like sine (“jya”)
and cosine, advancing the field of trigonometry.
3. Pi Approximation: Aryabhata provided an accurate value for π (3.1416)
and suggested its irrationality.
4. Quadratic Equations: He devised methods to solve quadratic equations
systematically.
5. Algebra: His work showcased innovative techniques in algebra, including
summation of series and solutions to indeterminate equations.

Place value system and zero

The place-value system, first seen in the 3rd-century Bakhshali Manuscript, was
clearly in place in his work. While he did not use a symbol for zero, the French
mathematician Georges Ifrah argues that knowledge of zero was implicit in
Aryabhata's place-value system as a place holder for the powers of ten with
null coefficients.
However, Aryabhata did not use the Brahmi numerals. Continuing the
Sanskritic tradition from Vedic times, he used letters of the alphabet to denote
numbers, expressing quantities, such as the table of sines in a mnemonic form.

Approximation of π

Aryabhata worked on the approximation for pi (π) and may have conclude that
π is irrational. In the second part of the Aryabhatiyam (gaṇitapāda 10).
It is speculated that Aryabhata used the word āsanna (approaching), to mean
that not only is this an approximation but that the value is incommensurable
(or irrational). If this is correct, it is quite a sophisticated insight, because the
irrationality of pi (π) was proved in Europe only in 1761 by Lambert.

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After Aryabhatiya was translated into Arabic (c. 820 CE), this approximation
was mentioned in Al-Khwarizmi's book on algebra.

Trigonometry

In Ganitapada 6, Aryabhata gives the area of a triangle as

tribhujasya phalaśarīraṃ samadalakoṭī bhujārdhasaṃvargaḥ
that translates to: "for a triangle, the result of a perpendicular with the half-
side is the area."
Aryabhata discussed the concept of sine in his work by the name of ardha-jya,
which literally means "half-chord". For simplicity, people started calling it jya.
When Arabic writers translated his works from Sanskrit into Arabic, they
referred it as jiba. However, in Arabic writings, vowels are omitted, and it was
abbreviated as jb. Later writers substituted it with jaib, meaning "pocket" or
"fold (in a garment)". (In Arabic, jiba is a meaningless word.) Later in the 12th
century, when Gherardo of Cremona translated these writings from Arabic into
Latin, he replaced the Arabic jaib with its Latin counterpart, sinus, which means
"cove" or "bay"; thence comes the English word sine.

Indeterminate equations

A problem of great interest to Indian mathematicians since ancient times has

been to find integer solutions to Diophantine equations that have the form ax +
by = c. (This problem was also studied in ancient Chinese mathematics, and its
solution is usually referred to as the Chinese remainder theorem.) This is an
example from Bhāskara's commentary on Aryabhatiya:

Find the number which gives 5 as the remainder when divided by 8, 4 as the
remainder when divided by 9, and 1 as the remainder when divided by 7
That is, find N = 8x+5 = 9y+4 = 7z+1. It turns out that the smallest value for N is
85. In general, diophantine equations, such as this, can be notoriously difficult.
They were discussed extensively in ancient Vedic text Sulba Sutras, whose more
ancient parts might date to 800 BCE. Aryabhata's method of solving such
problems, elaborated by Bhaskara in 621 CE, is called the kuṭṭaka (कुट्टक)
method. Kuṭṭaka means "pulverizing" or "breaking into small pieces", and the
method involves a recursive algorithm for writing the original factors in smaller
numbers. This algorithm became the standard method for solving first-order
diophantine equations in Indian mathematics, and initially the whole subject of
algebra was called kuṭṭaka-gaṇita or simply kuṭṭaka.

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Algebra

In Aryabhatiya, Aryabhata provided elegant results for the summation of series

of squares and cubes:
"Add four to 100, multiply by eight, and then add 62,000. By this rule the
circumference of a circle with a diameter of 20,000 can be approached."

This implies that for a circle whose diameter is 20000, the circumference will
be 62832

Contributions to Astronomy

1. Heliocentric Model: Aryabhata suggested the Earth rotates on its axis, a

revolutionary idea predating Copernicus.
2. Eclipse Theory: He scientifically explained solar and lunar eclipses,
attributing them to celestial shadows.
3. Sidereal Year: Aryabhata calculated the sidereal year as 365.258 days,
remarkably accurate for his time.
4. Planetary Motion: He described elliptical planetary orbits and their
relative positions.

Motions of the Solar System

Aryabhata correctly insisted that the Earth rotates about its axis daily, and that
the apparent movement of the stars is a relative motion caused by the rotation
of the Earth, contrary to the then-prevailing view, that the sky rotated. This is
indicated in the first chapter of the Aryabhatiya, where he gives the number of
rotations of the Earth in a yuga,[30] and made more explicit in his gola chapter:
In the same way that someone in a boat going forward sees an unmoving
[object] going backward, so [someone] on the equator sees the unmoving stars
going uniformly westward. The cause of rising and setting [is that] the sphere
of the stars together with the planets [apparently?] turns due west at the
equator, constantly pushed by the cosmic wind.

Aryabhata described a geocentric model of the Solar System, in which the Sun
and Moon are each carried by epicycles. They in turn revolve around the Earth.
In this model, which is also found in the Paitāmahasiddhānta (c. 425 CE), the
motions of the planets are each governed by two epicycles, a smaller manda
(slow) and a larger śīghra (fast).The order of the planets in terms of distance

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from earth is taken as: the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn, and the asterisms.

The positions and periods of the planets was calculated relative to uniformly
moving points. In the case of Mercury and Venus, they move around the Earth
at the same mean speed as the Sun. In the case of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn,
they move around the Earth at specific speeds, representing each planet's
motion through the zodiac. Most historians of astronomy consider that this
two-epicycle model reflects elements of pre-Ptolemaic Greek astronomy.
Another element in Aryabhata's model, the śīghrocca, the basic planetary
period in relation to the Sun, is seen by some historians as a sign of an
underlying heliocentric mode.

Eclipses

Solar and lunar eclipses were scientifically explained by Aryabhata. He states

that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight. Instead of the prevailing
cosmogony in which eclipses were caused by Rahu and Ketu (identified as the
pseudo-planetary lunar nodes), he explains eclipses in terms of shadows cast
by and falling on Earth. Thus, the lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon enters
the Earth's shadow. He discusses at length the size and extent of the Earth's
shadow and then provides the computation and the size of the eclipsed part
during an eclipse. Later Indian astronomers improved on the calculations, but
Aryabhata's methods provided the core. His computational paradigm was so
accurate that 18th-century scientist Guillaume Le Gentil, during a visit to
Pondicherry, India, found the Indian computations of the duration of the lunar
eclipse of 30 August 1765 to be short by 41 seconds, whereas his charts (by
Tobias Mayer, 1752) were long by 68 seconds.

Sidereal periods
Considered in modern English units of time, Aryabhata calculated the sidereal
rotation (the rotation of the earth referencing the fixed stars) as 23 hours, 56
minutes, and 4.1 seconds; the modern value is 23:56:4.091. Similarly, his value
for the length of the sidereal year at 365 days, 6 hours, 12 minutes, and 30
seconds (365.25858 days) is an error of 3 minutes and 20 seconds over the
length of a year (365.25636 days).

Heliocentrism
As mentioned, Aryabhata advocated an astronomical model in which the Earth
turns on its own axis. His model also gave corrections (the śīgra anomaly) for

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the speeds of the planets in the sky in terms of the mean speed of the Sun.
Thus, it has been suggested that Aryabhata's calculations were based on an
underlying heliocentric model, in which the planets orbit the Sun, though this
has been rebutted. It has also been suggested that aspects of Aryabhata's
system may have been derived from an earlier, likely pre-Ptolemaic Greek,
heliocentric model of which Indian astronomers were unaware, though the
evidence is scant. The consensus is that a synodic anomaly (depending on the
position of the Sun) does not imply a physically heliocentric orbit (such
corrections being also present in late Babylonian astronomical texts), and that
Aryabhata's system was not explicitly heliocentric.

Legacy

Legacy and Influence

Impact on Scholars Aryabhata influenced many scholars, including Bhaskara I

and Brahmagupta, who expanded upon his work. His methods also reached the
Islamic world, shaping the works of astronomers like Al-Khwarizmi.

Space Exploration India’s first satellite, launched in 1975, was

named Aryabhata in his honor, symbolizing his enduring legacy.

Modern Education and Research Aryabhata’s work is integrated into modern

curricula and inspires research institutions such as the Aryabhatta Research
Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES).

Ongoing Relevance Contemporary scholars continue to study Aryabhata’s

methods, using advanced tools to explore his mathematical models and
astronomical calculations.

Aryabhata's work was of great influence in the Indian astronomical tradition

and influenced several neighbouring cultures through translations. The Arabic
translation during the Islamic Golden Age (c. 820 CE), was particularly
influential. Some of his results are cited by Al-Khwarizmi and in the 10th
century Al-Biruni stated that Aryabhata's followers believed that the Earth
rotated on its axis.

His definitions of sine (jya), cosine (kojya), versine (utkrama-jya), and inverse
sine (otkram jya) influenced the birth of trigonometry. He was also the first to

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specify sine and versine (1 − cos x) tables, in 3.75° intervals from 0° to 90°, to
an accuracy of 4 decimal places.

In fact, the modern terms "sine" and "cosine" are mistranscriptions of the
words jya and kojya as introduced by Aryabhata. As mentioned, they were
translated as jiba and kojiba in Arabic and then misunderstood by Gerard of
Cremona while translating an Arabic geometry text to Latin. He assumed that
jiba was the Arabic word jaib, which means "fold in a garment", L. sinus (c.
1150).

Aryabhata's astronomical calculation methods were also very influential. Along

with the trigonometric tables, they came to be widely used in the Islamic world
and used to compute many Arabic astronomical tables (zijes). In particular, the
astronomical tables in the work of the Arabic Spain scientist Al-Zarqali (11th
century) were translated into Latin as the Tables of Toledo (12th century) and
remained the most accurate ephemeris used in Europe for centuries.

Calendric calculations devised by Aryabhata and his followers have been in

continuous use in India for the practical purposes of fixing the Panchangam
(the Hindu calendar). In the Islamic world, they formed the basis of the Jalali
calendar introduced in 1073 CE by a group of astronomers including Omar
Khayyam,versions of which (modified in 1925) are the national calendars in use
in Iran and Afghanistan today. The dates of the Jalali calendar are based on
actual solar transit, as in Aryabhata and earlier Siddhanta calendars. This type
of calendar requires an ephemeris for calculating dates. Although dates were
difficult to compute, seasonal errors were less in the Jalali calendar than in the
Gregorian calendar. [citation needed]

Aryabhatta Knowledge University (AKU), Patna has been established by

Government of Bihar for the development and management of educational
infrastructure related to technical, medical, management and allied
professional education in his honour. The university is governed by Bihar State
University Act 2008.

India's first satellite Aryabhata and the lunar crater Aryabhata are both named
in his honour, the Aryabhata satellite also featured on the reverse of the Indian
2-rupee note. An Institute for conducting research in astronomy, astrophysics
and atmospheric sciences is the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational
Sciences (ARIES) near Nainital, India. The inter-school Aryabhata Maths

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Competition is also named after him, as is Bacillus aryabhata, a species of
bacteria discovered in the stratosphere by ISRO

Ongoing Relevance Contemporary scholars continue to study Aryabhata’s

methods, using advanced tools to explore his mathematical models and
astronomical calculations.

Conclusion

Aryabhata’s contributions to mathematics and astronomy exemplify intellectual

brilliance and innovation. His legacy transcends time, inspiring generations of
scientists, mathematicians, and educators. From his revolutionary theories to
the Aryabhatiya, Aryabhata’s work remains a beacon of scientific inquiry and
achievement