Aryabhata (Mathematician): History & Biography

This is a short biography on one of the great Indian mathematicians, Aryabhata, accompanied by an explanation and historical context for his accomplishments.

A Shrouded Figure

Aryabhata was born in India around 476, the same year as Odoacer conquered Italy and effectively ended the Roman Empire. In India, his life would see the decline and fall of the Gupta Empire. The time that he lived in, as well as his choice of vocations, are probably why we know almost nothing about his personal life or his appearance.

Aryabhata's World

Though it's difficult to say exactly where the state of mathematics in India were before Aryabhata, it is safe to assume that India had been affected by the Hellenistic World that had followed Alexander the Great in the fourth century. India was also influenced by trade with the Roman Empire that followed it up through the fifth century. Through them both, he was probably familiar with the famous Western mathematicians and astronomers of Greece and Rome - Pythagoras and Euclid among many others.

Aryabhata's Contributions

Aryabhata enhanced our understanding of the Earth and its place in the galaxy

Aryabhata published his first book, Aryabhatiya, when he was 23. In it, he not only wrote about advanced ideas in mathematics and astronomy, but he wrote in the tight poetry meters of the Hindu philosophical texts.

Time

Aryabhata's work, from his first book on, was groundbreaking for many reasons. For one, there was his notion of time, which he divided into eons, half-eons, and ages, which varied in length and extended from a few thousand years up to millions of years. He determined some of this through his work with the rising of zodiacal signs on the horizon and other astronomical work. His divisions were heavily influenced by his religion, but they were remarkably accurate.

He suggested other and smaller measurements of time along with explorations into the seven-day week and the intercalary month, a month inserted into a year to make the calendar align with the seasons. He also wrote analyses on sundial measurements so that time could be measured more accurately.