al-Biruni: The famous traveller to Ancient India

   al-Biruni (973 -1048 A.D.) had visited India and travelled extensively. He had studied the social life, political system and religious beliefs of the Indian people in depth. In his writings he gave a detailed account of the level of scientific developments in India, in the early decades of eleventh century A.D.. according to al-Biruni Indians had tried to calculate latitudes of some places like Kannauj, Thanessar, Srinagar. The calculations of longitudes was based on timings of the eclipse at different places. Their prime meridian passed thru Ujjain.

Astronomy in 17th century India

Astronomy was used not only for working out the calender, the dates of the eclipses and for the determination of time but also for casting horoscopes for astrological purposes. Firoza Shah Tughlaq (1351-88) established an observatory where a special type of astrolabe and water clock were set up. The astrolabes made in India during the 17^th century were no doubt an achievement of metal and wood-workers and of mathematical arts. Also, a high degree of accuracy was achieved in circular gradation, which affected all measurements.

The most important stride in the field was made at the beginning ofthe eighteenth century. Raja Jai Singh, under the patronage of Emperor Muhammad Shah, established observatories at a number of places, such as Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Benaras and Mathura. He paid special attention to the instruments for fixing time and determining latitudes.

A familiarity with the knowledge of specific gravity and laws of motion, based on classic sources, was shown by Abu’l Fazl (d. 1603). The application of measures of specific gravity were given a practical turn by Akbar when he sought to determine the

quality of timber.

Golden Age of Incredible India

TAXILA:  centre for learning , for specialised training. The learned grammarian Panini taught in Taxila around the 4^th century BC. Atreya taught medicine around the 6^th century B.C.  Arithmetic  was well developed. Numbers in multiples of 10 going up to as high powers of 10, as one million million were known and used.  Sulvasutras contain several instances of addition, substraction, multiplication,division and squaring of fractions. Quadratic equations, indeterminate equations, permutations and combinations also appear in Sulvasutras.

By the 5^th BC., the Indian metal workers had attained a high degree of perfection in the techniques of producing iron and steel.

By 6^th century B.C. , Ayurvedic  system of medicines was taught in Taxila.  The origin of Caraka-Samhita, and the surgical text Susruta-Samhita, is generally estimated to bearound 600 B.C.

Jaina mathematicians made great contributions overalong period between 500 B.C. and 500 A.D.

Gupta period emerged out as a powerful school of Arithmetic, algebra and numerals. The formulations became the basis for astronomical calculations to the extent that the great astronomers of the period such as Brahmagupta, Varahamihira and Aryabhatta were known as mathematicians.

Works, such as Sthananga-Sutra (1^st century B.C.), Suryaprajnapti, Bhadrabahavi Samhita (300 B.C.), Ksetrasamasa by Umasvati (150 A.D.) and others deal at great length with mensuration, surds, fractions, permutations and combinations, geometry, law of indices, classification of numbers etc.

As a distinct branch of mathematics, algebra appeared from about the time of Brahmaputra ( 598 A.D.) Indian algebraists,possibly for thefirsttime in history,used abbreviations of names of colours orgems, as symbols of unknown quantities and operation like powers, roots etc. They distinguised nEgative quantities by a dot.

The KHAROSTI numerals are found in Asokan, Saka, Parthian and Kushana inscriptions of the period from the 4^th century B.C. to the 2^nd century A.D.

Present day numbers	22	74	122	274
Can be witten  as:	2+20	4+70	2+ 20+ 100	4+ 70+ 200
Kharosthi  Symbol	I I 3	X 7 3 3 3	I I 3            I	X 7 3 3 3 ২    l l

The decimal or zero system was first found in a Gujratgrant-plate inscription of 595 A.D. and later in other stone inscriptions from Gwalior, Mahipala, Bauka