Nilakantha Somayaji

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Nilakantha Somayaji , also Kelallur Comatiri, (born June 14, 1444 in Trkkantiyur near Tirur , Kerala ; † 1544 ) was an Indian mathematician , astrologer and astronomer . He belonged to the Kerala School of Mathematicians and Astronomers in South India. His geo-heliocentric world model ( see: Tychonic world model ) corresponded to the one later named after Tycho Brahe .

He was among the Nambudiri - Brahmins and there to Gargya family (Gargya gotra), one of the box, who married only among themselves. In contrast to many other traditional Indian mathematicians and astronomers, he gave some information about himself in his works. The family followed the Ashvalayana sutra of the Rigveda . The addition of the name Somayaji indicates that he performed the Vedic Soma-yajna rituals - they correspond to the worship of a deity Soma (ruler of plants and healers). Kellalur refers to the descent from the Kelallur family, Comatiri is a later corrupted form of Somayaji.

He studied Vedanta and astronomy with his teacher Ravi and astronomy with Damodara, the son of Parameshvara .

He is known for his astronomical treatise Tantrasamgraha , written in 432 Sanskrit verses in eight chapters. According to information in the commentary of his student Sankara Variar, his main work contains an exact date of the writing (1501). In addition to its astronomical content, it is also important for its mathematical content, among other things, it gives references to the series discoveries of Madhava , the founder of the Kerala school, which he also developed further. His student Jyesthadeva wrote a commentary on his main work Tantrasamgraha.

He also wrote other astronomical treatises, such as a commentary on the Aryabhatiya, the main work of Aryabhata I, called Aryabhatiyaabhasya. In it he refers to two of his own observations of solar eclipses (March 6, 1467 and July 28, 1501 in Anantaksetra) and refers to his own book on eclipses (Grahanirnaya), which has not survived.

His treatise Golasara is on mathematical computations in astronomy, Siddhanta Darpana is on a planet model, and Candracchayaganita is on calculating the zenith distance of the moon. All of these works are in Sanskrit verse.

He was married to Arya and had two sons.

literature

  • David Pingree in Dictionary of Scientific Biography
  • KV Sarma A History of the Kerala School of Hindu Astronomy , Hoshiarpur, 1972
  • KV Sarma, VS Narasimhan (editor) Tantrasamgraha of Nilakantha Somayaji , Indian J. History Science, Volume 33, 1998, Supplement (Sanskrit with English translation)

Web links

Footnotes and individual references

  1. ↑ "Nilakantha Somasutvan, the renowned astronomer of the Kerala School, Carried out a major revision of the older Indian planetary model for the interior planets, Mercury and Venus, in his treatise Tantrasangraha (1500 AD), and for the first time in the history of astronomy, he arrived at an accurate formulation of the equation of center for these planets. He also described the implied geometrical picture of planetary motion, where the five planets - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn - move in eccentric orbits around the Sun, which in turn goes around the Earth. The later astronomers of the Kerala School seem to have by and large adopted the planetary model developed by Nilakantha. "From: K. Ramasubramanian, MD Srinivas, MS Sriram: Modification of the earlier Indian planetary theory by the Kerala astronomers (c. 1500 AD ) and the implied heliocentric picture of planetary motion. in: Current Science. 10/1994, pp. 784-790
personal data
SURNAME Nilakantha Somayaji
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian mathematician and astronomer
DATE OF BIRTH June 14, 1444
PLACE OF BIRTH Trkkantiyur
DATE OF DEATH 1544
Place of death India