Short Essay on Aryabhatta - 400 Words

Aryabhatta I, born on 476 AD in Patliputra in Magadha is now modern Patna in Bihar. There are several tales of a claim for his origins. Indian scientists have shaped the course of Mathematics and astronomy for the world to marvel upon. Many scientists in the USA today are Indians and more than 40% of scientists of NASA and the Silicon Valley are Indians.

Indians have helped the world build intercontinental missiles, satellites, the space shuttles, stealth technology, space exploration and deep impact navigation. One of the very early pioneers in astronomy and mathematics was Aryabhatta.

Whatever this origin, it cannot be disputed that he lived in Patliputra where he wrote his famous thesis called the “Aryabhatta-Siddhanta” more commonly known as the “Aryabhatiya”. This is the only works to have survived to the present day. It contains mathematical and astronomical hypothesis that have been discovered to be quite accurate in contemporary mathematics.

For example, he wrote that if 4 is added to 100 and then multiplied by 8 then added to 62,000 when divided by 20,000 the answer will be equal to the circumference of a circle of diameter twenty thousand. This calculates to 3.1416 close to actual value Pi (3.14159). But his greatest donation has to be zero, known as “Shunya” in his times. His other works include theorems on trigonometry, arithmetic, algebra, quadratic equations and the sine table.

He also wrote essays on astronomy. For example he was aware that the earth spins on its axis, and that it moves around the sun and the moon rotates around the earth. He discusses the locations of the planets in relation to its movement around the sun. Aryabhatta refers to the light of the planets and the moon as reflections from the sun. He goes as far as to explain the eclipse of the moon and the sun, day and night the contours of the earth, the light of the year exactly as 365 days. 

He also calculated the circumference of the earth as 24835 miles which are close to present day calculation 24900 miles. This extraordinary man was an intellect of immense proportions and continues to baffle many mathematicians of today. His working was later adopted by the Greeks and then the Arabs. If one is to study the history of mathematics, Aryabhatta of Bihar outshines everyone.