BHASKARA I
Bhaskara I was a famous Indian astronomer and mathematician. He played a very important role in spreading the mathematical work of Aryabhata I.
We do not know much about the life of Bhaskara. He is called Bhaskara I to distinguish him from another Indian mathematician of the same name.
His writings give us some clues to his place of living. It must be Valabhi, the capital of the Maiyraka dynasty.
He is famous for his three woks. The first one was Mahabhaskariya. It means the Great Book
of Bhaskara. The second one is Laghubhaskariya. It means the Small Book of Bhaskara.
These two are astronomical works in verse. The third one is in prose. It is a commentary on the Aryabhatiya of Aryabhata.
In these works he discusses various topics. Some of them are planetary longitudes, rising and setting of the planets, solar and lunar eclipses etc.
He also made an accurate guess for the sine function. His commentary on the Aryabhatiya is really a source of knowledge.
He explains the various methods used by Aryabhata.
Bhaskara narrates in it how the problem of linear equations is solved. He also gives a large number of astronomical examples.
Bhaskara stressed the importance of proving mathematical rules. He thought that relying on tradition was not proper.
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