Mahaviracharya
Also called: Mahavira the mathematician · Topic: Early Medieval North India: Harsha to the Rajputs · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 3 "Empires and Kingdoms: 6th to 10th Centuries"
Meaning
Mahaviracharya was a Jain mathematician of the 9th century. He worked at the court of the Rashtrakuta king Amoghavarsha I, whose capital was Manyakheta. His book, the Ganitasarasangraha (c. 850 CE), was the first Indian work on mathematics that stood independent of astronomy. Before him, Indian mathematics was usually written as a part of astronomy books. He shows how royal patronage supported science in the early medieval age.
Example
The Ganitasarasangraha sets out rules for fractions, for working with zero, and for solving equations. It also has practical problems about trade and measurement. Like Brahmagupta's work earlier, it shows the strong growth of Indian mathematics after the Gupta age.
Don't confuse with
- Mahavira, the 24th Jain tirthankara: the religious teacher of the 6th century BCE who taught Jainism. Mahaviracharya was a 9th-century CE mathematician.