Brahmagupta

Brahmagupta (Sanskrit: ;
listen ) (598c.670
CE) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer who
wrote two works on Mathematics and Astronomy: the
Brhmasphuasiddhnta (Extensive Treatise of Brahma)
(628), a theoretical treatise, and the Khaakhdyaka,
a more practical text. There are reasons to believe that
Brahmagupta originated from Bhinmal.

division was primarily about the application of mathematics to the physical world, rather than about the mathematics itself. In Brahmaguptas case, the disagreements
stemmed largely from the choice of astronomical parameters and theories.[5] Critiques of rival theories appear
throughout the rst ten astronomical chapters and the
eleventh chapter is entirely devoted to criticism of these
Brahmagupta was the rst to give rules to compute with theories, although no[5]criticisms appear in the twelfth and
zero. The texts composed by Brahmagupta were com- eighteenth chapters.
posed in elliptic verse, as was common practice in Indian
mathematics, and consequently have a poetic ring to
them. As no proofs are given, it is not known how Brah- 2 His Works In Mathematics
maguptas mathematics was derived.[1]

2.1 Algebra

Life and works

Brahmagupta gave the solution of the general linear equation in chapter eighteen of Brahmasphutasiddhanta,

In the Brhmasphuasiddhnta verses 7 and 8 of chapter

XXIV state that Brahmagupta composed this text at the
age of thirty in aka 550 (= 628 CE) during the reign
of King Vyghramukha, we can thus gather that he was
born in 598.[2] Commentators refer to him as a great
scholar from Bhinmal, a city in the state of Rajasthan of
present-day Northwest India.[3] In ancient times Bhillamala was the seat of power of the Gurjars. His father was
Jisnugupta.[4] He likely lived most of his life in Bhillamala
(modern Bhinmal in Rajasthan) during the reign (and
possibly under the patronage) of King Vyaghramukha.[5]
As a result, Brahmagupta is often referred to as Bhillamalacharya, that is, the teacher from Bhillamala. He
was the head of the astronomical observatory at Ujjain,
and it was during his tenure there that he wrote his
two surviving treatises, both on mathematics and astronomy: the Brahmasphutasiddhanta in 628, and the Khandakhadyaka in 665. The Brahmasphutasiddhanta (Extensive Treatise of Brahma) is arguably his most famous
work. The historian al-Biruni (c. 1050) in his book Tariq
al-Hind states that the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun had an
embassy in India and from India a book was brought to
Baghdad which was translated into Arabic as Sindhind.
It is generally presumed that Sindhind is none other than
Brahmaguptas Brahmasphuta-siddhanta.[6]

The dierence between rupas, when inverted and divided by the dierence of the unknowns, is the unknown in the equation. The
rupas are [subtracted on the side] below that
from which the square and the unknown are to
be subtracted.[7]
which is a solution for the equation bx + c = dx + e
ec
equivalent to x = bd
, where rupas refers to the constants c and e. He further gave two equivalent solutions
to the general quadratic equation
18.44. Diminish by the middle [number]
the square-root of the rupas multiplied by four
times the square and increased by the square
of the middle [number]; divide the remainder
by twice the square. [The result is] the middle
[number].
18.45. Whatever is the square-root of the rupas multiplied by the square [and] increased
by the square of half the unknown, diminish
that by half the unknown [and] divide [the remainder] by its square. [The result is] the
unknown.[7]

Although Brahmagupta was familiar with the works of

astronomers following the tradition of Aryabhatiya, it is which are, respectively, solutions for the equation
not known if he was familiar with the work of Bhaskara I, ax2 + bx = c equivalent to,
a contemporary.[5] Brahmagupta had a plethora of criticism directed towards the work of rival astronomers, and

in his Brahmasphutasiddhanta is found one of the earli4ac + b2 b

est attested schisms among Indian mathematicians. The x =
2a
1

2
, a1 +
.[10]

and

ac +
x=

b2
4

b
2

b
d

a
c

b
d

a
c

HIS WORKS IN MATHEMATICS

a(d+b)
cd

, and

a
c

b
d

a
c

a(db)
cd

2.2.1 Series

Brahmagupta then goes on to give the sum of the squares

He went on to solve systems of simultaneous
and cubes of the rst n integers.
indeterminate equations stating that the desired variable
must rst be isolated, and then the equation must be
12.20. The sum of the squares is that [sum]
divided by the desired variables coecient. In particmultiplied
by twice the [number of] step[s] inular, he recommended using the pulverizer to solve
creased
by
one [and] divided by three. The
equations with multiple unknowns.
sum of the cubes is the square of that [sum]
Piles of these with identical balls [can also be
18.51. Subtract the colors dierent from
computed].[11]
the rst color. [The remainder] divided by
the rst [colors coecient] is the measure of
the rst. [Terms] two by two [are] considered
[when reduced to] similar divisors, [and so on]
repeatedly. If there are many [colors], the pulverizer [is to be used].[7]

Here Brahmagupta found the result in terms of the sum

of the rst n integers, rather than in terms of n as is the
modern practice.[12]

He gives the sum of the squares of the rst n natural numbers as n(n+1)(2n+1)/6 and the sum of the cubes of the
Like the algebra of Diophantus, the algebra of Brah- rst n natural numbers as (n(n+1)/2).
magupta was syncopated. Addition was indicated by
placing the numbers side by side, subtraction by placing a dot over the subtrahend, and division by placing 2.2.2 Zero
the divisor below the dividend, similar to our notation
but without the bar. Multiplication, evolution, and un- Brahmaguptas Brahmasphuasiddhanta is the rst book
known quantities were represented by abbreviations of that mentions zero as a number, hence Brahmagupta is
appropriate terms.[8] The extent of Greek inuence on considered the rst to formulate the concept of zero. He
this syncopation, if any, is not known and it is possible gave rules of using zero with negative and positive numthat both Greek and Indian syncopation may be derived bers. Zero plus a positive number is the positive number and negative number plus zero is a negative number
from a common Babylonian source.[8]
etc. The Brahmasphutasiddhanta is the earliest known
text to treat zero as a number in its own right, rather than
2.2 Arithmetic
as simply a placeholder digit in representing another number as was done by the Babylonians or as a symbol for a
Four fundamental operations (addition, subtraction, mul- lack of quantity as was done by Ptolemy and the Romans.
tiplication and division) were known to many cultures be- In chapter eighteen of his Brahmasphutasiddhanta, Brahfore Brahmagupta. This current system is based on the magupta describes operations on negative numbers. He
Hindu Arabic number system and rst appeared in Brah- rst describes addition and subtraction,
masphutasiddhanta. Brahmagupta describes the multiplication as thus The multiplicand is repeated like a string
18.30. [The sum] of two positives is posifor cattle, as often as there are integrant portions in the
tives,
of two negatives negative; of a positive
multiplier and is repeatedly multiplied by them and the
and
a
negative [the sum] is their dierence; if
products are added together. It is multiplication. Or the
they
are
equal it is zero. The sum of a negative
multiplicand is repeated as many times as there are comand
zero
is negative, [that] of a positive and
[9]
Indian arithmetic was
ponent parts in the multiplier.
zero
positive,
[and that] of two zeros zero.
known in Medieval Europe as Modus Indoram meaning method of the Indians. In Brahmasphutasiddhanta,
[...]
Multiplication was named Gomutrika. In the beginning
of chapter twelve of his Brahmasphutasiddhanta, enti18.32. A negative minus zero is negative,
tled Calculation, Brahmagupta details operations on fraca
positive
[minus zero] positive; zero [minus
tions. The reader is expected to know the basic arithmetic
zero]
is
zero.
When a positive is to be suboperations as far as taking the square root, although he
tracted
from
a
negative or a negative from a
explains how to nd the cube and cube-root of an intepositive,
then
it
is to be added.[7]
ger and later gives rules facilitating the computation of
squares and square roots. He then gives rules for dealing
with ve types of combinations of fractions, ac + cb , ac db He goes on to describe multiplication,

2.4

Geometry
18.33. The product of a negative and a positive is negative, of two negatives positive, and
of positives positive; the product of zero and a
negative, of zero and a positive, or of two zeros
is zero.[7]

3
can therefore be obtained from a, b and c by multiplying each of them by the least common multiple of their
denominators.
2.3.2 Pells equation

But his description of division by zero diers from our Brahmagupta went on to give a recurrence relation for
modern understanding, (Today division by zero is unde- generating solutions to certain instances of Diophantine
nable. That isn't much either).
equations of the second degree such as N x2 + 1 = y 2
(called Pells equation) by using the Euclidean algorithm.
The Euclidean algorithm was known to him as the pul18.34. A positive divided by a positive or a
verizer since it breaks numbers down into ever smaller
negative divided by a negative is positive; a zero
pieces.[15]
divided by a zero is zero; a positive divided by
a negative is negative; a negative divided by a
positive is [also] negative.
The nature of squares:
18.35. A negative or a positive divided by zero
18.64. [Put down] twice the square-root of
has that [zero] as its divisor, or zero divided
a given square by a multiplier and increased
by a negative or a positive [has that negative or
or diminished by an arbitrary [number]. The
positive as its divisor]. The square of a negative
product of the rst [pair], multiplied by the
or of a positive is positive; [the square] of zero
multiplier, with the product of the last [pair],
is zero. That of which [the square] is the square
is the last computed.
is [its] square-root.[7]
18.65. The sum of the thunderbolt products is
the rst. The additive is equal to the product of
0
the additives. The two square-roots, divided by
Here Brahmagupta states that 0 = 0 and as for the quesa
[13]
the additive or the subtractive, are the additive
tion of 0 where a = 0 he did not commit himself.
rupas.[7]
His rules for arithmetic on negative numbers and zero are
quite close to the modern understanding, except that in
The key to his solution was the identity,[16]
modern mathematics division by zero is left undened.

2.3
2.3.1

Diophantine analysis
Pythagorean triples

(x21 N y12 )(x22 N y22 ) = (x1 x2 +N y1 y2 )2 N (x1 y2 +x2 y1 )2

which is a generalization of an identity that was discovered by Diophantus,

In chapter twelve of his Brahmasphutasiddhanta, Brahmagupta provides a formula useful for generating
Pythagorean triples:
(x21 y12 )(x22 y22 ) = (x1 x2 +y1 y2 )2 (x1 y2 +x2 y1 )2 .
12.39. The height of a mountain multiplied
by a given multiplier is the distance to a city; it
is not erased. When it is divided by the multiplier increased by two it is the leap of one of
the two who make the same journey.[14]

Using his identity and the fact that if (x1 , y1 ) and (x2 ,
y2 ) are solutions to the equations x2 N y 2 = k1 and
x2 N y 2 = k2 , respectively, then (x1 x2 + N y1 y2 ,
x1 y2 + x2 y1 ) is a solution to x2 N y 2 = k1 k2 , he
was able to nd integral solutions to the Pells equation
through a series of equations of the form x2 N y 2 = ki
. Unfortunately, Brahmagupta was not able to apply his
solution uniformly for all possible values of N, rather he
was only able to show that if x2 N y 2 = k has an integer
solution for k = 1, 2, or 4, then x2 N y 2 = 1 has a
solution. The solution of the general Pells equation would
have to wait for Bhaskara II in c. 1150 CE.[16]

Or, in other words, if d = mx/(x + 2), then a traveller who

leaps vertically upwards a distance d from the top of a
mountain of height m, and then travels in a straight line
to a city at a horizontal distance mx from the base of the
mountain, travels the same distance as one who descends
vertically down the mountain and then travels along the
horizontal to the city.[14] Stated geometrically, this says
that if a right-angled triangle has a base of length a = 2.4 Geometry
mx and altitude of length b = m + d, then the length, c,
of its hypotenuse is given by c = m (1+x) d. And, in- 2.4.1 Brahmaguptas formula
deed, elementary algebraic manipulation shows that a2 +
b2 = c2 whenever d has the value stated. Also, if m and Main article: Brahmaguptas formula
x are rational, so are d, a, b and c. A Pythagorean triple

HIS WORKS IN MATHEMATICS

square of a side diminished by the square of

its segment.[11]

Thus the lengths of the two segments are 12 (b

D
s

c2 a2
b )

He further gives a theorem on rational triangles. A triangle with rational sides a, b, c and rational area is of the
form:

1
a=
2

)
)
)
(
(
1 u2
1 u2
u2
u2
+v , b=
+w , c=
v+
w
v
2 w
2 v
w

for some rational numbers u, v, and w.[18]

C
Diagram for reference

2.4.3 Brahmaguptas theorem

Main article: Brahmagupta theorem
Brahmagupta continues,

Brahmaguptas most famous result in geometry is his

formula for cyclic quadrilaterals. Given the lengths of
the sides of any cyclic quadrilateral, Brahmagupta gave
an approximate and an exact formula for the gures area,
12.21. The approximate area is the product of the halves of the sums of the sides and
opposite sides of a triangle and a quadrilateral. The accurate [area] is the square root
from the product of the halves of the sums
of the sides diminished by [each] side of the
quadrilateral.[11]
So given the lengths p, q, r and s of a cyclic quadrilateral,
q+s
the approximate area is ( p+r
2 )( 2 ) while, letting t =
p+q+r+s
, the exact area is
2

(t p)(t q)(t r)(t s).

Although Brahmagupta does not explicitly state that these
quadrilaterals are cyclic, it is apparent from his rules that
this is the case.[17] Herons formula is a special case of
this formula and it can be derived by setting one of the
sides equal to zero.
2.4.2

Triangles

E
A

F
D
Brahmaguptas theorem states that AF = FD.

12.23. The square-root of the sum of the

two products of the sides and opposite sides
of a non-unequal quadrilateral is the diagonal.
The square of the diagonal is diminished by
the square of half the sum of the base and
the top; the square-root is the perpendicular
[altitudes].[11]

Brahmagupta dedicated a substantial portion of his work

to geometry. One theorem gives the lengths of the two So, in a non-unequal cyclic quadrilateral (that is,
segments a triangles base is divided into by its altitude: an
isosceles trapezoid), the length of each diagonal is
pr + qs .
12.22. The base decreased and increased
by the dierence between the squares of the
sides divided by the base; when divided by
two they are the true segments. The perpendicular [altitude] is the square-root from the

He continues to give formulas for the lengths and areas of

geometric gures, such as the circumradius of an isosceles trapezoid and a scalene quadrilateral, and the lengths
of diagonals in a scalene cyclic quadrilateral. This leads
up to Brahmaguptas famous theorem,

5
12.30-31. Imaging two triangles within
[a cyclic quadrilateral] with unequal sides, the
two diagonals are the two bases. Their two segments are separately the upper and lower segments [formed] at the intersection of the diagonals. The two [lower segments] of the two
diagonals are two sides in a triangle; the base
[of the quadrilateral is the base of the triangle]. Its perpendicular is the lower portion of
the [central] perpendicular; the upper portion
of the [central] perpendicular is half of the sum
of the [sides] perpendiculars diminished by the
lower [portion of the central perpendicular].[11]

2.4.4

Pi

In verse 40, he gives values of ,

12.40. The diameter and the square of the
radius [each] multiplied by 3 are [respectively]
the practical circumference and the area [of a
circle]. The accurate [values] are the squareroots from the squares of those two multiplied
by ten.[11]

2.2-5. The sines: The Progenitors, twins;

Ursa Major, twins, the Vedas; the gods, res,
six; avors, dice, the gods; the moon, ve, the
sky, the moon; the moon, arrows, suns [...][20]
Here Brahmagupta uses names of objects to represent the
digits of place-value numerals, as was common with numerical data in Sanskrit treatises. Progenitors represents
the 14 Progenitors (Manu) in Indian cosmology or 14,
twins means 2, Ursa Major represents the seven stars
of Ursa Major or 7, Vedas refers to the 4 Vedas or 4,
dice represents the number of sides of the tradition die
or 6, and so on. This information can be translated into
the list of sines, 214, 427, 638, 846, 1051, 1251, 1446,
1635, 1817, 1991, 2156, 2312, 1459, 2594, 2719, 2832,
2933, 3021, 3096, 3159, 3207, 3242, 3263, and 3270,
with the radius being 3270.[21]
2.5.2 Interpolation formula
See main article: Brahmaguptas interpolation formula

In 665 Brahmagupta devised and used a special case of

the NewtonStirling interpolation formula of the secondorder to interpolate new values of the sine function from
other values already tabulated.[22] The formula gives an
estimate for the value of a function f at a value a + xh of
So Brahmagupta uses 3 as a practical value of , and its argument (with h > 0 and 1 x 1) when its value

10 as an accurate value of .
is already known at a h, a and a + h.
The formula for the estimate is:
2.4.5

Measurements and constructions

(
) 2 2
In some of the verses before verse 40, Brahmagupta gives f (a+xh) f (a)+x f (a) + f (a h) + x f (a h) .
2
2!
constructions of various gures with arbitrary sides. He
essentially manipulated right triangles to produce isoscewhere is the rst-order forward-dierence operator, i.e.
les triangles, scalene triangles, rectangles, isosceles trapezoids, isosceles trapezoids with three equal sides, and a
scalene cyclic quadrilateral.
def
f (a) = f (a + h) f (a).
After giving the value of pi, he deals with the geometry of plane gures and solids, such as nding volumes
and surface areas (or empty spaces dug out of solids). He
3 Astronomy
nds the volume of rectangular prisms, pyramids, and the
frustum of a square pyramid. He further nds the average depth of a series of pits. For the volume of a frustum It was through the Brahmasphutasiddhanta that the
[23]
Edward Saxhau
of a pyramid, he gives the pragmatic value as the depth Arabs learned of Indian astronomy.
stated
that
Brahmagupta,
it
was
he
who
taught Arabs
times the square of the mean of the edges of the top and
[24]
The
famous
Abbasid
caliph
Al-Mansur
astronomy.
bottom faces, and he gives the supercial volume as the
[19]
(712775)
founded
Baghdad,
which
is
situated
on the
depth times their mean area.
banks of the Tigris, and made it a center of learning.
The caliph invited a scholar of Ujjain, by the name of
Kankah,
in 770 CE. Kankah used the Brahmasphutasid2.5 Trigonometry
dhanta to explain the Hindu system of arithmetic astronomy. Muhammad al-Fazari translated Brahmuguptas
2.5.1 Sine table
work into Arabic upon the request of the caliph.
In Chapter 2 of his Brahmasphutasiddhanta, entitled In chapter seven of his Brahmasphutasiddhanta, entitled
Planetary True Longitudes, Brahmagupta presents a sine Lunar Crescent, Brahmagupta rebuts the idea that the
table:
Moon is farther from the Earth than the Sun, an idea

5 CITATIONS AND FOOTNOTES

which is maintained in scriptures. He does this by explaining the illumination of the Moon by the Sun.[25]
7.1. If the moon were above the sun, how
would the power of waxing and waning, etc.,
be produced from calculation of the [longitude
of the] moon? the near half [would be] always
bright.
7.2. In the same way that the half seen
by the sun of a pot standing in sunlight is
bright, and the unseen half dark, so is [the illumination] of the moon [if it is] beneath the sun.
7.3. The brightness is increased in the direction of the sun. At the end of a bright [i.e.
waxing] half-month, the near half is bright and
the far half dark. Hence, the elevation of the
horns [of the crescent can be derived] from calculation. [...][26]
He explains that since the Moon is closer to the Earth
than the Sun, the degree of the illuminated part of the
Moon depends on the relative positions of the Sun and
the Moon, and this can be computed from the size of the
angle between the two bodies.[25]
Some of the important contributions made by Brahmagupta in astronomy are: methods for calculating the
position of heavenly bodies over time (ephemerides),
their rising and setting, conjunctions, and the calculation
of solar and lunar eclipses.[27] Brahmagupta criticized the
Puranic view that the Earth was at or hollow. Instead,
he observed that the Earth and heaven were spherical.

See also
BrahmaguptaFibonacci identity
Brahmaguptas formula
Brahmagupta theorem
Chakravala method
List of Indian mathematicians

Citations and footnotes

[1] Brahmagupta biography

[2] David Pingree. Census of the Exact Sciences in Sanskrit
(CESS). American Philosophical Society. A4, p. 254.,
Seturo Ikeyama (2003). Brhmasphuasiddhnta (CH. 21)
of Brahmagupta with Commentary of Pthdhaka, critically edited with English translation and notes. INSA. p.
S2.

[3] Seturo Ikeyama (2003). Brhmasphuasiddhnta (CH. 21)

of Brahmagupta with Commentary of Pthdhaka, critically edited with English translation and notes. INSA. p.
S2.
[4] Shashi S. Sharma. Mathematics & Astronomers of Ancient India. Pitambar Publishing. He was born in bhillamala. In ancient times it was the seat of power of the
Gurjars...Jisnu Gupta..
[5] (Plofker 2007, pp. 418419) The Paitamahasiddhanta
also directly inspired another major siddhanta, written
by a contemporary of Bhaskara: The Brahmasphutasiddhanta (Corrected Treatise of Brahma) completed by
Brahmagupta in 628. This astronomer was born in 598
and apparently worked in Bhillamal (identied with modern Bhinmal in Rajasthan), during the reign (and possibly
under the patronage) of King Vyaghramukha.
Although we do not know whether Brahmagupta encountered the work of his contemporary Bhaskara, he was certainly aware of the writings of other members of the tradition of the Aryabhatiya, about which he has nothing good
to say. This is almost the rst trace we possess of the
division of Indian astronomer-mathematicians into rival,
sometimes antagonistic schools. [...] it was in the application of mathematical models to the physical world
in this case, the choices of astronomical parameters and
theoriesthat disagreements arose. [...]
Such critiques of rival works appear occasionally throughout the rst ten astronomical chapters of the Brahmasphutasiddhanta, and its eleventh chapter is entirely devoted to them. But they do not enter into the mathematical
chapters that Brahmagupta devotes respectively to ganita
(chapter 12) and the pulverizer (chapter 18). This division of mathematical subjects reects a dierent twofold
classication from Bhaskaras mathematics of elds and
mathematics of quantities. Instead, the rst is concerned
with arithmetic operations beginning with addition, proportion, interest, series, formulas for nding lengths, areas, and volumes in geometrical gures, and various procedures with fractionsin short, diverse rules for computing with known quantities. The second, on the other hand,
deals with what Brahmagupta calls the pulverizer, zero,
negatives, positives, unknowns, elimination of the middle term, reduction to one [variable], bhavita [the product of two unknowns], and the nature of squares [seconddegree indeterminate equations]" - that is, techniques for
operating with unknown quantities. This distinction is
more explicitly presented in later works as mathematics of the manifest and unmanifest, respectively: i.e.,
what we will henceforth call arithmetic manipulations
of known quantities and algebraic manipulation of socalled seeds or unknown quantities. The former, of
course, may include geometric problems and other topics not covered by the modern denition of arithmetic.
(Like Aryabhata, Brahmagupta relegates his sine-table to
an astronomical chapter where the computations require
it, instead of lumping it in with other mathematical topics.)
[6] Boyer (1991). The Arabic Hegemony. p. 226. By 766
we learn that an astronomical-mathematical work, known
to the Arabs as the Sindhind, was brought to Baghdad from
India. It is generally thought that this was the Brahmas-

phuta Siddhanta, although it may have been the Surya Siddhanata. A few years later, perhaps about 775, this Siddhanata was translated into Arabic, and it was not long afterwards (ca. 780) that Ptolemys astrological Tetrabiblos
was translated into Arabic from the Greek. Missing or
empty |title= (help)
[7] (Plofker 2007, pp. 428434)
[8] (Boyer 1991, China and India p. 221) he was the rst
one to give a general solution of the linear Diophantine
equation ax + by = c, where a, b, and c are integers. [...]
It is greatly to the credit of Brahmagupta that he gave
all integral solutions of the linear Diophantine equation,
whereas Diophantus himself had been satised to give one
particular solution of an indeterminate equation. Inasmuch as Brahmagupta used some of the same examples
as Diophantus, we see again the likelihood of Greek inuence in India - or the possibility that they both made
use of a common source, possibly from Babylonia. It is
interesting to note also that the algebra of Brahmagupta,
like that of Diophantus, was syncopated. Addition was indicated by juxtaposition, subtraction by placing a dot over
the subtrahend, and division by placing the divisor below
the dividend, as in our fractional notation but without the
bar. The operations of multiplication and evolution (the
taking of roots), as well as unknown quantities, were represented by abbreviations of appropriate words.
[9] Brahmasputha Siddhanta, Translated to English by H.T
Colebrook, 1,817 AD
[10] (Plofker 2007, pp. 422) The reader is apparently expected
to be familiar with basic arithmetic operations as far as the
square-root; Brahmagupta merely notes some points about
applying them to fractions. The procedures for nding the
cube and cube-root of an integer, however, are described
(compared the latter to Aryabhatas very similar formulation). They are followed by rules for ve types of combinations: [...]
[11] (Plofker 2007, pp. 421427)
[12] (Plofker 2007, p. 423) Here the sums of the squares and
cubes of the rst n integers are dened in terms of the sum
of the n integers itself;

[17] (Plofker 2007, p. 424) Brahmagupta does not explicitly

state that he is discussing only gures inscribed in circles,
but it is implied by these rules for computing their circumradius.
[18] (Stillwell 2004, p. 77)
[19] (Plofker 2007, p. 427) After the geometry of plane gures, Brahmagupta discusses the computation of volumes
and surface areas of solids (or empty spaces dug out of
solids). His straight-forward rules for the volumes of a
rectangular prism and pyramid are followed by a more
ambiguous one, which may refer to nding the average
depth of a sequence of puts with dierent depths. The
next formula apparently deals with the volume of a frustum of a square pyramid, where the pragmatic volume
is the depth times the square of the mean of the edges of
the top and bottom faces, while the supercial volume
is the depth times their mean area.
[20] (Plofker 2007, p. 419)
[21] (Plofker 2007, pp. 419420) Brahmaguptas sine table,
like much other numerical data in Sanskrit treatises, is encoded mostly in concrete-number notation that uses names
of objects to represent the digits of place-value numerals,
starting with the least signicant. [...]
There are fourteen Progenitors (Manu) in Indian cosmology; twins of course stands for 2; the seven stars
of Ursa Major (the Sages) for 7, the four Vedas, and
the four sides of the traditional dice used in gambling, for
6, and so on. Thus Brahmagupta enumerates his rst six
sine-values as 214, 427, 638, 846, 1051, 1251. (His remaining eighteen sines are 1446, 1635, 1817, 1991, 2156,
2312, 1459, 2594, 2719, 2832, 2933, 3021, 3096, 3159,
3207, 3242, 3263, 3270). The Paitamahasiddhanta, however, species an initial sine-value of 225 (although the
rest of its sine-table is lost), implying a trigonometric radius of R = 3438 aprox= C(')/2: a tradition followed, as
we have seen, by Aryabhata. Nobody knows why Brahmagupta chose instead to normalize these values to R =
3270.
[22] Joseph (2000, pp.28586).

[13] Boyer (1991). China and India. p. 220. However, here

again Brahmagupta spoiled matters somewhat by asserting
that 0 0 = 0 , and on the touchy matter of a 0 , he
did not commit himself: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[23] Brahmagupta, and the inuence on Arabia. Retrieved 23

December 2007.

[14] (Plofker 2007, p. 426)

[25] (Plofker 2007, pp. 419420) Brahmagupta discusses the

illumination of the moon by the sun, rebutting an idea
maintained in scriptures: namely, that the moon is farther from the earth than the sun is. In fact, as he explains,
because the moon is closer the extent of the illuminated
portion of the moon depends on the relative positions of
the moon and the sun, and can be computed from the size
of the angular separation between them.

[15] Stillwell, John (2004). pp. 4446. In the seventh century

CE the Indian mathematician Brahmagupta gave a recurrence relation for generating solutions of x2 Dy 2 = 1
, as we shall see in Chapter 5. The Indians called the Euclidean algorithm the pulverizer because it breaks numbers down to smaller and smaller pieces. To obtain a recurrence one has to know that a rectangle proportional to
the original eventually recurs, a fact that was rigorously
proved only in 1768 by Lagrange. Missing or empty |title= (help)
[16] Stillwell, John (2004). pp. 7274. Missing or empty |title= (help)

[24] Al Biruni, India translated by Edward sachau.

[26] (Plofker 2007, p. 420)

[27] Teresi, Dick (2002). Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots
of Modern Science. Simon and Schuster. p. 135. ISBN
0-7432-4379-X.

References
Plofker, Kim (2007). Mathematics in India. The
Mathematics of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India,
and Islam: A Sourcebook. Princeton University
Press. ISBN 978-0-691-11485-9.
Boyer, Carl B. (1991). A History of Mathematics (Second Edition ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ISBN 0-471-54397-7.
Cooke, Roger (1997). The History of Mathematics:
A Brief Course. Wiley-Interscience. ISBN 0-47118082-3.
Joseph, George G. (2000). The Crest of the Peacock.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691-00659-8.
Stillwell, John (2004). Mathematics and its History
(Second Edition ed.). Springer Science + Business
Media Inc. ISBN 0-387-95336-1.

External links
Brahmaguptas Brahma-sphuta-siddhanta English
introduction, Sanskrit text, Sanskrit and Hindi commentaries (PDF)

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