Varahamihira
He was one of the nine gems in the court of King Vikramaditya. He was a great astronomer and astrologer. He lived during 500 BC. His works are Panchasiddant (on astrology), Brihad Samhita and Brihad Jatak.
Contributions
Planets and moon are lustrous not because of their own light.
Treatise on geography, constellation, science, botany & animal science.
In botanical science he prescribes various cures for diseases afflicting plants and trees
Madava
He was a physician. He lived in the 8th century. His work is the Nidana.
Contributions
Ayurvedic innoculation for smallpox. Treatment was done by inoculation with year-old smallpox matter. The inoculators would travel all across India pricking the skin of the arm with a small metal instrument using “variolous matter” taken from pustules produced by the previous year’s inoculations. The effectiveness of this system was confirmed by the British doctor Howell based on his residence in Bengal.
Classification of diseases, causes, symptoms and complications
Chapter on Masurika (Small Pox)
Jayadeva
Jayadeva was a ninth century mathematician.
Contributions
Cyclic Method known as Chakravala method. It is a cyclic algorithm to solve indeterminate quadratic equations.
Solved for x in the equation 61×2 +1 = y2
This was solved in Europe much later in the 17th Century and is commonly known as Lagrange Method. The Lagrange method is complicated while Chakravala is more simple.
Area of combinatorics
Selenius commented on the Chakravala method The method represents a best approximation algorithm of minimal length that, owing to several minimization properties, with minimal effort and avoiding large numbers automatically produces the best solutions to the equation. The chakravala method anticipated the European methods by more than a thousand years. But no European performances in the whole field of algebra at a time much later than Bhaskara’s, nay nearly equal up to our times, equalled the marvellous complexity and ingenuity of chakravala.
Halayudha
He was a mathematician. His works are the commentary on Pingala’s Chandah Shastra
It is believed that the Pascal’s triangle was first described by Halayudha
Contributions
Clear Description of Pascal’s triangle (meruprastaara)
(Pascal’s Triangle is a geometrical arrangement of the binomial coefficients in a triangle)
Pingala
He was a famous writer before 200 BC. His major work is the Chandas Shastra.
Contributions
Study of Prosody*
Mathematical concepts for describing prosody
First known description of a binary numeral system
Basic idea of the Fibonacci Number** (Maatrameru)
*Prosody is the study of rhythm, intonation, stress and related attributes in speech
**Sequence of numbers starting from zero, one and then every number is a sum of the previous two numbers
Baudhayana
He was a mathematician and a priest. His works are the Sulba Sutra. This sutra gives the rules for the construction of altars. He belonged to the Yajurveda School. His Sutras form a part of the Taittreya of the Krishna Yajurveda.
Contributions
Earliest recorded statement of the Pythagorean Theorem
Pi Value correct to 9 decimal places
Solution for a circle whose area is the same as a given square
Quadratic equations of the forms ax2 = c and ax2 + bx = c
Square root of 2
Diagonals of rectangle bisect each other
Diagonals of rhombus bisect at right angles
Area of a square formed by joining the middle points of a square is half of original
The midpoints of a rectangle joined forms a rhombus whose area is half the rectangle
Geometric solutions (but not algebraic ones) of a linear equation in a single unknown
Sushruta
He was a renowned surgeon of the 6th Century BC of Varanasi. He is known as the Father of Surgery. He wrote the Sushruta Samhita. He believed that the Ayurvedic knowledge came from Dhanvantri who taught it to Divodasha who in turn taught it to Sushruta
Contributions
Described 120 surgical instruments
Described 300 surgical procedures
Father of Surgery
Father of Plastic Surgery and Cosmetic Surgery
Rhinoplasty (this is still followed)
Removal of Prostate Gland
Removal of Cataract
Draining of abscesses
Classified worms that infect human body
Used Leeches for bloodletting
Classified medicinal herbs
Classified alkalies
Classified Metals
Instructions for Venesections
Pioneer of Anaesthesia
Benefits of walking
Brahmagupta
He was the Indian mathematician and astronomer who was head of the observatory at Ujjain. His works are Chadamekala, Brahmasphutasiddanta, Khandakhadyaka, Durkeamynarda. It is believed that the Arabic work Sinhind was a translation of the Brahmasphutasiddanta.
Contributions
Solution to general linear equations
Solution to simultaneous indeterminate equations
Recommended Pulverizers
Cube Roots
Rules for 5 combinations of fractions
Sum of squares and cubes
Earliest Work to use Zero
Operations on negative numbers
Explains Pythogorean Triples
Solves Pell’s equations using Pulverizer (Euclidean Algorithm)
Formulae for cyclic quadrilaterals
Brahmagupta’s theorem describes the length of a diagonal in a cyclic quadrilateral
Construction of figures using right triangles
Sine Table
Establishes that the moon is closer to Earth than the Sun
Methods for calculating the position of heavenly bodies over time
Earth and Heaven are spherical
Earth is moving
Used gravitation to support the Earth’s spherical theory
