Aryabhattiya is an ancient text on astronomy and mathematics. This classic treatise was written by
Aryabhatta, the renowned mathematician and astrologer of ancient India. This text is divided into three sections; the first dedicated to mathematics, the second on planetary models and the third on mathematics of the sphere and its application in astronomical calculation.
In the mathematics section, all the major topics such as Numerical Mathematics, Geometrical Mathematics, Trigonometry and Algebra are covered in a comprehensive manner. This section also contains the first reference to the sine, which was adopted by the Arabs and later by the Europeans. The book also contains the calculation of the pi, correct up to 4 decimal places.
Aryabhattiya comprises of 121 stanzas, each composed in a particular rhyming scheme. The striking feature is the lack of any numbers, figures, drawings and equations. All the calculations and formulas are expressed in poetic form. The numeric values and equations are replaced by letter combination, the correspondence of which has been described in the introductory section of the text.
Aryabhattiya, which was originally written in Sanskrit, was translated into Latin. From this Latin version the Europeans found out the means of calculating the areas of triangles, volumes of spheres as well as square and cube root.
