Surya Siddhanta
Topic: Gupta Empire and the Classical Age · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Surya Siddhanta is an old Indian text on astronomy, the study of the sun, moon, planets and stars. It gives rules for working out how the planets move and when eclipses will happen. It also contains early tables of sine, a value linked to angles, which became the base of Indian trigonometry. The text was changed and updated over many centuries, so the version we have today is later than the original.
Example
In the 6th century CE, Varahamihira of Ujjayini summarised five astronomical systems in his Pancha Siddhantika. One of these was the Surya Siddhanta. This shows that the text was already important in his time.
Don't confuse with
- Brihat Samhita: Varahamihira's encyclopedia covering astronomy, astrology, weather, architecture, town planning and farming. The Surya Siddhanta is a technical text on astronomy alone.
Related concepts
- Aryabhata
- Aryabhatiya
- Hindu-Arabic numerals
- Bakhshali manuscript
- Varahamihira
- Bhaskara I
- Virahanka
- Kalidasa
- Abhijnanashakuntalam
- Meghaduta