The scholar and East India Company administrator Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1765–1837) brought India's rich mathematical heritage to the attention of the wider world with the publication of this book in 1817. Based on Sanskrit texts, it contains English translations of classic works by the Indian mathematicians and astronomers Brahmagupta (598–668) and Bhascara (1114–85), who were instrumental thinkers in the development of algebra. Included here are translations of chapters 12 and 18 of Brahmagupta's best-known work, Brahmasphutasiddhanta, focusing on arithmetic and algebra respectively. Also included in this book are translations of two of the greatest works by Bhascara: Lilavati, his treatise on arithmetic, and Bijaganita, on algebra. Furthermore, Colebrooke's introduction aims to position the Indian advancement of algebra in relation to its development by the Greeks and Arabs.
Contents
Dissertation; Part I. Bhascara: 1. Introductions; 2. Invocation; 3. Miscellaneous; 4. Mixture; 5. Progression; 6. Plane figure; 7. Excavations and contents of solids; 8. Stacks; 9. Saw; 10. Mounds of grain; 11. Shadow of a gnomon; 12. Pulverizer; 13. Combination; Part II. Algebra: 1. Invocation; 2. Pulverizer; 3. Affected square; 4. Simple equation; 5. Quadratic, etc., equations; 6. Multilateral equations; 7. Varieties of quadratics; 8. Equation involving a factum of unknown quantities; 9. Conclusion; Part III. Brahmegupta: 1. Arithmetic; 2. Algebra.
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