"A person who can, within a year, solve 

x²  - 92 y² = 1 is a mathematician"

                                                 - Brahmagupta

Content

* Preface

* Introduction

* Life and death

* Books

* Contributions

* Honours

* Conclusion

PREFACE

Mathematics is the science that deals with the logic of shape, quantity and arrangement. It is all around us, in everything we do. Computers, mobile devices, software, architecture, art, money, engineering, medicine and even sports involves mathematical concepts. The term mathematics comes from the Greek word mathema which means study, knowledge or learning. Several civilizations - in India, China, Egypt, Greece, Central America and Mesopotamia - contributed to mathematics as we know it today. The history of mathematics is very rich and there are innumerable mathematicians who played a vital role in the development of mathematics. In India, mathematics has its origin in Vedic literature nearly 4000 years old. This book describes the life and the contribution of one of the Indian mathematician - Brahmagupta.

INTRODUCTION

Brahmagupta was an Ancient Indian astronomer and mathematician. He composed the philosophic book "Brahmasphutasiddhanta" and "Khandakhadyaka". He was the first person to provide guidelines for calculating with zero. Brahmagupta thought of himself as an astronomer who did some mathematics, but now he is chiefly remembered for his contributions to mathematics.

LIFE and DEATH

Brahmagupta was born  during the reign of the Chavda dynasty emperor Vyagrahamukha. He was the son of Jishnugupta, an astrologer and a Hindu who followed Shaivism. He lived in the city of Bhillamala in Gurjaradesa, western India’s second largest kingdom, which included modern-day India’s southern Rajasthan and northern Gujarat and it was also a centre of learning for mathematics and astronomy. He is often known as Bhillamalacarya, which means “the teacher of Bhillamala”.He died in 668 A.D., presumably in Ujjain. He became an astronomer at the Brahmapaksha school, which was one of the four major schools of Indian astronomy then.  He studied the 5 traditional siddhantas on Indian astronomy, including the work of Aryabhata I, Latadeva, Pradyumna, Varahamihira, Simha, Sirisena, Vijayanandan and Vishnu Chandra.

BOOKS

At the age of 30, Brahmagupta composed the Brahmasphutasiddhanta (the improved treatise of Brahma), which is believed to be a revised version of the received Siddhanta of the Brahmapaksha school. He brought originality to the treatise by adding a great deal of new material to it. The book is written in arya-meter comprising 25 chapters and 1008 verses. An enormous amount of material is found on astronomy, while it also includes chapters on mathematics, trigonometry, algorithms and algebra.

BOOKS

At the age of 67, Brahmagupta composed his next well-known work, Khandakhadyaka, which was a practical manual of Indian astronomy in the Karana category. The work is divided into eight chapters that address themes such as planet longitudes, diurnal rotation, lunar and solar eclipses, risings and sets, the Moon's crescent, and planet conjunctions. It was meant to be used by students.

CONTRIBUTIONS

1. The discovery of zero

        The first modern equivalent of numeral zero came from Brahmagupta in 628 C.E. His symbol depicts the numeral was a dot underneath a number. He also wrote standard rules for reaching zero through addition, subtraction and the results of operations that include the digit. An inscription on a temple wall in Gwalior, India, dates back to the ninth century, and has been considered the oldest recorded example of a zero, according to the University of Oxford. An ancient Indian scroll called the Bhakshali manuscript discovered in a field in 1881. Researchers thought it also had originated in the 9th century. However, recent carbon dating has revealed that it was probably written in the 3rd or 4th century, which pushes the earliest recorded use of zero back 500 years.

Rules:

1) Zero is a number that is obtained, when a number is subtracted from itself. 

2) Zero divided by any other number is zero.

3) Zero divided by itself gives zero. (Although, this seems reasonable, Brahmagupta actually got this one wrong. Mathematicians have now shown that zero divided by zero is undefined – it has no meaning.)

        He also mentioned some properties of zero, where positive numbers are termed as fortunes and negative numbers are termed as debt.

Few examples:

1. A debt minus zero is a debt.

2. A fortune minus zero is a fortune.

3. Zero minus zero is a zero.

4. A debt subtracted from zero is a fortune.

5. A fortune subtracted from zero is a debt