Kim Plofker

Relations between Approximations to the Sine in Kerala Mathematics

The mathematicians of the school of Mādhava in late medieval Kerala (South India) described various series expressions for trigonometric quantities. This paper examines the reasoning underlying two such formulas and the possible connections between them.

'Yavana' and 'Indian': Transmission and Foreign Identity in the Exact Sciences

Summary The Sanskrit term ‘Yavana’, originally a transliteration of ‘Ionian (Greek)’ but later applied to other foreigners as well, was used throughout the common era to designate various foreign importations in the exact sciences. Likewise, the name ‘Indian’ was attached to several mathematical concepts and techniques in the Islamic world (as well as Europe) from about the seventh century onward. However, not all innovations adopted from or into the Indian tradition were labeled ‘Indian’ or ‘Yavana’ respectively. This paper examines the question of what characteristics marked some borrowed techniques and concepts as ‘foreign’ and stamped them with their outlandish origin, while others were quietly assimilated into ‘indigenous’ learning.

The Karaṇakesari of Bhāskara: a 17th-century Table Text for Computing Eclipses

Critical edition, translation and commentary for the verse instructions accompanying a late seventeenth-century set of eclipse tables in Sanskrit by Bhāskara of Saudāmikā (fl. 1681).

Indian Exact Sciences in Sanskrit Manuscripts and Their Colophons

The exact sciences - particularly jyoti?a , or mathematical astronomy/ astrology - are a very important part of the Sanskrit scholarly tradition. It has been estimated that perhaps one-tenth of all extant Sanskrit manuscripts deal with jyotiṣa or some other aspect of Indian exact sciences, and their contents often reveal useful information about the scholarly connections and personal backgrounds of their owners. Moreover, the exact sciences in India also supplied the numeric and calendric systems that are used to express the dates found in scribal post-colophons. This chapter gives a preliminary indication of the influence of astronomy, mathematics and astrology on the production and description of Sanskrit manuscripts. Keywords:astrology; astronomy; Indian exact sciences; jyotiṣa ; mathematics; Sanskrit manuscripts; scribal post-colophons

Indian Rules, "Yavana" Rules: Foreign Identity and the Transmission of Mathematics

Numerous ideas and methods derived from Indian mathematics became familiar in the west long before European scholars began systematically studying Sanskrit scientific texts. The name “Indian” was attached to many mathematical concepts and techniques in West Asia/North Africa and Europe starting at the beginning of the medieval period, from the “Indian numbers” and “Indian calculation” adopted by Arab mathematicians to the “Hindoo method” for solving quadratic equations in nineteenth-century algebra textbooks. Likewise, the Sanskrit term “Yavana”, originally a transliteration of “Ionian (Greek)” but later applied to other foreigners as well, was applied by Indian scholars to various foreign importations in the exact sciences. This talk explores the historical process of adoption and assimilation of “foreign mathematics” both in and from India.