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Ancient India · Topic 16 of 17

Science and Literature of Post-Gupta India

Mathematics, metallurgy, chemistry and literature after the Gupta age

Brahmagupta: Mathematics and Astronomy

The Basics

His major work was the Brahmasphutasiddhanta, completed in 628 CE. It is the first surviving Indian text with a systematic account of astronomical instruments. It also explains how to compute astronomical readings from them. These instruments were made of wood or bamboo. They included the chakra (a circular plate graduated into 360 degrees), the dhanus (a semicircular plate), the yashti (a staff), the shanku (a gnomon), and the ghatika (a water-clock), among others. Brahmagupta also described svayamvaha yantras, imagined as working automatically. This shows an early awareness of the idea of perpetual motion. Historians such as S. R. Sarma note that these instruments were simple and gave little precision. Astronomers like Brahmagupta likely relied on strong computational methods instead.

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Bhaskara II: The Siddhanta Shiromani

The Basics

By the 12th century, Indian mathematics and astronomy had grown through Aryabhata, Bhaskara I and Brahmagupta into separate streams of arithmetic, algebra and planetary science. Bhaskara II brought all these streams together in one work, continuing a tradition that had already travelled from India to the Arab world through Brahmagupta's texts.

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Cultural and Religious Interaction with Southeast and Central Asia

The Basics

By the early centuries CE, Indian traders and Buddhist monks were sailing to lands the Jatakas called Suvarnabhumi or Suvarnadvipa. These names meant the land and island of gold, roughly identified with Southeast Asia. Trade in gold, spices, aromatics and beads had existed since about 500 BCE. From the 1st century CE this trade intensified as kingdoms emerged in the Chao Phraya, Irrawaddy and Mekong valleys. Local elites there sought prestige goods and new ideas.

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