Handbook On Indian Scientists

Contents
Articles
User:Rajah2770 1
Aryabhata 5
List of Indian scientists 13
Baudhayana 15
Bhāskara I 18
Brahmadeva 20
Brahmagupta 20
Chanakya 29
Charaka 34
Halayudha 36
Jayadeva 36
Nagarjuna 38
Pingala 45
Sushurata 46
Vyasa 47
Indian mathematics 52
Anil Kakodkar 76
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 79
Arun Netravali 83
Ashoke Sen 85
Birbal Sahni 87
C. N. R. Rao 91
C. V. Raman 93
Jayant Narlikar 99
Har Gobind Khorana 102
Homi J. Bhabha 104
Jagadish Chandra Bose 108
Satish Dhawan 117
Satyendra Nath Bose 120
Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar 124
Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya 129
Srinivasa Ramanujan 134
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar 148
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan 153
Salim Ali 156
Vikram Sarabhai 165
Yellapragada Subbarao 168
Meghnad Saha 171
M. S. Swaminathan 184
M. G. K. Menon 196
Harish-Chandra 198
References
Article Sources and Contributors 200
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 204
Article Licenses
License 206
User:Rajah2770 1
User:Rajah2770
Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika
Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika
[[File:File:Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika & his two kids.jpg||alt=]]
Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika with Laquit(son) and Danisha(daughter)
Born Azad Bin Rajib HazarikaJuly 2, 1970Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Residence Nagaon, Assam, India
Nationality Indian
Ethnicity AssameseMuslim
Citizenship India
Education PhD, PDF, FRAS
Alma mater University of Jodhpur

Jai Narayan Vyas University
[1]
Institute of Advanced Study in Science & Technology
[2]
Kendriya Vidyalaya
[3]
Poona College of Arts, Science &Commerce
Occupation Assistant Professor(Lecturer), Diphu Govt. College , Diphu,Assam,India
Years active 2004- onwards
Employer Diphu Government College

Government of Assam,Assam Education Service
Known for Lecturer ,Assistant Professor,Mathematician,Academician,Fusion,Astronomy
Home town Nagaon, Assam, India
Salary Rs 40000 per month
Height 6 feet and 2 inches
Weight 100 kg
Title Doctorate, Dr., FRAS (London), Assam Education Service, AES
Board Member of Scientific and Technical committee & Editorial review board of Natuaral and Applied sciences World Academy of
member of [4]
Science ,Engineering & Technology
Religion Sunni Islam,
Spouse Helmin Begum Hazarika
Children Laquit Ali Hazarika(son), Danisha Begum Hazarika(daughter)
Parents Rosmat Ali Hazarika@Rostam Ali Hazarika@Roufat Ali Hazarika and Anjena Begum Hazarika
Call-sign Drabrh or Raja
Website
[5]
[6] [7] [8] [9]
User:Rajah2770 2
Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika with Laquit (son) and Danisha(daughter)
Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika (born July 02, 1970, in Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India) is Assistant
Professor(Lecturer) Diphu Government College ,Diphu in Karbi Anglong district , Government of Assam [10] , [11] ,
Karbi Anglong,Assam's largest conglomerate by Government of Assam . He is also the Fellow of Royal
Astronomical Society[12] ,London ,Member of International Association of Mathematical Physics, World Academy
of Science ,Engineering & Technology, Focus Fusion Society, Dense Plasma Focus, Plasma Science Society of
India, Assam Science Society, Assam academy of mathematics,International Atomic Energy Agency,Nuclear and
Plasma Sciences Society,Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics,German Academy of Mathematics and
Mechanics,Fusion Science & Technology Society,Indian National Science Academy,Indian Science Congress
Association,Advisory Committee of Mathematical Education,Royal Society,International Biographical Centre.
Early life
Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika was born into the famous Hazarika family, a prominent family belonging to Dhing's wealthy
Muslim Assamese community of Nagaon district. He was born to Anjena Begum Hazarika and Rusmat Ali
Hazarika. He is eldest of two childrens of his parents younger one is a Shamim Ara Rahman(nee Hazarika)daughter .
Early career
Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika completed his PhD degree in Mathematics from J N Vyas University of Jodhpur in 1995 with
specialization in Plasma instability, the thesis was awarded “best thesis” by Association of Indian Universities in
1998 and the Post-Doctoral Fellow Program from Institute of Advanced Study in Science & Technology [13] in
Guwahati Assam in 1998 as Research Associate in Plasma Physics Division in theory group studying the Sheath
phenomenon. As a Part-time Lecturer in Nowgong college, Assam before joining the present position in Diphu
Government College ,Diphu in Karbi Anglong district[14] ,[15] He is a member of the wikipedia[16] , [17] . He is
Fellow of Royal Astronomical Society[18] ,member of International Association Mathematical Physics[19] , member
of World Academy of Science,Engineering & Technology [20] ,[21] , member of Plasma science Society of India [22] ,
[23]
,member of Focus Fusion Society forum [24] ,member of Dense Plasma Focus [25] , Member of Assam Science
Society [26] , Member of Assam Academy of Mathematics [27]
User:Rajah2770 3
He joined the Diphu Government College in July2004 as Lecturer in Mathematics (Gazetted officer), through Assam
Public Service commission [28] in Assam Education Service [29] , AES-I. [30] now redesignated as Assistant
Professor.
Career
In May 1993, Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika was awarded Junior Research Fellowship,University Grants Commission,
National Eligibility Test and eligibility for Lecturership ,Govt. of India and worked as JRF(UGC,NET) in
Department of Mathematics and Statistics of J N Vyas University in Jodhpur. Later on in May 1995 got Senior
Research Fellowship(UGC,NET) and continued research for completion of PhD on 27th Dec 1995 .From 1993
onwards taught in Kamala Nehru College for women, Jodhpur and in Faculty of Science in J N Vyas University in
Jodhpur up to the completion of PhD .In 1998 May joined Plasma Physics Division of Institute of Advanced Study
in Science & Technology in Guwahati as Research Associate for PDF in theory group to study the sheath
phenomena of National Fusion Programme [31] of Govt. of India . Then joined Nowgong College as a part-time
Lecturer after which in 2004, July joined the present position of Lecturer in Diphu Government College which is
redesignated as Assistant Professor.
Research
During PhD [32] [33] [34] [35] [36]
The research was based on Astronomy,Astrophysics, Geophysics , for plasma instability with the title of thesis as
“Some Problems of instabilities in partially ionized and fully ionized plasmas” which later on in 1998 was assessed
as best thesis of the year by Association of Indian Universities in New Delhi. He is known for Bhatia-Hazarika
limitResearch at Diphu Govt. College [37] , [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] Applied for patent in US patent and
trademarks office [45] [46]
Research guidance is given to students in Mathematics for MPhil. He has written six books entitled Inventions of
Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika on future devices and Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika's Pattern recognition on fusion
,Application of Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika's conceptual devices , Green tecnology for next genration , Invention of
Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika's devices ,VASIMR DANISHA:A Hall Thruster Space Odyssey ,[47] , [48] , [49]
He has derived a formula Hazarika's constant for VASIMR DANISHA as Hazarika constant Ch=1+4sin3φ sin θ-2sin
φ-2sin θ the value is 2.646
Personal life
Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika has a metallic Scarlet red Tata Indigo CS of Tata motors make and loves to drive himself.He
is married to Helmin Begum Hazarika and have two chidrens Laquit(son) and Danisha(daughter).
Quotes
• "Fakir(saint) and lakir(line) stops at nothing but at destination"
• "Expert criticizes the wrong but demonstrates the right thing"
• “Intellectuals are measured by their brain not by their age and experience”
• “Two type of persons are happy in life one who knows everything another who doesn’t know anything”
• “Implosion in device to prove every notion wrong for fusion”
• “Meditation gives fakir(saint) long life and fusion devices the long lasting confinement”
User:Rajah2770 4
Awards and recognition

Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika got Junior Research Fellowship,Government of India
Senior Research Fellowship,Government of India
Research AssociateshipDSTGovernment of India
Fellowof Royal Astronomical Society [50]
Member of Advisory committee of Mathematical Education Royal Society London
Member of Scientific and Technical committee & editorial review board on Natural and applied sciences of World
Academy of Science ,Engineering &Technology [51]
Leading professional of the world-2010 as noted and eminent professional from International Biographical Centre
Cambridge
References
[1] http:/ / www. iasst. in
[2] http:/ / www. kvafsdigaru. org
[3] http:/ / www. akipoonacollege. com
[4] http:/ / www. waset. org/ NaturalandAppliedSciences. php?page=45
[5] http:/ / www. facebook. com/ Drabrajib
[6] http:/ / in. linkedin. com/ pub/ dr-a-b-rajib-hazarika/ 25/ 506/ 549
[7] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Special:Contributions/ Drabrh
[8] http:/ / www. diphugovtcollege. org
[9] http:/ / www. karbianglong. nic. in/ diphugovtcollege. org/ teaching. html
[10] http:/ / www. karbianglong. nic. in/ diphugovtcollege/ teaching. html
[11] http:/ / www. diphugovtcollege. org/ DGC%20prospectus%2008-09. pdf
[12] http:/ / www. ras. org. uk/ member?recid==5531
[13] http:/ / www. iasst. in
[14] {{cite web|url=http:/ / www. diphugovtcollege. org/ DGC%20prospectus%2008-09. pdf
[15] http:/ / karbianglong. nic. in/ diphugovtcollege/ teaching. html
[16] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ User:Drabrh
[17] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Special:Contributions/ Drabrh
[18] http:/ / www. ras. org. uk/ member?recid=5531,
[19] http:/ / www. iamp. org/ bulletins/ old-bulletins/ 201001. pdf
[21] http:/ / www. waset. org/ Search. php?page=68& search=
[22] http:/ / www. plasma. ernet. in/ ~pssi/ member/ pssi_new04. doc
[23] http:/ / www. ipr. res. in/ ~pssi/ member/ pssidir_new-04. doc
[24] http:/ / www. focusfusion. org/ index. php/ forums/ member/ 4165
[25] http:/ / www. denseplasmafocus. org/ index. php/ forum/ member/ 4165
[26] http:/ / www. assamsciencesociety. org/ member
[27] http:/ / www. aam. org. in/ member/ 982004
[28] http:/ / apsc. nic. in
[29] http:/ / aasc. nic. in/ . . . / Education%20Department/ The%20Assam%20Education%20Service%20Rules%201982. pdf
[30] (http:/ / www. diphugovtcollege. org/ DGC prospests 08-09. pdf)
[31] http:/ / nfp. pssi. in
[32] http:/ / www. iopscience. iop. org/ 1402-4896/ 51/ 6/ 012/ pdf/ physcr_51_6_012. pdf
[33] http:/ / www. iopsciences. iop. org/ 1402-4896/ 53/ 1/ 011/ pdf/ 1402-4896_53_1_011. pdf,
[34] http:/ / www. niscair. res. in/ sciencecommunication/ abstractingjournals/ isa_1jul08. asp
[35] http:/ / en. wiktionary. org/ wiki/ Wikitionary%3ASandbox
[36] http:/ / adsabs. harvard. edu/ abs/ 1996PhyS. . 53. . . 578
[37] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Special:Contributions/ Drabrh/ File:Drabrhdouble_trios_saiph_star01. pdf
[38] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ File:Drabrh_bayer_rti. pdf
[39] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ File:Columb_drabrh. pdf
[40] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ File:Drabrh_double_trios. pdf
[41] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ File:Drabrhiterparabolic2007. pdf
[42] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ File:Drabrh_mctc_feedbackloop. pdf
[43] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ File:Drabrh_tasso_07. pdf
User:Rajah2770 5
[44] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ File:Abstracts. pdf?page=2

[45] http:/ / upload. wikimedia. org/ wikipedia/ en/ 5/ 50/ EfilingAck5530228. pdf
[46] http:/ / upload. wikimedia. org/ wikipedia/ en/ c/ c4/ EfilingAck3442787. pdf
[47] http:/ / www. pothi. com
[48] http:/ / i-proclaimbookstore. com
[49] http:/ / ipppserver. homelinux. org:8080/ view/ creators/ Hazarika=3ADr=2EA=2EB=2ERajib=3A=3A. html
[50] http:/ / www. ras. org. uk/ members?recid=5531
External links
• (http://www.diphugovtcollege.org/)
• Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika's profile on the Linkedin Website (http://in.linkedin.com/pub/dr-a-b-rajib-hazarika/25/
506/549=)
• (http://www.facebook.com/Drabrajib)
Rajah2770 (talk) 18:12, 7 February 2011 (UTC)
Aryabhata
Aryabhata (IAST: Āryabhaṭa, Sanskrit: आर्यभटः)
(476–550 CE) was the first in the line of great
mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of
Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. His most
famous works are the Āryabhaṭīya (499 CE, when he
was 23 years old) and the Arya-siddhanta.
Biography
Name
While there is a tendency to misspell his name as
"Aryabhatta" by analogy with other names having the
"bhatta" suffix, his name is properly spelled
Aryabhata: every astronomical text spells his name
thus,[1] including Brahmagupta's references to him "in
more than a hundred places by name".[2] Furthermore,
in most instances "Aryabhatta" does not fit the metre
either.[1]
Birth
Aryabhata mentions in the Aryabhatiya that it was
Statue of Aryabhata on the grounds of IUCAA, Pune. As there is no
composed 3,600 years into the Kali Yuga, when he
known information regarding his appearance, any image of Aryabhata
was 23 years old. This corresponds to 499 CE, and originates from an artist's conception.
implies that he was born in 476 CE .[1]
Aryabhata provides no information about his place of birth. The only information comes from Bhāskara I, who
describes Aryabhata as āśmakīya, "one belonging to the aśmaka country." It is widely attested that, during the
Aryabhata 6
Buddha's time, a branch of the Aśmaka people settled in the region between the Narmada and Godavari rivers in
central India, today the South Gujarat–North Maharashtra region. Aryabhata is believed to have been born there.[1]
[3]
However, early Buddhist texts describe Ashmaka as being further south, in dakshinapath or the Deccan, while
other texts describe the Ashmakas as having fought Alexander, which would put them further north.[3]
Work
It is fairly certain that, at some point, he went to Kusumapura for advanced studies and that he lived there for some
time.[4] Both Hindu and Buddhist tradition, as well as Bhāskara I (CE 629), identify Kusumapura as Pāṭaliputra,
modern Patna.[1] A verse mentions that Aryabhata was the head of an institution (kulapa) at Kusumapura, and,
because the university of Nalanda was in Pataliputra at the time and had an astronomical observatory, it is speculated
that Aryabhata might have been the head of the Nalanda university as well.[1] Aryabhata is also reputed to have set
up an observatory at the Sun temple in Taregana, Bihar.[5]
Other hypotheses
It was suggested that Aryabhata may have been from Kerala, but K. V. Sarma, an authority on Kerala's astronomical
tradition, disagreed[1] and pointed out several errors in this hypothesis.[6]
Aryabhata mentions "Lanka" on several occasions in the Aryabhatiya, but his "Lanka" is an abstraction, standing for
a point on the equator at the same longitude as his Ujjayini.[7]
Works
Aryabhata is the author of several treatises on mathematics and astronomy, some of which are lost. His major work,
Aryabhatiya, a compendium of mathematics and astronomy, was extensively referred to in the Indian mathematical
literature and has survived to modern times. The mathematical part of the Aryabhatiya covers arithmetic, algebra,
plane trigonometry, and spherical trigonometry. It also contains continued fractions, quadratic equations,
sums-of-power series, and a table of sines.
The Arya-siddhanta, a lost work on astronomical computations, is known through the writings of Aryabhata's
contemporary, Varahamihira, and later mathematicians and commentators, including Brahmagupta and Bhaskara I.
This work appears to be based on the older Surya Siddhanta and uses the midnight-day reckoning, as opposed to
sunrise in Aryabhatiya. It also contained a description of several astronomical instruments: the gnomon
(shanku-yantra), a shadow instrument (chhAyA-yantra), possibly angle-measuring devices, semicircular and circular
(dhanur-yantra / chakra-yantra), a cylindrical stick yasti-yantra, an umbrella-shaped device called the
chhatra-yantra, and water clocks of at least two types, bow-shaped and cylindrical.[3]
A third text, which may have survived in the Arabic translation, is Al ntf or Al-nanf. It claims that it is a translation
by Aryabhata, but the Sanskrit name of this work is not known. Probably dating from the 9th century, it is mentioned
by the Persian scholar and chronicler of India, Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī.[3]
Aryabhatiya
Direct details of Aryabhata's work are known only from the Aryabhatiya. The name "Aryabhatiya" is due to later
commentators. Aryabhata himself may not have given it a name. His disciple Bhaskara I calls it Ashmakatantra (or
the treatise from the Ashmaka). It is also occasionally referred to as Arya-shatas-aShTa (literally, Aryabhata's 108),
because there are 108 verses in the text. It is written in the very terse style typical of sutra literature, in which each
line is an aid to memory for a complex system. Thus, the explication of meaning is due to commentators. The text
consists of the 108 verses and 13 introductory verses, and is divided into four pādas or chapters:
1. Gitikapada: (13 verses): large units of time—kalpa, manvantra, and yuga—which present a cosmology different
from earlier texts such as Lagadha's Vedanga Jyotisha (c. 1st century BCE). There is also a table of sines (jya),
Aryabhata 7
given in a single verse. The duration of the planetary revolutions during a mahayuga is given as 4.32 million
years.
2. Ganitapada (33 verses): covering mensuration (kṣetra vyāvahāra), arithmetic and geometric progressions,
gnomon / shadows (shanku-chhAyA), simple, quadratic, simultaneous, and indeterminate equations (kuTTaka)
3. Kalakriyapada (25 verses): different units of time and a method for determining the positions of planets for a
given day, calculations concerning the intercalary month (adhikamAsa), kShaya-tithis, and a seven-day week with
names for the days of week.
4. Golapada (50 verses): Geometric/trigonometric aspects of the celestial sphere, features of the ecliptic, celestial
equator, node, shape of the earth, cause of day and night, rising of zodiacal signs on horizon, etc. In addition,
some versions cite a few colophons added at the end, extolling the virtues of the work, etc.
The Aryabhatiya presented a number of innovations in mathematics and astronomy in verse form, which were
influential for many centuries. The extreme brevity of the text was elaborated in commentaries by his disciple
Bhaskara I (Bhashya, c. 600 CE) and by Nilakantha Somayaji in his Aryabhatiya Bhasya, (1465 CE).
Mathematics
Place value system and zero

The place-value system, first seen in the 3rd century Bakhshali Manuscript, was clearly in place in his work. While
he did not use a symbol for zero, the French mathematician Georges Ifrah argues that knowledge of zero was
implicit in Aryabhata's place-value system as a place holder for the powers of ten with null coefficients[8]
However, Aryabhata did not use the Brahmi numerals. Continuing the Sanskritic tradition from Vedic times, he used
letters of the alphabet to denote numbers, expressing quantities, such as the table of sines in a mnemonic form.[9]
Approximation of π
Aryabhata worked on the approximation for pi ( ), and may have come to the conclusion that is irrational. In
the second part of the Aryabhatiyam (gaṇitapāda 10), he writes:
caturadhikam śatamaṣṭaguṇam dvāṣaṣṭistathā sahasrāṇām
ayutadvayaviṣkambhasyāsanno vṛttapariṇāhaḥ.
"Add four to 100, multiply by eight, and then add 62,000. By this rule the circumference of a circle with
a diameter of 20,000 can be approached."[10]
This implies that the ratio of the circumference to the diameter is ((4 + 100) × 8 + 62000)/20000 = 62832/20000
= 3.1416, which is accurate to five significant figures.
It is speculated that Aryabhata used the word āsanna (approaching), to mean that not only is this an approximation
but that the value is incommensurable (or irrational). If this is correct, it is quite a sophisticated insight, because the
irrationality of pi was proved in Europe only in 1761 by Lambert.[11]
After Aryabhatiya was translated into Arabic (c. 820 CE) this approximation was mentioned in Al-Khwarizmi's book
on algebra.[3]
Aryabhata 8
Mensuration and trigonometry

In Ganitapada 6, Aryabhata gives the area of a triangle as
tribhujasya phalashariram samadalakoti bhujardhasamvargah
that translates to: "for a triangle, the result of a perpendicular with the half-side is the area."[12]
Aryabhata discussed the concept of sine in his work by the name of ardha-jya. Literally, it means "half-chord". For
simplicity, people started calling it jya. When Arabic writers translated his works from Sanskrit into Arabic, they
referred it as jiba. However, in Arabic writings, vowels are omitted, and it was abbreviated as jb. Later writers
substituted it with jiab, meaning "cove" or "bay." (In Arabic, jiba is a meaningless word.) Later in the 12th century,
when Gherardo of Cremona translated these writings from Arabic into Latin, he replaced the Arabic jiab with its
Latin counterpart, sinus, which means "cove" or "bay". And after that, the sinus became sine in English.[13]
Indeterminate equations
A problem of great interest to Indian mathematicians since ancient times has been to find integer solutions to
equations that have the form ax + by = c, a topic that has come to be known as diophantine equations. This is an
example from Bhāskara's commentary on Aryabhatiya:
Find the number which gives 5 as the remainder when divided by 8, 4 as the remainder when divided by 9, and
1 as the remainder when divided by 7
That is, find N = 8x+5 = 9y+4 = 7z+1. It turns out that the smallest value for N is 85. In general, diophantine
equations, such as this, can be notoriously difficult. They were discussed extensively in ancient Vedic text Sulba
Sutras, whose more ancient parts might date to 800 BCE. Aryabhata's method of solving such problems is called the
kuṭṭaka (कुट्टक) method. Kuttaka means "pulverizing" or "breaking into small pieces", and the method involves a
recursive algorithm for writing the original factors in smaller numbers. Today this algorithm, elaborated by Bhaskara
in 621 CE, is the standard method for solving first-order diophantine equations and is often referred to as the
Aryabhata algorithm.[14] The diophantine equations are of interest in cryptology, and the RSA Conference, 2006,
focused on the kuttaka method and earlier work in the Sulbasutras.
Algebra
In Aryabhatiya Aryabhata provided elegant results for the summation of series of squares and cubes:[15]
and
Astronomy
Aryabhata's system of astronomy was called the audAyaka system, in which days are reckoned from uday, dawn at
lanka or "equator". Some of his later writings on astronomy, which apparently proposed a second model (or
ardha-rAtrikA, midnight) are lost but can be partly reconstructed from the discussion in Brahmagupta's
khanDakhAdyaka. In some texts, he seems to ascribe the apparent motions of the heavens to the Earth's rotation. He
also treated the planet's orbits as elliptical rather than circular.[16] [17]
Aryabhata 9
Motions of the solar system

Aryabhata correctly insisted that the earth rotates about its axis daily, and that the apparent movement of the stars is
a relative motion caused by the rotation of the earth, contrary to the then-prevailing view that the sky rotated. This is
indicated in the first chapter of the Aryabhatiya, where he gives the number of rotations of the earth in a yuga,[18]
and made more explicit in his gola chapter:[19]
In the same way that someone in a boat going forward sees an unmoving [object] going backward, so
[someone] on the equator sees the unmoving stars going uniformly westward. The cause of rising and setting
[is that] the sphere of the stars together with the planets [apparently?] turns due west at the equator, constantly
pushed by the cosmic wind.
Aryabhata described a geocentric model of the solar system, in which the Sun and Moon are each carried by
epicycles. They in turn revolve around the Earth. In this model, which is also found in the Paitāmahasiddhānta (c.
CE 425), the motions of the planets are each governed by two epicycles, a smaller manda (slow) and a larger śīghra
(fast). [20] The order of the planets in terms of distance from earth is taken as: the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun,
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the asterisms."[3]
The positions and periods of the planets was calculated relative to uniformly moving points. In the case of Mercury
and Venus, they move around the Earth at the same mean speed as the Sun. In the case of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn,
they move around the Earth at specific speeds, representing each planet's motion through the zodiac. Most historians
of astronomy consider that this two-epicycle model reflects elements of pre-Ptolemaic Greek astronomy.[21] Another
element in Aryabhata's model, the śīghrocca, the basic planetary period in relation to the Sun, is seen by some
historians as a sign of an underlying heliocentric model.[22]
Eclipses
Solar and lunar eclipses were scientifically explained by Aryabhata. Aryabhata states that the Moon and planets
shine by reflected sunlight. Instead of the prevailing cosmogony in which eclipses were caused by pseudo-planetary
nodes Rahu and Ketu, he explains eclipses in terms of shadows cast by and falling on Earth. Thus, the lunar eclipse
occurs when the moon enters into the Earth's shadow (verse gola.37). He discusses at length the size and extent of
the Earth's shadow (verses gola.38–48) and then provides the computation and the size of the eclipsed part during an
eclipse. Later Indian astronomers improved on the calculations, but Aryabhata's methods provided the core. His
computational paradigm was so accurate that 18th century scientist Guillaume Le Gentil, during a visit to
Pondicherry, India, found the Indian computations of the duration of the lunar eclipse of 30 August 1765 to be short
by 41 seconds, whereas his charts (by Tobias Mayer, 1752) were long by 68 seconds.[3]
Sidereal periods
Considered in modern English units of time, Aryabhata calculated the sidereal rotation (the rotation of the earth
referencing the fixed stars) as 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.1 seconds;[23] the modern value is 23:56:4.091. Similarly,
his value for the length of the sidereal year at 365 days, 6 hours, 12 minutes, and 30 seconds (365.25858 days)[24] is
an error of 3 minutes and 20 seconds over the length of a year (365.25636 days).[25]
Heliocentrism
As mentioned, Aryabhata advocated an astronomical model in which the Earth turns on its own axis. His model also
gave corrections (the śīgra anomaly) for the speeds of the planets in the sky in terms of the mean speed of the sun.
Thus, it has been suggested that Aryabhata's calculations were based on an underlying heliocentric model, in which
the planets orbit the Sun,[26] [27] [28] though this has been rebutted.[29] It has also been suggested that aspects of
Aryabhata's system may have been derived from an earlier, likely pre-Ptolemaic Greek, heliocentric model of which
Indian astronomers were unaware,[30] though the evidence is scant.[31] The general consensus is that a synodic
anomaly (depending on the position of the sun) does not imply a physically heliocentric orbit (such corrections being
Aryabhata 10
also present in late Babylonian astronomical texts), and that Aryabhata's system was not explicitly heliocentric.[32]
Legacy
Aryabhata's work was of great influence in the Indian astronomical tradition and influenced several neighbouring
cultures through translations. The Arabic translation during the Islamic Golden Age (c. 820 CE), was particularly
influential. Some of his results are cited by Al-Khwarizmi and in the 10th century Al-Biruni stated that Aryabhata's
followers believed that the Earth rotated on its axis.
His definitions of sine (jya), cosine (kojya), versine (utkrama-jya), and inverse sine (otkram jya) influenced the birth
of trigonometry. He was also the first to specify sine and versine (1 − cos x) tables, in 3.75° intervals from 0° to 90°,
to an accuracy of 4 decimal places.
In fact, modern names "sine" and "cosine" are mistranscriptions of the words jya and kojya as introduced by
Aryabhata. As mentioned, they were translated as jiba and kojiba in Arabic and then misunderstood by Gerard of
Cremona while translating an Arabic geometry text to Latin. He assumed that jiba was the Arabic word jaib, which
means "fold in a garment", L. sinus (c. 1150).[33]
Aryabhata's astronomical calculation methods were also very influential. Along with the trigonometric tables, they
came to be widely used in the Islamic world and used to compute many Arabic astronomical tables (zijes). In
particular, the astronomical tables in the work of the Arabic Spain scientist Al-Zarqali (11th century) were translated
into Latin as the Tables of Toledo (12th c.) and remained the most accurate ephemeris used in Europe for centuries.
Calendric calculations devised by Aryabhata and his followers have been in continuous use in India for the practical
purposes of fixing the Panchangam (the Hindu calendar). In the Islamic world, they formed the basis of the Jalali
calendar introduced in 1073 CE by a group of astronomers including Omar Khayyam,[34] versions of which
(modified in 1925) are the national calendars in use in Iran and Afghanistan today. The dates of the Jalali calendar
are based on actual solar transit, as in Aryabhata and earlier Siddhanta calendars. This type of calendar requires an
ephemeris for calculating dates. Although dates were difficult to compute, seasonal errors were less in the Jalali
calendar than in the Gregorian calendar.
India's first satellite Aryabhata and the lunar crater Aryabhata are named in his honour. An Institute for conducting
research in astronomy, astrophysics and atmospheric sciences is the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational
Sciences (ARIES) near Nainital, India. The inter-school Aryabhata Maths Competition is also named after him,[35]
as is Bacillus aryabhata, a species of bacteria discovered by ISRO scientists in 2009.[36]
References
[1] K. V. Sarma (2001). "Āryabhaṭa: His name, time and provenance" (http:/ / www. new. dli. ernet. in/ rawdataupload/ upload/ insa/ INSA_1/
20005b67_105. pdf). Indian Journal of History of Science 36 (4): 105–115. .
[2] Bhau Daji (1865). "Brief Notes on the Age and Authenticity of the Works of Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Brahmagupta, Bhattotpala, and
Bhaskaracharya" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=fAsFAAAAMAAJ& pg=PA392& dq=aryabhata). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of
Great Britain and Ireland. p. 392. .
[3] Ansari, S.M.R. (March 1977). "Aryabhata I, His Life and His Contributions" (http:/ / prints. iiap. res. in/ handle/ 2248/ 502). Bulletin of the
Astronomical Society of India 5 (1): 10–18. . Retrieved 2011-01-22.
[4] Cooke (1997). "The Mathematics of the Hindus". pp. 204. "Aryabhata himself (one of at least two mathematicians bearing that name) lived in
the late fifth and the early sixth centuries at Kusumapura (Pataliutra, a village near the city of Patna) and wrote a book called Aryabhatiya."
[5] "Get ready for solar eclipe" (http:/ / ncsm. gov. in/ docs/ Get ready for Solar eclipse. pdf). National Council of Science Museums, Ministry of
Culture, Government of India. . Retrieved 9 December 2009.
[6] For instance, one hypothesis was that aśmaka (Sanskrit for "stone") may be the region in Kerala that is now known as Koṭuṅṅallūr, based on
the belief that it was earlier known as Koṭum-Kal-l-ūr ("city of hard stones"); however, old records show that the city was actually
Koṭum-kol-ūr ("city of strict governance"). Similarly, the fact that several commentaries on the Aryabhatiya have come from Kerala were used
to suggest that it was Aryabhata's main place of life and activity; however, many commentaries have come from outside Kerala, and the
Aryasiddhanta was completely unknown in Kerala. See Sarma for details.
[7] See:
*Clark 1930
Aryabhata 11
*S. Balachandra Rao (2000). Indian Astronomy: An Introduction (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=N3DE3GAyqcEC& pg=PA82& dq=lanka).
Orient Blackswan. p. 82. ISBN 9788173712050. .: "In Indian astronomy, the prime meridian is the great circle of the Earth passing through
the north and south poles, Ujjayinī and Laṅkā, where Laṅkā was assumed to be on the Earth's equator."
*L. Satpathy (2003). Ancient Indian Astronomy (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=nh6jgEEqqkkC& pg=PA200& dq=lanka). Alpha Science
Int'l Ltd.. p. 200. ISBN 9788173194320. .: "Seven cardinal points are then defined on the equator, one of them called Laṅkā, at the intersection
of the equator with the meridional line through Ujjaini. This Laṅkā is, of course, a fanciful name and has nothing to do with the island of Sri
Laṅkā."
*Ernst Wilhelm. Classical Muhurta (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=3zMPFJy6YygC& pg=PA44& dq=lanka). Kala Occult Publishers. p. 44.
ISBN 9780970963628. .: "The point on the equator that is below the city of Ujjain is known, according to the Siddhantas, as Lanka. (This is
not the Lanka that is now known as Sri Lanka; Aryabhata is very clear in stating that Lanka is 23 degrees south of Ujjain.)"
*R.M. Pujari; Pradeep Kolhe; N. R. Kumar (2006). Pride of India: A Glimpse into India's Scientific Heritage (http:/ / books. google. com/
?id=sEX11ZyjLpYC& pg=PA63& dq=lanka). SAMSKRITA BHARATI. p. 63. ISBN 9788187276272. .
*Ebenezer Burgess; Phanindralal Gangooly (1989). The Surya Siddhanta: A Textbook of Hindu Astronomy (http:/ / books. google. com/
?id=W0Uo_-_iizwC& pg=PA46& dq=lanka). Motilal Banarsidass Publ.. p. 46. ISBN 9788120806122. .
[8] George. Ifrah (1998). A Universal History of Numbers: From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer. John Wiley & Sons.
[9] Dutta, Bibhutibhushan; Singh, Avadhesh Narayan (1962). History of Hindu Mathematics. Asia Publishing House, Bombay.
ISBN 81-86050-86-8 (reprint)
[10] Jacobs, Harold R. (2003). Geometry: Seeing, Doing, Understanding (Third Edition). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. p. 70.
[11] S. Balachandra Rao (1994/1998). Indian Mathematics and Astronomy: Some Landmarks. Jnana Deep Publications. ISBN 81-7371-205-0.
[12] Roger Cooke (1997.). "The Mathematics of the Hindus". History of Mathematics: A Brief Course. Wiley-Interscience. ISBN 0471180823.
"Aryabhata gave the correct rule for the area of a triangle and an incorrect rule for the volume of a pyramid. (He claimed that the volume was
half the height times the area of the base.)"
[13] Howard Eves (1990). An Introduction to the History of Mathematics (6 ed.). Saunders College Publishing House, New York. p. 237.
[14] Amartya K Dutta, "Diophantine equations: The Kuttaka" (http:/ / www. ias. ac. in/ resonance/ Oct2002/ pdf/ Oct2002p6-22. pdf),
Resonance, October 2002. Also see earlier overview: Mathematics in Ancient India (http:/ / www. ias. ac. in/ resonance/ April2002/ pdf/
April2002p4-19. pdf).
[15] Boyer, Carl B. (1991). "The Mathematics of the Hindus". A History of Mathematics (Second ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. p. 207.
ISBN 0471543977. ""He gave more elegant rules for the sum of the squares and cubes of an initial segment of the positive integers. The sixth
part of the product of three quantities consisting of the number of terms, the number of terms plus one, and twice the number of terms plus one
is the sum of the squares. The square of the sum of the series is the sum of the cubes.""
[16] J. J. O'Connor and E. F. Robertson, Aryabhata the Elder (http:/ / www-groups. dcs. st-and. ac. uk/ ~history/ Biographies/ Aryabhata_I. html),
MacTutor History of Mathematics archive:
"He believes that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight, incredibly he believes that the orbits
of the planets are ellipses."
[17] Hayashi (2008), Aryabhata I
[18] Aryabhatiya 1.3ab, see Plofker 2009, p. 111.
[19] [achalAni bhAni samapashchimagAni… – golapAda.9–10]. Translation from K. S. Shukla and K.V. Sarma, K. V. Āryabhaṭīya of
Āryabhaṭa, New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy, 1976. Quoted in Plofker 2009.
[20] Pingree, David (1996). "Astronomy in India". In Walker, Christopher. Astronomy before the Telescope. London: British Museum Press.
pp. 123–142. ISBN 0-7141-1746-3 pp. 127–9.
[21] Otto Neugebauer, "The Transmission of Planetary Theories in Ancient and Medieval Astronomy," Scripta Mathematica, 22 (1956), pp.
165–192; reprinted in Otto Neugebauer, Astronomy and History: Selected Essays, New York: Springer-Verlag, 1983, pp. 129–156. ISBN
0-387-90844-7
[22] Hugh Thurston, Early Astronomy, New York: Springer-Verlag, 1996, pp. 178–189. ISBN 0-387-94822-8
[23] R.C.Gupta (31 July 1997). "Āryabhaṭa" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=raKRY3KQspsC& pg=PA72). In Helaine Selin.
Encyclopaedia of the history of science, technology, and medicine in non-western cultures. Springer. p. 72. ISBN 9780792340669. . Retrieved
22 January 2011.
[24] Ansari, p. 13, Table 1
[25] Aryabhatiya (http:/ / www. flipkart. com/ aryabhatiya-mohan-apte-book-8174344802) Marathi: आर्यभटीय, Mohan Apte, Pune, India, Rajhans
Publications, 2009, p.25, ISBN 978-81-7434-480-9
[26] The concept of Indian heliocentrism has been advocated by B. L. van der Waerden, Das heliozentrische System in der griechischen,
persischen und indischen Astronomie. Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Zürich. Zürich:Kommissionsverlag Leeman AG, 1970.
[27] B.L. van der Waerden, "The Heliocentric System in Greek, Persian and Hindu Astronomy", in David A. King and George Saliba, ed., From
Deferent to Equant: A Volume of Studies in the History of Science in the Ancient and Medieval Near East in Honor of E. S. Kennedy, Annals
of the New York Academy of Science, 500 (1987), pp. 529–534.
[28] Hugh Thurston (1996). Early Astronomy. Springer. p. 188. ISBN 0387948228
[29] Noel Swerdlow, "Review: A Lost Monument of Indian Astronomy," Isis, 64 (1973): 239–243.
Aryabhata 12
[30] Though Aristarchus of Samos (3rd century BCE) is credited with holding an heliocentric theory, the version of Greek astronomy known in
ancient India as the Paulisa Siddhanta makes no reference to such a theory.
[31] Dennis Duke, "The Equant in India: The Mathematical Basis of Ancient Indian Planetary Models." Archive for History of Exact Sciences 59
(2005): 563–576, n. 4 (http:/ / people. scs. fsu. edu/ ~dduke/ india8. pdf).
[32] Kim Plofker (2009). Mathematics in India. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. pp. 111. ISBN 0691120676.
[33] Douglas Harper (2001). "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http:/ / www. etymonline. com/ ). . Retrieved 2007-07-14.
[34] "Omar Khayyam" (http:/ / www. bartleby. com/ 65/ om/ OmarKhay. html). The Columbia Encyclopedia (6 ed.). 2001-05. . Retrieved
2007-06-10.
[35] "Maths can be fun" (http:/ / www. hindu. com/ yw/ 2006/ 02/ 03/ stories/ 2006020304520600. htm). The Hindu. 3 February 2006. .
Retrieved 2007-07-06.
[36] Discovery of New Microorganisms in the Stratosphere (http:/ / www. isro. org/ pressrelease/ Mar16_2009. htm). Mar. 16, 2009. ISRO.
Other references
• Cooke, Roger (1997). The History of Mathematics: A Brief Course. Wiley-Interscience. ISBN 0471180823.
• Clark, Walter Eugene (1930). The Āryabhaṭīya of Āryabhaṭa: An Ancient Indian Work on Mathematics and
Astronomy (http://www.archive.org/details/The_Aryabhatiya_of_Aryabhata_Clark_1930). University of
Chicago Press; reprint: Kessinger Publishing (2006). ISBN 978-1425485993
• Kak, Subhash C. (2000). 'Birth and Early Development of Indian Astronomy'. In Selin, Helaine (2000).
Astronomy Across Cultures: The History of Non-Western Astronomy. Boston: Kluwer. ISBN 0-7923-6363-9
• Shukla, Kripa Shankar. Aryabhata: Indian Mathematician and Astronomer. New Delhi: Indian National Science
Academy, 1976.
• Thurston, H. (1994). Early Astronomy. Springer-Verlag, New York. ISBN 0-387-94107-X
External links
• Eugene C. Clark's 1930 English translation (http://www.scribd.com/doc/20912413/
The-Aryabhatiya-of-Aryabhata-English-Translation) of The Aryabhatiya at scribd.com
• Eugene C. Clark's 1930 English translation (http://www.archive.org/details/
The_Aryabhatiya_of_Aryabhata_Clark_1930) of The Aryabhatiya in various formats at the Internet Archive.
• O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Aryabhata" (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/
Biographies/Aryabhata_I.html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews.
• Aryabhata and Diophantus' son, [[Hindustan Times (http://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/~amit/story/19_aryabhata.
html)] Storytelling Science column, Nov 2004]
• http://www.hindu.com/2007/06/25/stories/2007062558250400.htm
• http://www.wilbourhall.org/(Surya Siddhanta translations)
List of Indian scientists

The name of the indian scientists of the ancient and modern times are given below.
Ancient Scientists from India

• Aryabhata
• Baudhayana
• Bhāskara I
• Brahmadeva
• Brahmagupta
• Chanakya
• Charaka
• Halayudha
• Jayadeva
• Nagarjuna
• Pingala
• Sushruta
• Vyasa
Modern Era Scientists

• Animesh Chakravorty
• Anil Kakodkar
• APJ Abdul Kalam-Missile man of India.He was the architect of Agni series of nuclear missiles.An eminent
scientist and an inspirer of youth.He is one of the most loved Presidents of India
• Arun Netravali - Chief Scientist & former CEO of Bell Labs.
• Arun Majumdar
• Ashok Gadgil - Inventor of UV-disinfection method
• Ashoke Sen - Known for research in String Theory
• Birbal Sahni
• CNR Rao
• Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis Founder of Indian Statistical Institute, known for Mahalanobis distance
• C R Rao- Best of Statistician ever in world, known for Rao–Blackwell theorem, Cramér–Rao bound
• CV Raman-Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman or C.V Raman is one of the internationally acknowledged Indian
Scientist. He formulated the Raman effect
• D. R. Kaprekar - Mathematician. Famous for his work on Number Theory
• Dr. Jayant Narlikar - Prominent Astrophysicist His work on conformal gravity theory with Sir Fred Hoyle, called
Hoyle-Narlikar theory, demonstrated a synthesis can be achieved between Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity
and Mach's principle.
• Vinod Johri
• G Madhavan Nair
• G. N. Ramachandran
• Gajendra Pal Singh Raghava Bioinformatician: Famous for developing software and webservers [1] for biological
problems
• Ganapathi Thanikaimoni
• Gopalasamudram Narayana Iyer Ramachandran
• Govindarajan Padmanabhan
• Har Gobind Khorana

• Harish Chandra
• Homi Bhabha
• Jagdish Chandra Bose Original inventor of wireless(not credited). Inventor of Crescograph and the first scientist
to observe that plants behave like living things.
• Jagmohan Lal Razdan, pioneer of radiology in India
• K. Radhakrishnan
• K. R. Ramanathan
• Kailas Nath Kaul, botanist and world authority on palms
• Kotcherlakota Rangadhama Rao
• Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan
• Lalji Singh
• M. G. K. Menon
• M. S. Swaminathan
• Manchanahalli Rangaswamy Satyanarayana Rao
• Manindra Agrawal - Computer scientist, noted for co-developing the AKS primality testing algorithm.
• Manilal Bhaumik laser therapy
• Man Mohan Sharma
• Meghnad Saha
• ML Madan
• Nariman Mehta - Scientist. Patent holder for smoking cessation drug, Zyban.
• Narendra Karmarkar - Mathematician. Renowned for developing Karmarkar's algorithm
• Nitya Anand
• Niyaz Ahmed
• Obaid Siddiqi
• P. Somasundaran
• Padmanabhan Balaram
• Pandurang Sadashiv Khankhoje
• Patcha Ramachandra Rao
• Prof. Prem Chand Pandey- Oceanographer, Meteorologist(SAC/ISRO), Physicist, and Founder Director
NCAOR-Indian Antarctic Program, Goa.
• Prof. Abhay Ashtekar- known for 'Ashtekar Variables'. He is also regarded as a founder of the theory of Loop
quantum gravity
• Raghunath Anant Mashelkar
• Atul Kumar- Medicinal Chemist/Drug design. He has invented new antiosteoporosis drug candidate.
• Rajeev Motwani
• Ranajit Chakraborty
• Roddam Narasimha
• S. Bhagavantam
• S. Ramaseshan
• Salim Ali
• Samir K. Brahmachari
• Satish Dhawan
• Satyendra Nath Bose
• Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar
• Subramanian V - Quantum Chemist - Known for his contributions to the Development of descriptors
• Shreeram Shankar Abhyankar - Mathematician. Known for his contributions to singularity theory and
Abhyankar's conjecture
• Sir M. Visvesvaraya
• Srinivasa Ramanujan
• Subramanyan Chandrasekhar
• Sujoy K. Guha
• Rajeev Kumar Varshney
• Sunder Lal Hora
• Tej P Singh
• Udipi Ramachandra Rao
• Vainu Bappu
• Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
• Vijay P. Bhatkar
• Vikram Sarabhai
• William Stephen Atkinson
• Yellapragada Subbarao
References
[1] http:/ / www. imtech. res. in/ raghava/
Baudhayana
Baudhāyana, (fl. c. 800 BCE)[1] was an Indian mathematician, who was most likely also a priest. He is noted as the
author of the earliest Sulba Sūtra—appendices to the Vedas giving rules for the construction of altars—called the
Baudhāyana Śulbasûtra, which contained several important mathematical results. He is older than other famous
mathematician Āpastambha. He belongs to Yajurveda school.
He is accredited with calculating the value of pi to some degree of precision, and with discovering what is now
known as the Pythagorean theorem.[2]
The sūtras of Baudhāyana
The Shrautasūtra
His shrauta sūtras related to performing Vedic sacrifices has followers in some Smārta brāhmaṇas (Iyers) and some
Iyengars of Tamil Nadu, Yajurvedis or Namboothiris of Kerala, Gurukkal brahmins, among others. The followers of
this sūtra follow a different method and do 24 Tila-tarpaṇa, as Lord Kṛiṣhṇa had done tarpaṇa on the day before
Amāvasyā; they call themselves Baudhāyana Amāvasya.
The Dharmasūtra
The Vivaraṇa of Govindasvami is an important commentary on the Dharmasūtra.
Baudhayana 16
The mathematics in Sulbasūtra
Pythagorean theorem
The most notable of the rules (the Sulbasūtra-s do not contain any proofs of the rules which they describe, since they
are sūtra-s, formulae, concise) in the Baudhāyana Sulba Sūtra says:
dīrghasyākṣaṇayā rajjuḥ pārśvamānī, tiryaḍam mānī,
cha yatpṛthagbhūte kurutastadubhayāṅ karoti.
A rope stretched along the length of the diagonal produces an area which the vertical and horizontal
sides make together.
This appears to be referring to a rectangle, although some interpretations consider this to refer to a square. In either
case, it states that the square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the sides. If restricted to right-angled
isosceles triangles, however, it would constitute a less general claim, but the text seems to be quite open to unequal
sides.
If this refers to a rectangle, it is the earliest recorded statement of the Pythagorean theorem.
Baudhāyana also provides a non-axiomatic demonstration using a rope measure of the reduced form of the
Pythagorean theorem for an isosceles right triangle:
The cord which is stretched across a square produces an area double the size of the original square.
Circling the Square

Another problem tackled by Baudhāyana is that of finding a circle whose area is the same as that of a square (the
reverse of squaring the circle). His sūtra i.58 gives this construction:
Draw half its diagonal about the centre towards the East-West line; then describe a circle together with a
third part of that which lies outside the square.
Explanation:
• Draw the half-diagonal of the square, which is larger than the half-side by .
• Then draw a circle with radius , or , which equals .
• Now , so the area .
Square root of 2
Baudhāyana i.61-2 (elaborated in Āpastamba Sulbasūtra i.6) gives the length of the diagonal of a square in terms of
its sides, which is equivalent to a formula for the square root of 2:
samasya dvikaraṇī. pramāṇaṃ tṛtīyena vardhayet
tac caturthenātmacatustriṃśonena saviśeṣaḥ
The diagonal [lit. "doubler"] of a square. The measure is to be increased by a third and by a fourth decreased
by the thirty-fourth. That is its diagonal approximately.
which is correct to five decimals.

Other theorems include: diagonals of rectangle bisect each other, diagonals of rhombus bisect at right angles, area of
a square formed by joining the middle points of a square is half of original, the midpoints of a rectangle joined forms
a rhombus whose area is half the rectangle, etc.
Baudhayana 17
Note the emphasis on rectangles and squares; this arises from the need to specify yajña bhūmikās—i.e. the altar on
which a rituals were conducted, including fire offerings (yajña).
Āpastamba (c. 600 BC) and Kātyāyana (c. 200 BC), authors of other sulba sūtras, extend some of Baudhāyana's
ideas. Āpastamba provides a more general proof of the Pythagorean theorem.
Notes
[1] O'Connor, "Baudhayana".
[2] Hambidge, Jay (2003). Dynamic Symmetry: The Greek Vase (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=eKloRIWLXywC& pg=PA144). Kessinger
Publishing. p. 144. ISBN 9780766176799. .
References
• George Gheverghese Joseph. The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics, 2nd Edition.
Penguin Books, 2000. ISBN 0-14-027778-1.
• Vincent J. Katz. A History of Mathematics: An Introduction, 2nd Edition. Addison-Wesley, 1998. ISBN
0-321-01618-1
• S. Balachandra Rao, Indian Mathematics and Astronomy: Some Landmarks. Jnana Deep Publications, Bangalore,
1998. ISBN 8190096206
• O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Baudhayana" (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/
Biographies/Baudhayana.html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews. St
Andrews University, 2000.
• O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "The Indian Sulbasutras" (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.
uk/HistTopics/Indian_sulbasutras.html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews.
St Andrews University, 2000.
• Ian G. Pearce. Sulba Sutras (http://turnbull.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Projects/Pearce/Chapters/Ch4_2.
html) at the MacTutor archive. St Andrews University, 2002.
Bhāskara I 18
Bhāskara I
Bhāskara (c. 600 – c. 680) (Marathi: भास्कर commonly called Bhaskara I to avoid confusion with the 12th century
mathematician Bhāskara II) was a 7th century Indian mathematician, who was apparently the first to write numbers
in the Hindu-Arabic decimal system with a circle for the zero, and who gave a unique and remarkable rational
approximation of the sine function in his commentary on Aryabhata's work.[1] This commentary,
Āryabhaṭīyabhāṣya, written in 629 CE, is the oldest known prose work in Sanskrit on mathematics and astronomy.
He also wrote two astronomical works in the line of Aryabhata's school, the Mahābhāskarīya and the
Laghubhāskarīya.[2]
Biography
Little is known about Bhāskara's life. He was "probably a Marathi astronomer".[3] He was born at Bori,in Parbhani
district of Maharashtra state in India in 7th century.
His astronomical education was given by his father. Bhaskara is considered the most important scholar of
Aryabhata's astronomical school. He and Brahmagupta are the most renowned Indian mathematicians who made
considerable contributions to the study of fractions.
Representation of numbers
Bhaskara's probably most important mathematical contribution concerns the representation of numbers in a
positional system. The first positional representations were known to Indian astronomers about 500. However, the
numbers were not written in figures, but in words or allegories, and were organized in verses. For instance, the
number 1 was given as moon, since it exists only once; the number 2 was represented by wings, twins, or eyes, since
they always occur in pairs; the number 5 was given by the (5) senses. Similar to our current decimal system, these
words were aligned such that each number assigns the factor of the power of ten corresponding to its position, only
in reverse order: the higher powers were right from the lower ones.
His system is truly positional, since the same words representing, can also be used to represent the values 40 or
400.[4] Quite remarkably, he often explains a number given in this system, using the formula ankair api ("in figures
this reads"), by repeating it written with the first nine Brahmi numerals, using a small circle for the zero . Contrary to
his word number system, however, the figures are written in descending valuedness from left to right, exactly as we
do it today. Therefore, at least since 629 the decimal system is definitely known to the Indian scientists. Presumably,
Bhaskara did not invent it, but he was the first having no compunctions to use the Brahmi numerals in a scientific
contribution in Sanskrit.
Further contributions
Bhaskara wrote three astronomical contributions. In 629 he commented the Aryabhatiya, written in verses, about
mathematical astronomy. The comments referred exactly to the 33 verses dealing with mathematics. There he
considered variable equations and trigonometric formulae.
His work Mahabhaskariya divides into eight chapters about mathematical astronomy. In chapter 7, he gives a
remarkable approximation formula for sin x, that is
which he assigns to Aryabhata. It reveals a relative error of less than 1.9% (the greatest deviation
at ). Moreover, relations between sine and cosine, as well as between the sine of an
Bhāskara I 19
angle >90° >180° or >270° to the sine of an angle <90° are given. Parts of Mahabhaskariya were later translated into
Arabic.
Bhaskara already dealt with the assertion that if p is a prime number, then 1 + (p–1)! is divisible by p. It was proved
later by Al-Haitham, also mentioned by Fibonacci, and is now known as Wilson's theorem.
Moreover, Bhaskara stated theorems about the solutions of today so called Pell equations. For instance, he posed the
problem: "Tell me, O mathematician, what is that square which multiplied by 8 becomes - together with unity - a
square?" In modern notation, he asked for the solutions of the Pell equation . It has the simple
solution x = 1, y = 3, or shortly (x,y) = (1,3), from which further solutions can be constructed, e.g., (x,y) = (6,17).
References
[1] Bhaskara I (http:/ / www. britannica. com/ EBchecked/ topic/ 853503/ Bhaskara-I), Britannica
[2] Keller (2006, p. xiii)
[3] Keller (2006, p. xiii) cites [K S Shukla 1976; p. xxv-xxx], and Pingree, Census of the Exact Sciences in Sanskrit, volume 4, p. 297.
[4] B. van der Waerden: Erwachende Wissenschaft. Ägyptische, babylonische und griechische Mathematik. Birkäuser-Verlag Basel Stuttgart
1966 p. 90
Further reading
• H.-W. Alten, A. Djafari Naini, M. Folkerts, H. Schlosser, K.-H. Schlote, H. Wußing: 4000 Jahre Algebra.
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2003 [ISBN 3-540-43554-9], §3.2.1
• S. Gottwald, H.-J. Ilgauds, K.-H. Schlote (Hrsg.): Lexikon bedeutender Mathematiker. Verlag Harri Thun,
Frankfurt a. M. 1990 [ISBN 3-8171-1164-9]
• G. Ifrah: The Universal History of Numbers. John Wiley & Sons, New York 2000 [ISBN 0-471-39340-1]
• Keller, Agathe (2006), Expounding the Mathematical Seed. Vol. 1: The Translation: A Translation of Bhaskara I
on the Mathematical Chapter of the Aryabhatiya, Basel, Boston, and Berlin: Birkhäuser Verlag, 172 pages,
ISBN 3764372915.
• Keller, Agathe (2006), Expounding the Mathematical Seed. Vol. 2: The Supplements: A Translation of Bhaskara I
ISBN 3764372923.
• O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Bhāskara I" (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/
Biographies/Bhaskara_I.html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews.
Source texts
(From Keller (2006))
• M. C. Apaṭe. The Laghubhāskarīya, with the commentary of Parameśvara. Anandāśrama, Sanskrit series no. 128,
Poona, 1946.
• K. Sastri. Mahābhāskarīya of Bhāskarācārya with the Bhāṣya of Govindasvāmin and Supercommentary
Siddhāntadīpikā of Parameśvara. Madras Govt. Oriental series, no. cxxx, 1957.
• K. S. Shukla. Mahābhāskarīya, Edited and Translated into English, with Explanatory and Critical Notes, and
Comments, etc. Department of mathematics, Lucknow University, 1960.
• K. S. Shukla. Laghubhāskarīya, Edited and Translated into English, with Explanatory and Critical Notes, and
Comments, etc., Department of mathematics and astronomy, Lucknow University, 1963.
• K. S. Shukla. Āryabhaṭīya of Āryabhaṭa, with the commentary of Bhāskara I and Someśvara. Indian National
Science Academy (INSA), New- Delhi, 1976.
Brahmadeva 20
Brahmadeva
Brahmadeva
Born 1060
Died 1130
Fields Mathematician
Known for Trigonometry
Brahmadeva (1060–1130) was an Indian mathematician. He was the author of Karanaprakasa, which is a
commentary on the Aryabhatiya by Aryabhata. Its contents deal partly with trigonometry and its applications to
astronomy.
External links
• O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Brahmadeva" [1], MacTutor History of Mathematics archive,
University of St Andrews.
References
[1] http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ Biographies/ Brahmadeva. html
Brahmagupta
Brahmagupta (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मगुप्त; (listen) (598–668 CE) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer who wrote
many important works on mathematics and astronomy. His best known work is the Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta
(Correctly Established Doctrine of Brahma), written in 628 in Bhinmal. Its 25 chapters contain several
unprecedented mathematical results.
Life and work

Brahmagupta was born in 598 CE (it is believed) in Bhinmal city in the state of Rajasthan of Northwest India. In
ancient times Bhillamala was the seat of power of the Gurjars. His father was Jisnugupta.[1] He likely lived most of
his life in Bhillamala (modern Bhinmal in Rajasthan) during the reign (and possibly under the patronage) of King
Vyaghramukha.[2] As a result, Brahmagupta is often referred to as Bhillamalacarya, that is, the teacher from
Bhillamala. He was the head of the astronomical observatory at Ujjain, and during his tenure there wrote four texts
on mathematics and astronomy: the Cadamekela in 624, the Brahmasphutasiddhanta in 628, the Khandakhadyaka in
665, and the Durkeamynarda in 672. The Brahmasphutasiddhanta (Corrected Treatise of Brahma) is arguably his
most famous work. The historian al-Biruni (c. 1050) in his book Tariq al-Hind states that the Abbasid caliph
al-Ma'mun had an embassy in India and from India a book was brought to Baghdad which was translated into Arabic
as Sindhind. It is generally presumed that Sindhind is none other than Brahmagupta's Brahmasphuta-siddhanta.[3]
Although Brahmagupta was familiar with the works of astronomers following the tradition of Aryabhatiya, it is not
known if he was familiar with the work of Bhaskara I, a contemporary.[2] Brahmagupta had a plethora of criticism
directed towards the work of rival astronomers, and in his Brahmasphutasiddhanta is found one of the earliest
attested schisms among Indian mathematicians. The division was primarily about the application of mathematics to
the physical world, rather than about the mathematics itself. In Brahmagupta's case, the disagreements stemmed
largely from the choice of astronomical parameters and theories.[2] Critiques of rival theories appear throughout the
Brahmagupta 21
first ten astronomical chapters and the eleventh chapter is entirely devoted to criticism of these theories, although no
criticisms appear in the twelfth and eighteenth chapters.[2]
Mathematics
Brahmagupta was the first to use zero as a number. He gave rules to compute with zero. Contrary to popular opinion,
negative numbers did not appear first in Brahmasputa siddhanta. Negative numbers appear for the first time in
history in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art (Jiu zhang suan-shu) around 200 BC. Brahmagupta's most
famous work is his Brahmasphutasiddhanta. It is composed in elliptic verse, as was common practice in Indian
mathematics, and consequently has a poetic ring to it. As no proofs are given, it is not known how Brahmagupta's
mathematics was derived.[4]
Algebra
Brahmagupta gave the solution of the general linear equation in chapter eighteen of Brahmasphutasiddhanta,
18.43 The difference between rupas, when inverted and divided by the difference of the unknowns, is
the unknown in the equation. The rupas are [subtracted on the side] below that from which the square
and the unknown are to be subtracted.[5]
Which is a solution equivalent to , where rupas represents constants. He further gave two equivalent
solutions to the general quadratic equation,
18.44. Diminish by the middle [number] the square-root of the rupas multiplied by four times the square
and increased by the square of the middle [number]; divide the remainder by twice the square. [The
result is] the middle [number].
18.45. Whatever is the square-root of the rupas multiplied by the square [and] increased by the square of
half the unknown, diminish that by half the unknown [and] divide [the remainder] by its square. [The
result is] the unknown.[5]
Which are, respectively, solutions equivalent to,
and
He went on to solve systems of simultaneous indeterminate equations stating that the desired variable must first be
isolated, and then the equation must be divided by the desired variable's coefficient. In particular, he recommended
using "the pulverizer" to solve equations with multiple unknowns.
18.51. Subtract the colors different from the first color. [The remainder] divided by the first [color's
coefficient] is the measure of the first. [Terms] two by two [are] considered [when reduced to] similar
divisors, [and so on] repeatedly. If there are many [colors], the pulverizer [is to be used].[5]
Like the algebra of Diophantus, the algebra of Brahmagupta was syncopated. Addition was indicated by placing the
numbers side by side, subtraction by placing a dot over the subtrahend, and division by placing the divisor below the
dividend, similar to our notation but without the bar. Multiplication, evolution, and unknown quantities were
represented by abbreviations of appropriate terms.[6] The extent of Greek influence on this syncopation, if any, is not
known and it is possible that both Greek and Indian syncopation may be derived from a common Babylonian
source.[6]
Brahmagupta 22
Arithmetic
Many cultures knew four fundamental operations. The way we do now based on Hindu arabic number system first
appeared in Brahmasputa siddhanta. Contrary to popular opinion, the four fundamental operations (addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division) did not appear first in BrahmasputhaSiddhanta, but they were already
known by the Sumerians at least 2500 BC. In BrahmasputhaSiddhanta, Multiplication was named Gomutrika. In the
beginning of chapter twelve of his Brahmasphutasiddhanta, entitled Calculation, Brahmagupta details operations on
fractions. The reader is expected to know the basic arithmetic operations as far as taking the square root, although he
explains how to find the cube and cube-root of an integer and later gives rules facilitating the computation of squares
and square roots. He then gives rules for dealing with five types of combinations of fractions, , ,
, , and .[7]
Series
Brahmagupta then goes on to give the sum of the squares and cubes of the first n integers.
12.20. The sum of the squares is that [sum] multiplied by twice the [number of] step[s] increased by one
[and] divided by three. The sum of the cubes is the square of that [sum] Piles of these with identical
balls [can also be computed].[8]
It is important to note here Brahmagupta found the result in terms of the sum of the first n integers, rather than in
terms of n as is the modern practice.[9]
He gives the sum of the squares of the first n natural numbers as n(n+1)(2n+1)/6 and the sum of the cubes of the first
n natural numbers as (n(n+1)/2)².
Zero
Brahmagupta's Brahmasphuṭasiddhanta is the very first book that mentions zero as a number, hence Brahmagupta is
considered as the man who found zero. He gave rules of using zero with other numbers. Zero plus a positive number
is the positive number etc. The Brahmasphutasiddhanta is the earliest known text to treat zero as a number in its own
right, rather than as simply a placeholder digit in representing another number as was done by the Babylonians or as
a symbol for a lack of quantity as was done by Ptolemy and the Romans. In chapter eighteen of his
Brahmasphutasiddhanta, Brahmagupta describes operations on negative numbers. He first describes addition and
subtraction,
18.30. [The sum] of two positives is positives, of two negatives negative; of a positive and a negative
[the sum] is their difference; if they are equal it is zero. The sum of a negative and zero is negative,
[that] of a positive and zero positive, [and that] of two zeros zero.
[...]
18.32. A negative minus zero is negative, a positive [minus zero] positive; zero [minus zero] is zero.
When a positive is to be subtracted from a negative or a negative from a positive, then it is to be
added.[5]
He goes on to describe multiplication,
18.33. The product of a negative and a positive is negative, of two negatives positive, and of positives
positive; the product of zero and a negative, of zero and a positive, or of two zeros is zero.[5]
But his description of division by zero differs from our modern understanding,
18.34. A positive divided by a positive or a negative divided by a negative is positive; a zero divided by
a zero is zero; a positive divided by a negative is negative; a negative divided by a positive is [also]
negative.
18.35. A negative or a positive divided by zero has that [zero] as its divisor, or zero divided by a
negative or a positive [has that negative or positive as its divisor]. The square of a negative or of a
Brahmagupta 23
positive is positive; [the square] of zero is zero. That of which [the square] is the square is [its]
square-root.[5]
Here Brahmagupta states that and as for the question of where he did not commit himself.[10] His
rules for arithmetic on negative numbers and zero are quite close to the modern understanding, except that in modern
mathematics division by zero is left undefined.
Diophantine analysis
Pythagorean triples
In chapter twelve of his Brahmasphutasiddhanta, Brahmagupta finds Pythagorean triples,
12.39. The height of a mountain multiplied by a given multiplier is the distance to a city; it is not erased.
When it is divided by the multiplier increased by two it is the leap of one of the two who make the same
journey.[8]
or in other words, for a given length m and an arbitrary multiplier x, let a = mx and b = m + mx/(x + 2). Then m, a,
and b form a Pythagorean triple.[8]
Pell's equation
Brahmagupta went on to give a recurrence relation for generating solutions to certain instances of Diophantine
equations of the second degree such as (called Pell's equation) by using the Euclidean algorithm.
The Euclidean algorithm was known to him as the "pulverizer" since it breaks numbers down into ever smaller
pieces.[11]
The nature of squares:
18.64. [Put down] twice the square-root of a given square by a multiplier and increased or diminished by
an arbitrary [number]. The product of the first [pair], multiplied by the multiplier, with the product of
the last [pair], is the last computed.
18.65. The sum of the thunderbolt products is the first. The additive is equal to the product of the
additives. The two square-roots, divided by the additive or the subtractive, are the additive rupas.[5]
The key to his solution was the identity,[12]
which is a generalization of an identity that was discovered by Diophantus,
Using his identity and the fact that if and are solutions to the equations and
, respectively, then is a solution to , he
was able to find integral solutions to the Pell's equation through a series of equations of the form .
Unfortunately, Brahmagupta was not able to apply his solution uniformly for all possible values of N, rather he was
only able to show that if has an integral solution for k = ±1, ±2, or ±4, then has
a solution. The solution of the general Pell's equation would have to wait for Bhaskara II in c. 1150 CE.[12]
Brahmagupta 24
Geometry
Brahmagupta's formula
Diagram for reference
Brahmagupta's most famous result in geometry is his formula for cyclic quadrilaterals. Given the lengths of the sides
of any cyclic quadrilateral, Brahmagupta gave an approximate and an exact formula for the figure's area,
12.21. The approximate area is the product of the halves of the sums of the sides and opposite sides of a
triangle and a quadrilateral. The accurate [area] is the square root from the product of the halves of the
sums of the sides diminished by [each] side of the quadrilateral.[8]
So given the lengths p, q, r and s of a cyclic quadrilateral, the approximate area is while, letting
, the exact area is
Although Brahmagupta does not explicitly state that these quadrilaterals are cyclic, it is apparent from his rules that
this is the case.[13] Heron's formula is a special case of this formula and it can be derived by setting one of the sides
equal to zero.
Triangles
Brahmagupta dedicated a substantial portion of his work to geometry. One theorem states that the two lengths of a
triangle's base when divided by its altitude then follows,
12.22. The base decreased and increased by the difference between the squares of the sides divided by
the base; when divided by two they are the true segments. The perpendicular [altitude] is the square-root
from the square of a side diminished by the square of its segment.[8]
Thus the lengths of the two segments are .
He further gives a theorem on rational triangles. A triangle with rational sides a, b, c and rational area is of the form:
for some rational numbers u, v, and w.[14]

Brahmagupta 25
Brahmagupta's theorem
Brahmagupta continues,
12.23. The square-root of the sum of the two products of
the sides and opposite sides of a non-unequal quadrilateral
is the diagonal. The square of the diagonal is diminished
by the square of half the sum of the base and the top; the
square-root is the perpendicular [altitudes].[8]
So, in a "non-unequal" cyclic quadrilateral (that is, an isosceles
trapezoid), the length of each diagonal is .
He continues to give formulas for the lengths and areas of geometric
figures, such as the circumradius of an isosceles trapezoid and a
scalene quadrilateral, and the lengths of diagonals in a scalene cyclic
Brahmagupta's theorem states that AF = FD.
quadrilateral. This leads up to Brahmagupta's famous theorem,
12.30-31. Imaging two triangles within [a cyclic quadrilateral] with unequal sides, the two diagonals are
the two bases. Their two segments are separately the upper and lower segments [formed] at the
intersection of the diagonals. The two [lower segments] of the two diagonals are two sides in a triangle;
the base [of the quadrilateral is the base of the triangle]. Its perpendicular is the lower portion of the
[central] perpendicular; the upper portion of the [central] perpendicular is half of the sum of the [sides]
perpendiculars diminished by the lower [portion of the central perpendicular].[8]
Pi
In verse 40, he gives values of π,
12.40. The diameter and the square of the radius [each] multiplied by 3 are [respectively] the practical
circumference and the area [of a circle]. The accurate [values] are the square-roots from the squares of
those two multiplied by ten.[8]
So Brahmagupta uses 3 as a "practical" value of π, and as an "accurate" value of π.
Measurements and constructions

In some of the verses before verse 40, Brahmagupta gives constructions of various figures with arbitrary sides. He
essentially manipulated right triangles to produce isosceles triangles, scalene triangles, rectangles, isosceles
trapezoids, isosceles trapezoids with three equal sides, and a scalene cyclic quadrilateral.
After giving the value of pi, he deals with the geometry of plane figures and solids, such as finding volumes and
surface areas (or empty spaces dug out of solids). He finds the volume of rectangular prisms, pyramids, and the
frustum of a square pyramid. He further finds the average depth of a series of pits. For the volume of a frustum of a
pyramid, he gives the "pragmatic" value as the depth times the square of the mean of the edges of the top and bottom
faces, and he gives the "superficial" volume as the depth times their mean area.[15]
Brahmagupta 26
Trigonometry
Sine table
In Chapter 2 of his Brahmasphutasiddhanta, entitled Planetary True Longitudes, Brahmagupta presents a sine table:
2.2-5. The sines: The Progenitors, twins; Ursa Major, twins, the Vedas; the gods, fires, six; flavors, dice,
the gods; the moon, five, the sky, the moon; the moon, arrows, suns [...][16]
Here Brahmagupta uses names of objects to represent the digits of place-value numerals, as was common with
numerical data in Sanskrit treatises. Progenitors represents the 14 Progenitors ("Manu") in Indian cosmology or 14,
"twins" means 2, "Ursa Major" represents the seven stars of Ursa Major or 7, "Vedas" refers to the 4 Vedas or 4, dice
represents the number of sides of the tradition die or 6, and so on. This information can be translated into the list of
sines, 214, 427, 638, 846, 1051, 1251, 1446, 1635, 1817, 1991, 2156, 2312, 1459, 2594, 2719, 2832, 2933, 3021,
3096, 3159, 3207, 3242, 3263, and 3270, with the radius being 3270.[17]
Interpolation formula
In 665 Brahmagupta devised and used a special case of the Newton–Stirling interpolation formula of the
second-order to interpolate new values of the sine function from other values already tabulated.[18] The formula
gives an estimate for the value of a function at a value a + xh of its argument (with h > 0 and −1 ≤ x ≤ 1) when its
value is already known at a − h, a and a + h.
The formula for the estimate is:
where Δ is the first-order forward-difference operator, i.e.
Astronomy
It was through the Brahmasphutasiddhanta that the Arabs learned of Indian astronomy.[19] The famous Abbasid
caliph Al-Mansur (712–775) founded Baghdad, which is situated on the banks of the Tigris, and made it a center of
learning. The caliph invited a scholar of Ujjain by the name of Kankah in 770 A.D. Kankah used the
Brahmasphutasiddhanta to explain the Hindu system of arithmetic astronomy. Muhammad al-Fazari translated
Brahmugupta's work into Arabic upon the request of the caliph.
In chapter seven of his Brahmasphutasiddhanta, entitled Lunar Crescent, Brahmagupta rebuts the idea that the Moon
is farther from the Earth than the Sun, an idea which is maintained in scriptures. He does this by explaining the
illumination of the Moon by the Sun.[20]
7.1. If the moon were above the sun, how would the power of waxing and waning, etc., be produced
from calculation of the [longitude of the] moon? the near half [would be] always bright.
7.2. In the same way that the half seen by the sun of a pot standing in sunlight is bright, and the unseen
half dark, so is [the illumination] of the moon [if it is] beneath the sun.
7.3. The brightness is increased in the direction of the sun. At the end of a bright [i.e. waxing]
half-month, the near half is bright and the far half dark. Hence, the elevation of the horns [of the
crescent can be derived] from calculation. [...][21]
He explains that since the Moon is closer to the Earth than the Sun, the degree of the illuminated part of the Moon
depends on the relative positions of the Sun and the Moon, and this can be computed from the size of the angle
between the two bodies.[20]
Some of the important contributions made by Brahmagupta in astronomy are: methods for calculating the position of
heavenly bodies over time (ephemerides), their rising and setting, conjunctions, and the calculation of solar and lunar
Brahmagupta 27
eclipses.[22] Brahmagupta criticized the Puranic view that the Earth was flat or hollow. Instead, he observed that the
Earth and heaven were spherical and that the Earth is moving. In 1030, the Muslim astronomer Abu al-Rayhan
al-Biruni, in his Ta'rikh al-Hind, later translated into Latin as Indica, commented on Brahmagupta's work and wrote
that critics argued:
"If such were the case, stones would and trees would fall from the earth."[23]
According to al-Biruni, Brahmagupta responded to these criticisms with the following argument on gravitation:
"On the contrary, if that were the case, the earth would not vie in keeping an even and uniform pace with the
minutes of heaven, the pranas of the times. [...] All heavy things are attracted towards the center of the earth.
[...] The earth on all its sides is the same; all people on earth stand upright, and all heavy things fall down to
the earth by a law of nature, for it is the nature of the earth to attract and to keep things, as it is the nature of
water to flow, that of fire to burn, and that of wind to set in motion… The earth is the only low thing, and
seeds always return to it, in whatever direction you may throw them away, and never rise upwards from the
earth."[24]
About the Earth's gravity he said: "Bodies fall towards the earth as it is in the nature of the earth to attract bodies, just
as it is in the nature of water to flow."[25]
Citations and footnotes

[1] Shashi S. Sharma. Mathematics & Astronomers of Ancient India (http:/ / books. google. co. in/ books?id=g9ykYZlzV1oC& pg=PT14& dq).
Pitambar Publishing. . "He was born in bhillamala. In ancient times it was the seat of power of the Gurjars...Jisnu Gupta.."
[2] Plofker, Kim (2007). pp. 418–419. "The Paitamahasiddhanta also directly inspired another major siddhanta, written by a contemporary of
Bhaskara: The Brahmasphutasiddhanta (Corrected Treatise of Brahma) completed by Brahmagupta in 628. This astronomer was born in 598
and apparently worked in Bhillamal (identified with modern Bhinmal in Rajasthan), during the reign (and possibly under the patronage) of
King Vyaghramukha.
Although we do not know whether Brahmagupta encountered the work of his contemporary Bhaskara, he was certainly aware of the writings
of other members of the tradition of the Aryabhatiya, about which he has nothing good to say. This is almost the first trace we possess of the
division of Indian astronomer-mathematicians into rival, sometimes antagonistic "schools." [...] it was in the application of mathematical
models to the physical world - in this case, the choices of astronomical parameters and theories - that disagreements arose. [...]
Such critiques of rival works appear occasionally throughout the first ten astronomical chapters of the Brahmasphutasiddhanta, and its
eleventh chapter is entirely devoted to them. But they do not enter into the mathematical chapters that Brahmagupta devotes respectively to
ganita (chapter 12) and the pulverizer (chapter 18). This division of mathematical subjects reflects a different twofold classification from
Bhaskara's "mathematics of fields" and "mathematics of quantities." Instead, the first is concerned with arithmetic operations beginning with
addition, proportion, interest, series, formulas for finding lengths, areas, and volumes in geometrical figures, and various procedures with
fractions - in short, diverse rules for computing with known quantities. The second, on the other hand, deals with what Brahmagupta calls "the
pulverizer, zero, negatives, positives, unknowns, elimination of the middle term, reduction to one [variable], bhavita [the product of two
unknowns], and the nature of squares [second-degree indeterminate equations]" - that is, techniques for operating with unknown quantities.
This distinction is more explicitely presented in later works as mathematics of the "manifest" and "unmanifest," respectively: i.e., what we will
henceforth call "arithmetic" manipulations of known quantities and "algebraic" manipulation of so-called "seeds" or unknown quantities. The
former, of course, may include geometric problems and other topics not covered by the modern definition of "arithmetic." (Like Aryabhata,
Brahmagupta relegates his sine-table to an astronomical chapter where the computations require it, instead of lumping it in with other
"mathematical" topics."
[3] Boyer (1991). "The Arabic Hegemony". pp. 226. "By 766 we learn that an astronomical-mathematical work, known to the Arabs as the
Sindhind, was brought to Baghdad from India. It is generally thought that this was the Brahmasphuta Siddhanta, although it may have been
the Surya Siddhanata. A few years later, perhaps about 775, this Siddhanata was translated into Arabic, and it was not long afterwards (ca.
780) that Ptolemy's astrological Tetrabiblos was translated into Arabic from the Greek."
[4] Brahmagupta biography (http:/ / www-groups. dcs. st-and. ac. uk/ ~history/ Biographies/ Brahmagupta. html)
[5] Plofker, Kim (2007). pp. 428–434.
[6] (Boyer 1991, "China and India" p. 221) "he was the first one to give a general solution of the linear Diophantine equation ax + by = c, where
a, b, and c are integers. [...] It is greatly to the credit of Brahmagupta that he gave all integral solutions of the linear Diophantine equation,
whereas Diophantus himself had been satisfied to give one particular solution of an indeterminate equation. Inasmuch as Brahmagupta used
some of the same examples as Diophantus, we see again the likelihood of Greek influence in India - or the possibility that they both made use
of a common source, possibly from Babylonia. It is interesting to note also that the algebra of Brahmagupta, like that of Diophantus, was
syncopated. Addition was indicated by juxtaposition, subtraction by placing a dot over the subtrahend, and division by placing the divisor
below the dividend, as in our fractional notation but without the bar. The operations of multiplication and evolution (the taking of roots), as
Brahmagupta 28
well as unknown quantities, were represented by abbreviations of appropriate words."

[7] Plofker, Kim (2007). pp. 422. "The reader is apparently expected to be familiar with basic arithmetic operations as far as the square-root;
Brahmagupta merely notes some points about applying them to fractions. The procedures for finding the cube and cube-root of an integer,
however, are described (compared the latter to Aryabhata's very similar formulation). They are followed by rules for five types of
combinations: [...]"
[8] Plofker, Kim (2007). pp. 421–427.
[9] Plofker, Kim (2007). pp. 423. "Here the sums of the squares and cubes of the first n integers are defined in terms of the sum of the n integers
itself;"
[10] Boyer (1991). "China and India". pp. 220. "However, here again Brahmagupta spoiled matters somewhat by asserting that ,
and on the touchy matter of , he did not commit himself:"
[11] Stillwell, John (2004). pp. 44–46. "In the seventh century CE the Indian mathematician Brahmagupta gave a recurrence relation for
generating solutions of , as we shall see in Chapter 5. The Indians called the Euclidean algorithm the "pulverizer"
because it breaks numbers down to smaller and smaller pieces. To obtain a recurrence one has to know that a rectangle proportional to the
original eventually recurs, a fact that was rigorously proved only in 1768 by Lagrange."
[12] Stillwell, John (2004). pp. 72–74.
[13] Plofker, Kim (2007). pp. 424. "Brahmagupta does not explicitly state that he is discussing only figures inscribed in circles, but it is implied
by these rules for computing their circumradius."
[14] (Stillwell 2004, p. 77)
[15] "Plofker, Kim (2007). pp. 427. "After the geometry of plane figures, Brahmagupta discusses the computation of volumes and surface areas
of solids (or empty spaces dug out of solids). His straight-forward rules for the volumes of a rectangular prism and pyramid are followed by a
more ambiguous one, which may refer to finding the average depth of a sequence of puts with different depths. The next formula apparently
deals with the volume of a frustum of a square pyramid, where the "pragmatic" volume is the depth times the square of the mean of the edges
of the top and bottom faces, while the "superficial" volume is the depth times their mean area."
[16] Plofker, Kim (2007). pp. 419.
[17] Plofker, Kim (2007). pp. 419–420. "Brahmagupta's sine table, like much other numerical data in Sanskrit treatises, is encoded mostly in
concrete-number notation that uses names of objects to represent the digits of place-value numerals, starting with the least significant. [...]
There are fourteen Progenitors ("Manu") in Indian cosmology; "twins" of course stands for 2; the seven stars of Ursa Major (the "Sages") for
7, the four Vedas, and the four sides of the traditional dice used in gambling, for 6, and so on. Thus Brahmagupta enumerates his first six
sine-values as 214, 427, 638, 846, 1051, 1251. (His remaining eighteen sines are 1446, 1635, 1817, 1991, 2156, 2312, 1459, 2594, 2719, 2832,
2933, 3021, 3096, 3159, 3207, 3242, 3263, 3270. The Paitamahasiddhanta, however, specifies an initial sine-value of 225 (although the rest
of its sine-table is lost), implying a trigonometric radius of R = 3438 aprox= C(')/2π: a tradition followed, as we have seen, by Aryabhata.
Nobody knows why Brahmagupta chose instead to normalize these values to R = 3270."
[18] Joseph (2000, pp.285–86).
[19] Brahmagupta, and the influence on Arabia (http:/ / www-groups. dcs. st-and. ac. uk/ ~history/ Projects/ Pearce/ Chapters/ Ch8_3. html).
Retrieved 23 December 2007.
[20] Plofker, Kim (2007). pp. 419–420. "Brahmagupta discusses the illumination of the moon by the sun, rebutting an idea maintained in
scriptures: namely, that the moon is farther from the earth than the sun is. In fact, as he explains, because the moon is closer the extent of the
illuminated portion of the moon depends on the relative positions of the moon and the sun, and can be computed from the size of the angular
separation α between them."
[21] Plofker, Kim (2007). pp. 420.
[22] Dick Teresi, Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science, Simon and Schuster, 2002. p. 135. ISBN 074324379X.
[23] Al-Biruni (1030), Ta'rikh al-Hind (Indica)
[24] Brahmagupta, Brahmasphutasiddhanta (628) (cf. al-Biruni (1030), Indica)
[25] Thomas Khoshy, Elementary Number Theory with Applications, Academic Press, 2002, p. 567. ISBN 0124211712.
Brahmagupta 29
References
• Plofker, Kim (2007). "Mathematics in India". The Mathematics of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, and Islam:
A Sourcebook. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691114859.
• Boyer, Carl B. (1991). A History of Mathematics (Second Edition ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ISBN 0471543977.
• Cooke, Roger (1997). The History of Mathematics: A Brief Course. Wiley-Interscience. ISBN 0471180823.
• Joseph, George G. (2000). The Crest of the Peacock. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
ISBN 0691006598.
• Stillwell, John (2004). Mathematics and its History (Second Edition ed.). Springer Science + Business Media
Inc.. ISBN 0387953361.
External links
• Brahmagupta's Biography (http://www.Brahmagupta.net)
• Brahmagupta's Brahma-sphuta-siddhanta (http://www.wilbourhall.org/index.html#BSS) English introduction,
Sanskrit text, Sanskrit and Hindi commentaries (PDF)
Chanakya
Chānakya (Sanskrit: चाणक्य Cāṇakya (c. 350–283 BCE) was an adviser to the first Maurya Emperor Chandragupta
(c. 340–293 BCE), and was the chief architect of his rise to power. Kautilya and Vishnugupta, the names by which
the ancient South Asian political treatise called the Arthaśāstra identifies its author, are traditionally identified with
Chanakya.[1] It is important to identify Chanakya as Indian because his cultural significance has reached far and
wide, and his words are just as internalised in other parts of South Asia. Chanakya has been considered as the
pioneer of the field of economics and political science.[2] [3] [4] [5] In the Western world, he has been referred to as
The Indian Machiavelli, although Chanakya's works predate Machiavelli's by about 1,800 years.[6] Chanakya was a
teacher in Takṣaśila, an ancient centre of learning, and was responsible for the creation of Mauryan empire, the first
of its kind on the Indian subcontinent. His works were lost near the end of the Gupta dynasty and not rediscovered
until 1915.[3]
Identity
He is generally called Chanakya (derived from his father's name "Chanak")[7] but, in his capacity as author of the
Arthaśhāstra, is generally referred to as Kautilya derived from his gotra's name Shakaldweepi. He was a master of
the shrewd act of diplomacy. He believed in four ways—Sama, Daama, Danda, Bheda (treating with Equality,
Enticement, Punishment or War and Sowing Dissension.)[8] The Arthaśhāstra identifies its author by the name
Kautilya,[1] except for one verse which refers to him by the name Vishnugupta.[9] One of the earliest Sanskrit
literatures to explicitly identify Chanakya with Vishnugupta was Vishnu Sharma's Panchatantra in the 3rd century
BC.[10]
K.C. Ojha puts forward the view that the traditional identification of Vishnugupta with Kautilya was caused by a
confusion of editor and originator and suggests that Vishnugupta was a redactor of the original work of Kautilya.[1]
Thomas Burrow goes even further and suggests that Chanakya and Kautilya may have been two different people.[11]
Kautilya's role in the formation of the Mauryan Empire is the essence of a historical/spiritual novel The Courtesan
and the Sadhu by Dr. Mysore N. Prakash.[12]
Two books are attributed to Chanakya: Arthashastra and Neetishastra which is also known as Chanakya Niti. The
Arthashastra discusses monetary and fiscal policies, welfare, international relations, and war strategies in detail.
Chanakya 30
Neetishastra is a treatise on the ideal way of life, and shows Chanakya's in-depth study of the Indian way of life.
Chanakya also developed Neeti-Sutras (aphorisms - pithy sentences) that tell people how they should behave. Of
these well-known 455 sutras, about 216 refer to raaja-neeti (the do's and don'ts of running a kingdom). Apparently,
Chanakya used these sutras to groom Chandragupt and other selected disciples in the art of ruling a kingdom.
CHANAKYA'S EDUCATION
Rishi Canak named his son as "Chanakya". Being a teacher himself, he knew the importance of education. Taxila
was one of the world centers for education. At a very early age little Chanakya started studying Vedas. The Vedas;
considered to be the toughest scriptures to study were completely studied and memorized by Chanakya in his
infancy. He was attracted to studies in politics. In politics Chanakya’s acumen and shrewdness was visible right from
childhood. He was a student of politics right from child hood. Known as a masterful political strategist, He knew
how to put his own people in the opposite camp and spy the enemy without his knowledge before destroying him
forever. Chanakya was an ace in turning tables in his favor irrespective of the circumstances. He never budged to
pressure tactics by the ruthless politicians. In this way after studying religion and politics, he turned his attention to
economics, which remained his lifelong friend. "Nitishastra", a treatise on the ideal way of life shows his in depth
study of the Indian way of life.
Legend
Thomas R. Trautmann lists the following elements as
common to different forms of the Chanakya
legend[13] :
• Chanakya was born with a complete set of teeth, a
sign that he would become king, which is
inappropriate for a Brahmin like Chanakya.
Chāṇakya's teeth were therefore broken and it was
prophesied that he will rule through another. Silver punch mark coin of the Mauryan empire, with symbols of wheel
• The Nanda King throws Chānakya out of his and elephant. 3rd century BCE.
court, prompting Chānakya to swear revenge.
• Chānakya searches for one worthy for him to rule through. Chānakya encounters a young Chandragupta Maurya
who is a born leader even as a child.
• Chānakya's initial attempt to overthrow Nanda fails, whereupon he comes across a mother scolding her child for
burning himself by eating from the middle of a bun or bowl of porridge rather than the cooler edge. Chāṇakya
realizes his initial strategic error and, instead of attacking the heart of Nanda territory, slowly chips away at its
edges.
• Chānakya changed his alliance with the mountain king Parvata due to his obstinacy and non-adherence to the
principles of the treaty as agreed.
• Chānakya enlists the services of a fanatical weaver to rid the kingdom of rebels.
• Chānakya adds poison to the food eaten by Chandragupt Maurya, now king, in order to make him immune.[14]
Unaware, Chandragupta feeds some of his food to his queen, who is in her ninth month of pregnancy. In order to
save the heir to the throne, Chānakya cuts the queen open and extracts the foetus, who is named Bindusara
because he was touched by a drop (bindu) of blood having poison.[15]
• Chānakya's political rivalry with Subandhu leads to his death.
Chanakya was a shrewd observer of nature. Once, it is said that Mauryan forces had to hide in a cave. There was no
food, and the soldiers were starving.They could not come out of the cave either, as there was a threat to their lives.
Chanakya saw an ant taking a grain of rice, whereas, there was no sign of food or grain anywhere. Moreover, the rice
grain was cooked. He ordered the soldiers to search and they found that their enemies had been dining under the
Chanakya 31
cave. Indeed, they were eating at the ground floor. As soon as they saw this, they escaped and were thus saved.
Birth and Origin: Chanakya (c.350 - c.275 BC), also known as Anshul or Anshu or Kautilya or Vishnugupta was
born in a family of Brahmin as the son of Acharya Chanak in Pataliputra, Magadh (Modern day Patna, Bihar, India.
In the modern day it has been found that social, political and professional life of Brahmins reflects Chanakya Neeti.
A South Indian group of Brahmins, Chozhiyas, claim that Chanakya was one of them. Though this may sound very
improbable considering the vast distance between present day Tamil Nadu in the south and Magadha in Bihar, it
finds curious echos in Parishista-parvan, where Hemachandra claims that Chankya was a Dramila (Dramila, being a
very common variant of Dravida). Chanakya enjoyed the best education of the time, in 'Takshashila' (also known in
its corrupted form as Taxila).Takshasilâ had established itself as a place of learning. The school had by that time
existed for at least five centuries and attracted students from all over the ancient world of Southeast Asia. The
Kingdom of Magadha maintained contact with Takshasilâ. Chanakya's life was connected to these two cities,
Pataliputra and Takshasilâ. According to Jaina accounts[1] Chānakya was born in the village of Caṇaka in the Golla
district to Caṇin and Caṇeśvarī, a Maga Brahmin couple[2].
Death
According to the Jain texts, Chanakya lived to a ripe old age and died around 275 BC and was cremated by his
disciple Radhagupta who succeeded Rakshasa Katyayan (great-grand son of Prabuddha Katyayan, who attained
Nirvana during the same period as Gautam Budhha) as Prime Minister of the Maurya Empire and was instrumental
in backing Ashoka to the throne.
According to a Jaina tradition, while Chanakya served as the chief administrator of Chandragupta Maurya, he started
adding small amounts of poison in Chandragupta's food so that he would get used to it.[14] The aim of this was to
prevent the Emperor from being poisoned by enemies. One day the queen, Durdha, shared the food with the Emperor
while she was pregnant. Since she was not used to eating poisoned food, she died. Chanakya decided that the baby
should not die; hence he cut open the belly of the queen and took out the baby.[15] A drop (bindu in Sanskrit) of
poison had passed to the baby's head, and hence Chanakya named him Bindusara. Bindusara would go on to become
a great king and to father the greatest Mauryan Emperor since Chandragupt - Asoka.
When Bindusara became a youth, Chandragupta gave up the throne and followed the Jain saint Bhadrabahu to
present day Karnataka and settled in a place known as Shravana Belagola. He lived as an ascetic for some years and
died of voluntary starvation according to Jain tradition.
Chanakya meanwhile stayed as the administrator of Bindusara. Bindusara also had a minister named Subandhu who
did not like Chanakya. One day he told Bindusara that Chanakya was responsible for the murder of his mother.
Bindusara asked the nurses who confirmed this story and he became very angry with Chanakya.
It is said that Chanakya, on hearing that the Emperor was angry with him, thought that anyway he was at the end of
his life. He donated all his wealth to the poor, widows and orphans and sat on a dung heap, prepared to die by total
abstinence from food and drink. Bindusara meanwhile heard the full story of his birth from the nurses and rushed to
beg forgiveness of Chanakya. But Chanakya would not change his mind. Bindusara went back and vented his fury
on Subandhu, and killed him.
Chanakya after this incident, renounced food and shortly died thereafter. Bindusara revered Chanakya and the loss of
his advisor was a considerable blow to him.
Chanakya 32
Other versions
The classical Sanskrit play by Vishakhadatta, Mudrarakshasa, is one popular source of Chanakya lore. (The play has
been dated between 4th and 9th century CE).
According one tradition, Chanakya was a native of Dravida.[16] One of Chanakya's various names was Dramila, the
Sanskrit form of "Tamilian".[17] [18] ("Dramila" is believed to be the root of the word "Dravida" by some scholars).
Chozhiars, a sub-sect of Iyers, hold that Chanakya was one of them.[19]
There is also a claim that Chanakya belonged to the Brahmin group from the present day Kerala and believed to be
resident of present day Ernakulam. In true Hindu tradition he is said to have persuaded King Chandragupta Maurya
to forsake his throne and to join him in moving to the last phase of one's life viz. Vanaprastha. Accordingly, he took
the King along with him to South India where both of them carried prolonged meditation and finally achieved
Moksha.
Kautilya was educated at Taxila or Takshashila,[20] in present day Pakistan. The new states (in present-day Bihar and
Uttar Pradesh) by the northern high road of commerce along the base of the Himalayas maintained contact with
Takshasilâ and at the eastern end of the northern high road (uttarapatha) was the kingdom of Magadha with its
capital city, Pataliputra, now known as Patna. Chanakya's life was connected to these two cities, Pataliputra and
Taxila.
In his early years he was tutored extensively in the Vedas - Chanakya memorized them completely at a very early
age. He also taught mathematics, geography and science along with religion. Later he travelled to Takshashila,
where he became a teacher of politics. Chanakya taught subjects using the best of practical knowledge acquired by
the teachers. The age of entering the University was sixteen. The branches of study most sought after around India at
that time ranged from law, medicine, warfare and other disciplines. Two of his more famous students were
Bhadrabhatta and Purushdutta.
Political turmoil in Western India at that time caused by Greek invasion forced Chanakya to leave the University
environment for the city of Pataliputra (presently known as Patna, in the state of Bihar, India), which was ruled by
the Nanda king Dhanananda. Although Chanakya initially prospered in his relations with the ruler, being a blunt
person he was soon disliked by Dhanananda. This ended with Chanakya being removed from an official position he
enjoyed.
According to the Kashmiri version of his legend, ChāṇakyaThere is an anecdote which says a thorn had pricked his
foot once. After that instead of uprooting the tree, he poured buttermilk on the tree so that the ants will gather around
tree and finish the tree to its last pieces.
Media
• Television series Chanakya is archetypal account of the life and times of Chanakya, based on the play "Mudra
Rakshasa" (The Signet Ring of "Rakshasa")
• A Television series on Imagine TV available as "chandragupta Maurya" (The serial is based on the life of indian
ruler "Chandragupta Maurya" and "Charnakya")[21]
• A book has been published in English titled 'Chanakya on Management"{18} in which each of the 216 sutras on
raja-neeti has been translated and commented upon. Clearly, the entire system of thought propounded by
Chanakya is based on following good ethical principles.
• In his Arthasastra, Chanakya has discussed widely various economic issues. A book written by Ratan Lal Basu &
Rajkumar Sen has dealt exhaustively with these economic concepts of Chanakya and their relevance for the
modern world.[22]
• Many eminent Kautilya experts from all over the world had discussed various aspects of Kautilya's thought in an
International Conference held in 1902 at Oriental Research Institute, Mysore, India to celebrate the Centenary of
discovery of the manuscript of the Arthashastra by R. Shamasastry. Most of the papers presented in the
Chanakya 33
Conference have been compiled in an edited volume by Raj Kumar Sen and Ratan Lal Basu.[23]
Legacy
The diplomatic enclave in New Delhi is named Chanakyapuri in honour of Chanakya.
Notes
[1] Mabbett, I. W. (1964). "The Date of the Arthaśāstra". Journal of the American Oriental Society (American Oriental Society) 84 (2): 162–169.
doi:10.2307/597102. JSTOR 597102. ISSN 0003-0279.
[2] L. K. Jha, K. N. Jha (1998). "Chanakya: the pioneer economist of the world", International Journal of Social Economics 25 (2-4), p.
267–282.
[3] Waldauer, C., Zahka, W.J. and Pal, S. 1996. Kautilya's Arthashastra: A neglected precursor to classical economics (http:/ / bss. sfsu. edu/
mbar/ ECON605/ Arthashastra. pdf). Indian Economic Review, Vol. XXXI, No. 1, pp. 101-108.
[4] Tisdell, C. 2003. A Western perspective of Kautilya's Arthasastra: does it provide a basis for economic science? (http:/ / espace. library. uq.
edu. au/ view/ UQ:84337) Economic Theory, Applications and Issues Working Paper No. 18. Brisbane: School of Economics, The University
of Queensland.
[5] Sihag, B.S. 2007. Kautilya on institutions, governance, knowledge, ethics and prosperity. Humanomics 23 (1): 5-28.
[6] Herbert H. Gowen (1929). "The Indian Machiavelli" and in a much more conventional world.or Political Theory in India Two Thousand
Years Ago (http:/ / www. jstor. org/ stable/ 2142992), Political Science Quarterly 44 (2), p. 173–192.
[7] Trautmann, Thomas R. (1971). Kautilya and the Arthaśhāstra: A Statistical Investigation of the Authorship and Evolution of the Text. Leiden:
E.J. Brill. pp. 10.
[8] Trautmann 1971:10 "while in his character as author of an arthaśhāstra he is generally referred to by his gotra name, Kautilya."
[9] Mabbett 1964
Trautmann 1971:5 "the very last verse of the work...is the unique instance of the personal name Vishnugupta rather than the gotra name
Kautilya in the Arthaśhāstra.
[10] Mabbett 1964: "References to the work in other Sanskrit literature attribute it variously to Vishnugupta, Chanakya and Kautilya. The same
individual is meant in each case. The Pańcatantra explicitly identifies Chanakya with Vishnugupta."
[11] Trautmann 1971:67 'T. Burrow ("Cāṇakya and Kauṭalya", Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute 48–49 1968, p. 17 ff.) has
now shown that Cāṇakya is also a gotra name, which in conjunction with other evidence makes it clear that we are dealing with two distinct
persons, the minister Cāṇakya of legend and Kauṭilya the compiler of the Arthaśāstra. Furthermore, this throws the balance of evidence in
favor of the view that the second name was originally spelt Kauṭalya and that after the compiler of the Arth. came to be identified with the
Mauryan minister it was altered to Kautilya (as it appears in Āryaśūra, Viśākhadatta and Bāna) for the sake of the pun. We must then assume
that the later spelling subsequently replaced the earlier in the gotra lists and elsewhere.'
[12] The Courtesan and the Sadhu, A Novel about Maya, Dharma, and God, October 2008, Dharma Vision LLC.,ISBN 978-0-9818237-0-6,
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008934274
[13] Trautmann 1971:"The Chāṇakya-Chandragupt-Kathā"
[14] Bibliotheca Indica, Volume 96, Issue 5. Asiatic Society (Calcutta, India). Baptist Mission Press, 1891.
[15] Jainism in South India by P. M. Joseph. International School of Dravidian Linguistics, 1997. ISBN 9788185692234.
[16] P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar, Pg 325
[17] P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar, Pg 326
[18] R.C. Majumdar, A. D. Pusalker, A. K. Majumdar et al., The History and Culture of the Indian People - The age of imperial unity, Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, 1962
[19] Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Pg 342
[20] Chanakya-Niti (http:/ / www. hinduism. co. za/ chanakya. htm)
[21] TV, Imagine. "Channel" (http:/ / www. imagine. tv/ in/ shows/ subhome/ 123/ 1779/ ). TV Channel. .
[22] Ratan Lal Basu & Rajkumar Sen: Ancient Indian Economic Thought, Relevance for Today, ISBN 81-316-0125-0, Rawat Publications, New
Delhi, 2008
[23] Raj Kumar Sen & Ratan Lal Basu (eds): Economics in Arthasastra, ISBN 81-7629-819-0, Deep& Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi,
2006
Chanakya 34
References
• Iyengar, P. T. Srinivasa (1929). History of the Tamils from the Earliest Times to the Present Day.
• Thurston, Edgar; K. Rangachari (1909). Castes and Tribes of Southern India Volume I - A and B. Madras:
Government Press.
External links
• Philosophy of Chanakya (http://www.philosophy.ru/library/asiatica/indica/authors/kautilya/
canakya_niti_sastra.html)
• Kautilya's Arthashastra (full 1915 Shamasastry text, divided into 15 books) (http://www.mssu.edu/
projectsouthasia/history/primarydocs/Arthashastra/index.htm)
• Kautilya: the Arthshastra - Chanakya's revered work (http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/
world_civ_reader_1/arthashastra.html)
• Philosophy and Biography (http://www.worldofbiography.com/9046-Chanakya/)
• Chanakya TV Serial Online (http://intellectualhinduism.blogspot.com/search/label/Chanakya)
• Chanakya Niti - Malayalam translation as pdf (http://hinduebooks.blogspot.com/2009/11/
chanakya-niti-malayalam.html)
Charaka
For the village in Azerbaijan, see Çərəkə; for the book Charaka Samhita, see Charaka Samhita.
Charaka, sometimes spelled Caraka, born c. 300 BC was one of the
principal contributors to the ancient art and science of Ayurveda, a
system of medicine and lifestyle developed in Ancient India. He is
sometimes referred to as the Father of Indian Medicine.
Acharya Charaka & Ayurveda

The term Caraka is a label said to apply to ‘wandering scholars’ or
‘wandering physicians.’
Charaka Monument in the Pantanjali Yogpeeth
According to Charaka's translations health and disease are not Campus, Haridwar, India
predetermined and life may be prolonged by human effort and
attention to lifestyle. As per Indian heritage and science of Ayurvedic
system, prevention of all types of diseases have a more prominent place than treatment, including restructuring of
life style to align with the course of nature and four seasons, which will guarantee complete wellness.
The following statements are attributed to Acharya Charaka:
A physician who fails to enter the body of a patient with the lamp of knowledge and understanding can never
treat diseases. He should first study all the factors, including environment, which influence a patient's disease,
and then prescribe treatment. It is more important to prevent the occurrence of disease than to seek a cure.
These remarks appear obvious today, though they were often not heeded, and were made by Charaka, in his famous
Ayurvedic treatise Charaka Samhita. The treatise contains many such remarks which are held in reverence even
today. Some of them are in the fields of physiology, etiology and embryology.
Charaka was the first physician to present the concept of digestion, metabolism and immunity. According to his
translations of the Vedas, a body functions because it contains three dosha or principles, namely movement (vata),
transformation (pitta) and lubrication and stability (kapha). The doshas are also sometimes called humours, namely,
Charaka 35
bile, phlegm and wind. These dosha are produced when dhatus (blood, flesh and marrow) act upon the food eaten.
For the same quantity of food eaten, one body, however, produces dosha in an amount different from another body.
That is why one body is different from another. For instance, it is more weighty, stronger, more energetic.
Further, illness is caused when the balance among the three dosha in a human body is disturbed. To restore the
balance he prescribed medicinal drugs. Although he was aware of germs in the body, he did not give them any
importance.
Charaka knew the fundamentals of genetics. For instance, he knew the factors determining the sex of a child. A
genetic defect in a child, like lameness or blindness, he said, was not due to any defect in the mother or the father,
but in the ovum or sperm of the parents (an accepted fact today).
Charaka studied the anatomy of the human body and various organs. He gave 360 as the total number of bones,
including teeth, present in the body. He wrongly believed that the heart had one cavity, but he was right when he
considered it to be a controlling centre. He claimed that the heart was connected to the entire body through 13 main
channels. Apart from these channels, there were countless other ones of varying sizes which supplied not only
nutrients to various tissues but also provided passage to waste products. He also claimed that any obstruction in the
main channels led to a disease or deformity in the body.
Under the guidance of the ancient physician Atreya, Agnivesa had written an encyclopedic treatise in the eighth
century B.C. However, it was only when Charaka revised this treatise that it gained popularity and came to be known
as Charakasamhita. For two millennia it remained a standard work on the subject and was translated into many
foreign languages, including Arabic and Latin.
Contributions
According to the Charaka tradition, there existed six schools of medicine, founded by the disciples of the sage
Punarvasu Ātreya. Each of his disciples, Agnivesha, Bhela, Jatūkarna, Parāshara, Hārīta, and Kshārapāni, composed
a Samhitā. Of these, the one composed by Agnivesha was considered the best. The Agnivesha Samhitā was later
revised by Charaka and it came to be known as Charaka Samhitā. The Charaka Samhitā was revised by Dridhbala.
Charaka Samhita
The Charaka Samhita contains 120 adhyayas (chapters), divided into 8 parts.
1. Sutra Sthana
2. Nidan Sthana
3. Viman Sthana
4. Sharir Sthana
5. Indriya Sthana
6. Chikitsa Sthana
7. Kalpa Sthana
8. Siddhi Sthana
References
External links
Charaka Samhita online (http://www.charakasamhita.com)
Halayudha 36
Halayudha
Halayudha (Hindi: हलायुध) was a 10th century Indian mathematician who wrote the Mṛtasañjīvanī,[1] a commentary
on Pingala's Chandah-shastra, containing a clear description of Pascal's triangle (called meru-prastaara).
Notes
[1] Winternitz, Vol.3
Jayadeva
Jayadeva (Oriya: ଜୟଦେବ Bengali:
জয়দেব Sanskrit: जयदेव) was a Sanskrit poet,
who lived in what is now Odisha, circa 1200
AD. He is most known for his composition,
the epic poem Gita Govinda, which depicts
the divine love of the Hindu deity Krishna
and his consort, Radha, and it is mentioned
that Radha is greater than Krishna, and is
considered an important text in the Bhakti
movement of Hinduism.[1] He was born to
an Utkala Brahmin family in a village called
Kenduli Sasan in Odisha.
Jaydeva worships Vishnu
Biography
Jayadeva was born in Kenduli Sasan
(formerly Kendubilva), in the Prachi
valley, Khurda district in Odisha.
Kenduli Sasan is a village near the
famous temple city of Puri. At the time
of Jayadeva's birth, Odisha was under
the rule of Ganga dynasty king
Chodaganga Deva. It was during the
reign of this monarch and his son and
successor, Raghava, that Jayadeva
composed his Sanskrit epics.
Chodaganga Deva, originally a Shaiva,
was strongly influenced by the
devotion to Krishna in and around Puri
and became a Vaishnava devotee of Basohli painting (circa 1730 AD) depicting a scene from Jayadeva's Gita Govinda.
Krishna himself.
Jayadeva 37
The poet's parents were named Bhojdeva and Vamadevi. From temple inscriptions it is now known that Jayadeva
received his education in Sanskrit poetry from a place called Kurmapataka, possibly near Konark in Odisha. Later
on, Jayadeva married Padmavati, who according to temple inscriptions, may have been an accomplished temple
dancer on her own right.
Prachi valley has a long history of worshipping Madhava, another name for Krishna. During Jayadeva's period, it
was known as a religious place dominated by Vaishnava Brahmins. Even today, the village of Kenduli Sasan is
replete with images of Madhava. Undoubtedly, the great poet must have been influenced by the devotional milieu in
that area when he composed his magnum opus, the Gita Govinda.
Historical records on Jayadeva's life

Inscriptions at Lingaraj temple, and the more recently discovered Madhukeswar temple and Simhachal temple that
were read and interpreted by Dr. Satyanarayan Rajaguru shed some light on Jayadeva's early life. These inscriptions
narrate how Jayadeva had been a member of the teaching faculty of the school at Kurmapataka. He might have
studied there as well. It must have been right after his childhood education in Kenduli Sasan that he left for
Kurmapataka and gained experience in composing poetry, music and dancing.
The earliest mention of Jayadeva outside Odisha are by Chand Bardai, the court poet of Prithviraj Chauhan. The next
earliest reference outside Odisha is found in an inscription of Raja Sarangadev in the year 1201 A.D. These records
establish that the Gita Govinda became popular throughout India within a brief period of its composition, perhaps
because it was regularly performed in the Jagannath temple of Puri.
Some further details about Jayadeva have been garnered from a book by an Odia Vaishnava poet Madhava Patnaik,
who was contemporaneous to Chaitanya in the fifteenth century. Madhava Patnaik's book gives a clear account of
Chaitanya's visit to Puri. He mentions that Chaitanya paid a visit to Kenduli Sasan near Puri to pay homage to
Jayadeva and to chant passages from the Gita Govinda. The book mentions that Kenduli Sasan was in fact the
birthplace of the illustrious poet. Madhava Patnaik's book also gives an account of Jayadeva's early life from the
legends around Puri. It mentions Jayadeva as excelling in the Shastras and the Puranas from early childhood.
Literary contributions
Jayadeva was instrumental in popularizing the Dasavatara, the ten incarnations of Vishnu in another composition,
Dasakritikrite. Furthermore, the classic Tribhangi (threefold) posture of Krishna playing the flute gained popularity
due to him.
Two hymns composed by Jayadeva have been incorporated in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikh
religion. Although it is not clear how these medieval Odishan hymns found their way to the Sikh religion, there are
records narrating how Jayadeva's work had a profound influence on Guru Nanak during his visit to Puri.[2]
The illustrious poet also institutionalized the Devadasi system in Odia temples. Devadasis were women dancers
specially dedicated to the temple deity, and as a result of the great poet's works, Odia temples began to incorporate a
separate Natamandira, or dance hall, within their precincts for Odissi dance performances.
Jayadeva 38
The Gita Govinda

The Gita Govinda is the best known composition of Jayadeva. It is
a lyrical poetry that is organized into twelve chapters. Each
chapter is further sub-divided into twenty four divisions called
Prabandhas. The prabandhas contain couplets grouped into eights,
called Ashtapadas.
The first English translation of the Gita Govinda was published by
Sir William Jones in 1792, where Kalinga (ancient Odisha) is
referred to as the origin of the text. Since then, the Gita Govinda
has been translated to many languages throughout the world, and
Gita Govinda manuscript c. 1500.
is considered to be among the finest examples of Sanskrit poetry.
References
[1] Jayadev at britannica.com (http:/ / www. britannica. com/ eb/ article-9043454/ Jayadeva)
[2] Visit of Guru Nanak (http:/ / orissagov. nic. in/ e-magazine/ Orissareview/ july2003/ englishchpter/ Visit of Guru Nanak to Puri. PDF)
External links
• Sanskrit Scholars of Orissa (http://www.orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/April2006/engpdf/
sanskrit_scholars_of_orissa.pdf) (pdf)
Nagarjuna
Nāgārjuna (Devanagari:नागार्जुन, Telugu: నాగార్జున, Tibetan:
ཀླུ་སྒྲུབ་ klu sgrub, Chinese: 龍樹/龙树, Sinhala නාගර්පුන කොණ්ඩේ)
(ca. 150–250 CE) was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher.
Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the
Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism.[1] The Mādhyamaka
school was in turn transmitted to China under the name of the Sānlùn
School (Ch. 三論宗, "Three Treatise School"). In some Mahāyāna
traditions, Nāgārjuna is regarded as a second buddha.[2]
Nāgārjuna is sometimes credited with developing the philosophy of the

Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, and being associated with the Buddhist
university of Nālandā. In the Jodo Shinshu branch of Buddhism, he is
considered the First Patriarch.
Golden statue of Nagarjuna at Samye Ling

Monastery
Nagarjuna 39
History
Mahāyāna
Buddhism
Lands
India • China • Japan
Vietnam • Korea
Singapore • Taiwan
Tibet • Bhutan • Nepal
Mongolia
Doctrine
Bodhisattva • Śīla
Samādhi • Prajñā
Śunyatā • Trikāya
Mahāyāna Sūtras
Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras
Lotus Sūtra
Nirvāṇa Sūtra
Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra
Avataṃsaka Sūtra
Śūraṅgama Sūtra
Mahāyāna
Schools
Mādhyamaka
Yogācāra
Esoteric Buddhism
Pure Land • Zen
Tiantai • Nichiren
According to most available accounts, Nāgārjuna was originally a brahmin from Southern India.[3] [4] Archaeological
discoveries at Amarāvatī confirm the fact that Nāgārjuna maintained a friendship with the Sātavāhana king
Gautamīputra Śātakarṇi, to whom he addressed his Letter to a Friend (Skt. Sahṛd-lekhā).[5] On this basis, Nāgārjuna
is conventionally placed at around 150–250 CE.[6]
According to a biography translated by Kumārajīva, he was born into a Brahmin family, but later converted to
Buddhism. This may be the reason he was one of the earliest significant Buddhist thinkers to write in classical
Sanskrit rather than a prakrit.
From studying his writings, it is clear that Nāgārjuna was conversant with many of the Śrāvaka philosophies and
with the Mahāyāna tradition. However, determining Nāgārjuna's affiliation with a specific Nikaya is difficult,
considering much of this material is presently lost. If the most commonly accepted attribution of texts (that of
Christian Lindtner) holds, then he was clearly a Māhayānist, but his philosophy holds assiduously to the Śrāvaka
canon, and while he does make explicit references to Mahāyāna texts, he is always careful to stay within the
parameters set out by the Śrāvaka canon.
Nagarjuna may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of the Buddha's doctrine
as recorded in the āgamas. In the eyes of Nagarjuna the Buddha was not merely a forerunner, but the very founder of
Nagarjuna 40
the Madhyamaka system.[7] David Kalupahana sees Nagarjuna as a successor to Moggaliputta-Tissa in being a
champion of the middle-way and a reviver of the original philosophical ideals of the Buddha.[8]
Nāgārjuna is said to have lived on the mountain of Śrīparvata in his later years, near the city that would later be
called Nāgārjunakoṇḍa ("Hill of Nāgārjuna").[9] Nāgārjunakoṇḍa was located in what is now the Guntur district of
Andhra Pradesh. The Caitika and Bahuśrutīya nikāyas are known to have had monasteries in Nāgārjunakoṇḍa.[10]
Writings
There exist a number of influential texts attributed to Nāgārjuna, although most were probably written by later
authors. The only work that all scholars agree is Nagarjuna's is the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Fundamental Verses on
the Middle Way), which contains the essentials of his thought in twenty-seven short chapters. According to
Lindtner[11] the works definitely written by Nagarjuna are:-
• Mūlamadhyamaka-kārikā (Fundamental Verses of the Middle Way)
• Śūnyatāsaptati (Seventy Verses on Emptiness)
• Vigrahavyāvartanī (The End of Disputes)
• Vaidalyaprakaraṇa (Pulverizing the Categories)
• Vyavahārasiddhi (Proof of Convention)
• Yuktiṣāṣṭika (Sixty Verses on Reasoning)
• Catuḥstava (Hymn to the Absolute Reality)
• Ratnāvalī (Precious Garland)
• Pratītyasamutpādahṝdayakārika (Constituents of Dependent Arising)
• Sūtrasamuccaya
• Bodhicittavivaraṇa (Exposition of the Enlightened Mind)
• Suhṛllekha (Letter to a Good Friend)
• Bodhisaṃbhāra (Requisites of Enlightenment)
There are other works attributed to Nāgārjuna, some of which may be genuine and some not. Some confusion may
be caused by the fact that there were other Nāgārjunas, f.e. the Siddha Nāgārjuna, a holder of the
Mahamudra-Lineage, who wrote probably several important works of esoteric Buddhism (most notably the
Pañcakrama or "Five Stages"), as contemporary research suggests that these works are datable to a significantly later
period in Buddhist history (late eighth or early ninth century), but the traditional sources maintain the theory that
there was only one Nāgārjuna, who lived for almost 1000 years (as mentioned in Keith Dowmans "Masters of
Mahamudra"). Traditional historians (for example, the 17th century Tibetan Tāranātha), aware of the chronological
difficulties involved, account for the anachronism via a variety of theories, such as the propagation of later writings
via mystical revelation. A useful summary of this tradition, its literature, and historiography may be found in
Wedemeyer 2007.
Lindtner considers that the Māhaprajñāparamitopadeśa, a huge commentary on the Large Prajñāparamita not to be a
genuine work of Nāgārjuna. This is only extant in a Chinese translation by Kumārajīva.There is much discussion as
to whether this is a work of Nāgārjuna, or someone else. Étienne Lamotte, who translated one third of the Upadeśa
into French, felt that it was the work of a North Indian bhikṣu of the Sarvāstivāda school, who later became a convert
to the Mahayana. The Chinese scholar-monk Yin Shun felt that it was the work of a South Indian, and that
Nāgārjuna was quite possibly the author. Actually, these two views are not necessarily in opposition, and a South
Indian Nāgārjuna could well have studied in the northern Sarvāstivāda. Neither of the two felt that it was composed
by Kumārajīva which others have suggested.
Nagarjuna 41
Philosophy
Nāgārjuna's primary contribution to Buddhist philosophy is in the use
of the concept of śūnyatā, or "emptiness," which brings together other
key Buddhist doctrines, particularly anātman (no-self) and
pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination), to refute the metaphysics of
Sarvastivāda and Sautrāntika (extinct non-Mahayana schools). For
Nāgārjuna, as for the Buddha in the early texts, it is not merely sentient
beings that are "selfless" or non-substantial; all phenomena are without
any svabhāva, literally "own-being" or "self-nature", and thus without
any underlying essence. They are empty of being independently
existent; thus the heterodox theories of svabhāva circulating at the time
were refuted on the basis of the doctrines of early Buddhism. This is so
because all things arise always dependently: not by their own power,
but by depending on conditions leading to their coming into existence,
as opposed to being. Nāgārjuna was also instrumental in the
development of the two-truths doctrine, which claims that there are two
Statue of Nagarjuna in Tibetan monastery near levels of truth in Buddhist teaching, one which is directly (ultimately)
Kullu, India
true, and one which is only conventionally or instrumentally true,
commonly called upāya in later Mahāyāna writings. Nāgārjuna drew
on an early version of this doctrine found in the Kaccāyanagotta Sutta, which distinguishes nītārtha (clear) and
neyārtha (obscure) terms -
By and large, Kaccayana, this world is supported by a polarity, that of existence and non-existence. But when
one reads the origination of the world as it actually is with right discernment, 'non-existence' with reference to
the world does not occur to one. When one reads the cessation of the world as it actually is with right
discernment, 'existence' with reference to the world does not occur to one.
"By and large, Kaccayana, this world is in bondage to attachments, clingings (sustenances), and biases. But
one such as this does not get involved with or cling to these attachments, clingings, fixations of awareness,
biases, or obsessions; nor is he resolved on 'my self.' He has no uncertainty or doubt that just stress, when
arising, is arising; stress, when passing away, is passing away. In this, his knowledge is independent of others.
It's to this extent, Kaccayana, that there is right view.
"'Everything exists': That is one extreme. 'Everything doesn't exist': That is a second extreme. Avoiding these
two extremes, the Tathagata teaches the Dhamma via the middle..."[12]
Nāgārjuna differentiates between saṃvṛti (conventionally true) and paramārtha (ultimately true) teachings, but he
never declares any conceptually formulated doctrines to fall in this latter category; for him, even śūnyatā is śūnyatā;
even emptiness is empty. For him, ultimately,
nivṛttam abhidhātavyaṃ nivṛtte cittagocare|
anutpannāniruddhā hi nirvāṇam iva dharmatā||7
The designable is ceased when the range of thought is ceased,
For phenomenality is like nirvana, unarisen and unstopped.
This was famously rendered in his tetralemma with the logical propositions:
X (affirmation)
non-X (negation)
X and non-X (both)
neither X nor non-X (neither)
Nagarjuna 42
Nagarjuna also taught the idea of relativity; in the Ratnāvalī, he gives the example that shortness exists only in
relation to the idea of length. The determination of a thing or object is only possible in relation to other things or
objects, especially by way of contrast. He held that the relationship between the ideas of "short" and "long" is not
due to intrinsic nature (svabhāva). This idea is also found in the Pali Nikāyas and Chinese Āgamas, in which the idea
of relativity is expressed similarly: "That which is the element of light ... is seen to exist on account of [in relation to]
darkness; that which is the element of good is seen to exist on account of bad; that which is the element of space is
seen to exist on account of form."[13]
For more on Nāgārjuna's philosophy, see Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.
Nagarjuna as Ayurvedic Physician
Nagarjuna was also a practitioner of Ayurveda, or traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine. First described in the
Sanskrit medical treatise entitled Sushruta Samhita (of which he was the compiler of the redaction), many of his
unique conceptualizations, such as his descriptions of the circulatory system and blood tissue (uniquely described as
rakta dhātu) and his pioneering work on the therapeutic value of specially treated minerals knowns as bhasmas,
which earned him the title of the "father of iatrochemistry.[14]
Iconography
Nāgārjuna is often depicted in composite form comprising human and naga characteristics. Often the naga aspect
forms a canopy crowning and shielding his human head. The notion of the naga is found throughout Indian religious
culture, and typically signifies an intelligent serpent or dragon, who is responsible for the rains, lakes and other
bodies of water. In Buddhism, it is a synonym for a realized arhat, or wise person in general. The term also means
"elephant".
English translations
Other works
Author Title Publisher Notes
Kawamura, L. Golden Zephyr Dharma, 1975 Translation of the Suhrlekkha with a Tibetan commentary
Bhattacharya, The Dialectical Method of Motilal, 1978 A superb translation of the Vigrahavyavartani
Johnston and Nagarjuna
Kunst
Lindtner, C. Master of Wisdom: Dharma, 1986 An excellent introduction to Madhyamika, Master of Wisdom contains two
Writings of the Buddhist hymns of praise to the Buddha, two treatises on Shunyata, and two works that
Master Nāgārjuna clarify the connection of analysis, meditation, and moral conduct. Includes
Tibetan verses in transliteration and critical editions of extant Sanskrit. Tibetan
Translation (product ID: 0-89800-286-9)
Lindtner, C. Nagarjuniana Motilal, 1987 Contains Sanskrit or Tibetan texts and translations of the Shunyatasaptati,
[1982] Vaidalyaprakarana, Vyavaharasiddhi (fragment), Yuktisastika, Catuhstava and
Bodhicittavivarana. A translation only of the Bodhisambharaka. The Sanskrit
and Tibetan texts are given for the Vigrahavyavartani. In addition a table of
source sutras is given for the Sutrasamuccaya.
Komito, D. R. Nagarjuna's "Seventy Snow Lion, Translation of the Shunyatasaptati with Tibetan commentary
Stanzas" 1987
Tola, Fernando Vaidalyaprakarana South Asia

and Carmen Books, 1995
Dragonetti
Nagarjuna 43
Jamieson, R. C. Nagarjuna's Verses on the D.K., 2001 Translation and edited Tibetan of the Mahayanavimsika and the
Great Vehicle and the Heart Pratityasamutpadahrdayakarika, including work on texts from the cave temple at
of Dependent Origination Dunhuang, Gansu, China
Hopkins, Jeffrey Nagarjuna's Precious Snow Lion ISBN 1559392746

Garland: Buddhist Advice Publications,
for Living and Liberation 2007
Brunnholzl, Karl In Praise of Dharmadhatu Snow Lion Translation with commentary by the 3rd Karmapa
Publications,
2008
Jones, Richard Nagarjuna: Buddhism's Booksurge, Translation into plain English with commentaries of the
Most Important Philosopher 2010 Mulamadhyamikakarikas, the Vigrahavyavartani with Nagarjuna's commentary,
and part of the Ratnavali.
Notes
[1] Fowler, Merv. Buddhism: Beliefs and Practices. 1999. p. 84
[2] Fowler, Merv. Buddhism: Beliefs and Practices. 1999. p. 84
[3] Kalupahana, David. A History of Buddhist Philosophy. 1992. p. 160
[4] Buddhist Art & Antiquities of Himachal Pradesh By Omacanda Hāṇḍā (Page 97)
[7] Christian Lindtner, Master of Wisdom. Dharma Publishing 1997, page 324.
[8] David Kalupahana, Mulamadhyamakakarika of Nagarjuna: The Philosophy of the Middle Way. Motilal Banarsidass, 2005, pages 2,5.
[9] Hirakawa, Akira. Groner, Paul. A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna. 2007. p. 242
[10] Hirakawa, Akira. Groner, Paul. A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna. 2007. p. 242
[11] Lindtner, C. (1982) Nagarjuniana, page 11
[12] SN 12.15, (http:/ / www. accesstoinsight. org/ tipitaka/ sn/ sn12/ sn12. 015. than. html). The version linked to is the one in found in the
nikayas, and is slightly different from the one found in the Samyuktagama. Both contain the concept of teaching via the middle between the
extremes of existence and non-existence. See A.K. Warder, A Course in Indian Philosophy. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1998, pages 55-56, or
for the full text of both versions with analysis see pages 192-195 of Choong Mun-keat, The Fundamental Teachings of Early Buddhism: A
comparative study basted on the Sutranga portion of the Pali Samyutta-Nikaya and the Chinese Samyuktagama; Harrassowitz Verlag,
Weisbaden, 2000. Nagarjuna does not make reference to "everything" when he quotes the agamic text in his MMK; in this regard see David
Kalupahana, Nagarjuna: The Philosophy of the Middle Way. SUNY Press, 1986, page 232.
[13] David Kalupahana, Causality: The Central Philosophy of Buddhism. The University Press of Hawaii, 1975, pages 96-97. In the Nikayas the
quote is found at SN 2.150.
[14] Frank John Ninivaggi Ayurveda: A Comprehensive Guide to Traditional Indian Medicine for the West, p. 23. (Praeger/Greenwood Press,
2008). ISBN 978-0-313-34837-2.
References
• Campbell, W. L. Ed. and trans. 1919. The Tree of Wisdom: Being the Tibetan text with English translation of
Nāgārjuna's gnomic verse treatise called the Prajñādanda. Calcutta University. Reprint: Sonam T. Kazi,
Gangtok. 1975.
• Forizs, Laszlo, 1998. "The Relevance of Whitehead for Contemporary Buddhist Philosophy. Pāṇini, Nāgārjuna
and Whitehead." (http://www.forizslaszlo.com/filozofia_belepo_en.html)
• Hoogcarspel, E., 2005. The Central Philosophy, Basic Verses. Olive Press Amsterdam (translation from Sanskrit,
commentary with references to contemporary philosophy)
• Kalupahana, David J. The Philosophy of the Middle Way. SUNY, 1986
• Lamotte, E., Le Traite de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse, Vol I (1944), Vol II (1949), Vol III (1970), Vol IV (1976),
Institut Orientaliste: Louvain-la-Neuve.
• McCagney, Nancy, Nāgārjuna and the philosophy of openness. Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield, c 1997.
• Magliola, Robert. Derrida on the Mend. Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue UP, 1984; 2nd ed. 1986; rpt., 2000. (Through
a sustained comparison, this book first brings Nagarjuna to the attention of American and European specialists in
Nagarjuna 44
Jacques Derrida and French 'deconstruction'.)

• Magliola, Robert. On Deconstructing Life-Worlds: Buddhism, Christianity, Culture. Atlanta: Scholars P,
American Academy of Religion, 1997; Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. (This book further develops comparisons
between Nagarjunist and Derridean deconstructions of substantialism.)
• Murti, T. R. V., 1955. The Central Philosophy of Buddhism. George Allen and Unwin, London. 2nd edition:
1960.
• Murty, K. Satchidananda. 1971. Nagarjuna. National Book Trust, New Delhi. 2nd edition: 1978.
• Ramanan, K. Venkata. 1966. Nāgārjuna's Philosophy. Charles E. Tuttle, Vermont and Tokyo. Reprint: Motilal
Banarsidass, Delhi. 1978. (This book gives and excellent and detailed examination of the range and subtelties of
Nagarjuna's philosophy.)
• Samdhong Rinpoche, ed. 1977. Madhyamika Dialectic and the Philosophy of Nagarjuna. Central Institute of
Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, India.
• Sastri, H. Chatterjee, ed. 1977. The Philosophy of Nāgārjuna as contained in the Ratnāvalī. Part I [ Containing
the text and introduction only ]. Saraswat Library, Calcutta.
• Streng, Frederick J. Emptiness: A Study in Religious Meaning. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1967.
• Walser, Joseph. Nāgārjuna in Context: Mahāyāna Buddhism and Early Indian Culture. New York: Columbia
University Press, 2005.
• Wedemeyer, Christian K. 2007. Āryadeva's Lamp that Integrates the Practices: The Gradual Path of Vajrayāna
Buddhism according to the Esoteric Community Noble Tradition. New York: AIBS/Columbia University Press.
• Zangpo, Ngorchen Kunga. 1975. The Discipline of The Novice Monk. Including Ācārya Nāgārjuna's The
(Discipline) of the Novice Monk of the Āryamūlasaryāstivādīn in Verse, and Vajradhara Ngorchen Kunga Zenpo's
Word Explanation of the Abridged Ten Vows, The Concise Novice monks' Training. Translated by Lobsang Dapa
et al. Sakya College, Mussoorie, India
External links
• Nāgārjuna (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nagarjuna) entry by Jan Christoph Westerhoff in the Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Nagarjuna: a bibliography (http://indica-et-buddhica.org/sections/repositorium-preview/materials/nagarjuna/
bibliography)
• Nagarjuna Seminar (http://www.orientalia.org/forum6.html)
• The Life of Nagarjuna (http://www.meditationincolorado.org/nagarjuna.htm)
• Overview of traditional biographical accounts (http://www.sacred-texts.com/journals/ia/banav.htm#pp_2)
• Online version of the Mula madhyamaka karika with Tibetan and English (http://www.stephenbatchelor.org/
verses2.htm) Translated by Stephen Batchelor
• Online version of the Ratnāvalī (Precious Garland) in English (http://www.vipassati.ch/english/books/
Nagarjunas-Precious-Garland-Buddhist-Advice-for-Living-and-Liberation-Vidyakaraprabha_ebook.html)
Translated by Prof. Vidyakaraprabha and Bel-dzek
• Online version of the Suhṛllekha (Letter to a friend) in English (http://www.vipassati.ch/english/books/
Letter-to-a-friend-Berzin_ebook.html) Translated by Alexander Berzin
• Kaccayanagotta Sutta on Access to Insight (http://accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/samyutta/sn12-015.html)
• Nārāgjuna vis-à-vis the Āgama-s and Nikāya-s (http://www.byomakusuma.org/Articles/tabid/55/Default.
aspx) Byoma Kusuma Nepalese Dharmasangha
• ZenEssays: Nagarjuna and the Madhyamika (http://www.thezensite.com/MainPages/nagarjuna.html)
• She-rab Dong-bu (The Tree of Wisdom) (http://librivox.org/she-rab-dong-bu-by-nagarjuna/) LibriVox
recording
Pingala 45
Pingala
Pingala (पिङ्गल piṅgala) is the traditional name of the author of the Chandaḥśāstra (also Chandaḥsūtra), the
earliest known Sanskrit treatise on prosody.
Nothing is known about Piṅgala himself. In Indian literary tradition, he is variously identified either as the younger
brother of Pāṇini (4th century BCE), or as Patañjali, the author of the Mahābhāṣhya (2nd century BCE).[1]
The chandaḥśāstra is a work of eight chapters in the late Sūtra style, not fully comprehensible without a
commentary. It has been dated to either the final centuries BCE[2] or the early centuries CE,[3] at the transition
between Vedic meter and the classical meter of the Sanskrit epics. This would place it close to the beginning of the
Common Era, likely post-dating Mauryan times. The 10th century mathematician Halayudha wrote a commentary on
the chandaḥśāstra and expanded it.
Combinatorics
The chandaḥśāstra presents the first known description of a binary numeral system in connection with the
systematic enumeration of meters with fixed patterns of short and long syllables.[4] The discussion of the
combinatorics of meter corresponds to the binomial theorem. Halāyudha's commentary includes a presentation of the
Pascal's triangle (called meruprastāra). Pingala's work also contains the basic ideas of Fibonacci number, called
mātrāmeru, and now known as the Gopala–Hemachandra number.[5]
Use of zero is sometimes mistakenly ascribed to Pingala due to his discussion of binary numbers, usually represented
using 0 and 1 in modern discussion, while Pingala used short and long syllables. As Pingala's system ranks binary
patterns starting at one (four short syllables—binary "0000"—is the first pattern), the nth pattern corresponds to the
binary representation of n-1, written backwards. Positional use of zero dates from later centuries and would have
been known to Halāyudha but not to Pingala.
Editions
• A. Weber, Indische Studien 8, Leipzig, 1863.
• Bibliotheca Indica, Calcutta 1871-1874, reprint 1987.
Notes
[1] Winternitz, Vol.3
[2] R. Hall, Mathematics of Poetry, has "c. 200 BC"
[3] Mylius (1983:68) considers the Chandas-shāstra as "very late" within the Vedānga corpus.
[4] Van Nooten
[5] Susantha Goonatilake (1998). Toward a Global Science (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=SI5ip95BbgEC& pg=PA126& dq=Virahanka+
Fibonacci). Indiana University Press. p. 126. ISBN 9780253333889. .
References
• Amulya Kumar Bag, 'Binomial theorem in ancient India', Indian J. Hist. Sci. 1 (1966), 68–74.
• George Gheverghese Joseph (2000). The Crest of the Peacock, p. 254, 355. Princeton University Press.
• Klaus Mylius, Geschichte der altindischen Literatur, Wiesbaden (1983).
• Van Nooten, B. (1993-03-01). "Binary numbers in Indian antiquity" (http://www.springerlink.com/content/
n45g2606g0k76858/). Journal of Indian Philosophy 21 (1): 31–50. doi:10.1007/BF01092744. Retrieved
2010-05-06.
Pingala 46
External links
• Math for Poets and Drummers (http://www.sju.edu/~rhall/Rhythms/Poets/arcadia.pdf), Rachel W. Hall,
Saint Joseph's University, 2005.
• Mathematics of Poetry (http://www.sju.edu/~rhall/Multi/rhythm2.pdf), Rachel W. Hall
Sushurata
Sushruta (Around 800 BC)[1] was an ancient Indian surgeon and is the author of the book Sushruta Samhita, in
which he describes over 300 surgical procedures and 120 surgical instruments and classifies human surgery in 8
categories. He lived, taught and practiced his art on the banks of the Ganges in the area that corresponds to the
present day city of Varanasi in North India.
Because of his seminal and numerous contributions to the science and art of surgery he is also known by the title
"Father of Surgery." Much of what is known about this inventive surgeon is contained in a series of volumes he
authored, which are collectively known as the Sushruta Samhita.[2]
Biography
Sushruta was educated in Varanasi.[3]
Contributions
There are numerous contributions made by Sushruta to the field of surgery.[4] Surgical demonstration of techniques
of making incisions, probing, extraction of foreign bodies, alkali and thermal cauterization, tooth extraction,
excisions, trocars for draining abscess draining hydrocele and ascitic fluid. Described removal of the prostate gland,
urethral stricture dilatation, vesiculolithotomy, hernia surgery, caesarian section, management of haemorrhoids,
fistulae, laparotomy and management of intestinal obstruction, perforated intestines, accidental perforation of the
abdomen with protrusion of omentum. Classified details of the six types of dislocations, twelve varieties of fractures
and classification of the bones and their reaction to the injuries. Principles of fracture management, viz., traction,
manipulation, appositions and stabilization including some measures of rehabilitation and fitting of prosthetics.
Classification of eye diseases (76) with signs, symptoms, prognosis, medical/surgical interventions and cataract
surgery. Description of method of stitching the intestines by using ant-heads as stitching material. First to deal with
embryology and sequential development of the structures of the fetus. Dissection and study of anatomy of human
body. Introduction of wine to dull the pain of surgical incisions. Enumeration of 1120 illnesses and recommended
diagnosis by inspection, palpation and auscultation.
Legacy
The earliest surviving excavated written material which contains the works of Sushruta is the Bower
Manuscript—dated to the 4th century AD, almost a millennium after the original work.[5]
The medical works of both Sushruta and Charaka were translated into Arabic language during the Abbasid Caliphate
(750 AD).[6] These Arabic works made their way into Europe via intermediaries.[6] In Italy the Branca family of
Sicily and Gasparo Tagliacozzi (Bologna) became familiar with the techniques of Sushruta.[6]
British physicians traveled to India to see rhinoplasty being performed by native methods.[7] Reports on Indian
rhinoplasty were published in the Gentleman's Magazine by 1794.[7] Joseph Constantine Carpue spent 20 years in
India studying local plastic surgery methods.[7] Carpue was able to perform the first major rhinoplasty in the western
world by 1815.[8] Instruments described in the Sushruta Samhita were further modified in the Western World.[8]
Even today The paramedian forehead flap is referred to as the Indian flap.[4]
Sushurata 47
References
[1] Sushruta Samhita
[2] "Sushruta" (http:/ / www. experiencefestival. com/ a/ Sushruta/ id/ 573869). .
[3] Singh, P.B.; Pravin S. Rana (2002). Banaras Region: A Spiritual and Cultural Guide. Varanasi: Indica Books. p. 31. ISBN 81-86569-24-3.
[4] "Sushruta: The first Plastic Surgeon in 600 B.C." (http:/ / www. ispub. com/ ostia/ index. php?xmlFilePath=journals/ ijps/ vol4n2/ sushruta.
xml). Internet Journal of Plastic Surgery 4 (2). ISSN 1528-8293. .
[5] Kutumbian, pages XXXII-XXXIII
[6] Lock etc., page 607
External links
• Sushruta Samhita (http://chestofbooks.com/health/india/Sushruta-Samhita/index.html) (English Translation)
at Chest of Books
Vyasa
Vyasa (Devanagari: व्यास, vyāsa) is a central and revered figure in
the majority of Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda
Vyasa (वेद व्यास, veda vyāsa), (the one who compiled the Vedas) or
Krishna Dvaipayana (referring to his complexion and birthplace).
He is the author as well as a character in the Hindu epic
Mahabharata and considered to be the scribe of both the Vedas, and
the supplementary texts such as the Puranas. A number of
Vaishnava traditions regard him as an Avatar of Vishnu.[1] Vyasa is
sometimes conflated by some Vaishnavas with Badarayana, the
author of the Vedanta Sutras. Vyāsa is also considered to be one of
the seven Chiranjivins (long lived, or immortals), who are still in
existence according to general Hindu belief.
The festival of Guru Purnima, is dedicated to him, and also known

as Vyasa Purnima as it is the day, which is believed to be his
birthday and also the day he divided the Vedas.[2] [3]
Veda Vyasa (modern painting)

In the Mahabharata
Vyasa appears for the first time as the author of, and an important character in the Mahābhārata. He was the son of
Satyavati (also known as Matsyagandha), daughter of a ferryman or fisherman,[4] and the wandering sage Parashara.
He was born on an island in the river Yamuna. The place is named after him as Vedvyas,Now is Town Kalpi in
district Jalaun (UP). He was dark-complexioned and hence may be called by the name Krishna (black), and also the
name Dwaipayana, meaning 'island-born'.
Vyasa was grandfather to the Kauravas and Pandavas. Both Dhritarashtra and Pandu, adopted as the sons of
Vichitravirya by the royal family, were fathered by him. He had a third son, Vidura, by a serving maid.
Vyasa 48
Veda Vyasa
Hindus traditionally hold that Vyasa categorised the primordial single Veda into four. Hence he was called Veda
Vyasa, or "Splitter of the Vedas," the splitting being a feat that allowed people to understand the divine knowledge
of the Veda. The word vyasa means split, differentiate, or describe.
It has been debated whether Vyasa was a single person or a class of scholars who did the splitting. The Vishnu
Purana has a theory about Vyasa. The Hindu view of the universe is that of a cyclic phenomenon that comes into
existence and dissolves repeatedly. Each cycle is presided over by a number of Manus, one for each Manvantara, that
has four ages, Yugas of declining virtues. The Dvapara Yuga is the third Yuga. The Vishnu Purana (Book 3, Ch 3)
says:
In every third world age (Dvapara), Vishnu, in the person of Vyasa, in order to promote the good of
mankind, divides the Veda, which is properly but one, into many portions. Observing the limited
perseverance, energy, and application of mortals, he makes the Veda fourfold, to adapt it to their
capacities; and the bodily form which he assumes, in order to effect that classification, is known by the
name of Veda-vyasa. Of the different Vyasas in the present Manvantara and the branches which they
have taught, you shall have an account. Twenty-eight times have the Vedas been arranged by the great
Rishis in the Vaivasvata Manvantara... and consequently eight and twenty Vyasas have passed away; by
whom, in the respective periods, the Veda has been divided into four. The first... distribution was made
by Svayambhu (Brahma) himself; in the second, the arranger of the Veda (Vyasa) was Prajapati... (and
so on up to twenty-eight).
Author of the Mahābhārata

Vyasa is traditionally known as author of this epic. But he also features
as an important character in it. His mother later married the king of
Hastinapura, and had two sons. Both sons died without an issue and
taking recourse to an ancient practice called Niyoga where a chosen
man can father sons with the widow of a person who dies issueless, she
requests Vyasa to produce sons on behalf of her dead son
Vichitravirya.
Vyasa fathers the princes Dhritarashtra and Pandu by Ambika and

Ambalika, the wives of the dead king Vichitravirya. Vyasa told them
that they should come alone near him. First did Ambika, but because of
shyness and fear she closed her eyes. Vyasa told Satyavati that her
child would be blind. Later this child was named Dhritarāshtra. Thus
Satyavati sent Ambālika and warned her that she should remain calm.
Vyasa narrating the Mahabharata to Ganesha, his
But Ambālika's face became pale because of fear. Vyasa told her that
scribe, Angkor Wat.
child would suffer from anaemia, and he would not be fit enough to
rule the kingdom. Later this child was known as Pāndu. Then Vyasa
told Satyavati to send one of them again so that a healthy child can be born. This time Ambika and Ambālika sent a
maid in the place of themselves. The maid was quite calm and composed, and she got a healthy child later named as
Vidura. While these are his sons, another son Śuka, born of his wife, sage Jābāli's daughter Pinjalā (Vatikā),[5] is
considered his true spiritual heir. He was thus the grandfather of both the warring parties of the Mahābhārata, the
Kauravas and the Pāndavas. He makes occasional appearances in the story as a spiritual guide to the young princes.
In the first book of the Mahābhārata, it is described that Vyasa asked Ganesha to aid him in writing the text, however
Ganesha imposed a condition that he would do so only if Vyasa narrated the story without pause. To which Vyasa
then made a counter-condition that Ganesha must understand the verse before he transcribed it.
Vyasa 49
Thus Lord VedVyas narrated the whole Mahābhārata and all the Upanishads and the 18 Puranas, while Lord
Ganesha wrote.
Vyasa is supposed to have meditated and authored the epic by the foothills of the river Beas (Vipasa) in the Punjab
region.
There is an ashram of vedavyasa in Vedhagiri. It is believed that pandavas visited vyasa at vedhagiri and got advise
during there vanavasa (exile period). The remnants of the ashram is sill there on the top of vedhagiri hill.
Vyasa's Jaya
Vyasa's Jaya, the core of Mahābhārata is structured in the form of a dialogue between Dhritarashtra (the Kuru king
and the father of the Kauravas, who opposed the Pāndavas in the Kurukshetra War) and Sanjaya, his advisor and
chariot driver. Sanjaya narrates each incident of the Kurukshetra War, fought in 18 days, as and when it happened.
Dhritarāshtra sometimes asks questions and doubts and sometimes laments, knowing about the destruction caused by
the war, to his sons, friends and kinsmen. He also feels guilty, due to his own role, that led to this war, destructive to
the entire Indian subcontinent.
In the beginning Sanjaya gives a description of the various continents of the Earth, the other planets, and focuses on
the Indian Subcontinent and gives an elaborate list of hundreds of kingdoms, tribes, provinces, cities, towns, villages,
rivers, mountains, forests etc. of the (ancient) Indian Subcontinent (Bhārata Varsha). He also explains about the
'military formations adopted by each side on each day, the death of each hero and the details of each war-racings.
Some 18 chapters of Vyasa's Jaya constitutes the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred text of the Hindus. Thus, this work of
Vyasa, called Jaya deals with diverse subjects like geography, history, warfare, religion and morality.
Ugrasrava Sauti's Mahābhārata

The final phase of Vyasa's work culminated as Mahābhārata, structured as a narration by Ugrasrava Sauti (Sutji)
who was a professional story teller, to an assembly of sages (rishis) like Saunaka. Bharata is embedded inside it, and
within it Jaya.
Reference to writing
Within the Mahābhārata, there is a tradition in which Vyasa wishes to write down or inscribe his work:
The Grandsire Brahma (creator of the universe) comes and tells Vyasa to get the help of Ganapati for his task.
Ganapati writes down the stanzas recited by Vyasa from memory and thus the Mahābhārata is inscribed or
written. Ganapati could not cope with Vyasa's speed and he misses many words or even stanzas.
The latest portions of the Mahābhārata are estimated to date from roughly the 4th century BC, the time of the
introduction of writing to India.
There is some evidence however that writing may have been known earlier based on archeological findings of styli
in the Painted Grey Ware culture, dated between 1100 BC and 700 BC.[6] [7] [8] and archeological evidence of the
Brahmi script being used from at least 600 BC.[9]
The difficulty faced by Ganapati (Ganesha) in writing down Mahābhārata as described in the tradition, could be real,
and was most probably faced by those people who first attempted to write it down as some reciter recited it
continuously. This is because, the reciter will not be able to stop in the middle of recitation and then resume it, as the
lines are committed to his memory as a continuous recording.
Vyasa 50
In the Puranas
Vyasa is also credited with the writing of the eighteen major, if not all, Purāṇas.His son Shuka is the narrator of the
major Purāṇa Bhagavat-Purāṇa.
In Buddhism
Within Buddhism Vyasa appears as Kanha-dipayana (the Pali version of his name) in two Jataka tales: the
Kanha-dipayana Jataka and Ghata Jataka. Whilst the former in which he appears as the Bodhisattva has no relation to
his tales from the Hindu works, his role in the latter one has parallels in an important event in the Mahabhrata.
In the 16th book of the epic, Mausala Parva, the end of the Vrishnis, clansmen of Vyasa's namesake and Vishnu
incarnate Krishna is narrated. The epic says: One day, the Vrishni heroes .. saw Vishvamitra, Kanwa and Narada
arrived at Dwaraka. Afflicted by the rod of chastisement wielded by the deities, those heroes, causing Samba to be
disguised like a woman, approached those ascetics and said, ‘This one is the wife of Vabhru of immeasurable energy
who is desirous of having a son. Ye Rishis, do you know for certain what this one will bring forth?Those ascetics,
attempted to be thus deceived, said: ‘This heir of Vasudeva, by name Samba, will bring forth a fierce iron bolt for the
destruction of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas.
The important Bhagavata Purana (book 11) too narrates the incident in a similar manner and names the sages as
Visvāmitra, Asita, Kanva, Durvāsa, Bhrigu, Angirâ, Kashyapa, Vâmadeva, Atri, Vasishthha, along with Nârada and
others - it does not explicitly include Vyasa in the list.
The Ghata Jataka has a different version: The Vrishnis, wishing to test Kanha-dipayana's powers of clairvoyance,
played a practical joke on him. They tied a pillow to the belly of a young lad, and dressing him up as a woman, took
him to the ascetic and asked when the baby would be born. The ascetic replied that on the seventh day the person
before him would give birth to a knot of acacia wood which would destroy the race of Vásudeva. The youths
thereupon fell on him and killed him, but his prophecy came true .
In the Arthashastra
The only non-religious book in which Vyasa has an interesting entry is the Arthashastra of Chanakya. In chapter 6, it
says:
'Whosoever is of reverse character, whoever has not his organs of sense under his control, will soon perish, though
possessed of the whole earth bounded by the four quarters. For example: Bhoja, known also by the name, Dándakya,
making a lascivious attempt on a Bráhman maiden, perished along with his kingdom and relations; so also Karála,
the Vaideha... Vátápi in his attempt under the influence of overjoy to attack Agastya, as well as the corporation of
the Vrishnis in their attempt against Dwaipáyan.
This reference matches the Jataka version in including Vyasa as the sage attacked by the Vrishnis, though Vyasa
does not die here.
Author of Brahma Sutra

The Brahma Sutra is attributed to Badarayana — which makes him the proponent of the crest-jewel school of Hindu
philosophy, i.e., Vedanta. Vyasa is conflated with Badarayana by Vaishnavas with the reason that the island on
which Vyasa was born is said to have been covered by Badara (Indian jujube/Ber/Ziziphus mauritiana) trees. Apart
from Adi Shankara who refers to these two separately rather than as a single individual, many modern historians also
think these were two different personalities.
Vyasa 51
Author of Yoga Bhashya

This text is a commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Vyasa is credited with this work also, though this is
impossible, if Vyasa's immortality is not considered, as it is a later text.
References
[1] Mahābhārata 12.350.4-5, K.M. Ganguly full edition http:/ / www. sacred-texts. com/ hin/ m12/ m12c049. htm
[2] Awakening Indians to India (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=AIU4LzftaPAC& pg=PA167& dq="Guru+ Purnima"+ -inpublisher:icon&
cd=8#v=onepage& q="Guru Purnima" -inpublisher:icon& f=false). Chinmaya Mission. 2008. p. 167. ISBN 8175974346. .
[3] What Is Hinduism?: Modern Adventures Into a Profound Global Faith (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=9XC9bwMMPcwC&
pg=RA1-PA230& dq="Guru+ Purnima"+ -inpublisher:icon& lr=& cd=26#v=onepage& q="Guru Purnima" -inpublisher:icon& f=false).
Himalayan Academy Publications. p. 230. ISBN 1934145009. .
[4] According to legend, Vyasa was the son of the ascetic Parashara and the dasyu (aboriginal) Satyavati and grew up in forests, living with
hermits who taught him the Vedas ,from the Encyclopædia Britannica
[5] Skanda Purāṇa, Nāgara Khanda, ch. 147
[6] S. U. Deraniyagala. Early Man and the Rise of Civilisation in Sri Lanka: the Archaeological Evidence. (http:/ / www. lankalibrary. com/ geo/
dera2. html)
[7] N. R. Banerjee (1965). The Iron Age in India. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.
[8] F. Raymond Allchin, George Erdosy (1995). The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: Emergence of Cities and States. Cambridge
University Press. ISBN 0-521-37695-5.
[9] T. S. Subramanian. Skeletons, script found at ancient burial site in Tamil Nadu. (http:/ / www. orientalthane. com/ archaeology/
news_2004_05_31_1. htm) Institute for Oriental Study, Thane.
• The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, published between 1883
and 1896
• The Arthashastra, translated by Shamasastry, 1915 (http://www.mssu.edu/projectsouthasia/history/
primarydocs/Arthashastra/index.htm)
• The Vishnu-Purana, translated by H. H. Wilson, 1840
• The Bhagavata-Purana, translated by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, 1988 copyright Bhaktivedanta
Book Trust
• The Jataka or Stories of the Buddha's Former Births, edited by E. B. Cowell, 1895
External links
• Srîmad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) (http://srimadbhagavatam.com/en), The Story of the Fortunate One
(complete)
• The Mahābhārata (http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/maha/index.htm) Ganguli translation, full text at
sacred-texts.com
• Vedanta Sutras of Vyasa with Shankara Bhashya (http://www.shankaracharya.org)
Indian mathematics
Indian mathematics emerged in the Indian subcontinent[1] from 1200 BCE [2] until the end of the 18th century. In
the classical period of Indian mathematics (400 AD to 1200 AD), important contributions were made by scholars
like Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, and Bhaskara II. The decimal number system in use today[3] were first recorded in
Indian mathematics.[4] Indian mathematicians made early contributions to the study of the concept of zero as a
number,[5] negative numbers,[6] arithmetic, and algebra.[7] In addition, trigonometry[8] was further advanced in India,
and, in particular, the modern definitions of sine and cosine were developed there.[9] These mathematical concepts
were transmitted to the Middle East, China, and Europe[7] and led to further developments that now form the
foundations of many areas of mathematics.
Ancient and medieval Indian mathematical works, all composed in Sanskrit, usually consisted of a section of sutras
in which a set of rules or problems were stated with great economy in verse in order to aid memorization by a
student. This was followed by a second section consisting of a prose commentary (sometimes multiple commentaries
by different scholars) that explained the problem in more detail and provided justification for the solution. In the
prose section, the form (and therefore its memorization) was not considered as important as the ideas involved.[1] [10]
All mathematical works were orally transmitted until approximately 500 BCE; thereafter, they were transmitted both
orally and in manuscript form. The oldest extant mathematical document produced on the Indian subcontinent is the
birch bark Bakhshali Manuscript, discovered in 1881 in the village of Bakhshali, near Peshawar (modern day
Pakistan) and is likely from the 7th century CE.[11] [1]
A later landmark in Indian mathematics was the development of the series expansions for trigonometric functions
(sine, cosine, and arc tangent) by mathematicians of the Kerala school in the 15th century CE. Their remarkable
work, completed two centuries before the invention of calculus in Europe, provided what is now considered the first
example of a power series (apart from geometric series).[12] However, they did not formulate a systematic theory of
differentiation and integration, nor is there any direct evidence of their results being transmitted outside Kerala.[13]
[14] [15] [16]
Fields of Indian mathematics

Some of the areas of mathematics studied in ancient and medieval India include the following:
• Arithmetic: Decimal system, Negative numbers (see Brahmagupta), Zero (see Hindu-Arabic numeral system),
Binary numeral system, the modern positional notation numeral system, Floating point numbers (see Kerala
school of astronomy and mathematics), Number theory, Infinity (see Yajur Veda), Transfinite numbers, Irrational
numbers (see Shulba Sutras)
• Geometry: Square roots (see Bakhshali approximation), Cube roots (see Mahavira), Pythagorean triples (see
Sulba Sutras; Baudhayana and Apastamba state the Pythagorean theorem without proof), Transformation (see
Panini), Pascal's triangle (see Pingala)
• Algebra: Quadratic equations (see Sulba Sutras, Aryabhata, and Brahmagupta), Cubic equations and Quartic
equations (biquadratic equations) (see Mahavira and Bhāskara II)
• Mathematical logic: Formal grammars, formal language theory, the Panini–Backus form (see Panini), Recursion
(see Panini)
• General mathematics: Fibonacci numbers (see Pingala), Earliest forms of Morse code (see Pingala), infinite
series, Logarithms, indices (see Jaina mathematics [17]), Algorithms, Algorism (see Aryabhata and Brahmagupta)
• Trigonometry: Trigonometric functions (see Surya Siddhanta and Aryabhata), Trigonometric series (see Madhava
and Kerala school)
Prehistory
Excavations at Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and other sites of the Indus Valley Civilization have uncovered evidence of
the use of "practical mathematics". The people of the IVC manufactured bricks whose dimensions were in the
proportion 4:2:1, considered favorable for the stability of a brick structure. They used a standardized system of
weights based on the ratios: 1/20, 1/10, 1/5, 1/2, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500, with the unit weight equaling
approximately 28 grams (and approximately equal to the English ounce or Greek uncia). They mass produced
weights in regular geometrical shapes, which included hexahedra, barrels, cones, and cylinders, thereby
demonstrating knowledge of basic geometry.[18]
The inhabitants of Indus civilization also tried to standardize measurement of length to a high degree of accuracy.
They designed a ruler—the Mohenjo-daro ruler—whose unit of length (approximately 1.32 inches or 3.4
centimetres) was divided into ten equal parts. Bricks manufactured in ancient Mohenjo-daro often had dimensions
that were integral multiples of this unit of length.[19] [20]
Vedic period
Samhitas and Brahmanas

The religious texts of the Vedic Period provide evidence for the use of large numbers. By the time of the
Yajurvedasaṃhitā (1200–900 BCE), numbers as high as were being included in the texts.[] For example, the
mantra (sacrificial formula) at the end of the annahoma ("food-oblation rite") performed during the aśvamedha, and
uttered just before-, during-, and just after sunrise, invokes powers of ten from a hundred to a trillion:[2]
"Hail to śata ("hundred," ), hail to sahasra ("thousand," ), hail to ayuta ("ten thousand,"
), hail to niyuta ("hundred thousand," ), hail to prayuta ("million," ), hail to arbuda ("ten
million," ), hail to nyarbuda ("hundred million," ), hail to samudra ("billion," , literally
"ocean"), hail to madhya ("ten billion," , literally "middle"), hail to anta ("hundred billion,"
,lit., "end"), hail to parārdha ("one trillion," lit., "beyond parts"), hail to the dawn (uśas), hail to
the twilight (vyuṣṭi), hail to the one which is going to rise (udeṣyat), hail to the one which is rising
(udyat), hail to the one which has just risen (udita), hail to the heaven (svarga), hail to the world (loka),
hail to all."[2]
The Satapatha Brahmana (ca. 7th century BCE) contains rules for ritual geometric constructions that are similar to
the Sulba Sutras.[21]
Śulba Sūtras
The Śulba Sūtras (literally, "Aphorisms of the Chords" in Vedic Sanskrit) (c. 700–400 BCE) list rules for the
construction of sacrificial fire altars.[22] Most mathematical problems considered in the Śulba Sūtras spring from "a
single theological requirement,"[23] that of constructing fire altars which have different shapes but occupy the same
area. The altars were required to be constructed of five layers of burnt brick, with the further condition that each
layer consist of 200 bricks and that no two adjacent layers have congruent arrangements of bricks.[23]
According to (Hayashi 2005, p. 363), the Śulba Sūtras contain "the earliest extant verbal expression of the
Pythagorean Theorem in the world, although it had already been known to the Old Babylonians."
The diagonal rope (akṣṇayā-rajju) of an oblong (rectangle) produces both which the flank (pārśvamāni)
and the horizontal (tiryaṇmānī) <ropes> produce separately."[2]
Since the statement is a sūtra, it is necessarily compressed and what the ropes produce is not elaborated on, but the
context clearly implies the square areas constructed on their lengths, and would have been explained so by the
teacher to the student.[2]
They contain lists of Pythagorean triples,[24] which are particular cases of Diophantine equations.[25] They also
contain statements (that with hindsight we know to be approximate) about squaring the circle and "circling the
square."[26]
Baudhayana (c. 8th century BCE) composed the Baudhayana Sulba Sutra, the best-known Sulba Sutra, which
contains examples of simple Pythagorean triples, such as: , , , , and
[27]
as well as a statement of the Pythagorean theorem for the sides of a square: "The rope which is
stretched across the diagonal of a square produces an area double the size of the original square."[27] It also contains
the general statement of the Pythagorean theorem (for the sides of a rectangle): "The rope stretched along the length
of the diagonal of a rectangle makes an area which the vertical and horizontal sides make together."[27] Baudhayana
gives a formula for the square root of two,[28]
[29]
The formula is accurate up to five decimal places, the true value being This formula is similar
[30]
in structure to the formula found on a Mesopotamian tablet from the Old Babylonian period (1900–1600
BCE):[28]
which expresses in the sexagesimal system, and which too is accurate up to 5 decimal places (after rounding).
According to mathematician S. G. Dani, the Babylonian cuneiform tablet Plimpton 322 written ca. 1850 BCE[31]
"contains fifteen Pythagorean triples with quite large entries, including (13500, 12709, 18541) which is a primitive
triple,[32] indicating, in particular, that there was sophisticated understanding on the topic" in Mesopotamia in 1850
BCE. "Since these tablets predate the Sulbasutras period by several centuries, taking into account the contextual
appearance of some of the triples, it is reasonable to expect that similar understanding would have been there in
India."[33] Dani goes on to say:
"As the main objective of the Sulvasutras was to describe the constructions of altars and the geometric
principles involved in them, the subject of Pythagorean triples, even if it had been well understood may
still not have featured in the Sulvasutras. The occurrence of the triples in the Sulvasutras is comparable
to mathematics that one may encounter in an introductory book on architecture or another similar
applied area, and would not correspond directly to the overall knowledge on the topic at that time. Since,
unfortunately, no other contemporaneous sources have been found it may never be possible to settle this
issue satisfactorily."[33]
In all, three Sulba Sutras were composed. The remaining two, the Manava Sulba Sutra composed by Manava (fl.
750–650 BC) and the Apastamba Sulba Sutra, composed by Apastamba (c. 600 BC), contained results similar to the
Baudhayana Sulba Sutra.
Vyakarana
An important landmark of the Vedic period was the work of Sanskrit grammarian, Pāṇini (c. 520–460 BCE). His
grammar includes early use of Boolean logic, of the null operator, and of context free grammars, and includes a
precursor of the Backus–Naur form (used in the description programming languages).
Jaina Mathematics (400 BCE – 200 CE)

Although Jainism as a religion and philosophy predates its most famous exponent, Mahavira (6th century BC), who
was a contemporary of Gautama Buddha, most Jaina texts on mathematical topics were composed after the 6th
century BCE. Jaina mathematicians are important historically as crucial links between the mathematics of the Vedic
period and that of the "Classical period."
A significant historical contribution of Jaina mathematicians lay in their freeing Indian mathematics from its
religious and ritualistic constraints. In particular, their fascination with the enumeration of very large numbers and
infinities, led them to classify numbers into three classes: enumerable, innumerable and infinite. Not content with a
simple notion of infinity, they went on to define five different types of infinity: the infinite in one direction, the
infinite in two directions, the infinite in area, the infinite everywhere, and the infinite perpetually. In addition, Jaina
mathematicians devised notations for simple powers (and exponents) of numbers like squares and cubes, which
enabled them to define simple algebraic equations (beezganit samikaran). Jaina mathematicians were apparently also
the first to use the word shunya (literally void in Sanskrit) to refer to zero. More than a millennium later, their
appellation became the English word "zero" after a tortuous journey of translations and transliterations from India to
Europe . (See Zero: Etymology.)
In addition to Surya Prajnapti, important Jaina works on mathematics included the Vaishali Ganit (c. 3rd century
BCE); the Sthananga Sutra (fl. 300 BCE – 200 CE); the Anoyogdwar Sutra (fl. 200 BCE – 100 CE); and the
Satkhandagama (c. 2nd century CE). Important Jaina mathematicians included Bhadrabahu (d. 298 BCE), the author
of two astronomical works, the Bhadrabahavi-Samhita and a commentary on the Surya Prajinapti; Yativrisham
Acharya (c. 176 BCE), who authored a mathematical text called Tiloyapannati; and Umasvati (c. 150 BCE), who,
although better known for his influential writings on Jaina philosophy and metaphysics, composed a mathematical
work called Tattwarthadhigama-Sutra Bhashya.
Pingala
Among other scholars of this period who contributed to mathematics, the most notable is Pingala (piṅgalá) (fl.
300–200 BCE), a musical theorist who authored the Chandas Shastra (chandaḥ-śāstra, also Chandas Sutra
chandaḥ-sūtra), a Sanskrit treatise on prosody. There is evidence that in his work on the enumeration of syllabic
combinations, Pingala stumbled upon both the Pascal triangle and Binomial coefficients, although he did not have
knowledge of the Binomial theorem itself.[34] [35] Pingala's work also contains the basic ideas of Fibonacci numbers
(called maatraameru). Although the Chandah sutra hasn't survived in its entirety, a 10th century commentary on it
by Halāyudha has. Halāyudha, who refers to the Pascal triangle as Meru-prastāra (literally "the staircase to Mount
Meru"), has this to say:
"Draw a square. Beginning at half the square, draw two other similar squares below it; below these two,
three other squares, and so on. The marking should be started by putting 1 in the first square. Put 1 in
each of the two squares of the second line. In the third line put 1 in the two squares at the ends and, in
the middle square, the sum of the digits in the two squares lying above it. In the fourth line put 1 in the
two squares at the ends. In the middle ones put the sum of the digits in the two squares above each.
Proceed in this way. Of these lines, the second gives the combinations with one syllable, the third the
combinations with two syllables, ..."[34]
The text also indicates that Pingala was aware of the combinatorial identity:[35]
Katyayana
Though not a Jaina mathematician, Katyayana (c. 3rd century BCE) is notable for being the last of the Vedic
mathematicians. He wrote the Katyayana Sulba Sutra, which presented much geometry, including the general
Pythagorean theorem and a computation of the square root of 2 correct to five decimal places.
Oral tradition
Mathematicians of ancient and early medieval India were almost all Sanskrit pandits (paṇḍita "learned man"),[10]
who were trained in Sanskrit language and literature, and possessed "a common stock of knowledge in grammar
(vyākaraṇa), exegesis (mīmāṃsā) and logic (nyāya)."[10] Memorization of "what is heard" (śruti in Sanskrit) through
recitation played a major role in the transmission of sacred texts in ancient India. Memorization and recitation was
also used to transmit philosophical and literary works, as well as treatises on ritual and grammar. Modern scholars of
ancient India have noted the "truly remarkable achievements of the Indian pandits who have preserved enormously
bulky texts orally for millennia."[36]
Styles of memorization
Prodigous energy was expended by ancient Indian culture in ensuring that these texts were transmitted from
generation to generation with inordinate fidelity.[37] For example, memorization of the sacred Vedas included up to
eleven forms of recitation of the same text. The texts were subsequently "proof-read" by comparing the different
recited versions. Forms of recitation included the jaṭā-pāṭha (literally "mesh recitation") in which every two adjacent
words in the text were first recited in their original order, then repeated in the reverse order, and finally repeated
again in the original order.[10] The recitation thus proceeded as:
word1word2, word2word1, word1word2; word2word3, word3word2, word2word3; ...
In another form of recitation, dhvaja-pāṭha[10] (literally "flag recitation") a sequence of N words were recited (and
memorized) by pairing the first two and last two words and then proceeding as:
word1word2, wordN − 1wordN; word2word3, wordN − 3wordN − 2; ..; wordN − 1wordN, word1word2;
The most complex form of recitation, ghana-pāṭha (literally "dense recitation"), according to (Filliozat 2004, p. 139),
took the form:
word1word2, word2word1, word1word2word3, word3word2word1, word1word2word3; word2word3,
word3word2, word2word3word4, word4word3word2, word2word3word4; ...
That these methods have been effective, is testified to by the preservation of the most ancient Indian religious text,
the Ṛgveda (ca. 1500 BCE), as a single text, without any variant readings.[10] Similar methods were used for
memorizing mathematical texts, whose transmission remained exclusively oral until the end of the Vedic period (ca.
500 BCE).
The Sūtra genre

Mathematical activity in ancient India began as a part of a "methodological reflexion" on the sacred Vedas, which
took the form of works called Vedāṇgas, or, "Ancillaries of the Veda" (7th–4th century BCE).[38] The need to
conserve the sound of sacred text by use of śikṣā (phonetics) and chandas (metrics); to conserve its meaning by use
of vyākaraṇa (grammar) and nirukta (etymology); and to correctly perform the rites at the correct time by the use of
kalpa (ritual) and jyotiṣa (astronomy), gave rise to the six disciplines of the Vedāṇgas.[38] Mathematics arose as a
part of the last two disciplines, ritual and astronomy (which also included astrology). Since the Vedāṇgas
immediately preceded the use of writing in ancient India, they formed the last of the exclusively oral literature. They
were expressed in a highly compressed mnemonic form, the sūtra (literally, "thread"):
The knowers of the sūtra know it as having few phonemes, being devoid of ambiguity, containing the
essence, facing everything, being without pause and unobjectionable.[38]
Extreme brevity was achieved through multiple means, which included using ellipsis "beyond the tolerance of
natural language,"[38] using technical names instead of longer descriptive names, abridging lists by only mentioning
the first and last entries, and using markers and variables.[38] The sūtras create the impression that communication
through the text was "only a part of the whole instruction. The rest of the instruction must have been transmitted by
the so-called Guru-shishya parampara, 'uninterrupted succession from teacher (guru) to the student (śisya),' and it
was not open to the general public" and perhaps even kept secret.[39] The brevity achieved in a sūtra is demonstrated
in the following example from the Baudhāyana Śulba Sūtra (700 BCE).
The domestic fire-altar in the Vedic period
was required by ritual to have a square base
and be constituted of five layers of bricks
with 21 bricks in each layer. One method of
constructing the altar was to divide one side
of the square into three equal parts using a
cord or rope, to next divide the transverse
(or perpendicular) side into seven equal
parts, and thereby sub-divide the square into
21 congruent rectangles. The bricks were
then designed to be of the shape of the
constituent rectangle and the layer was
created. To form the next layer, the same
formula was used, but the bricks were
arranged transversely.[38] The process was The design of the domestic fire altar in the Śulba Sūtra
then repeated three more times (with
alternating directions) in order to complete the construction. In the Baudhāyana Śulba Sūtra, this procedure is
described in the following words:
"II.64. After dividing the quadri-lateral in seven, one divides the transverse [cord] in three.
II.65. In another layer one places the [bricks] North-pointing."[38]
According to (Filliozat 2004, p. 144), the officiant constructing the altar has only a few tools and materials at his
disposal: a cord (Sanskrit, rajju, f.), two pegs (Sanskrit, śanku, m.), and clay to make the bricks (Sanskrit, iṣṭakā, f.).
Concision is achieved in the sūtra, by not explicitly mentioning what the adjective "transverse" qualifies; however,
from the feminine form of the (Sanskrit) adjective used, it is easily inferred to qualify "cord." Similarly, in the
second stanza, "bricks" are not explicitly mentioned, but inferred again by the feminine plural form of
"North-pointing." Finally, the first stanza, never explicitly says that the first layer of bricks are oriented in the
East-West direction, but that too is implied by the explicit mention of "North-pointing" in the second stanza; for, if
the orientation was meant to be the same in the two layers, it would either not be mentioned at all or be only
mentioned in the first stanza. All these inferences are made by the officiant as he recalls the formula from his
memory.[38]
The written tradition: prose commentary

With the increasing complexity of mathematics and other exact sciences, both writing and computation were
required. Consequently, many mathematical works began to be written down in manuscripts that were then copied
and re-copied from generation to generation.
"India today is estimated to have about thirty million manuscripts, the largest body of handwritten
reading material anywhere in the world. The literate culture of Indian science goes back to at least the
fifth century B.C. ... as is shown by the elements of Mesopotamian omen literature and astronomy that
entered India at that time and (were) definitely not ... preserved orally."[40]
The earliest mathematical prose commentary was that on the work, Āryabhaṭīya (written 499 CE), a work on
astronomy and mathematics. The mathematical portion of the Āryabhaṭīya was composed of 33 sūtras (in verse
form) consisting of mathematical statements or rules, but without any proofs.[41] However, according to (Hayashi
2003, p. 123), "this does not necessarily mean that their authors did not prove them. It was probably a matter of style
of exposition." From the time of Bhaskara I (600 CE onwards), prose commentaries increasingly began to include
some derivations (upapatti). Bhaskara I's commentary on the Āryabhaṭīya, had the following structure:[41]
• Rule ('sūtra') in verse by Āryabhaṭa
• Commentary by Bhāskara I, consisting of:
• Elucidation of rule (derivations were still rare then, but became more common later)
• Example (uddeśaka) usually in verse.
• Setting (nyāsa/sthāpanā) of the numerical data.
• Working (karana) of the solution.
• Verification (pratyayakaraṇa, literally "to make conviction") of the answer. These became rare by the 13th
century, derivations or proofs being favored by then.[41]
Typically, for any mathematical topic, students in ancient India first memorized the sūtras, which, as explained
earlier, were "deliberately inadequate"[40] in explanatory details (in order to pithily convey the bare-bone
mathematical rules). The students then worked through the topics of the prose commentary by writing (and drawing
diagrams) on chalk- and dust-boards (i.e. boards covered with dust). The latter activity, a staple of mathematical
work, was to later prompt mathematician-astronomer, Brahmagupta (fl. 7th century CE), to characterize
astronomical computations as "dust work" (Sanskrit: dhulikarman).[]
Numerals and the decimal numeral system

It is well known that the decimal place-value system in use today was first recorded in India, then transmitted to the
Islamic world, and eventually to Europe.[42] The Syrian bishop Severus Sebokht wrote in the mid-7th century CE
about the "nine signs" of the Indians for expressing numbers.[42] However, how, when, and where the first decimal
place value system was invented is not so clear.[43]
The earliest extant script used in India was the Kharoṣṭhī script used in the Gandhara culture of the north-west. It is
thought to be of Aramaic origin and it was in use from the 4th century BCE to the 4th century CE. Almost
contemporaneously, another script, the Brāhmī script, appeared on much of the sub-continent, and would later
become the foundation of many scripts of South Asia and South-east Asia. Both scripts had numeral symbols and
numeral systems, which were initially not based on a place-value system.[2]
The earliest surviving evidence of decimal place value numerals in India and southeast Asia is from the middle of the
first millennium CE.[44] A copper plate from Gujarat, India mentions the date 595 CE, written in a decimal place
value notation, although there is some doubt as to the authenticity of the plate.[44] Decimal numerals recording the
years 683 CE have also been found in stone inscriptions in Indonesia and Cambodia, where Indian cultural influence
was substantial.[44]
There are older textual sources, although the extant manuscript copies of these texts are from much later dates.[44]
Probably the earliest such source is the work of the Buddhist philosopher Vasumitra dated likely to the 1st century
CE.[44] Discussing the counting pits of merchants, Vasumitra remarks, "When [the same] clay counting-piece is in
the place of units, it is denoted as one, when in hundreds, one hundred."[44] Although such references seem to imply
that his readers had knowledge of a decimal place value representation, the "brevity of their allusions and the
ambiguity of their dates, however, do not solidly establish the chronology of the development of this concept."[44]
A third decimal representation was employed in a verse composition technique, later labeled Bhuta-sankhya
(literally, "object numbers") used by early Sanskrit authors of technical books.[44] Since many early technical works
were composed in verse, numbers were often represented by objects in the natural or religious world that
correspondence to them; this allowed a many-to-one correspondence for each number and made verse composition
easier.[44] According to Plofker 2009, the number 4, for example, could be represented by the word "Veda" (since
there were four of these religious texts), the number 32 by the word "tooth" (since a full set consists of 32), and the
number 1 by "moon" (since there is only one moon).[44] So, Veda/tooth/moon would correspond to the decimal
numeral 1324, as the convention for numbers was to enumerate their digits from right to left.[44] The earliest
reference employing object numbers is a ca. 269 CE Sanskrit text, Yavanajātaka (literally "Greek horoscopy") of
Sphujidhvaja, a versification of an earlier (ca. 150 CE) Indian prose adaptation of a lost work of Hellenistic
astrology.[45] Such use seems to make the case that by the mid-3rd century CE, the decimal place value system was
familiar, at least to readers of astronomical and astrological texts in India.[44]
It has been hypothesized that the Indian decimal place value system was based on the symbols used on Chinese
counting boards from as early as the middle of the first millennium BCE.[44] According to Plofker 2009,
These counting boards, like the Indian counting pits, ..., had a decimal place value structure ... Indians
may well have learned of these decimal place value "rod numerals" from Chinese Buddhist pilgrims or
other travelers, or they may have developed the concept independently from their earlier
non-place-value system; no documentary evidence survives to confirm either conclusion."[44]
Bakhshali Manuscript
The oldest extant mathematical manuscript in South Asia is the Bakhshali Manuscript, a birch bark manuscript
written in "Buddhist hybrid Sanskrit"[1] in the Śāradā script, which was used in the northwestern region of the Indian
subcontinent between the 8th and 12th centuries CE.[2] The manuscript was discovered in 1881 by a farmer while
digging in a stone enclosure in the village of Bakhshali, near Peshawar (then in British India and now in Pakistan).
Of unknown authorship and now preserved in the Bodleian Library in Oxford University, the manuscript has been
variously dated—as early as the "early centuries of the Christian era"[46] and as late as between the 9th and 12th
century CE.[47] The 7th century CE is now considered a plausible date,[48] albeit with the likelihood that the
"manuscript in its present-day form constitutes a commentary or a copy of an anterior mathematical work."[49]
The surviving manuscript has seventy leaves, some of which are in fragments. Its mathematical content consists of
rules and examples, written in verse, together with prose commentaries, which include solutions to the examples.[2]
The topics treated include arithmetic (fractions, square roots, profit and loss, simple interest, the rule of three, and
regula falsi) and algebra (simultaneous linear equations and quadratic equations), and arithmetic progressions. In
addition, there is a handful of geometric problems (including problems about volumes of irregular solids). The
Bakhshali manuscript also "employs a decimal place value system with a dot for zero."[2] Many of its problems are
the so-called equalization problems that lead to systems of linear equations. One example from Fragment III-5-3v is
the following:
"One merchant has seven asava horses, a second has nine haya horses, and a third has ten camels. They
are equally well off in the value of their animals if each gives two animals, one to each of the others.
Find the price of each animal and the total value for the animals possessed by each merchant."[50]
The prose commentary accompanying the example solves the problem by converting it to three (under-determined)
equations in four unknowns and assuming that the prices are all integers.[50]
Classical Period (400 – 1200)

This period is often known as the golden age of Indian Mathematics. This period saw mathematicians such as
Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Brahmagupta, Bhaskara I, Mahavira, and Bhaskara II give broader and clearer shape to
many branches of mathematics. Their contributions would spread to Asia, the Middle East, and eventually to Europe.
Unlike Vedic mathematics, their works included both astronomical and mathematical contributions. In fact,
mathematics of that period was included in the 'astral science' (jyotiḥśāstra) and consisted of three sub-disciplines:
mathematical sciences (gaṇita or tantra), horoscope astrology (horā or jātaka) and divination (saṃhitā).[23] This
tripartite division is seen in Varāhamihira's 6th century compilation—Pancasiddhantika[51] (literally panca, "five,"
siddhānta, "conclusion of deliberation", dated 575 CE)—of five earlier works, Surya Siddhanta, Romaka Siddhanta,
Paulisa Siddhanta, Vasishtha Siddhanta and Paitamaha Siddhanta, which were adaptations of still earlier works of
Mesopotamian, Greek, Egyptian, Roman and Indian astronomy. As explained earlier, the main texts were composed
in Sanskrit verse, and were followed by prose commentaries.[23]
Fifth and sixth centuries

Surya Siddhanta
Though its authorship is unknown, the Surya Siddhanta (c. 400) contains the roots of modern trigonometry. Because
it contains many words of foreign origin, some authors consider that it was written under the influence of
Mesopotamia and Greece.[52]
This ancient text uses the following as trigonometric functions for the first time:
• Sine (Jya).
• Cosine (Kojya).
• Inverse sine (Otkram jya).
It also contains the earliest uses of:
• Tangent.
• Secant.
Later Indian mathematicians such as Aryabhata made references to this text, while later Arabic and Latin translations
were very influential in Europe and the Middle East.
Chhedi calendar
This Chhedi calendar (594) contains an early use of the modern place-value Hindu-Arabic numeral system now used
universally (see also Hindu-Arabic numerals).
Aryabhata I
Aryabhata (476–550) wrote the Aryabhatiya. He described the important fundamental principles of mathematics in
332 shlokas. The treatise contained:
• Quadratic equations
• Trigonometry
• The value of π, correct to 4 decimal places.
Aryabhata also wrote the Arya Siddhanta, which is now lost. Aryabhata's contributions include:
Trigonometry:
(See also : Aryabhata's sine table)
• Introduced the trigonometric functions.
• Defined the sine (jya) as the modern relationship between half an angle and half a chord.
• Defined the cosine (kojya).
• Defined the versine (utkrama-jya).
• Defined the inverse sine (otkram jya).
• Gave methods of calculating their approximate numerical values.
• Contains the earliest tables of sine, cosine and versine values, in 3.75° intervals from 0° to 90°, to 4 decimal
places of accuracy.
• Contains the trigonometric formula sin(n + 1)x − sin nx = sin nx − sin(n − 1)x − (1/225)sin nx.
• Spherical trigonometry.
Arithmetic:
• Continued fractions.
Algebra:
• Solutions of simultaneous quadratic equations.
• Whole number solutions of linear equations by a method equivalent to the modern method.
• General solution of the indeterminate linear equation .
Mathematical astronomy:
• Accurate calculations for astronomical constants, such as the:
• Solar eclipse.
• Lunar eclipse.
• The formula for the sum of the cubes, which was an important step in the development of integral calculus.[53]
Varahamihira
Varahamihira (505–587) produced the Pancha Siddhanta (The Five Astronomical Canons). He made important
contributions to trigonometry, including sine and cosine tables to 4 decimal places of accuracy and the following
formulas relating sine and cosine functions:
•
Seventh and eighth centuries

In the 7th century, two separate fields, arithmetic (which included
mensuration) and algebra, began to emerge in Indian mathematics.
The two fields would later be called pāṭī-gaṇita (literally
"mathematics of algorithms") and bīja-gaṇita (lit. "mathematics of
seeds," with "seeds"—like the seeds of plants—representing
unknowns with the potential to generate, in this case, the solutions
of equations).[2] Brahmagupta, in his astronomical work Brāhma
Sphuṭa Siddhānta (628 CE), included two chapters (12 and 18)
devoted to these fields. Chapter 12, containing 66 Sanskrit verses,
was divided into two sections: "basic operations" (including cube
roots, fractions, ratio and proportion, and barter) and "practical
mathematics" (including mixture, mathematical series, plane
figures, stacking bricks, sawing of timber, and piling of grain).[23]
Brahmagupta's theorem states that AF = FD.
In the latter section, he stated his famous theorem on the diagonals
of a cyclic quadrilateral:[23]
Brahmagupta's theorem: If a cyclic quadrilateral has diagonals that are perpendicular to each other, then the
perpendicular line drawn from the point of intersection of the diagonals to any side of the quadrilateral always
bisects the opposite side.
Chapter 12 also included a formula for the area of a cyclic quadrilateral (a generalization of Heron's formula), as
well as a complete description of rational triangles (i.e. triangles with rational sides and rational areas).
Brahmagupta's formula: The area, A, of a cyclic quadrilateral with sides of lengths a, b, c, d, respectively, is given
by
where s, the semiperimeter, given by

Brahmagupta's Theorem on rational triangles: A triangle with rational sides and rational area is of the
form:
for some rational numbers and .[54]

Chapter 18 contained 103 Sanskrit verses which began with rules for arithmetical operations involving zero and
negative numbers[23] and is considered the first systematic treatment of the subject. The rules (which included
and ) were all correct, with one exception: .[23] Later in the chapter, he gave the
first explicit (although still not completely general) solution of the quadratic equation:
“ To the absolute number multiplied by four times the [coefficient of the] square, add the square of the [coefficient of the] middle term; the
square root of the same, less the [coefficient of the] middle term, being divided by twice the [coefficient of the] square is the value.
(Brahmasphutasiddhanta (Colebrook translation, 1817, page 346)
[55]
”
This is equivalent to:
Also in chapter 18, Brahmagupta was able to make progress in finding (integral) solutions of Pell's equation,[55]
where is a nonsquare integer. He did this by discovering the following identity:[55]

Brahmagupta's Identity: which was a
[55]
generalization of an earlier identity of Diophantus: Brahmagupta used his identity to prove the following
lemma:[55]
Lemma (Brahmagupta): If is a solution of and, is a
solution of , then:
is a solution of
He then used this lemma to both generate infinitely many (integral) solutions of Pell's equation, given one solution,
and state the following theorem:
Theorem (Brahmagupta): If the equation has an integer solution for any one of
then Pell's equation:
also has an integer solution.[55]

Brahmagupta did not actually prove the theorem, but rather worked out examples using his method. The first
example he presented was:[55]
Example (Brahmagupta): Find integers such that:
In his commentary, Brahmagupta added, "a person solving this problem within a year is a mathematician."[55] The
solution he provided was:
Bhaskara I
Bhaskara I (c. 600–680) expanded the work of Aryabhata in his books titled Mahabhaskariya, Aryabhatiya-bhashya
and Laghu-bhaskariya. He produced:
• Solutions of indeterminate equations.

• A rational approximation of the sine function.
• A formula for calculating the sine of an acute angle without the use of a table, correct to two decimal places.
Ninth to twelfth centuries

Virasena
Virasena (9th century) was a Jain mathematician in the court of Rashtrakuta King Amoghavarsha of Manyakheta,
Karnataka. He wrote the Dhavala, a commentary on Jain mathematics, which:
• Deals with the concept of ardhaccheda, the number of times a number could be halved; effectively logarithms to
base 2, and lists various rules involving this operation.[56] [57]
• First uses logarithms to base 3 (trakacheda) and base 4 (caturthacheda).
Virasena also gave:
• The derivation of the volume of a frustum by a sort of infinite procedure.
It is thought that much of the mathematical material in the Dhavala can attributed to previous writers, especially
Kundakunda, Shamakunda, Tumbulura, Samantabhadra and Bappadeva and date who wrote between 200 and 600
AD.[57]
Mahavira
Mahavira Acharya (c. 800–870) from Karnataka, the last of the notable Jain mathematicians, lived in the 9th century
and was patronised by the Rashtrakuta king Amoghavarsha. He wrote a book titled Ganit Saar Sangraha on
numerical mathematics, and also wrote treatises about a wide range of mathematical topics. These include the
mathematics of:
• Zero
• Squares
• Cubes
• square roots, cube roots, and the series extending beyond these
• Plane geometry
• Solid geometry
• Problems relating to the casting of shadows
• Formulae derived to calculate the area of an ellipse and quadrilateral inside a circle.
Mahavira also:
• Asserted that the square root of a negative number did not exist
• Gave the sum of a series whose terms are squares of an arithmetical progression, and gave empirical rules for area
and perimeter of an ellipse.
• Solved cubic equations.
• Solved quartic equations.
• Solved some quintic equations and higher-order polynomials.
• Gave the general solutions of the higher order polynomial equations:
•
•
• Solved indeterminate quadratic equations.
• Solved indeterminate cubic equations.
• Solved indeterminate higher order equations.
Shridhara
Shridhara (c. 870–930), who lived in Bengal, wrote the books titled Nav Shatika, Tri Shatika and Pati Ganita. He
gave:
• A good rule for finding the volume of a sphere.
• The formula for solving quadratic equations.
The Pati Ganita is a work on arithmetic and mensuration. It deals with various operations, including:
• Elementary operations
• Extracting square and cube roots.
• Fractions.
• Eight rules given for operations involving zero.
• Methods of summation of different arithmetic and geometric series, which were to become standard references in
later works.
Manjula
Aryabhata's differential equations were elaborated in the 10th century by Manjula (also Munjala), who realised that
the expression[58]
could be approximately expressed as
He understood the concept of differentiation after solving the differential equation that resulted from substituting this
expression into Aryabhata's differential equation.[58]
Aryabhata II
Aryabhata II (c. 920–1000) wrote a commentary on Shridhara, and an astronomical treatise Maha-Siddhanta. The
Maha-Siddhanta has 18 chapters, and discusses:
• Numerical mathematics (Ank Ganit).
• Algebra.
• Solutions of indeterminate equations (kuttaka).
Shripati
Shripati Mishra (1019–1066) wrote the books Siddhanta Shekhara, a major work on astronomy in 19 chapters, and
Ganit Tilaka, an incomplete arithmetical treatise in 125 verses based on a work by Shridhara. He worked mainly on:
• Permutations and combinations.
• General solution of the simultaneous indeterminate linear equation.
He was also the author of Dhikotidakarana, a work of twenty verses on:
• Solar eclipse.
• Lunar eclipse.
The Dhruvamanasa is a work of 105 verses on:
• Calculating planetary longitudes
• eclipses.
• planetary transits.
Nemichandra Siddhanta Chakravati
Nemichandra Siddhanta Chakravati (c. 1100) authored a mathematical treatise titled Gome-mat Saar.
Bhaskara II
Bhāskara II (1114–1185) was a mathematician-astronomer who wrote a number of important treatises, namely the
Siddhanta Shiromani, Lilavati, Bijaganita, Gola Addhaya, Griha Ganitam and Karan Kautoohal. A number of his
contributions were later transmitted to the Middle East and Europe. His contributions include:
Arithmetic:
• Interest computation
• Arithmetical and geometrical progressions
• Plane geometry
• Solid geometry
• The shadow of the gnomon
• Solutions of combinations
• Gave a proof for division by zero being infinity.
Algebra:
• The recognition of a positive number having two square roots.
• Surds.
• Operations with products of several unknowns.
• The solutions of:
• Quadratic equations.
• Cubic equations.
• Quartic equations.
• Equations with more than one unknown.
• Quadratic equations with more than one unknown.
• The general form of Pell's equation using the chakravala method.
• The general indeterminate quadratic equation using the chakravala method.
• Indeterminate cubic equations.
• Indeterminate quartic equations.
• Indeterminate higher-order polynomial equations.
Geometry:
• Gave a proof of the Pythagorean theorem.
Calculus:
• Conceived of differential calculus.
• Discovered the derivative.
• Discovered the differential coefficient.
• Developed differentiation.
• Stated Rolle's theorem, a special case of the mean value theorem (one of the most important theorems of calculus
and analysis).
• Derived the differential of the sine function.
• Computed π, correct to five decimal places.
• Calculated the length of the Earth's revolution around the Sun to 9 decimal places.
Trigonometry:
• Developments of spherical trigonometry
• The trigonometric formulas:
•
•
Kerala mathematics (1300–1600)

The Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics was founded by Madhava of Sangamagrama in Kerala, South
India and included among its members: Parameshvara, Neelakanta Somayaji, Jyeshtadeva, Achyuta Pisharati,
Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri and Achyuta Panikkar. It flourished between the 14th and 16th centuries and the
original discoveries of the school seems to have ended with Narayana Bhattathiri (1559–1632). In attempting to
solve astronomical problems, the Kerala school astronomers independently created a number of important
mathematics concepts. The most important results, series expansion for trigonometric functions, were given in
Sanskrit verse in a book by Neelakanta called Tantrasangraha and a commentary on this work called
Tantrasangraha-vakhya of unknown authorship. The theorems were stated without proof, but proofs for the series
for sine, cosine, and inverse tangent were provided a century later in the work Yuktibhāṣā (c.1500–c.1610), written
in Malayalam, by Jyesthadeva, and also in a commentary on Tantrasangraha.[59]
Their discovery of these three important series expansions of calculus—several centuries before calculus was
developed in Europe by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz—was a landmark achievement in mathematics.
However, the Kerala School cannot be said to have invented calculus,[60] because, while they were able to develop
Taylor series expansions for the important trigonometric functions, they developed neither a comprehensive theory
of differentiation or integration, nor the fundamental theorem of calculus.[61] The results obtained by the Kerala
school include:
[62]
• The (infinite) geometric series: This formula was
already known, for example, in the work of the 10th century Arab mathematician Alhazen (the Latinized form of
the name Ibn Al-Haytham (965–1039)).[63]
• A semi-rigorous proof (see "induction" remark below) of the result: for large n.
This result was also known to Alhazen.[59]

• Intuitive use of mathematical induction, however, the inductive hypothesis was not formulated or employed in
proofs.[59]
• Applications of ideas from (what was to become) differential and integral calculus to obtain (Taylor–Maclaurin)
[60]
infinite series for , , and The Tantrasangraha-vakhya gives the series in verse,
which when translated to mathematical notation, can be written as:[59]
where, for r = 1, the series reduces to the standard power series for these trigonometric functions, for example:
and
•
• Use of rectification (computation of length) of the arc of a circle to give a proof of these results. (The later method
of Leibniz, using quadrature (i.e. computation of area under the arc of the circle, was not used.)[59]
• Use of series expansion of to obtain an infinite series expression (later known as Gregory series) for
:[59]
• A rational approximation of error for the finite sum of their series of interest. For example, the error,
, (for n odd, and i = 1, 2, 3) for the series:
• Manipulation of error term to derive a faster converging series for :[59]
• Using the improved series to derive a rational expression,[59] 104348/33215 for π correct up to nine decimal
places, i.e. 3.141592653.
• Use of an intuitive notion of limit to compute these results.[59]
• A semi-rigorous (see remark on limits above) method of differentiation of some trigonometric functions.[61]
However, they did not formulate the notion of a function, or have knowledge of the exponential or logarithmic
functions.
The works of the Kerala school were first written up for the Western world by Englishman C.M. Whish in 1835.
According to Whish, the Kerala mathematicians had "laid the foundation for a complete system of fluxions" and
these works abounded "with fluxional forms and series to be found in no work of foreign countries."[64]
However, Whish's results were almost completely neglected, until over a century later, when the discoveries of the
Kerala school were investigated again by C. Rajagopal and his associates. Their work includes commentaries on the
proofs of the arctan series in Yuktibhāṣā given in two papers,[65] [66] a commentary on the Yuktibhāṣā's proof of the
sine and cosine series[67] and two papers that provide the Sanskrit verses of the Tantrasangrahavakhya for the series
for arctan, sin, and cosine (with English translation and commentary).[68] [69]
The Kerala mathematicians included Narayana Pandit (c. 1340–1400), who composed two works, an arithmetical
treatise, Ganita Kaumudi, and an algebraic treatise, Bijganita Vatamsa. Narayana is also thought to be the author of
an elaborate commentary of Bhaskara II's Lilavati, titled Karmapradipika (or Karma-Paddhati). Madhava of
Sangamagramma (c. 1340–1425) was the founder of the Kerala School. Although it is possible that he wrote Karana
Paddhati a work written sometime between 1375 and 1475, all we really know of his work comes from works of
later scholars.
Parameshvara (c. 1370–1460) wrote commentaries on the works of Bhaskara I, Aryabhata and Bhaskara II. His
Lilavati Bhasya, a commentary on Bhaskara II's Lilavati, contains one of his important discoveries: a version of the
mean value theorem. Nilakantha Somayaji (1444–1544) composed the Tantra Samgraha (which 'spawned' a later
anonymous commentary Tantrasangraha-vyakhya and a further commentary by the name Yuktidipaika, written in
1501). He elaborated and extended the contributions of Madhava.
Citrabhanu (c. 1530) was a 16th century mathematician from Kerala who gave integer solutions to 21 types of
systems of two simultaneous algebraic equations in two unknowns. These types are all the possible pairs of
equations of the following seven forms:
For each case, Citrabhanu gave an explanation and justification of his rule as well as an example. Some of his
explanations are algebraic, while others are geometric. Jyesthadeva (c. 1500–1575) was another member of the
Kerala School. His key work was the Yukti-bhāṣā (written in Malayalam, a regional language of Kerala).
Jyesthadeva presented proofs of most mathematical theorems and infinite series earlier discovered by Madhava and
other Kerala School mathematicians.
Charges of Eurocentrism
It has been suggested that Indian contributions to mathematics have not been given due acknowledgement in modern
history and that many discoveries and inventions by Indian mathematicians were known to their Western
counterparts, copied by them, and presented as their own original work; and further, that this mass plagiarism has
gone unrecognized due to Eurocentrism. According to G. G. Joseph:
[Their work] takes on board some of the objections raised about the classical Eurocentric trajectory. The
awareness [of Indian and Arabic mathematics] is all too likely to be tempered with dismissive rejections
of their importance compared to Greek mathematics. The contributions from other civilizations - most
notably China and India, are perceived either as borrowers from Greek sources or having made only
minor contributions to mainstream mathematical development. An openness to more recent research
findings, especially in the case of Indian and Chinese mathematics, is sadly missing"[70]
The historian of mathematics, Florian Cajori, suggested that he and others "suspect that Diophantus got his first
glimpse of algebraic knowledge from India."[71] However, he also wrote that "it is certain that portions of Hindu
mathematics are of Greek origin".[72]
More recently, as discussed in the above section, the infinite series of calculus for trigonometric functions
(rediscovered by Gregory, Taylor, and Maclaurin in the late 17th century) were described (with proofs) in India, by
mathematicians of the Kerala school, remarkably some two centuries earlier. Some scholars have recently suggested
that knowledge of these results might have been transmitted to Europe through the trade route from Kerala by traders
and Jesuit missionaries.[73] Kerala was in continuous contact with China and Arabia, and, from around 1500, with
Europe. The existence of communication routes and a suitable chronology certainly make such a transmission a
possibility. However, there is no direct evidence by way of relevant manuscripts that such a transmission actually
took place.[73] According to David Bressoud, "there is no evidence that the Indian work of series was known beyond
India, or even outside of Kerala, until the nineteenth century."[60] [74]
Both Arab and Indian scholars made discoveries before the 17th century that are now considered a part of
calculus.[61] However, they were not able to, as Newton and Leibniz were, to "combine many differing ideas under
the two unifying themes of the derivative and the integral, show the connection between the two, and turn calculus
into the great problem-solving tool we have today."[61] The intellectual careers of both Newton and Leibniz are
well-documented and there is no indication of their work not being their own;[61] however, it is not known with
certainty whether the immediate predecessors of Newton and Leibniz, "including, in particular, Fermat and
Roberval, learned of some of the ideas of the Islamic and Indian mathematicians through sources we are not now
aware."[61] This is an active area of current research, especially in the manuscripts collections of Spain and Maghreb,
research that is now being pursued, among other places, at the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique in
Paris.[61]
Notes
[1] Encyclopaedia Britannica (Kim Plofker) 2007, p. 1
[2] (Hayashi 2005, pp. 360–361)
[3] Ifrah 2000, p. 346: "The measure of the genius of Indian civilisation, to which we owe our modern (number) system, is all the greater in that it
was the only one in all history to have achieved this triumph. Some cultures succeeded, earlier than the Indian, in discovering one or at best
two of the characteristics of this intellectual feat. But none of them managed to bring together into a complete and coherent system the
necessary and sufficient conditions for a number-system with the same potential as our own."
[4] Plofker 2009, pp. 44–47
[5] Bourbaki 1998, p. 46: "...our decimal system, which (by the agency of the Arabs) is derived from Hindu mathematics, where its use is attested
already from the first centuries of our era. It must be noted moreover that the conception of zero as a number and not as a simple symbol of
separation) and its introduction into calculations, also count amongst the original contribution of the Hindus."
[6] Bourbaki 1998, p. 49: Modern arithmetic was known during medieval times as "Modus Indorum" or method of the Indians. Leonardo of Pisa
wrote that compared to method of the Indians all other methods is a mistake. This method of the Indians is none other than our very simple
arithmetic of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Rules for these four simple procedures was first written down by Brahmagupta
during 7th century AD. "On this point, the Hindus are already conscious of the interpretation that negative numbers must have in certain cases
(a debt in a commercial problem, for instance). In the following centuries, as there is a diffusion into the West (by intermediary of the Arabs)
of the methods and results of Greek and Hindu mathematics, one becomes more used to the handling of these numbers, and one begins to have
other "representation" for them which are geometric or dynamic."
[7] "algebra" 2007. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (http:/ / www. britannica. com/ ebc/ article-231064). Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16
May 2007. Quote: "A full-fledged decimal, positional system certainly existed in India by the 9th century (AD), yet many of its central ideas
had been transmitted well before that time to China and the Islamic world. Indian arithmetic, moreover, developed consistent and correct rules
for operating with positive and negative numbers and for treating zero like any other number, even in problematic contexts such as division.
Several hundred years passed before European mathematicians fully integrated such ideas into the developing discipline of algebra."
[8] (Pingree 2003, p. 45) Quote: "Geometry, and its branch trigonometry, was the mathematics Indian astronomers used most frequently. Greek
mathematicians used the full chord and never imagined the half chord that we use today. Half chord was first used by Aryabhata which made
trigonometry much more simple. In fact, the Indian astronomers in the third or fourth century, using a pre-Ptolemaic Greek table of chords,
produced tables of sines and versines, from which it was trivial to derive cosines. This new system of trigonometry, produced in India, was
transmitted to the Arabs in the late eighth century and by them, in an expanded form, to the Latin West and the Byzantine East in the twelfth
century."
[9] (Bourbaki 1998, p. 126): "As for trigonometry, it is disdained by geometers and abandoned to surveyors and astronomers; it is these latter
(Aristarchus, Hipparchus, Ptolemy) who establish the fundamental relations between the sides and angles of a right angled triangle (plane or
spherical) and draw up the first tables (they consist of tables giving the chord of the arc cut out by an angle on a circle of radius r, in
other words the number ; the introduction of the sine, more easily handled, is due to Hindu mathematicians of the Middle
Ages)."
[10] Filliozat 2004, pp. 140–143
[11] Hayashi 1995
[12] Stillwell 2004, p. 173
[13] Bressoud 2002, p. 12 Quote: "There is no evidence that the Indian work on series was known beyond India, or even outside Kerala, until the
nineteenth century. Gold and Pingree assert [4] that by the time these series were rediscovered in Europe, they had, for all practical purposes,
been lost to India. The expansions of the sine, cosine, and arc tangent had been passed down through several generations of disciples, but they
remained sterile observations for which no one could find much use."
[14] Plofker 2001, p. 293 Quote: "It is not unusual to encounter in discussions of Indian mathematics such assertions as that “the concept of
differentiation was understood [in India] from the time of Manjula (... in the 10th century)” [Joseph 1991, 300], or that “we may consider
Madhava to have been the founder of mathematical analysis” (Joseph 1991, 293), or that Bhaskara II may claim to be “the precursor of
Newton and Leibniz in the discovery of the principle of the differential calculus” (Bag 1979, 294). ... The points of resemblance, particularly
between early European calculus and the Keralese work on power series, have even inspired suggestions of a possible transmission of
mathematical ideas from the Malabar coast in or after the 15th century to the Latin scholarly world (e.g., in (Bag 1979, 285)). ... It should be
borne in mind, however, that such an emphasis on the similarity of Sanskrit (or Malayalam) and Latin mathematics risks diminishing our
ability fully to see and comprehend the former. To speak of the Indian “discovery of the principle of the differential calculus” somewhat
obscures the fact that Indian techniques for expressing changes in the Sine by means of the Cosine or vice versa, as in the examples we have
seen, remained within that specific trigonometric context. The differential “principle” was not generalized to arbitrary functions—in fact, the
explicit notion of an arbitrary function, not to mention that of its derivative or an algorithm for taking the derivative, is irrelevant here"
[15] Pingree 1992, p. 562 Quote:"One example I can give you relates to the Indian Mādhava's demonstration, in about 1400 A.D., of the infinite
power series of trigonometrical functions using geometrical and algebraic arguments. When this was first described in English by Charles
Matthew Whish, in the 1830s, it was heralded as the Indians' discovery of the calculus. This claim and Mādhava's achievements were ignored
by Western historians, presumably at first because they could not admit that an Indian discovered the calculus, but later because no one read
anymore the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, in which Whish's article was published. The matter resurfaced in the 1950s, and now
we have the Sanskrit texts properly edited, and we understand the clever way that Mādhava derived the series without the calculus; but many
historians still find it impossible to conceive of the problem and its solution in terms of anything other than the calculus and proclaim that the
calculus is what Mādhava found. In this case the elegance and brilliance of Mādhava's mathematics are being distorted as they are buried
under the current mathematical solution to a problem to which he discovered an alternate and powerful solution."
[16] Katz 1995, pp. 173–174 Quote:"How close did Islamic and Indian scholars come to inventing the calculus? Islamic scholars nearly
developed a general formula for finding integrals of polynomials by A.D. 1000—and evidently could find such a formula for any polynomial
in which they were interested. But, it appears, they were not interested in any polynomial of degree higher than four, at least in any of the
material that has come down to us. Indian scholars, on the other hand, were by 1600 able to use ibn al-Haytham's sum formula for arbitrary
integral powers in calculating power series for the functions in which they were interested. By the same time, they also knew how to calculate
the differentials of these functions. So some of the basic ideas of calculus were known in Egypt and India many centuries before Newton. It
does not appear, however, that either Islamic or Indian mathematicians saw the necessity of connecting some of the disparate ideas that we
include under the name calculus. They were apparently only interested in specific cases in which these ideas were needed. ... There is no
danger, therefore, that we will have to rewrite the history texts to remove the statement that Newton and Leibniz invented calculus. Thy were
certainly the ones who were able to combine many differing ideas under the two unifying themes of the derivative and the integral, show the
connection between them, and turn the calculus into the great problem-solving tool we have today."
[17] http:/ / www-groups. dcs. st-and. ac. uk/ ~history/ HistTopics/ Jaina_mathematics. html
[18] Sergent, Bernard (1997) (in French), Genèse de l'Inde, Paris: Payot, p. 113, ISBN 2228891169
[19] Coppa, A.; et al. (2006-04-06), "Early Neolithic tradition of dentistry: Flint tips were surprisingly effective for drilling tooth enamel in a
prehistoric population" (http:/ / www. nature. com/ nature/ journal/ v440/ n7085/ pdf/ 440755a. pdf), Nature 440: 755, doi:10.1038/440755a,
PMID 16598247, .
[20] Bisht, R. S. (1982), "Excavations at Banawali: 1974–77", in Possehl, Gregory L. (ed.), Harappan Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective,
New Delhi: Oxford and IBH Publishing Co., pp. 113–124
[21] A. Seidenberg, 1978. The origin of mathematics. Archive for the history of Exact Sciences, vol 18.
[22] (Staal 1999)
[23] (Hayashi 2003, p. 118)
[24] Pythagorean triples are triples of integers with the property: . Thus, ,
, etc.
[25] (Cooke 2005, p. 198): "The arithmetic content of the Śulva Sūtras consists of rules for finding Pythagorean triples such as (3, 4, 5), (5, 12,
13), (8, 15, 17), and (12, 35, 37). It is not certain what practical use these arithmetic rules had. The best conjecture is that they were part of
religious ritual. A Hindu home was required to have three fires burning at three different altars. The three altars were to be of different shapes,
but all three were to have the same area. These conditions led to certain "Diophantine" problems, a particular case of which is the generation
of Pythagorean triples, so as to make one square integer equal to the sum of two others."
[26] (Cooke 2005, pp. 199–200): "The requirement of three altars of equal areas but different shapes would explain the interest in transformation
of areas. Among other transformation of area problems the Hindus considered in particular the problem of squaring the circle. The Bodhayana
Sutra states the converse problem of constructing a circle equal to a given square. The following approximate construction is given as the
solution.... this result is only approximate. The authors, however, made no distinction between the two results. In terms that we can appreciate,
this construction gives a value for π of 18 (3 − 2√2), which is about 3.088."
[27] (Joseph 2000, p. 229)
[28] (Cooke 2005, p. 200)
[29] The value of this approximation, 577/408, is the seventh in a sequence of increasingly accurate approximations 3/2, 7/5, 17/12, ... to √2, the
numerators and denominators of which were known as "side and diameter numbers" to the ancient Greeks, and in modern mathematics are
called the Pell numbers. If x/y is one term in this sequence of approximations, the next is (x + 2y)/(x + y). These approximations may also be
derived by truncating the continued fraction representation of √2.
[30] Neugebauer, O. and A. Sachs. 1945. Mathematical Cuneiform Texts, New Haven, CT, Yale University Press. p. 45.
[31] Mathematics Department, University of British Columbia, The Babylonian tabled Plimpton 322 (http:/ / www. math. ubc. ca/ ~cass/ courses/
m446-03/ pl322/ pl322. html).
[32] Three positive integers form a primitive Pythagorean triple if and if the highest common factor of
is 1. In the particular Plimpton322 example, this means that and that the three numbers do not have
any common factors. However some scholars have disputed the Pythagorean interpretation of this tablet; see Plimpton 322 for details.
[33] (Dani 2003)
[34] (Fowler 1996, p. 11)
[35] (Singh 1936, pp. 623–624)
[36] (Pingree 1988, p. 637)
[37] (Staal 1986)
[38] (Filliozat 2004, pp. 140–141)
[39] (Yano 2006, p. 146)
[40] (Pingree 1988, p. 638)
[41] (Hayashi 2003, pp. 122–123)
[42] Plofker 2007, p. 395
[43] Plofker 2007, p. 395, Plofker 2009, pp. 47–48
[44] Plofker 2009, p. 45

[45] (Pingree 1978, p. 494)
[46] (Datta 1931, p. 566)
[47] (Ifrah 2000, p. 464) Quote: "To give the second or fourth century CE as the date of this document would be an evident contradiction; it
would mean that a northern derivative of Gupta writing had been developed two or three centuries before the Gupta writing itself appeared.
Gupta only began to evolve into Shāradā style around the ninth century CE. In other words, the Bak(h)shali manuscript cannot have been
written earlier than the ninth century CE. However, in the light of certain characteristic indications, it could not have been written any later
than the twelfth century CE."
[48] (Hayashi 2005, p. 371) Quote:"The dates so far proposed for the Bakhshali work vary from the third to the twelfth centuries AD, but a
recently made comparative study has shown many similarities, particularly in the style of exposition and terminology, between Bakhshalī
work and Bhāskara I's commentary on the Āryabhatīya. This seems to indicate that both works belong to nearly the same period, although this
does not deny the possibility that some of the rules and examples in the Bakhshālī work date from anterior periods."
[49] (Ifrah 2000, p. 464)
[50] Anton, Howard and Chris Rorres. 2005. Elementary Linear Algebra with Applications. 9th edition. New York: John Wiley and Sons. 864
pages. ISBN 0-471-66959-8.
[51] (Neugebauer & Pingree (eds.) 1970)
[52] Cooke, Roger (1997), "The Mathematics of the Hindus", The History of Mathematics: A Brief Course, Wiley-Interscience, p. 197,
ISBN 0471180823, "The word Siddhanta means that which is proved or established. The Sulva Sutras are of Hindu origin, but the Siddhantas
contain so many words of foreign origin that they undoubtedly have roots in Mesopotamia and Greece."
[53] Katz Victor J. (1995). "Ideas of Calculus in Islam and India". Mathematics Magazine 68 (3): 163–174.
[54] (Stillwell 2004, p. 77)
[55] (Stillwell 2004, p. 87)
[56] Gupta, R. C. (2000), "History of Mathematics in India" (http:/ / books. google. co. uk/ books?id=-xzljvnQ1vAC& pg=PA329&
lpg=PA329& dq=Virasena+ logarithm& source=bl& ots=BeVpLXxdRS& sig=_h6VUF3QzNxCocVgpilvefyvxlo& hl=en&
ei=W0xUTLyPD4n-4AatvaGnBQ& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=2& ved=0CBgQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage& q=Virasena
logarithm& f=false), Students' Britannica India: Select essays, Popular Prakashan, p. 329,
[57] Singh, A. N., Lucknow University, http:/ / www. jainworld. com/ JWHindi/ Books/ shatkhandagama-4/ 02. htm
[58] Joseph (2000), p. 298–300.
[59] (Roy 1990)
[60] (Bressoud 2002)
[61] (Katz 1995)
[62] Singh, A. N. Singh (1936). "On the Use of Series in Hindu Mathematics". Osiris 1: 606–628.
[63] Edwards, C. H., Jr. 1979. The Historical Development of the Calculus. New York: Springer-Verlag.
[64] (Whish 1835)
[65] Rajagopal C., Rangachari M. S. (1949). "A Neglected Chapter of Hindu Mathematics". Scripta Mathematica 15: 201–209.
[66] Rajagopal C., Rangachari M. S. (1951). "On the Hindu proof of Gregory's series". Ibid. 17: 65–74.
[67] Rajagopal C., Venkataraman A. (1949). "The sine and cosine power series in Hindu mathematics". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of
Bengal (Science) 15: 1–13.
[68] Rajagopal C., Rangachari M. S. (1977). "On an untapped source of medieval Keralese mathematics". Archive for the History of Exact
Sciences 18: 89–102.
[69] Rajagopal C., Rangachari M. S. (1986). "On Medieval Kerala Mathematics". Archive for the History of Exact Sciences 35: 91–99.
[70] Joseph, G. G. 1997. "Foundations of Eurocentrism in Mathematics." In Ethnomathematics: Challenging Eurocentrism in Mathematics
Education (Eds. Powell, A. B. et al.). SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-3352-8. p.67-68.
[71] Cajori, Florian (1893), "The Hindoos", A History of Mathematics P 86, Macmillan & Co., ""In algebra, there was probably a mutual giving
and receiving [between Greece and India]. We suspect that Diophantus got his first glimpse of algebraic knowledge from India""
[72] Florian Cajori (2010). " A History of Elementary Mathematics - With Hints on Methods of Teaching (http:/ / books. google. com/
books?id=gZ2Us3F7dSwC& pg=PA94& dq& hl=en#v=onepage& q=& f=false)". p.94. ISBN 1446022218
[73] Almeida, D. F.; John, J. K.; Zadorozhnyy, A. (2001). "Keralese Mathematics: Its Possible Transmission to Europe and the Consequential
Educational Implications". Journal of Natural Geometry 20: 77–104.
[74] Gold D., Pingree D. (1991). "A hitherto unknown Sanskrit work concerning Madhava's derivation of the power series for sine and cosine".
Historia Scientiarum 42: 49–65.
86. ^ Bourbaki, Nicolas (1998). Elements of the History of Mathematics. Berlin, Heidelberg, and New York:
Springer-Verlag. 46. ISBN 3-540-64767-8.
87. ^ Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (2007), entry algebra
Source books in Sanskrit

• Keller, Agathe (2006), Expounding the Mathematical Seed. Vol. 1: The Translation: A Translation of Bhaskara I
ISBN 3764372915.
• Keller, Agathe (2006), Expounding the Mathematical Seed. Vol. 2: The Supplements: A Translation of Bhaskara I
ISBN 3764372923.
• Neugebauer, Otto; Pingree (eds.), David (1970), The Pañcasiddhāntikā of Varāhamihira, New edition with
translation and commentary, (2 Vols.), Copenhagen.
• Pingree, David (ed) (1978), The Yavanajātaka of Sphujidhvaja, edited, translated and commented by D. Pingree,
Cambridge, MA: Harvard Oriental Series 48 (2 vols.).
• Sarma, K. V. (ed) (1976), Āryabhaṭīya of Āryabhaṭa with the commentary of Sūryadeva Yajvan, critically edited
with Introduction and Appendices, New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy.
• Sen, S. N.; Bag (eds.), A. K. (1983), The Śulbasūtras of Baudhāyana, Āpastamba, Kātyāyana and Mānava, with
Text, English Translation and Commentary, New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy.
• Shukla, K. S. (ed) (1976), Āryabhaṭīya of Āryabhaṭa with the commentary of Bhāskara I and Someśvara,
critically edited with Introduction, English Translation, Notes, Comments and Indexes, New Delhi: Indian
National Science Academy.
• Shukla, K. S. (ed) (1988), Āryabhaṭīya of Āryabhaṭa, critically edited with Introduction, English Translation,
Notes, Comments and Indexes, in collaboration with K.V. Sarma, New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy.
References
• Bourbaki, Nicolas (1998), Elements of the History of Mathematics (http://www.amazon.com/
Elements-History-Mathematics-Nicolas-Bourbaki/dp/3540647678/), Berlin, Heidelberg, and New York:
Springer-Verlag, 301 pages, ISBN 3540647678.
• Boyer, C. B.; Merzback (fwd. by Isaac Asimov), U. C. (1991), History of Mathematics (http://www.amazon.
com/dp/0471543977), New York: John Wiley and Sons, 736 pages, ISBN 0471543977.
• Bressoud, David (2002), "Was Calculus Invented in India?" (http://links.jstor.org/
sici?sici=0746-8342(200201)33:1<2:WCIII>2.0.CO;2-5), The College Mathematics Journal (Math. Assoc.
Amer.) 33 (1): 2–13.
• Bronkhorst, Johannes (2001), "Panini and Euclid: Reflections on Indian Geometry", Journal of Indian
Philosophy, (Springer Netherlands) 29 (1-2): 43–80, doi:10.1023/A:1017506118885.
• Burnett, Charles (2006), "The Semantics of Indian Numerals in Arabic, Greek and Latin", Journal of Indian
Philosophy, (Springer-Netherlands) 34 (1-2): 15–30, doi:10.1007/s10781-005-8153-z.
• Burton, David M. (1997), The History of Mathematics: An Introduction, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.,
pp. 193–220.
• Cooke, Roger (2005), The History of Mathematics: A Brief Course (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0471444596/
), New York: Wiley-Interscience, 632 pages, ISBN 0471444596.
• Dani, S. G. (July 25, 2003), "Pythogorean Triples in the Sulvasutras" (http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/jul252003/
219.pdf), Current Science 85 (2): 219–224.
• Datta, Bibhutibhusan (Dec., 1931), "Early Literary Evidence of the Use of the Zero in India" (http://links.jstor.
org/sici?sici=0002-9890(193112)38:10<566:ELEOTU>2.0.CO;2-O), The American Mathematical Monthly 38
(10): 566–572, doi:10.2307/2301384.
• Datta, Bibhutibhusan; Singh, Avadesh Narayan (1962), History of Hindu Mathematics: A Source Book, Bombay:
Asia Publishing House.
• De Young, Gregg (1995), "Euclidean Geometry in the Mathematical Tradition of Islamic India", Historia
Mathematica 22: 138–153, doi:10.1006/hmat.1995.1014.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica (Kim Plofker) (2007), "mathematics, South Asian" (http://www.britannica.com/eb/
article-9389286), Encyclopædia Britannica Online: 1–12, retrieved May 18, 2007.
• Filliozat, Pierre-Sylvain (2004), " Ancient Sanskrit Mathematics: An Oral Tradition and a Written Literature
(http://www.springerlink.com/content/x0000788497q4858/)", in Chemla, Karine; Cohen, Robert S.; Renn,
Jürgen et al., History of Science, History of Text (Boston Series in the Philosophy of Science), Dordrecht: Springer
Netherlands, 254 pages, pp. 137-157, pp. 360–375, ISBN 9781402023200.
• Fowler, David (1996), "Binomial Coefficient Function" (http://links.jstor.org/
sici?sici=0002-9890(199601)103:1<1:TBCF>2.0.CO;2-1), The American Mathematical Monthly 103 (1): 1–17,
doi:10.2307/2975209.
• Hayashi, Takao (1995), The Bakhshali Manuscript, An ancient Indian mathematical treatise, Groningen: Egbert
Forsten, 596 pages, ISBN 906980087X.
• Hayashi, Takao (1997), "Aryabhata's Rule and Table of Sine-Differences", Historia Mathematica 24 (4):
396–406, doi:10.1006/hmat.1997.2160.
• Hayashi, Takao (2003), "Indian Mathematics", in Grattan-Guinness, Ivor, Companion Encyclopedia of the
History and Philosophy of the Mathematical Sciences, 1, pp. 118-130, Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins
University Press, 976 pages, ISBN 0801873967.
• Hayashi, Takao (2005), "Indian Mathematics", in Flood, Gavin, The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Oxford:
Basil Blackwell, 616 pages, pp. 360-375, pp. 360–375, ISBN 9781405132510.
• Henderson, David W. (2000), " Square roots in the Sulba Sutras (http://www.math.cornell.edu/~dwh/papers/
sulba/sulba.html)", in Gorini, Catherine A., Geometry at Work: Papers in Applied Geometry, 53, pp. 39-45,
Washington DC: Mathematical Association of America Notes, 236 pages, pp. 39–45, ISBN 0883851644.
• Ifrah, Georges (2000), A Universal History of Numbers: From Prehistory to Computers (http://www.amazon.
com/Universal-History-Numbers-Prehistory-Invention/dp/0471393401/), New York: Wiley, 658 pages,
ISBN 0471393401.
• Joseph, G. G. (2000), The Crest of the Peacock: The Non-European Roots of Mathematics (http://www.amazon.
com/Crest-Peacock-George-Gheverghese-Joseph/dp/0691006598/), Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
416 pages, ISBN 0691006598.
• Katz, Victor J. (1995), "Ideas of Calculus in Islam and India" (http://links.jstor.org/
sici?sici=0025-570X(199506)68:3<163:IOCIIA>2.0.CO;2-2), Mathematics Magazine (Math. Assoc. Amer.) 68
(3): 163–174.
• Katz, Victor J., ed. (2007), The Mathematics of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, and Islam: A Sourcebook,
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 685 pages, pp 385-514, ISBN 0691114854.
• Keller, Agathe (2005), "Making diagrams speak, in Bhāskara I's commentary on the Aryabhaṭīya", Historia
Mathematica 32 (3): 275–302, doi:10.1016/j.hm.2004.09.001.
• Kichenassamy, Satynad (2006), "Baudhāyana's rule for the quadrature of the circle", Historia Mathematica 33
(2): 149–183, doi:10.1016/j.hm.2005.05.001.
• Pingree, David (1971), "On the Greek Origin of the Indian Planetary Model Employing a Double Epicycle",
Journal of Historical Astronomy 2 (1): 80–85.
• Pingree, David (1973), "The Mesopotamian Origin of Early Indian Mathematical Astronomy", Journal of
Historical Astronomy 4 (1): 1–12.
• Pingree, David; Staal, Frits (1988), "Reviewed Work(s): The Fidelity of Oral Tradition and the Origins of Science
by Frits Staal" (http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-0279(198810/12)108:4<637:TFOOTA>2.0.CO;2-V),
Journal of the American Oriental Society 108 (4): 637–638, doi:10.2307/603154.
• Pingree, David (1992), "Hellenophilia versus the History of Science" (http://www.jstor.org/stable/
234257?origin=JSTOR-pdf), Isis 83 (4): 554–563, doi:10.1086/356288
• Pingree, David (2003), "The logic of non-Western science: mathematical discoveries in medieval India" (http://
www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5007155010), Daedalus 132 (4): 45–54,
doi:10.1162/001152603771338779.
• Plofker, Kim (1996), "An Example of the Secant Method of Iterative Approximation in a Fifteenth-Century
Sanskrit Text", Historia Mathematica 23 (3): 246–256, doi:10.1006/hmat.1996.0026.
• Plofker, Kim (2001), "The "Error" in the Indian "Taylor Series Approximation" to the Sine", Historia
Mathematica 28 (4): 283–295, doi:10.1006/hmat.2001.2331.
• Plofker, K. (2007), "Mathematics of India", in Katz, Victor J., The Mathematics of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China,
India, and Islam: A Sourcebook, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 685 pages, pp 385-514, pp. 385–514,
ISBN 0691114854.
• Plofker, Kim (2009), Mathematics in India: 500 BCE–1800 CE, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Pp.
384., ISBN 0691120676.
• Price, John F. (2000), " Applied geometry of the Sulba Sutras (http://www.ithaca.edu/osman/crs/sp07/265/
cal/lec/week11/SulbaSutras.pdf)", in Gorini, Catherine A., Geometry at Work: Papers in Applied Geometry, 53,
pp. 46-58, Washington DC: Mathematical Association of America Notes, 236 pages, pp. 46–58,
ISBN 0883851644.
• Roy, Ranjan (1990), "Discovery of the Series Formula for by Leibniz, Gregory, and Nilakantha" (http://links.
jstor.org/sici?sici=0025-570X(199012)63:5<291:TDOTSF>2.0.CO;2-C), Mathematics Magazine (Math. Assoc.
Amer.) 63 (5): 291–306.
• Singh, A. N. (1936), "On the Use of Series in Hindu Mathematics" (http://links.jstor.org/
sici?sici=0369-7827(193601)1:1<606:OTUOSI>2.0.CO;2-H), Osiris 1 (1): 606–628, doi:10.1086/368443
• Staal, Frits (1986), The Fidelity of Oral Tradition and the Origins of Science, Mededelingen der Koninklijke
Nederlandse Akademie von Wetenschappen, Afd. Letterkunde, NS 49, 8. Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing
Company, 40 pages.
• Staal, Frits (1995), "The Sanskrit of science", Journal of Indian Philosophy, (Springer Netherlands) 23 (1):
73–127, doi:10.1007/BF01062067.
• Staal, Frits (1999), "Greek and Vedic Geometry", Journal of Indian Philosophy, 27 (1-2): 105–127,
doi:10.1023/A:1004364417713.
• Staal, Frits (2001), "Squares and oblongs in the Veda", Journal of Indian Philosophy, (Springer Netherlands) 29
(1-2): 256–272, doi:10.1023/A:1017527129520.
• Staal, Frits (2006), "Artificial Languages Across Sciences and Civilizations", Journal of Indian Philosophy,
(Springer Netherlands) 34 (1): 89–141, doi:10.1007/s10781-005-8189-0.
• Stillwell, John (2004), Berlin and New York: Mathematics and its History (http://www.amazon.com/
Mathematics-its-History-John-Stillwell/dp/0387953361/) (2 ed.), Springer, 568 pages, ISBN 0387953361.
• Thibaut, George (1984, orig. 1875), Mathematics in the Making in Ancient India: reprints of 'On the Sulvasutras'
and 'Baudhyayana Sulva-sutra', Calcutta and Delhi: K. P. Bagchi and Company (orig. Journal of Asiatic Society
of Bengal), 133 pages.
• van der Waerden, B. L. (1983), Geometry and Algebra in Ancient Civilizations, Berlin and New York: Springer,
223 pages, ISBN 0387121595
• van der Waerden, B. L. (1988), "On the Romaka-Siddhānta", Archive for History of Exact Sciences 38 (1): 1–11,
doi:10.1007/BF00329976
• van der Waerden, B. L. (1988), "Reconstruction of a Greek table of chords", Archive for History of Exact
Sciences 38 (1): 23–38, doi:10.1007/BF00329978
• Van Nooten, B. (1993), "Binary numbers in Indian antiquity", Journal of Indian Philosophy, (Springer
Netherlands) 21 (1): 31–50, doi:10.1007/BF01092744
• Whish, Charles (1835), "On the Hindú Quadrature of the Circle, and the infinite Series of the proportion of the
circumference to the diameter exhibited in the four S'ástras, the Tantra Sangraham, Yucti Bháshá, Carana Padhati,
and Sadratnamála", Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 3: 509–523,
doi:10.1017/S0950473700001221 JSTOR 25581775
• Yano, Michio (2006), "Oral and Written Transmission of the Exact Sciences in Sanskrit", Journal of Indian
Philosophy (Springer Netherlands) 34 (1-2): 143–160, doi:10.1007/s10781-005-8175-6
External links
• Science and Mathematics in India (http://www.indohistory.com/science_and_mathematics.html)
• An overview of Indian mathematics (http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/
Indian_mathematics.html), MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, St Andrews University, 2000.
• 'Index of Ancient Indian mathematics' (http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Indexes/Indians.html),
MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, St Andrews University, 2004.
• Indian Mathematics: Redressing the balance (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Projects/
Pearce), Student Projects in the History of Mathematics (http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Projects). Ian
Pearce. MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, St Andrews University, 2002.
• Online course material for InSIGHT (http://cs.annauniv.edu/insight/insight/maths/history/index.htm), a
workshop on traditional Indian sciences for school children conducted by the Computer Science department of
Anna University, Chennai, India.
Anil Kakodkar 76
Anil Kakodkar
Anil Kakodkar
Born November 11, 1943Barwani, India
Residence Mumbai, India
Nationality Indian
Fields Mechanical Engineering
Institutions Atomic Energy Commission of India

Department of Atomic Energy
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
(IAEA)
Ministry of Defence (India)
Alma mater Ruparel College

Bombay University
University of Nottingham
Known for Operation Smiling Buddha

Pokhran-II
Indian Nuclear Program
Notable awards Padma Shri (1998)

Padma Bhushan (1999)
Padma Vibhushan (2009)
Anil Kakodkar( Marathi : अनिल काकोडकर ) is an eminent Indian nuclear scientist and mechanical engineer. He was the
chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India and the Secretary to the Government of India, Department of
Atomic Energy. Before leading India's Nuclear Programme, he was the Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research
Centre, Trombay from 1996-2000. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour, on
January 26, 2009.
Champion of self-Reliance
Apart from playing a major role in India's nuclear tests asserting sovereignty, Dr. Kakodkar is a champion of India's
self-reliance on Thorium as a fuel for nuclear energy.
Academic and Scientific Career

Kakodkar was born in 1943 (November 11, 1943), in Barwani Princely State (present day Madhya Pradesh state) to
Mrs. Kamala Kakodkar & Mr. Purushottam Kakodkar, both Gandhian Freedom Fighters. He had his early education
at Barwani, until moving to Mumbai for post-matriculation studies.
Anil Kakodkar 77
Higher Education
Kakodkar graduated from Ruparel College, then from VJTI, University of Mumbai with a degree in Mechanical
Engineering in 1963. He joined the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in 1964. He obtained a masters degree
in experimental stress analysis from the University of Nottingham in 1969.
Career in BARC
He joined the Reactor Engineering Division of the BARC and played a key role in design and construction of the
Dhruva reactor, a completely original but high-tech project. He was a part of the core team of architects of India's
Peaceful Nuclear Tests in 1974 and 1998. Further he has led the indigenous development in India's Pressurised
Heavy Water Reactor Technology. His work in the rehabilitation of the two reactors at Kalpakkam and the first unit
at Rawatbhata, which at one stage were on the verge of being written off, are examples of his engineering capability.
In 1996 he became Director of the BARC and since 2000 he is leading the Atomic Energy Commission of India and
also is the secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy.
He has published over 250 scientific papers.
Energy and the Future of Peaceful Nuclear Technology

Making India fully self-reliant in energy, especially from the cheap national thorium resources, seems to be his
mission statement and he still pursues this dream with great dedication. He has, over the years, built competent teams
of highly specialised scientists and engineers in the reactor engineering programme. Today, he continues to engage
in designing the Advanced Heavy Water Reactor, that uses thorium-uranium 233 as the primary energy source with
plutonium as the driver fuel. The unique reactor system, with simplified but safe technology, will generate 75 per
cent of electricity from thorium.
If Kakodkar's dream comes true, it will solve India's energy crisis.
Other Positions of Repute

• He is currently the Chairman, Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
• He is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering and served as its President during 1999-2000.
• He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, India and the Maharashtra
Academy of Sciences.
• He is a member of the International Nuclear Energy Academy, Honorary member of the World Innovation
Foundation and Council of Advisers of World Nuclear Association. He was member of the International Nuclear
Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) during 1999-2002
• He is on the board of Governors of VJTI, Mumbai
• He is currently the Chairman, Board of Governors, Center for Excellence in Basic Sciences, Mumbai
• He is currently the Chairman, Board of Governors, [Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology,
Jalandhar]
Anil Kakodkar 78
National Awards
• Padma Shri in 1998.
• Padma Bhushan in 1999.
• Padma Vibhushan in 2009.
Other Awards
• Highest civilian award of the Goa state-Gomant Vibhushan Award(2010)
• Hari Om Ashram Prerit Vikram Sarabhai Award (1988)
• H. K. Firodia Award for Excellence in Science and Technology (1997)
• Rockwell Medal for Excellence in Technology (1997)
• FICCI Award for outstanding contribution to Nuclear Science and Technology (1997-98)
• ANACON - 1998 Life Time Achievement Award for Nuclear Sciences
• Indian Science Congress Association's H. J. Bhabha Memorial Award (1999-2000)
• Godavari Gaurav Award (2000)
• Dr. Y. Nayudamma Memorial Award (2002)
• Chemtech Foundation's Achiever of the Year Award for Energy (2002)
• Gujar Mal Modi Innovative Science and Technology Award in 2004.
External links
• Biography [1]
• Atomic Energy Commission of India [2]
References
[1] http:/ / www. world-nuclear. org/ sym/ 2002/ kakodkarbio. htm
[2] http:/ / www. dae. gov. in/ aec. htm
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam BR
A.P.J Abdul Kalam at the 12th Wharton India Economic Forum in 2008
11th President of India

In office
25 July 2002 – 24 July 2007
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Manmohan Singh
Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Preceded by K. R. Narayanan
Succeeded by Pratibha Patil
Born [1]
15 October 1931 Rameshwaram, Madras Presidency, British Raj
Nationality Indian
Spouse(s) Null
Alma mater St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirapalli

Madras Institute of Technology
Profession Aerospace Engineer

Administrator
Religion Islam
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (Tamil: அவுல் பகீர் ஜைனுலாப்தீன் அப்துல் கலாம்) usually
referred to as A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, was the 11th President of India who served from 2002 to 2007.[2] During his
term as President, he was popularly known as the People's President.[3] [4]
Before his term as India's president, he worked as an aeronautical engineer with DRDO and ISRO. He is popularly
known as the Missile Man of India for his work on development of ballistic missile and space rocket technology.[5]
Kalam played a pivotal organizational, technical and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear test in 1998, the first
since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.[6]
He is currently the chancellor of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, a professor at Anna University
(Chennai), a visiting professor at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, JSS University in Mysore, and an
adjunct/visiting faculty at many other academic and research institutions across India.
Early life and education

Abdul Kalam graduated in physics from St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirapalli. After which he went to graduate with a
diploma in Aeronautical Engineering in the mid-1950s from the Madras Institute of Technology.[7] As the Project
Director, he was heavily involved in the development of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III).
Career
After graduation from Madras Institute of Technology he was the Project Director, he was heavily involved in the
development of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III). As Chief Executive of the Integrated
Guided Missile Development Program (I.G.M.D.P), he played a major part in developing many missiles in India
including Agni and Prithvi although the entire project has been criticised for being overrun and mismanaged.[8] He
was the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of Defence Research and Development
Organisation from July 1992 to December 1999. Pokhran-II nuclear tests were conducted during this period and have
been associated with Kalam although he was not directly involved with the nuclear program at the time.
Issues held
Future India: 2020

In his book India 2020, Abdul Kalam strongly advocates an action plan to develop India into a knowledge
superpower and a developed nation by the year 2020. He regards his work on India's nuclear weapons program as a
way to assert India's place as a future superpower.
It has been reported that there is a considerable demand in South Korea for translated versions of books authored by
him.[9]
Kalam continues to take an active interest in other developments in the field of science and technology. He has
proposed a research program for developing bio-implants. He is a supporter of free software over proprietary
solutions and believes that the use of free software on a large scale will bring the benefits of information technology
to more people.[10]
Awards and honours
Year of Award or Honor Name of Award or Honor Awarding Organization
2009 Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) Anna University of Technology.
2009 Hoover Medal [11]

ASME Foundation, USA .
2009 International von Kármán Wings Award California Institute of Technology, USA[12] .
1997 Bharat Ratna President of India.
1990 Padma Vibhushan President of India.
1981 Padma Bhushan President of India.

Books and documentaries

Kalam's writings
• Wings of Fire: An Autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam by A.P.J Abdul Kalam, Arun Tiwari; by K. Bhushan, G.
Katyal; A.P.j. Pub. Corp, 2002.
• Scientist to President by Abdul A.P.J. Kalam; Gyan Publishing House, 2003.
• Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam; Penguin Books, 2003.
• India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Y.S. Rajan; Penguin Books India, 2003.
• India-my-dream by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam; Excel Books, 2004.
• Envisioning an Empowered Nation: Technology for Societal Transformation by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam; TATA
McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd, 2004.
• Guiding Souls: Dialogues on the Purpose of Life by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Arun K Tiwari; Ocean Books, 2005.
• Children Ask Kalam by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam; Pearson Education, ISBN 81-7758-245-3
• Indomitable Spirit by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, 2006
• The Scientific Indian: A Twenty-first Century Guide to the World around Us by APJ Abdul Kalam and YS Rajan
• My Journey by APJ Abdul Kalam , Published By: V Suryanarayana Murthy
Biographies
• Eternal Quest: Life and Times of Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam by S. Chandra; Pentagon Publishers,
2002.
• President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam by R. K. Pruthi; Anmol Publications, 2002.
• A. P. J. Abdul Kalam: The Visionary of India by K. Bhushan, G. Katyal; A.P.H. Pub. Corp, 2002.
• A Little Dream (documentary film) by P. Dhanapal; Minveli Media Works Private Limited, 2008.[13]
• The Kalam Effect: My Years with the President by P.M. Nair; Harper Collins, 2008.
• My Days With Mahatma Abdul Kalam by Fr.A.K. George; ISBN No:978-8190452953; Publisher: Novel
Corporation, 2009.[14]
References
[1] A Brief Biography of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (http:/ / skumar. mitindia. net/ success/ apj. htm)
[2] "Former presidents" (http:/ / presidentofindia. nic. in/ formerpresidents. html). Government of India. .
[3] "Kalam was real people's President: President's bodyguards" (http:/ / www. hindustantimes. com/ StoryPage/ FullcoverageStoryPage.
aspx?id=d1dfada8-d9b3-4783-ad6a-44f56165dd9fWho will be India's next President_Special). Hindustan Times. 2007-07-24. . Retrieved
2009-03-27.
[4] Perappadan, Bindu Shajan (2007-04-14). "The people's President does it again" (http:/ / www. hindu. com/ 2007/ 04/ 14/ stories/
2007041411130100. htm). Chennai, India: The Hindu. . Retrieved 2009-03-27.
[5] Pruthi, R. K. (2005). "Ch. 4. Missile Man of India" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=Ee3PR5HFBCAC& ). President A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam. Anmol Publication. pp. 61–76. ISBN 978-8126113446. .
[6] Sen, Amartya (2003). "India and the Bomb" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=IjZA-bQde1wC& pg=RA1-PA169& ). In M. V. Ramana
and C. Rammanohar Reddy. Prisoners of the Nuclear Dream. Sangam Book. pp. 167–188. ISBN 978-8125024774. .
[7] Missile History (http:/ / www. bharat-rakshak. com/ MISSILES/ History. html)
[8] Pandit, Rajat (9 January 2008). "Missile plan: Some hits, misses" (http:/ / timesofindia. indiatimes. com/ Missile_plan_Some_hits_misses/
articleshow/ 2684641. cms). The Times Of India. .
[9] "Kalam, the author catching on in South Korea" (http:/ / www. outlookindia. com/ pti_news. asp?id=354077). .
[10] "India leader advocates open source" (http:/ / news. cnet. com/ India-leader-advocates-open-source/ 2100-1016_3-1011255. html). .
[11] "Former President Kalam chosen for Hoover Medal" (http:/ / timesofindia. indiatimes. com/ India/ Kalam-chosen-for-Hoover-Medal/
articleshow/ 4321760. cms). Indiatimes (New York). 27 March 2009. . Retrieved 30 October 2010.
[12] Caltech GALCIT International von Kármán Wings Award (http:/ / www. galcit. caltech. edu/ ahs/ recipients/ 2009Kalam. html)
[13] "Documentary on Kalam released" (http:/ / www. hindu. com/ 2008/ 01/ 25/ stories/ 2008012550520200. htm). Chennai, India: The Hindu.
2008-01-12. . Retrieved 2009-03-27.
[14] My Days With Mahatma Abdul Kalam (http:/ / www. novelcorporation. com/ Abdulkalam. html), ISBN 978-8190452953 Retrieved
2010-07-01
External links
• Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam - A Site for Inspiration and Nation Building (http://www.abdulkalam.com)
• Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam: Former President of India (http://www.abdulkalam.nic.in/)
• Profile of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (http://www.abdulkalam.nic.in/profile.html)
Arun Netravali 83
Arun Netravali
Arun N. Netravali
Born May 26, 1946Bombay, India
Occupation Electrical Engineer
Arun N. Netravali (born May 26, 1946 in Bombay) is an Indian-American engineer who is a pioneer of digital
technology including HDTV and MPEG4. He conducted seminal research in digital compression, signal processing
and other fields. Netravali has been President of Bell Laboratories and Chief Scientist for Lucent Technologies.
Early life
Arun Netravali was born in Bombay (now Mumbai). He received his undergraduate degree from the IIT Bombay,
India, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. from Rice University in Houston, Texas all in electrical engineering.
Career
Arun Netravali taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, and Rutgers University.
He has authored more than 170 technical papers and co-authored the books Digital Pictures: Representation and
Compression, Visual Communications Systems, and Digital Video: An Introduction to MPEG-2.
He holds more than 100 patents relating to computer networks, human interfaces to machines, picture processing,
and digital television.
Netravali is currently the managing partner of OmniCapital, a venture capital company, and is a director of various
companies including Agere Systems.
Awards and honors

Netravali has received numerous awards and honorary degrees, including
• the IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal in 2001 (together with Thomas S. Huang)[1] [2]
• the IEEE Frederik Philips Award in 2001[3]
• the U.S. National Medal of Technology[4]
• the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India[5]
• the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal in 1991 (together with C. Chapin Cutler and John O. Limb)[6]
• elected to member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1989[7]
• elected to IEEE Fellow in 1985[8]
• the IEEE Donald G. Fink Prize Paper Award in 1982 (together with John O. Limb)[9]
Arun Netravali 84
Selected writing
• Arun N. Netravali and Barry G. Haskell, Digital Pictures: Representation, Compression and Standards
(Applications of Communications Theory), Springer (second edition, 1995), ISBN 0-306-44917-X
Personal
Arun Netravali is married to Dr. Chitra Netravali. They have two children: Ilka and Ravi. Ilka is an MD-PhD student
at Harvard Medical School and Ravi is an undergraduate at Columbia University.
Notes
[1] "IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal Recipients" (http:/ / www. ieee. org/ documents/ kilby_rl. pdf). IEEE. . Retrieved February 27,
2011.
[2] "IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal Recipients - 2001 - Thomas S. Huang and Arun N. Netravali" (http:/ / www. ieee. org/ about/
awards/ bios/ kilby_recipients. html). IEEE. . Retrieved February 27, 2011.
[3] "IEEE Frederik Philips Award Recipients" (http:/ / www. ieee. org/ documents/ philips_rl. pdf). IEEE. . Retrieved March 7, 2011.
[4] Award details at Bell Labs website (http:/ / www. bell-labs. com/ news/ features/ arun. html) in 2001 and Technology Administration agency
(http:/ / www. technology. gov/ Medal/ Recipients. htm)
[5] Photo of award ceremony (http:/ / pib. nic. in/ archieve/ phtgalry/ pgyr2001/ pg032001/ pg22mar2001/ 22032001e. html)
[6] "IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal Recipients" (http:/ / www. ieee. org/ documents/ bell_rl. pdf). IEEE. . Retrieved January 2, 2011.
[7] "NAE Members Directory - Dr. Arun N. Netravali" (http:/ / www. nae. edu/ MembersSection/ Directory20412/ 27673. aspx). National
Academy of Engineering. . Retrieved March 7, 2011.
[8] "Fellow Class of 1985" (http:/ / www. ieee. org/ membership_services/ membership/ fellows/ chronology/ fellows_1985. html). IEEE. .
Retrieved March 7, 2011.
[9] "IEEE Donald G. Fink Prize Paper Award Recipients" (http:/ / www. ieee. org/ documents/ fink_rl. pdf). IEEE. . Retrieved January 2, 2011.
External links
• Laureate profile at The Spirit of American Innovation (http://www.thetech.org/nmot/detail.cfm?ID=107&)
Ashoke Sen 85
Ashoke Sen
Ashoke Sen
Ashoke Sen at Harvard
Born 1956
Residence India
Nationality Indian
Fields Physics
Institutions Fermilab
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Harish-Chandra Research Institute
Alma mater Sailendra Sirkar Vidyalaya

Presidency College, Kolkata
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
State University of New York at Stony Brook
Doctoral advisor George Sterman
Known for String Theory
For the Indian politician, see Ashoke Kumar Sen.

Ashoke Sen (Bengali: অশোক সেন), FRS, (born 1956) is an Indian theoretical physicist. He has made a number of
major original contributions to the subject of string theory, including his landmark paper on strong-weak coupling
duality or S-duality,[1] which was influential in changing the course of research in the field. He pioneered the study
of unstable D-branes and made the famous Sen conjecture about open string tachyon condensation on such branes.[2]
His description of rolling tachyons[3] has been influential in string cosmology. He has also co-authored many
important papers on string field theory. One of his most recent contributions include the entropy function formalism
for extremal black holes and its applications to attractors. His current research interests are centered around the
attractor mechanism and the precision counting of microstates for black holes in string theory. Of his nearly 200
research papers, as many as 47 papers have over 100 citations each.[4]
Sen received his PhD from Stony Brook University. During his early career, he worked as a research scientist at
Fermilab and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). Later he joined the Indian Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research (TIFR) before finally moving to the Harish-Chandra Research Institute (HRI) where he
currently works. He is married to Dr. Sumathi Rao, a condensed matter physicist at HRI.
Sen was awarded the ICTP Prize in 1989[5] the S.S. Bhatnagar award in 1994 and the Padma Shri in 2001. In 1998
Sen was made a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Ashoke Sen 86
The Outlook magazine of April 23, 2007 has listed him amongst India's 25 people who will not make it to the power
list, yet have made significant contributions to society.
He is also the recipient of the inaugural Infosys Prize in the category of Mathematical Sciences.[6]
References
[1] Sen, Ashoke (1994). "Dyon - monopole bound states, selfdual harmonic forms on the multi - monopole moduli space, and SL(2,Z) invariance
in string theory". Phys. Lett. B329: 217–221. doi:10.1016/0370-2693(94)90763-3.
[2] Sen, Ashoke (1998). "Tachyon condensation on the brane antibrane system". JHEP 08: 012. doi:10.1088/1126-6708/1998/08/012.
[3] Sen, Ashoke (2002). "Rolling Tachyon". JHEP 04: 048. doi:10.1088/1126-6708/2002/04/048.
[4] "SPIRES HEP citation search" (http:/ / www. slac. stanford. edu/ spires/ find/ hep/ www?rawcmd=FIND+ EA+ SEN,+ ASHOKE&
FORMAT=wwwcitesummary). . Retrieved 2009-11-17.
[5] "ICTP Prize Winner 1989" (http:/ / prizes. ictp. it/ Prize/ Prize89. html). . Retrieved 2009-11-17.
[6] Infosys Prize 2009 Mathematical Sciences (http:/ / www. infosys-science-foundation. com/ winner_ms_ashoke_sen. html)
• Thomson Honours Leading Indian Scientists (http://scientific.thomson.com/press/2006/8334014/) Five

people receive the "Thomson Citation Laureate Award", including physics professor Ashoke Sen of the
Harish-Chandra Research Institute.
• The Hindu, Sunday, January 7, 2001: Stringing together the ultimate law (http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/
01/07/stories/0207000o.htm) States that Dr. Ashoke Sen of HRI has "made several important contributions to
the String Theory".
Birbal Sahni 87
Birbal Sahni
Birbal Sahni
Born 14 November 1891Porbandar, Bombay Presidency, British India
Died 10 April 1949 (aged 57)Aga Khan Palace, Poona, Bombay Province, British India
Other names birbal
Known for son in law of Motilal Nehru
Religion Hinduism
Birbal Sahni FRS (14 November 1891-10 April 1949), was an Indian paleobotanist who studied the fossils of the
Indian subcontinent, was also a geologist who took an interest in archaeology. He founded the Birbal Sahni Institute
of Palaeobotany[1] in Lucknow, India. [2]
Formative years
The third son of Ishwar Devi and Lala Ruchi Ram Sahani, Birbal Sahni was born in Behra, Saharanpur District,
West Punjab, on 14 November 1891. Among the frequent guests of his parents were Motilal Nehru, Gopal Krishna
Gokhale, Sarojini Naidu, and Madan Mohan Malaviya.[3] He was also influenced into science by his grandfather
who owned a banking business at Dera Ismail Khan and conducted amateur research in chemistry.[2] He got his early
education in India at Government College University, Lahore (where his father worked) and Punjab University
(1911). He learnt botany under S. R. Kashyap. He graduated from Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1914. He later
studied under Professor A. C. Seward, and was awarded the D.Sc. degree of the University of London in 1919.
Career
In 1917, Sahni joined Professor Seward to work on a 'Revision of Indian Gondwana plants' (1920, Palaeontologica
Indica). In 1919 he briefly worked in Munich under the German plant morphologist Goebel. In 1920 he married
Savitri Suri, daughter of Sunder Das Suri who was an Inspector of Schools in Punjab. Savitri took an interest in his
work and was a constant companion.[2] Sahni returned to India and served as Professor of Botany at Banaras Hindu
University, Varanasi and Punjab University for about a year. He was appointed the first Professor and Head of the
Botany Department of the Lucknow University in 1921. The University of Cambridge recognized his researches by
the award of the degree of Sc. D. in 1929. In 1932 Palaeontologica Indica included his account of the Bennettitalean
plant that he named Williamsonia Sewardi, and another description of a new type of petrified wood, Homoxylon,
bearing resemblance to the wood of a living homoxylous angiosperm, but from the Jurassic age.[2] During the
following years he not only continued his investigations but collected around him a group of devoted students from
all parts of the country and built up a reputation for the University which soon became the first Center for botanical
and palaeobotanical investigations in India. Sahni maintained close relations with researchers around the globe,
being a friend of Chester A. Arnold, noted American paleobotanist who later served his year in residence from
1958-1959 at the institute.[4] He was a founder of 'The Paleobotanical Society which established the Institute of
Palaeobotany on 10 September 1946 which initially functioned in the Botany Department of Lucknow University but
later moved to its present premises at 53 University Road, Lucknow in 1949. On 3 April 1949 the Prime Minister of
India Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone of the new building of the Institute. A week later, on 10 April 1949,
Sahni succumbed to a heart attack.
Birbal Sahni 88
Honors
Sahni was recognized by several academies and institutions in India and abroad for his research. He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS) in 1936, the highest British scientific honor, awarded for the first time
to an Indian botanist. He was elected Vice-President, Palaeobotany section, of the 5th and 6th International Botanical
Congresses of 1930 and 1935, respectively; General President of the Indian Science Congress for 1940; President,
National Academy of Sciences, India, 1937-1939 and 1943-1944. In 1948 he was elected an Honorary Member of
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Another high honor which came to him was his election as an
Honorary President of the International Botanical Congress, Stockholm in 1950, but he died before he could serve.
After his demise, Sahni's samadhi was placed within the Institute of Paleobotany as a reminder of his
groundbreaking work.
Selected publications
• 1915. Foreign pollen in the ovules of Ginkgo and its significance in the study of fossil plants. New Phytol. 14 (4
and 5), 149-151.
• 1915. The anatomy of Nephrolepis volzibilis J. Sim, with remarks on the biology and morphology of the genus.
New Phytol. 14 (8 and 9), 251-274.
• 1916. The vascular anatomy of the tubers of Nephrolepis. New Phytol. 15 (3 and 4), 72-80.
• 1917. Observations on the evolution of branching in the Filicales. New Phytol. 16 (1 and 2), 1-23.
• 1919. (With J. C. WILLIS.) Lawson's text book of botany. London: Univ. Tut. Press.
• 1919. On an Australian specimen of Clepsydropsis. Ann. Bot. 33 (129), 81-92.
• 1920. (With A. C. SEWARD) Indian Gondwana plants: a revision. Mem. Geol. Surv. Ind. Pal. Ind. 7 (I), 1-40.
• 1921. A stem impression from the plant-bearing beds near Khunmu (Kashmir), provisionally referred to
Gangamopteris Kashmirensis Seward. Proc. (8th Ind. Sci. Cong. Cal.) Asiat. Sac. Beng. (N.S.), 17 (4), 200.
• 1921. The present position of Indian Palaeobotany. Pres. Add. 8th Ind. Sci. Cong. Cal. Proc. Asiat. Sac. Bengal
(N.S.), 17 (4), 152-175.
• 1924. On the anatomy of some petrified plants from the Government Museum, Madras. Proc. 11th Ind. Sci. Cong.
Bangalore, p. 141.
• 1925. The ontogeny of vascular plants and the theory of recapitulation. J. Ind. Bat. Soc. 4 (6), 202-216.
• 1925. (With E. J. BRADSHAW) A fossil tree in the Panchet Series of the Lower Gondwanas near Asansol. Rec.
Geol. Surv. Ind. 58 (I), 77-79.
• 1931. On certain fossil epiphytic ferns found on the stems of the Palaeozoic tree-fern Psaronius. Proc. 18th Ind.
Sci. Cong. Nagpur, p. 270.
• 1931. Materials for a monograph of the Indian petrified palms. Proc. Acad. Sci. U.P. 1, 140-144.
• 1932. Homoxylon rajmalzalense gen. et sp. nov., a fossil angiospermous wood, devoid of vessels, from the
Rajmahal Hills, Behar. Mem. Geol. Sura. Ind. Pal. Ind. 20 (2), 1-19.
• 1932. A petrified Williamsonia (W. Sewardiana, sp. nov.) from the Rajmahal Hills, India. Mem. Geol. Sura. Ind.
Pal. Ind. 20 (3), 1-19.
• 1933. (With A. R. RAO.) On some Jurassic plants from the Rajmahal hills. J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal (N.S.), 27 (2),
183-208.
• 1933. Explosive fruits in Viscum japonicum Thunb. J. Ind. Bat. Soc. 12 (2), 96-101.
• 1934. (With B. P. SRIVASTAVTA) Thee silicified flora of the Deccan Intertrappean Series. Pt. 3.
Sausarospermum Fermori. gen. et sp. nov. Proc. 21st Ind. Sci. Cong. Bombay, p. 318.
• 1934. Dr S. K. Mukerji, F.L.S. (1896-1934). (Obituary.) J. Ind. Bot. Soc. 13 (3), 245-249.
• 1934. (With A. R. RAO.) Rajmahalia paradoxa gen. et sp. nov. and other Jurassic plants from the Rajmahal hills.
Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci. 1 (6), 258-269.
• 1934. Dr Dukinfied Henry Scott. (Obituary). Curr. Sci. 2 (lo), 392-395.
Birbal Sahni 89
• 1934. The Deccan Traps: Are they Cretaceous or Tertiary? Curr. Sci. 3 (lo), 392-395.
• 1935. The relations of the Indian Gondwana flora with those of Siberia and China. Proc. 2nd Cong. of Curb.
Stratig. Heerlen, Holland. Compte Rendti I,517-518.
• 1935. Homoxylon and related woods and the origin of angiosperms. Proc. 6th Int. Bat. Cong. Amsterdam, 2,
237-238.
• 1935. The Glossopteris flora in India. Proc. 6th Int. Bat. Cong. Amsterdam, 2, 245-248.
• 1936. The Karewas of Kashmir. Curr. Sci. 5 (I), 10-16.
• 1936. The Himalayan uplift since the advent of Man: its culthistorical significance. Curr. Sci. 5 (I), 10-16.
• 1936. A clay seal and sealing of the Sunga period from the Khokra Kot mound (Rohtak). Curr. Sci. 5 (2), 80-81.
• 1936. A supposed Sanskrit seal from Rohtak: A correction. Curr. Sci. 5 (4), 206-215.
• 1936. Wegener's theory of continental drift in the light of palaeobotanical evidence. J. Ind. Bot. Soc. 15 (5),
319-322.
• 1936. The Gondwana affinities of the Angara flora in the light of geological evidence. Nature, 138 (3499,
720-721.
• 1937. Speculations on the climates of the Lower Gondwanas of India. Proc. 17th Int. Geol. Cong. Moscow,
pp. 217-218.
• 1937. An appreciation of the late Sir J. C. Bose. Sci. & Cult. 31 (6), 346-347.
• 1937. Professor K. K. Mathur. (Obituary). Curr. Sci. 5 (7), 365-366.
• 1937. Revolutions in the plant world. (Pres. Add.) Proc. Nut. Acad. Sci. Ind. 46-60.
• 1937. The age of the Deccan Trap. (General Discussion.) Proc. 24th Ind. Sci. Cong. Hyderabad, pp. 464-468.
• 1937. Wegener's theory of continental drift with reference to India and adjacent countries. (General discussion.)
Proc. 24th Ind. Sci. Cong. Hyderabad, pp. 502-506.
• 1938. (With K. P. RODE.)Fossil plants from the Deccan Intertrappean beds at Mohgaon Kalan, C.P., with a note
on the geological position of the plant-bearing beds. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. Ind. 7 (3), 165-174.
• 1938. Recent advances in Indian Palaeobotany. (Pres. Add. Botany Section.) Proc. 25th Ind. Sci. Cong. Jubil.
Sess. Calcutta (2), 133-176; and Luck. Univ. Stud. (2), 1-100.
• 1940. The Deccan Traps: an episode of the Tertiary era. (Gen. Pres. Add.) 27th Ind. Sci. Cong. Mad. (2), pp. 1-21.
Prakrati, 3 (I), 15-35. 1944 (Gujrati trans.). Prabuddha Karnataka, 22 (2), 5-19 (Kanares trans. by H. S. Rao).
• 1941. Permanent labels for microscope slides. Curr. Sci. 10 (1 I), 485-486.
• 1942. 'A short history of the plant sciences' and 'The cytoplasm of the plant cell'. Reviews. Curr. Sci. 11 (9),
369-372.
• 1944. (With B. S. TRIVEDI.) The age of the Saline Series in the Punjab Salt Range. Nature, 153, 54.
• 1945. The technique of casting coins in ancient India. Mem. Numis. Sac. Ind. (I), 1-68.
• 1945. Obituary Note on B. P. Srivastava. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. Ind. 15 (6), 185-187.
• 1946. A museum of evolution. Curr. Sci. 15 (4), 99-100.
• 1948. The prospects of palynology in India. Svensk. Bot. Tidskr. 42 (4), 474-477.
• 1948. The Pentoxyleae: a new group of Jurassic gymnosperms from the Rajmahal Hills of India. Bot. Gaz. 110
(I), 47-80.
Birbal Sahni 90
Notes
[1] Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleobotany, on line. (http:/ / www. bsip. res. in/ home. htm)
[2] Thomas, Hugh Hamshaw (November 1950). "Birbal Sahni. 1891-1949" (http:/ / www. jstor. org/ view/ 1479571x/ ap030019/ 03a00170/ 0).
Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society (London: Royal Society) 7 (19): 265–277. .
[3] Sunita Khanna, “The Man That Was”, Newsletter, Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleobotany, No. 7, p.7 (June, 2004) ISSN No. 0972-2718 On line.
(http:/ / www. bsip. res. in/ pdf/ newsletter-2004. pdf)
[4] Scott, R.A. (1995). "Chester A. Arnold (1901-1977): Portrait of an American paleobotanist" (http:/ / books. google. com/
?id=NtNAlpoamIAC& pg=PA215& dq="Chester+ Arnold"+ biography+ fossil+ 1977#v=onepage& q& f=false). In W., Culp Darrah.
Historical perspective of early twentieth century Carboniferous paleobotany in North America. 185. Paul C. Lyons, Elsie Darrah Morey,
Robert Herman Wagner. Geological Society of America. pp. 215–224. ISBN 9780813711850. . Retrieved 6 September 2010.
External links
• Birbal Sahni Institute (http://www.bsip.res.in/)
• Sunita Khanna, “The Man That Was”, Newsletter, Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleobotany, No. 7, p.7 (June, 2004)
ISSN No. 0972-2718 On line. (http://www.bsip.res.in/pdf/newsletter-2004.pdf)
• Pioneer of palaeobotany - Birbal Sahni (1891 -1949) (http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/seta/2002/08/
15/stories/2002081500130300.htm)
C. N. R. Rao 91
C. N. R. Rao
Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao
Born June 30, 1934Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Nationality Indian
Fields Chemistry
Institutions Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Indian Space Research Organization
Indian Institute of Science
University of Oxford
University of Cambridge
University of California, Santa Barbara
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research
Alma mater Banaras Hindu University

Purdue University
Known for solid-state chemistry and Materials science
Notable awards Hughes Medal (2000)

India Science Award (2004)
(FRS)(1984)
Abdus Salam Medal (2008)
Dan David Prize (2005)
Legion of Honor (2005)
Padma Shri
Padma Vibhushan
Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao, also known as C.N.R. Rao (Kannada: ಚಿಂತಾಮಣಿ ನಾಗೇಶ ರಾಮಚಂದ್ರ
ರಾಯ (Ciṃtāmaṇi Nāgēśa Rāmacaṃdra Rāva)) (born June 30, 1934, Bangalore, India) is an Indian chemist who has
worked mainly in solid-state and structural chemistry.
Education
Rao obtained his bachelors degree from Mysore University in 1951, obtaining a masters from Banaras Hindu
University two years later, and obtained his PhD in 1958 from Purdue University. He served as a faculty member in
the department of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur from 1963 to 1976 and as the director of
the Indian Institute of Science from 1984 to 1994. He has also been a visiting professor at Purdue, the University of
Oxford, the University of Cambridge and University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the founding President of
the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research.
C. N. R. Rao 92
Profession
Rao is currently the National Research Professor and Linus Pauling Research Professor and Honorary President of
the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bangalore, India. He was appointed Chair of the
Scientific Advisory Council to the Indian Prime Minister in January 2005, a position which he had occupied earlier
during 1985-89. He is also the director of the International Centre for Materials Science (ICMS).
Rao is one of the world's foremost solid state and materials chemists. He has contributed to the development of the
field over five decades. His work on transition metal oxides has led to basic understanding of novel phenomena and
the relationship between materials properties and the structural chemistry of these materials.
Rao was one of the earliest to synthesize two-dimensional oxide materials such as La2CuO4. His work has led to a
systematic study of compositionally controlled metal-insulator transitions. Such studies have had a profound impact
in application fields such as colossal magneto resistance and high temperature superconductivity. Oxide
semiconductors have unusual promise. He has made immense contributions to nanomaterials over the last two
decades, besides his work on hybrid materials. He is the author of around 1500 research papers. He has authored and
edited 42 books.
Rao serves on the board of the Science Initiative Group.
Awards
He was awarded the Hughes Medal by the Royal Society in 2000, and he became the first recipient of the India
Science Award, instituted by the Government of India, for his contributions to solid state chemistry and materials
science, awarded in 2004.
He has won several international prizes and is a member of many of the world's scientific associations, including the
U.S. National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society (London; FRS,
1982), French Academy, Japanese Academy and the Pontifical Academy.
He was awarded Dan David Prize in 2005,[1] by the Dan David Foundation, Tel Aviv University, which he shared
with George Whitesides and Robert Langer.[2] In 2005, he was conferred the title Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
(Knight of the Legion of Honour) by France, awarded by the French Government. He had also been given the
honours Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan by the Indian Government and Karnataka Ratna by the Karnataka state
government. He is a foreign fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences.[3] He was also awarded an honorary Doctor
of Science by the University of Calcutta in 2004.[4]
Notes and references

[1] http:/ / www. hinduonnet. com/ 2005/ 03/ 04/ stories/ 2005030419220500. htm
[2] "[[Dan David Prize (http:/ / www. dandavidprize. com/ index. html)]"]. . Retrieved 2008-05-06.
[3] List of Fellows of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (http:/ / www. bas. org. bd/ list-of-fellows/ userslist. html)
[4] Honoris Causa (http:/ / www. caluniv. ac. in/ About the university/ university_frame. htm)
External links
• Dan David Prize laureate 2005 (http://www.dandavidprize.org/index.php/laureates/laureates-2005/
66-2005-future-materials-science/105-prof-cnr-rao.html)
• Prof. CNR Rao @ JNCASR (http://www.jncasr.ac.in/cnrrao)
• Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (http://www.jncasr.ac.in/)
C. V. Raman 93
C. V. Raman
Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, FRS
Born 7 November 1888Thiruvanaikoil, Tiruchirappalli, Madras Presidency, British India
Died 21 November 1970 (aged 82)Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Nationality Indian
Fields Physics
Institutions Indian Finance Department

University of Calcutta
Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science
Alma mater University of Madras
Doctoral students G. N. Ramachandran
Known for Raman effect
Notable awards Knight Bachelor (1929)

Nobel Prize in Physics (1930)
Bharat Ratna (1954)
Lenin Peace Prize (1957)
Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, FRS (Tamil: சந்திரசேகர வெங்கடராமன்) (7 November 1888 – 21
November 1970) was an Indian physicist whose work was influential in the growth of science in the world. He was
the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 for the discovery that when light traverses a transparent material,
some of the light that is deflected changes in wavelength. This phenomenon is now called Raman scattering and is
the result of the Raman effect.
Early years
Venkata Raman was born at Thiruvanaikaval, near Tiruchirappalli, Madras Presidency to R. Chandrasekhara Iyer (b.
1866) and Parvati Ammal (Saptarshi Parvati).[1] He was the second of their eight children. At an early age, Raman
moved to the city of Vizag, Andhra Pradesh. Studied in St.Aloysius Anglo-Indian High School. His father was a
lecturer in Mathematics and physics, so he grew up in an academic atmosphere.
Raman entered Presidency College, Chennai in 1902. In 1904, he gained his B.Sc., winning the first place and the
gold medal in physics. In 1907, he gained his M.Sc., obtaining the highest distinctions. He joined the Indian Finance
Department as an Assistant Accountant General.
C. V. Raman 94
Career
In 1917, Raman resigned from his government service and took up the newly created Palit Professorship in Physics
at the University of Calcutta. At the same time, he continued doing research at the Indian Association for the
Cultivation of Science, Calcutta, where he became the Honorary Secretary. Raman used to refer to this period as the
golden era of his career. Many students gathered around him at the IACS and the University of Calcutta.
On February 28, 1928, through his experiments on the
scattering of light, he discovered the Raman effect. It
was instantly clear that this discovery was an important
one. It gave further proof of the quantum nature of
light. Raman spectroscopy came to be based on this
phenomenon, and Ernest Rutherford referred to it in his
presidential address to the Royal Society in 1929.
Raman was president of the 16th session of the Indian
Science Congress in 1929. He was conferred a
knighthood, and medals and honorary doctorates by
various universities. Raman was confident of winning Energy level diagram showing the states involved in Raman signal.
the Nobel Prize in Physics as well, and was

disappointed when the Nobel Prize went to Richardson in 1928 and to de Broglie in 1929. He was so confident of
winning the prize in 1930 that he booked tickets in July, even though the awards were to be announced in November,
and would scan each day's newspaper for announcement of the prize, tossing it away if it did not carry the news. He
did eventually win the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of
the effect named after him. He was the first Asian and first non-White to receive any Nobel Prize in the sciences.
Before him Rabindranath Tagore (also Indian) had received the Nobel Prize for Literature.
C.V Raman & Bhagavantam, discovered the quantum photon spin in 1932, which further confirmed the quantum
nature of light. [2]
Raman also worked on the acoustics of musical instruments. He worked out the theory of transverse vibration of
bowed strings, on the basis of superposition velocities. He was also the first to investigate the harmonic nature of the
sound of the Indian drums such as the tabla and the mridangam.
Raman and his student Nagendranath, provided the correct theoretical explanation for the acousto-optic effect (light
scattering by sound waves), in a series of articles resulting in the celebrated Raman-Nath theory. Modulators, and
switching systems based on this effect have enabled optical communication components based on laser systems. lo
In 1934, Raman became the director of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, where two years later he
continued as a professor of physics. Other investigations carried out by Raman were experimental and theoretical
studies on the diffraction of light by acoustic waves of ultrasonic and hypersonic frequencies (published 1934-1942),
and those on the effects produced by X-rays on infrared vibrations in crystals exposed to ordinary light.
He also started a company called Travancore Chemical and Manufacturing Co. Ltd. in 1943 along with Dr.
Krishnamurthy. The Company during its 60 year history, established four factories in Southern India. In 1947, he
was appointed as the first National Professor by the new government of Independent India.
In 1948, Raman, through studying the spectroscopic behavior of crystals, approached in a new manner fundamental
problems of crystal dynamics. He dealt with the structure and properties of diamond, the structure and optical
behavior of numerous iridescent substances (labradorite, pearly feldspar, agate, opal, and pearls). Among his other
interests were the optics of colloids, electrical and magnetic anisotropy, and the physiology of human vision.
C. V. Raman 95
Personal life
Raman retired from the Indian Institute of Science in 1948 and established the Raman Research Institute in
Bangalore, Karnataka a year later. He served as its director and remained active there until his death in 1970, in
Bangalore, at the age of 82.
He was married on 6 May 1907 to Lokasundari Ammal with whom he had two sons, Chandrasekhar and
Radhakrishnan.
C.V. Raman was the paternal uncle of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, who later won the Nobel Prize in Physics
(1983) for his discovery of the Chandrasekhar limit in 1931 and for his subsequent work on the nuclear reactions
necessary for stellar evolution.
Honours and awards

Raman was honoured with a large number of honorary doctorates and memberships of scientific societies. He was
elected a Fellow of the Royal Society early in his career (1924) and knighted in 1929. In 1930 he won the Nobel
Prize in Physics. In 1941 he was awarded the Franklin Medal. In 1954 he was awarded the Bharat Ratna.[3] He was
also awarded the Lenin Peace Prize in 1957.
India celebrates National Science Day on 28 February of every year to commemorate the discovery of the Raman
effect in 1928.
Publications
1909
• "The Small Motion at the Nodes of a Vibrating String", Nature, 1909
• "The Maintenance of Forced Oscillations of a New Type", Nature, 1909
• "The Ectara", J. Indian Math. Club, 1909
1910
• "The Maintenance of Forced Oscillations", Nature, 1910
• "Oscillations of the Stretched Strings", J. Indian Math. Club, 1910
1911
• "Photographs of Vibrational Curves", Philos. Mag., 1911
• "Remarks on a Paper by J.S. Stokes on 'Some Curious Phenomena Observed in Connection with Melde's
Experiment'", Physics Rev., 1911
• "The Small Motion at the Nodes of a Vibrating String", Phys. Rev., 1911
1912
• "The Maintenance of Forced Oscillations of a New Type", Philos. Mag, 1912
• "Some Remarkable Cases of Resonance", Phys. Rev. 1912
• "Experimental Investigations on the Maintenance of Vibrations", Bull. Indian Assoc. Cultiv. Sci., 1912
1913
• "Some Acoustical Observations", Bull. Indian Assoc. Cultiv. Sci., 1913
1914
• "The Dynamical Theory of the Motion of Bowed Strings", Bull. Indian Assoc. Cultiv. Sci., 1914
• "The Maintenance of Vibrations", Phys. Rev. 1914
• "Dynamical Theory of the Motion of Bowed Strings", Bulletin, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science,
1914
• "On Motion in a Periodic Field of Force", Bull. Indian Assoc. Cultiv. Sci., 1914
C. V. Raman 96
1915
• "On the Maintenance of Combinational Vibrations by Two Simple Harmonic forces", Phys. Rev., 1915
• "On Motion in a Periodic Field of Force", Philos. Mag, 1915
1916
• "On Discontinuous Wave-Motion - Part 1", Philos. Mag, 1916 (with S Appaswamair)
• "On the 'Wolf-Note' of the Violin and Cello", Nature (London). 1916
• "On the 'Wolf-Note' in the Bowed Stringed Instruments", Philos. Mag., 1916
1917
• "The Maintenance of Vibrations in a Periodic Field of Force", Philos. Mag, 1917 (with A. Dey)
• "On Discontinuous Wave-Motion - Part 2", Philos. Mag, 1917 (with A Dey)
• "On Discontinuous Wave-Motion - Part 3", Philos. Mag, 1917 (with A Dey)
• "On the Alterations of Tone Produced by a Violin 'Mute'", Nature (London) 1917
1918
• "On the 'Wolf-Note' in the Bowed Stringed Instruments", Philos. Mag., 1918
• "On the Wolf-Note in Pizzicato Playing", Nature (London), 1918
• "On the Mechanical Theory of the Vibrations of Bowed Strings and of Musical Instruments of the Violin Family,
with Experimental Verification of Results - Part 1", Bulletin, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science,
1918
• "The Theory of the Cyclical Vibrations of a Bowed String", Bulletin, Indian Association for the Cultivation of
Science, 1918
1919
• "An Experimental Method for the Production of Vibrations", Phys. Rev., 1919
• "A New Method for the Absolute Determination of Frequency", Proc. R. Soc. London, 1919
• "On the Partial Tones of Bowed Stringed Instruments", Philos. Mag, 1919
• "The Kinematics of Bowed Strings", J. Dept of Sci., Univ. Calcutta, 1919
1920
• "On the Sound of Splashes", Philos. Mag, 1920
• "On a Mechanical Violin-Player for Acoustical Experiments, Philos. Mag., 1920
• "Experiments with Mechanically-Played Violins", Proc. Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 1920
• "On Kaufmann's Theory of the Impact of the Pianoforte Hammer", proc. S. Soc. London, 1920 (with B Banerji)
• "Musical Drums with Harmonic Overtones", Nature (London), 1920 (with S. Kumar)
1921
• "Whispering Gallery Phenomena at St. Paul's Cathedral", Nature (London) 1921 (with G.A. Sutherland)
• "The Nature of Vowel Sounds", Nature (London) 1921
• "On the Whispering Gallery Phenomenon", Proc. R. Soc. London, 1922 (with G.A. Sutherland)
• "On Some Indian Stringed Instruments", Proc. Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 1921
1922
• "On Whispering Galleries", Indian Assoc. Cultiv. Sci., 1922
• "On the Molecular Scattering of Light in Water and the Colour of the Sea", Proceedings of the Royal Society,
1922
• "The Acoustical Knowledge of the Ancient Hindus", Asutosh Mookerjee Silver Jubilee - Vol 2,
1926
• "The Subjective Analysis of Musical Tones", Nature (London), 1926
1927
C. V. Raman 97
• "Musical Instruments and Their Tones"

1928
• "A new type of Secondary Radiation", Nature, 1928
• "A new radiation", Indian Journal of Physics, 1928
1935
• "The Indian Musical Drums", Proc. Indian Acad. Sci., 1935
• "The Diffraction of Light by High Frequency Sound Waves: Part I", Proc. Indian Acad. Sci., 1935 (with N. S.
Nagendra Nath)
• "The Diffraction of Light by High Frequency Sound Waves: Part II", Proc. Indian Acad. Sci., 1935 (with N. S.
Nagendra Nath)
• "Nature of Thermal Agitation in Liquids", Nature (London), 1935 (with B.V. Raghavendra Rao)
1936
• "The Diffraction of Light by High Frequency Sound Waves: Part III: Doppler Effect and Coherence Phenomena",
Proc. Indian Acad. Sci., 1936 (with N. S. Nagendra Nath)
• "The Diffraction of Light by High Frequency Sound Waves: Part IV: Generalised Theory", Proc. Indian Acad.
Sci., 1936 (with N. S. Nagendra Nath)
• "The Diffraction of Light by High Frequency Sound Waves: Part V: General Considerations - Oblique Incidence
and Amplitude Changes", Proc. Indian Acad. Sci., 1936 (with N. S. Nagendra Nath)
• "Diffraction of Light by Ultrasonic Waves", Nature (London), 1936 (with N. S. Nagendra Nath)
1937
• "Acoustic Spectrum of Liquids", Nature (London), 1937 (with B.V. Raghavendra Rao)
1938
• "Light Scattering and Fluid Viscosity", Nature (London), 1938 (with B.V. Raghavendra Rao)
1948
• Aspects of Science, 1948
1951
• The New Physics: Talks on Aspects of Science, 1951
1953
• "The structure and optical behaviour of iridescent opal", Proc. Indian. Acad. Sci. A38 1953 (with A. Jayaraman)
1959
• Lectures on Physical Optics, 1959
Notes
[1] Sir C. V. Raman (1988). Scientific Papers of C.V. Raman: Acoustics Volume 2. Indian Academy of Sciences. p. ix.
[2] http:/ / www. nature. com/ physics/ looking-back/ raman2/ index. html
[3] "Padma Awards Directory (1954-2007)" (http:/ / www. mha. nic. in/ pdfs/ PadmaAwards1954-2007. pdf) (pdf). Ministry of Home Affairs. .
Retrieved 26 November 2010.
References
• Bhagavantam, S. (November 1971). "Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman. 1888-1970" (http://www.jstor.org/
stable/769720). Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society (London: Royal Society) 17: 565–592.
doi:10.1098/rsbm.1971.0022.
C. V. Raman 98
• "Raman, Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata" (http://www.britannica.com/nobelprize/print?articleId=62569&

fullArticle=true&tocId=9062569). Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.. 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
Further reading
• Miller, Foil A.; Kauffman, George (1989). "C. V. Raman and the Discovery of the Raman effect". Journal of
Chemical Education 66: 795 – 801. doi:10.1021/ed066p795.
• Ramaseshan S: C.V.Raman. Journal of Madras University, section B, Sept.1983, 46(1): 1-16.
• Scientific Papers of CV Raman, Ed. S Ramaseshan, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore 1988.
• Sri Kantha S: The discovery of the Raman Effect and its impact in Biological Sciences. European Spectroscopy
News, Aug/Sept. 1988, no.80, 20, 22, 24 & 26.
• Sri Kantha S: Raman's prize. Nature, 1989; 340: 672.
• Fabelinski I,L. Priority and the Raman Effect. Nature, 1990; 343: 686.
• "CV Raman centennial issue" (http://www.archive.org/details/RamanCentennial). Journal of the Indian
Institute of Science 68 (11-12). 1988.
External links
• The Nobel Prize in Physics 1930 (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1930/) at the Nobel
Foundation
• Nobel prize internet archive (http://almaz.com/nobel/physics/1930a.html)
• Path creator - C.V. Raman (http://path-creators.blogspot.com/)
• Nobel Lecture (http://nobelprize.org/physics/laureates/1930/raman-lecture.pdf)
• Archive of all scientific papers of C.V. Raman (http://dspace.rri.res.in/handle/2289/1466)
• Raman Effect: fingerprinting the universe (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/columnists/
swaminathan-s-a-aiyar/Raman-Effect-fingerprinting-the-universe/articleshow/5908907.cms)
Jayant Narlikar 99
Jayant Narlikar
Jayant Vishnu Narlikar
Born 19 July 1938Kolhapur, India
Residence Pune, India
Nationality Indian
Fields Astrophysics, Physics, Cosmology
Institutions Cambridge University

Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics
Alma mater Banaras Hindu University

Cambridge University
Doctoral advisor Fred Hoyle
Doctoral students Thanu Padmanabhan

Ajith Kembhavi
Known for Quasi-steady state cosmology

Hoyle-Narlikar theory of gravity
Dr. Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (born July 19, 1938) (Marathi: जयंत विष्णू नारळीकर) is an Indian astrophysicist.
Narlikar is a proponent of the steady state cosmology. He developed with Sir Fred Hoyle the conformal gravity
theory, commonly known as Hoyle–Narlikar theory. It synthesizes Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and Mach's
Principle. It proposes that the inertial mass of a particle is a function of the masses of all other particles, multiplied
by a coupling constant, which is a function of cosmic epoch. In cosmologies based on this theory, the gravitational
constant G decreases strongly with time.
Early life
Narlikar was born in Kolhapur, India on July 19, 1938. His father, Vishnu Vasudev Narlikar, was a mathematician
who served as a professor and later as the Head of the Department of Mathematics at Banaras Hindu University,
Varanasi. Jayant's mother, Sumati Narlikar, was a scholar of Sanskrit language. He studied in a school named
'Kendriya Vidyalaya Banaras Hindu University Varanasi'.
Career
Narlikar received his Bachelor of Science degree from Banaras Hindu University in 1957 and a B.A. in mathematics
from the University of Cambridge in 1960, winning the Tyson Medal. During his doctoral studies at Cambridge, he
won Smith’s Prize in 1962. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1963 under the guidance of Fred Hoyle, he served as a Berry
Jayant Narlikar 100
Ramsey Fellow at King's College in Cambridge and earned an M.A. in astronomy and astrophysics in 1964. He
continued to work as a Fellow at King's College until 1972. In 1966, Fred Hoyle established the Institute of
Theoretical Astronomy in Cambridge, and Narlikar served as the founder staff member of the institute during
1966-72.
In 1972, Narlikar took up Professorship at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai, India. At
the TIFR, he was in charge of the Theoretical Astrophysics Group. In 1988, the Indian University Grants
Commission set up the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune, and Narlikar
became the Founder-Director of IUCAA.
Narlikar is internationally known for his work in cosmology, especially in championing models alternative to the
popular Big Bang model. During 1994-1997, he was the President of the Cosmology Commission of the
International Astronomical Union. His research work has involved Mach’s Principle, quantum cosmology, and
action-at-a-distance physics.
During 1999-2003, Narlikar headed an international team in a pioneering experiment designed to sample air for
microorganisms in the atmosphere at heights of up to 41 km. Biological studies of the collected samples led to the
findings of live cells and bacteria, which introduced the possibility that the earth is being bombarded by
microorganisms, some of which might have seeded life itself on earth.
Narlikar was also appointed the Chairperson, Advisory Group for Textbooks in Science and Mathematics, the
textbook development committee responsible for developing textbooks in Science and Mathematics, published by
NCERT, which are used widely as standard textbooks in many Indian schools.
Honours
Narlikar has received several national and international awards and honorary doctorates. India’s second highest
civilian honor, Padma Vibhushan, was awarded to him in 2004 for his research work. Prior to this, in 1965, he was
conferred Padma Bhushan.
He received Maharashtra Bhushan Award for the year 2010. [1]
He is a recipient of Bhatnagar Award, M.P. Birla Award, and the Prix Jules Janssen of the French Astronomical
Society. He is an Associate of the Royal Astronomical Society of London, and a Fellow of the three Indian National
Science Academies and the Third World Academy of Sciences.
Apart from his scientific research, Narlikar has been well known as a communicator of science through his books,
articles, and radio & television programs. For these efforts, he was honored in 1996 by the UNESCO with the
Kalinga Award.
He was once featured on Carl Sagan's TV show Cosmos: A Personal Voyage in the late 1980s. He received the
Indira Gandhi Award of the Indian National Science Academy in 1990.[2]
Jayant Narlikar 101
Writings
Besides scientific papers and books and popular science literature, Narlikar has written science fiction, novels, and
short stories in English, Hindi, and Marathi. He is also the consultant for the Science and Mathematics textbooks of
NCERT (National Council for Educational Research and Training, India).
Non-Fiction
• Current Issues in Cosmology, 2006
• A Different Approach to Cosmology: From a Static Universe through the Big Bang towards Reality, 2005
• Fred Hoyle's Universe, 2003
• Scientific Edge: The Indian Scientist from Vedic to Modern Times, 2003
• An Introduction to Cosmology, 2002
• Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei: An Introduction, 1999
• From Black Clouds to Black Holes, 1996
• Seven Wonders of the Cosmos, 1995
• Philosophy of Science: Perspectives from Natural and Social Sciences, 1992
• Highlights in Gravitation and Cosmology, 1989
• Violent Phenomena in the Universe, 1982
• The Lighter Side of Gravity, 1982
• Physics-Astronomy Frontier (co-author Sir Fred Hoyle), 1981
• The Structure of the Universe, 1977
• Creation of Matter and Anomalous Redshifts, 2002
• Absorber Theory of Radiation in Expanding Universes, 2002
• आकाशाशी जडले नाते (Akashashi Jadale Nate), (in Marathi)
• नभात हसरे तारे (Nabhat hasare taare), (in Marathi)
Fiction
In English:
• The Return of Vaman, 1990
• The Adventure
Awards
• 'Rashtrabhushan Award' - 1981 Rs. One Lak from FIE Foundation Ichalkaranji[3]
• Maharashtra Bhushan Purskar 2011
Notes
[1] (http:/ / articles. timesofindia. indiatimes. com/ 2011-03-07/ pune/ 28665280_1_jayant-narlikar-iucaa-astronomy-and-astrophysics)
[2] Ernet.in (http:/ / meghnad. iucaa. ernet. in/ ~jvn/ jvn-bio. html)
[3] Current Science May 20 1983 Vol 52 No 10 page 449 (http:/ / www. ias. ac. in/ jarch/ currsci/ 52/ 00000502. pdf)
External links
• Jayant Narlikar's Home page (http://meghnad.iucaa.ernet.in/~jvn/)
• An interview with Jayant Narlikar on virus from outer space (2003) (http://www.indien-netzwerk.de/
navigation/bildungwissenschaft/artikel/eng/astro-sars-eng.htm)
• An interview with Jayant Narlikar on the origin of Universe (2004, in Spanish) (http://hispalois.blogspot.com/
2006/04/creer-en-el-big-bang-es-un-acto-de-fe.html)
Jayant Narlikar 102
• Jayant V. Narlikar's Summarized Biography (http://perso.orange.fr/lempel/jv_narlikar_uk.htm)

• Publications of J.V. Narlikar - part 1 (http://perso.orange.fr/lempel/publications_de_narlikar_01_uk.htm)
• Publications of J.V. Narlikar - part 2 (http://perso.orange.fr/lempel/publications_de_narlikar_02_uk.htm)
• Cosmology, Facts and Problems (French) (http://perso.orange.fr/lempel/Narlikar-CDF.pdf)
Har Gobind Khorana

Har Gobind Khorana
Born January 9, 1922Raipur, Punjab, British India (now Pakistan)
Residence USA
Nationality [1]
American
Fields Molecular Biology
Institutions MIT (1970 - )

University of Wisconsin, Madison (1960-70)
University of British Columbia (1952-60)
Cambridge University (1950-52)
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (1948-49)
Alma mater University of Liverpool (Ph.D.)

University of the Punjab (B.S.)(M.S.)
Known for First to demonstrate the role of Nucleotides in protein synthesis
Notable awards Nobel Prize in Medicine (1968)
Har Gobind Khorana, or Hargobind Khorana (Punjabi: ਹਰਿ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਖੁਰਾਨਾ , born January 9, 1922) is an
Indian-born American biochemist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1968 with Marshall W.
Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for research that helped to show how the nucleotides in nucleic acids, which carry
the genetic code of the cell, control the cell’s synthesis of proteins. Khorana and Nirenberg were also awarded the
Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University in the same year.[2]
He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1966,[1] and subsequently received the National Medal of
Science. He currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States serving as MIT's Alfred P. Sloan Professor
of Biology and Chemistry, Emeritus.[3] He is a member of the Board of Scientific Governors at The Scripps
Research Institute.
Early life, education, and career

Khorana was born in Raipur, (now in Kabirwala Tehsil, Khanewal District), a village in Punjab, British India (now
Pakistan). His father was the village "patwari", an equivalent of a taxation official. He was homeschooled by his
father, and he later attended D.A.V. Multan High School. He finished his B.Sc. from Punjab University, Lahore in
1943 and M.Sc from Punjab University in 1945. In 1945, he began studies at the University of Liverpool. After
earning a PhD in 1948, he continued his postdoctoral studies in Zürich (1948–49). Subsequently, he spent two years
at Cambridge and his interests in proteins and nucleic acids took root at that time. In 1952 he went to the University
of British Columbia, Vancouver and in 1960 moved to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In 1970 Khorana
became the Alfred Sloan Professor of Biology and Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he
worked until retiring in 2007.
Har Gobind Khorana 103
Family
Khorana married Esther Elizabeth Sibler,now deceased, who was of Swiss origin, in 1952.[4] They have three
children: Julia Elizabeth (born May 4, 1953), Emily Anne (born October 18, 1954, died 1979), and Dave Roy (born
July 26, 1958).[4]
Khorana’s research relevant to his Nobel Prize

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) with two repeating units (UCUCUCU → UCU CUC UCU) produced two alternating amino
acids. This, combined with the Nirenberg and Leder experiment, showed that UCU codes for Serine and CUC codes
for Leucine.
RNAs with three repeating units (UACUACUA → UAC UAC UAC, or ACU ACU ACU, or CUA CUA CUA)
produced three different strings of amino acids.
RNAs with four repeating units including UAG, UAA, or UGA, produced only dipeptides and tripeptides thus
revealing that UAG, UAA and UGA are stop codons.
With this, Khorana and his team had established that the mother of all codes, the biological language common to all
living organisms, is spelled out in three-letter words: each set of three nucleotides codes for a specific amino acid.
Their Nobel lecture was delivered on December 12, 1968.[5] To do this Khorana was also the first to synthesize
oligonucleotides, that is, strings of nucleotides (see oligonucleotide synthesis).
Subsequent research
He extended the above to long DNA Polymers using non-aqueous chemistry and assembled these into the first
synthetic gene, using polymerase and ligase enzymes that link pieces of DNA together. [6] as well as methods that
anticipated the invention of PCR.[7] These custom-designed pieces of artificial genes are widely used in biology labs
for sequencing, cloning and engineering new plants and animals. This invention of Khorana has become automated
and commercialized so that anyone now can order a synthetic gene from any of a number of companies. One merely
needs to send the genetic sequence to one of the companies to receive an oligonucleotide with the desired sequence.
His lab has since mid 1970s [8] studied the biochemistry of the membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin responsible for
converting photon energy into proton gradient energy and most recently studying the structural related visual
pigment rhodopsin.[9]
References
[1] "HG Khorana Britannica" (http:/ / www. britannica. com/ EBchecked/ topic/ 316846/ Har-Gobind-Khorana). .
[2] "The Official Site of Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize" (http:/ / www. cumc. columbia. edu/ horwitz/ ). .
[3] "MIT HG Khorana MIT laboratory" (http:/ / web. mit. edu/ chemistry/ www/ faculty/ khorana. html). .
[4] "HG Khorana Nobel Biography" (http:/ / nobelprize. org/ nobel_prizes/ medicine/ laureates/ 1968/ khorana-bio. html). .
[5] "HG Khorana Nobel Lecture" (http:/ / nobelprize. org/ nobel_prizes/ medicine/ laureates/ 1968/ khorana-lecture. html). .
[6] Khorana HG (1979 Feb 16). "Total synthesis of a gene". Science 203 (4381): 614–25. PMID 366749.
[7] Kleppe K, Ohtsuka E, Kleppe R, Molineux I, Khorana HG (1971). "Studies on polynucleotides. XCVI. Repair replications of short synthetic
DNA's as catalyzed by DNA polymerases". J. Molec. Biol. 56: 341–61. PMID 4927950.
[8] Wildenauer D, Khorana HG (1977 Apr 18). "The preparation of lipid-depleted bacteriorhodopsin". Biochim Biophys Acta 466 (2): 315–24.
PMID 857886.
[9] Ahuja S, Crocker E, Eilers M, Hornak V, Hirshfeld A, Ziliox M, Syrett N, Reeves PJ, Khorana HG, Sheves M, Smith SO (2009 Apr 10).
"Location of the retinal chromophore in the activated state of rhodopsin". J Biol Chem. 284 (15): 10190–201. PMID 19176531.
Homi J. Bhabha 104
Homi J. Bhabha
Homi Bhaba
Homi Bhaba (1909-1966)
Born 30 October 1909Bombay, British India
Died 24 January 1966 (aged 56)Mont Blanc, France
Residence New Delhi, India
Nationality Indian
Fields Nuclear Physics
Institutions Atomic Energy Commission of India

Cavendish Laboratory
Indian National Committee for Space Research
Alma mater Elphinstone College

Royal Institute of Science
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Doctoral advisor Ralph H. Fowler
Other academic advisors Paul Dirac
Known for Indian nuclear program

Cosmic Rays
point particles
Notable awards Padma Bhushan (1954)
Not to be confused with Homi K. Bhabha

Homi Jehangir Bhabha, FRS (30 October 1909 – 24 January 1966) was an Indian nuclear physicist and the chief
architect of the Indian atomic energy program. He was also responsible for the establishment of two well-known
research institutions, namely the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), and the Atomic Energy
Establishment at Trombay (which after Bhabha's death was renamed as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
(BARC)). As a scientist, he is remembered for deriving a correct expression for the probability of scattering
positrons by electrons, a process now known as Bhabha scattering.
Homi J. Bhabha 105
Early life
Bhabha was born into a wealthy and prominent Parsi family, through which he was related to Dinshaw Maneckji
Petit, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Dorab Tata. He received his early education at Bombay's Cathedral Grammar
School and entered Elphinstone College at age 15 after passing his Senior Cambridge Examination with Honors. He
then attended the Royal Institute of Science until 1927 before joining Caius College of Cambridge University. This
was due to the insistence of his father and his uncle Dorab Tata, who planned for Bhabha to obtain an engineering
degree from Cambridge and then return to India, where he would join the Tata Iron and Steel Company in
Jamshedpur.
Higher education and research at Cambridge

At Cambridge Bhabha's interests gradually shifted to theoretical physics. In 1928 Bhabha in a letter to his father
wrote:
“ I seriously say to you that business or job as an engineer is not the thing for me. It is totally foreign to my nature and radically opposed to my
temperament and opinions. Physics is my line. I know I shall do great things here. For, each man can do best and excel in only that thing of
which he is passionately fond, in which he believes, as I do, that he has the ability to do it, that he is in fact born and destined to do it... I am
burning with a desire to do physics. I will and must do it sometime. It is my only ambition. I have no desire to be a `successful' man or the
head of a big firm. There are intelligent people who like that and let them do it... It is no use saying to Beethoven `You must be a scientist for
of things. I therefore earnestly implore you to let me do physics.

[1]
”
it is great thing ' when he did not care two hoots for science; or to Socrates `Be an engineer; it is work of intelligent man'. It is not in the nature
Bhabha's father understood his son's predicament, and he agreed to finance his studies in mathematics provided that
he obtain first class on his Mechanical Sciences Tripos. Bhabha took the Tripos in June 1930 and passed with first
class. He then embarked on his mathematical studies under Paul Dirac to complete the Mathematics Tripos.
Meanwhile, he worked at the Cavendish Laboratory while working towards his doctorate in theoretical physics under
R. H. Fowler. At the time, the laboratory was the center of a number of scientific breakthroughs. James Chadwick
had discovered the neutron, John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton transmuted lithium with high-energy protons, and
Patrick Blackett and Giuseppe Occhialini used cloud chambers to demonstrate the production of electron pairs and
showers by gamma radiation. During the 1931–1932 academic year, Bhabha was awarded the Salomons Studentship
in Engineering. In 1932, he obtained first class on his Mathematical Tripos and was awarded the Rouse Ball
traveling studentship in mathematics. With the studentship, he worked with Wolfgang Pauli in Zürich, Enrico Fermi
in Rome and Hans Kramers in Utrecht.
Research in theoretical physics

In January 1933, Bhabha published his first scientific paper, "The Absorption of Cosmic radition. In the publication,
Bhabha offered an explanation of the absorption features and electron shower production in cosmic rays.The paper
helped him win the Isaac Newton Studentship in 1934, which he held for the next three years. The following year, he
completed his doctoral studies in theoretical physics under Ralph H. Fowler. During his studentship, he split his time
working at Cambridge and with Niels Bohr in Copenhagen. In 1935, Bhabha published a paper in the Proceedings of
the Royal Society, Series A, in which performed the first calculation to determine the cross section of
electron-positron scattering. Electron-positron scattering was later named Bhabha scattering, in honor of his
contributions in the field.
In 1936, the two published a paper, "The Passage of Fast Electrons and the Theory of Cosmic Showers" in the
Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series A, in which they used their theory to describe how primary cosmic rays
from outer space interact with the upper atmosphere to produce particles observed at the ground level. Bhabha and
Heitler then made numerical estimates of the number of electrons in the cascade process at different altitudes for
different electron initiation energies. The calculations agreed with the experimental observations of cosmic ray
Homi J. Bhabha 106
showers made by Bruno Rossi and Pierre Victor Auger a few years before. Bhabha later concluded that observations
of the properties of such particles would lead to the straightforward experimental verification of Albert Einstein's
theory of relativity. In 1937, Bhabha was awarded the Senior Studentship of the 1851 Exhibition, which helped him
continue his work at Cambridge until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.
Return to India
In September 1939, Bhabha was in India for a brief holiday when World War II broke out, and he decided not to
return to England for the time being. He accepted an offer to serve as the Reader in the Physics Department of the
Indian Institute of Science, then headed by renowned physicist C. V. Raman. He received a special research grant
from the Sir Dorab Tata Trust, which he used to establish the Cosmic Ray Research Unit at the institute. Bhabha
selected a few students, including Harish-Chandra, to work with him. Later, on 20 March 1941, he was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society .
TIFR and BARC

When Bhabha was working at the Indian Institute of Science, there was no institute in India which had the necessary
facilities for original work in nuclear physics, cosmic rays, high energy physics, and other frontiers of knowledge in
physics. This prompted him to send a proposal in March 1944 to the Sir Dorab J. Tata Trust for establishing 'a
vigorous school of research in fundamental physics'. In his proposal he wrote :
“
There is at the moment in India no big school of research in the fundamental problems of physics, both theoretical and experimental. There
are, however, scattered all over India competent workers who are not doing as good work as they would do if brought together in one place
under proper direction. It is absolutely in the interest of India to have a vigorous school of research in fundamental physics, for such a school
forms the spearhead of research not only in less advanced branches of physics but also in problems of immediate practical application in
industry. If much of the applied research done in India today is disappointing or of very inferior quality it is entirely due to the absence of
sufficient number of outstanding pure research workers who would set the standard of good research and act on the directing boards in an
advisory capacity ... Moreover, when nuclear energy has been successfully applied for power production in say a couple of decades from now,
India will not have to look abroad for its experts but will find them ready at hand. I do not think that anyone acquainted with scientific
development in other countries would deny the need in India for such a school as I propose. ”
The subjects on which research and advanced teaching would be done would be theoretical physics, especially on fundamental problems and
with special reference to cosmic rays and nuclear physics, and experimental research on cosmic rays. It is neither possible nor desirable to
[2]
separate nuclear physics from cosmic rays since the two are closely connected theoretically.
The trustees of Sir Dorab J. Tata Trust decided to accept Bhabha's proposal and financial responsibility for starting
the Institute in April 1944. Bombay was chosen as the location for the prosed Institute as the Government of
Bombay showed interest in becoming a joint founder of the proposed institute. The institute, named Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research, was inaugurated in 1945 in 540 square meters of hired space in an existing building. In 1948
the Institute was moved into the old buildings of the Royal Yacht club.
When Bhabha realized that technology development for the atomic energy programme could no longer be carried out
within TIFR he proposed to the government to build a new laboratory entirely devoted to this purpose. For this
purpose, 1200 acres of land was acquired at Trombay from the Bombay Government. Thus the Atomic Energy
Establishment Trombay (AEET) started functioning in 1954. The same year the Department of Atomic Energy
(DAE) was also established.
Homi J. Bhabha 107
Death and legacy

He died when Air India Flight 101 crashed near Mont Blanc on January 24, 1966. The Atomic Energy Establishment
Trombay (AEET) was renamed as Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in his honour. In addition to being an able
scientist and administrator, Bhabha was also a painter and a classical music and opera enthusiast, besides being an
amateur botanist.
After his death, the Atomic Energy Establishment at Trombay was renamed as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
in his honour. Bhabha also encouraged research in electronics, space science, radio astronomy and microbiology.
The famed radio telescope at Ooty, India was his initiative, and it became a reality in 1970. The Homi Bhabha
Fellowship Council has been giving the Homi Bhabha Fellowships since 1967 Other noted institutions in his name
are the Homi Bhabha National Institute, an Indian deemed university and the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science
Education, Mumbai, India.
References
[1] http:/ / www. vigyanprasar. gov. in/ scientists/ bhabha/ BHABHANEW. HTM
[2] http:/ / www. vigyanprasar. gov. in/ scientists/ bhabha/ BHABHANEW. HTM
External References
• Annotated Bibliography for Homi J. Bhabha from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues (http://alsos.wlu.
edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=people/Bhabha,+Homi).
Jagadish Chandra Bose

আচার্য জগদীশ চন্দ্র বসু
Acharyo-Jogodiish-Chondro-Boshū
Acharya Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, CSI, CIE, FRS
Jagadish Chandra Bose in Royal Institution, London
Born 30 November 1858Munshiganj, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died 23 November 1937 (aged 78)Giridih, Bengal, British India
Residence Kolkata, Bengal, British India
Nationality Indian
Fields Physics, Biophysics, Biology, Botany, Archaeology, Bengali Literature, Bangla Science Fiction
Alma mater St. Xavier's Collegiate School, Calcutta

St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, University of Cambridge
Doctoral advisor John Strutt (Lord Rayleigh)
Notable students Satyendra Nath Bose
Known for Millimetre waves

Radio
CrescographPlant science
Notable awards Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) (1903)
Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI) (1911)
Knight Bachelor (1917)
Acharya Sir[1] Jagadish Chandra Bose, CSI,[2] CIE,[3] FRS (Bengali: জগদীশ চন্দ্র বসু Jôgodish Chôndro Boshu)
(30 November 1858 – 23 November 1937) was an Bengali polymath: a physicist, biologist, botanist, archaeologist,
as well as an early writer of science fiction.[4] He pioneered the investigation of radio and microwave optics, made
very significant contributions to plant science, and laid the foundations of experimental science in the Indian
subcontinent.[5] IEEE named him one of the fathers of radio science.[6] He is also considered the father of Bengali
science fiction. He was the first person from the Indian subcontinent to receive a US patent, in 1904.
Born during the British Raj, Bose graduated from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta. He then went to the University of
London to study medicine, but could not pursue studies in medicine due to health problems. Instead, he conducted
his research with the Nobel Laureate Lord Rayleigh at Cambridge and returned to India. He then joined the
Presidency College of University of Calcutta as a Professor of Physics. There, despite racial discrimination and a
lack of funding and equipment, Bose carried on his scientific research. He made remarkable progress in his research
of remote wireless signaling and was the first to use semiconductor junctions to detect radio signals. However,
instead of trying to gain commercial benefit from this invention Bose made his inventions public in order to allow
others to further develop his research.
Bose subsequently made a number of pioneering discoveries in plant physiology. He used his own invention, the
crescograph, to measure plant response to various stimuli, and thereby scientifically proved parallelism between
animal and plant tissues. Although Bose filed for a patent for one of his inventions due to peer pressure, his
reluctance to any form of patenting was well known.
He has been recognised for his many contributions to modern science.

Jagdish Chandra Bose was born in Munshiganj District in Bengal (now in Bangladesh) on November 30, 1858. His
father, Bhagawan Chandra Bose, was a Brahmo and leader of the Brahmo Samaj and worked as a deputy magistrate/
assistant commissioner in Faridpur,[7] Bardhaman and other places.[8] His family hailed from the village Rarikhal,
Bikrampur, in the current day Munshiganj District of Bangladesh.[9]
Bose’s education started in a vernacular school, because his father believed that one must know one's own mother
tongue before beginning English, and that one should know also one's own people. Speaking at the Bikrampur
Conference in 1915, Bose said:
“At that time, sending children to English schools was an aristocratic status symbol. In the vernacular school,
to which I was sent, the son of the Muslim attendant of my father sat on my right side, and the son of a
fisherman sat on my left. They were my playmates. I listened spellbound to their stories of birds, animals and
aquatic creatures. Perhaps these stories created in my mind a keen interest in investigating the workings of
Nature. When I returned home from school accompanied by my school fellows, my mother welcomed and fed
all of us without discrimination. Although she was an orthodox old fashioned lady, she never considered
herself guilty of impiety by treating these ‘untouchables’ as her own children. It was because of my childhood
friendship with them that I could never feel that there were ‘creatures’ who might be labelled ‘low-caste’. I
never realised that there existed a ‘problem’ common to the two communities, Hindus and Muslims.”[8]
Bose joined the Hare School in 1869 and then St. Xavier’s School at Kolkata. In 1875, he passed the Entrance
Examination (equivalent to school graduation) of University of Calcutta and was admitted to St. Xavier's College,
Calcutta. At St. Xavier's, Bose came in contact with Jesuit Father Eugene Lafont, who played a significant role in
developing his interest to natural science.[8] [9] He received a bachelor's degree from University of Calcutta in
1879.[7]
Bose wanted to go to England to compete for the Indian Civil Service. However, his father, a civil servant himself,
canceled the plan. He wished his son to be a scholar, who would “rule nobody but himself.” Bose went to England to
study Medicine at the University of London. However, he had to quit because of ill health.[10] The odour in the
dissection rooms is also said to have exacerbated his illness.[7]
Through the recommendation of Anand Mohan, his brother-in-law (sister's husband) and the first Indian wrangler, he
secured admission in Christ's College, Cambridge to study Natural Science. He received the Natural Science Tripos
from the University of Cambridge and a BSc from the University of London in 1884.[11] Among Bose’s teachers at
Cambridge were Lord Rayleigh, Michael Foster, James Dewar, Francis Darwin, Francis Balfour, and Sidney Vines.
At the time when Bose was a student at Cambridge, Prafulla Chandra Roy was a student at Edinburgh. They met in
London and became intimate friends.[7] [8]
On the second day of a two-day seminar held on the occasion of 150th anniversary of Jagadish Chandra Bose on
28–29 July at The Asiatic Society, Kolkata Professor Shibaji Raha, Director of the Bose Institute, Kolkata told in his
valedictory address that he had personally checked the register of the Cambridge University to confirm the fact that
in addition to Tripos he received an M.A. as well from it in 1884.
Joining Presidency College

Bose returned to India in 1885, carrying a letter from Fawcett, the
economist to Lord Ripon, Viceroy of India. On Lord Ripon’s request
Sir Alfred Croft, the Director of Public Instruction, appointed Bose
officiating professor of physics in Presidency College. The principal,
C. H. Tawney, protested against the appointment but had to accept
it.[12]
Bose was not provided with facilities for research. On the contrary, he
was a ‘victim of racialism’ with regard to his salary.[12] In those days,
an Indian professor was paid Rs. 200 per month, while his European
counterpart received Rs. 300 per month. Since Bose was officiating, he
was offered a salary of only Rs. 100 per month.[13] With remarkable
sense of self respect and national pride he decided on a new form of
protest.[12] Bose refused to accept the salary cheque. In fact, he
continued his teaching assignment for three years without accepting Jagadish Chandra Bose
[14]
any salary. Finally both the Director of Public Instruction and the
Principal of the Presidency College fully realised the value of Bose’s skill in teaching and also his lofty character. As
a result his appointment was made permanent with retrospective effect. He was given the full salary for the previous
three years in a lump sum.[7]
Presidency College lacked a proper laboratory. Bose had to conduct his research in a small 24-square-foot (2.2 m2)
room.[7] He devised equipment for the research with the help of one untrained tinsmith.[12] Sister Nivedita wrote, “I
was horrified to find the way in which a great worker could be subjected to continuous annoyance and petty
difficulties ... The college routine was made as arduous as possible for him, so that he could not have the time he
needed for investigation.” After his daily grind, which he of course performed with great conscientiousness, he
carried out his research far into the night, in a small room in his college.[12]
Moreover, the policy of the British government for its colonies was not conducive to attempts at original research.
Bose spent his hard-earned money for making experimental equipment. Within a decade of his joining Presidency
College, he emerged a pioneer in the incipient research field of wireless waves.[12]
Radio research
The British theoretical physicist James Clerk Maxwell mathematically predicted the existence of electromagnetic
waves of diverse wavelengths, but he died in 1879 before his prediction was experimentally verified. British
physicist Oliver Lodge demonstrated the existence of Maxwell’s waves transmitted along wires in 1887-88. The
German physicist Heinrich Hertz showed experimentally, in 1888, the existence of electromagnetic waves in free
space. Subsequently, Lodge pursued Hertz’s work and delivered a commemorative lecture in June 1894 (after Hertz’s
death) and published it in book form. Lodge’s work caught the attention of scientists in different countries including
Bose in India.[15]
The first remarkable aspect of Bose’s follow up microwave research was that he reduced the waves to the millimetre
level (about 5 mm wavelength). He realised the disadvantages of long waves for studying their light-like
properties.[15]
In 1893, Nikola Tesla demonstrated the first public radio communication.[16] One year later, during a November
1894 (or 1895[15] ) public demonstration at Town Hall of Kolkata, Bose ignited gunpowder and rang a bell at a
distance using millimetre range wavelength microwaves.[14] Lieutenant Governor Sir William Mackenzie witnessed
Bose's demonstration in the Kolkata Town Hall. Bose wrote in a Bengali essay, Adrisya Alok (Invisible Light), “The
invisible light can easily pass through brick walls, buildings etc. Therefore, messages can be transmitted by means of
it without the mediation of wires.”[15] In Russia, Popov performed similar experiments. In December 1895, Popov's
records indicate that he hoped for distant signalling with radio waves.[17]
Bose’s first scientific paper, “On polarisation of electric rays by double-refracting crystals” was communicated to the
Asiatic Society of Bengal in May 1895, within a year of Lodge’s paper. His second paper was communicated to the
Royal Society of London by Lord Rayleigh in October 1895. In December 1895, the London journal the Electrician
(Vol 36) published Bose’s paper, “On a new electro-polariscope”. At that time, the word ‘coherer’, coined by Lodge,
was used in the English-speaking world for Hertzian wave receivers or detectors. The Electrician readily commented
on Bose’s coherer. (December 1895). The Englishman (18 January 1896) quoted from the Electrician and
commented as follows:
”Should Professor Bose succeed in perfecting and patenting his ‘Coherer’, we may in time see the whole
system of coast lighting throughout the navigable world revolutionised by a Bengali scientist working single
handed in our Presidency College Laboratory.”
Bose planned to “perfect his coherer” but never thought of patenting it.[15]
In May 1897, two years after Bose's public demonstration in Kolkata, Marconi conducted his wireless signalling
experiment on Salisbury Plain.[17] Bose went to London on a lecture tour in 1896 and met Marconi, who was
conducting wireless experiments for the British post office. In an interview, Bose expressed disinterest in
commercial telegraphy and suggested others use his research work. In 1899, Bose announced the development of a
"iron-mercury-iron coherer with telephone detector" in a paper presented at the Royal Society, London.[18]
It appears that Bose's demonstration of remote wireless signalling has priority over Marconi.[19] He was the first to
use a semiconductor junction to detect radio waves, and he invented various now commonplace microwave
components. In 1954, Pearson and Brattain gave priority to Bose for the use of a semi-conducting crystal as a
detector of radio waves. Further work at millimetre wavelengths was almost nonexistent for nearly 50 years. In 1897,
Bose described to the Royal Institution in London his research carried out in Kolkata at millimetre wavelengths. He
used waveguides, horn antennas, dielectric lenses, various polarisers and even semiconductors at frequencies as high
as 60 GHz; much of his original equipment is still in existence, now at the Bose Institute in Kolkata. A 1.3 mm
multi-beam receiver now in use on the NRAO 12 Metre Telescope, Arizona, U.S.A. incorporates concepts from his
original 1897 papers.[17]
Sir Nevill Mott, Nobel Laureate in 1977 for his own contributions to solid-state electronics, remarked that "J.C. Bose
was at least 60 years ahead of his time" and "In fact, he had anticipated the existence of P-type and N-type
semiconductors."
Plant research
Bose's next contribution to science was in plant physiology. He forwarded a theory for the ascent of sap in plants in
1927, his theory contributed to the vital theory of ascent of sap. According to his theory, electromechanical
pulsations of living cells were responsible for the ascent of sap in plants.
He was skeptical about the then, and still now, most popular theory for the ascent of sap, the tension-cohesion theory
of Dixon and Joly, first proposed in 1894. The 'CP theory', proposed by Canny in 1995,[20] validates this skepticism.
Canny experimentally demonstrated pumping in the living cells in the junction of the endodermis.
In his research in plant stimuli, Bose showed with the help of his newly invented crescograph that plants responded
to various stimuli as if they had nervous systems like that of animals. He therefore found a parallelism between
animal and plant tissues. His experiments showed that plants grow faster in pleasant music and their growth is
retarded in noise or harsh sound. This was experimentally verified later on.
His major contribution in the field of biophysics was the demonstration of the electrical nature of the conduction of
various stimuli (e.g., wounds, chemical agents) in plants, which were earlier thought to be of a chemical nature.
These claims were later proven experimentally by Wildon et al. (Nature, 1992, 360, 62–65). He was also the first to
study the action of microwaves in plant tissues and corresponding changes in the cell membrane potential. He
researched the mechanism of the seasonal effect on plants, the effect of chemical inhibitors on plant stimuli, the
effect of temperature etc. From the analysis of the variation of the cell membrane potential of plants under different
circumstances, he deduced the claim that plants can "feel pain, understand affection etc.".
Electrical response in metals

J.C. Bose was the first physicist who began an examination of inorganic matter (metals and certain rocks) in the
same way as a biologist examines a muscle or a nerve. He subjected metals to various kinds of
stimulus—mechanical, thermal, chemical, and electrical. He found that all sorts of stimulus produce an excitatory
change in them. And this excitation sometimes expresses itself in a visible change of form and sometimes not; but
the disturbance produced by the stimulus always exhibits itself in an electric response. He next subjected plants and
animal tissues to various kinds of stimulus and also found that they also give an electric response. Finding that a
universal reaction brought together metals, plants and animals under a common law, he next proceeded to a study of
modifications in response, which occur under various conditions. He found that they are all(metals and living
tissues) benumbed by cold, intoxicated by alcohol, wearied by excessive work, stupified by anaesthetics, excited by
electric currents, stung by physical blows and killed by poison—they all exhibit essentially the same phenomena of
fatigue and depression, together with possibilities of recovery and of exaltation, yet also that of permanent
irresponsiveness which is associated with death—they all are responsive or irresponsive under the same conditions
and in the same manner. The investigations showed that, in the entire range of response phenomena (inclusive as that
is of metals, plants and animals) there is no breach of continuity; that “the living response in all its diverse
modifications is only a repetition of responses seen in the inorganic” and that the phenomena of response “are
determined, not by the play of an unknowable and arbitrary vital force, but by the working of laws that know no
change, acting equally and uniformly throughout the organic and inorganic matter.”
Science fiction
In 1896, Bose wrote Niruddesher Kahini, the first major work in Bangla science fiction. Later, he added the story in
the Abyakta book as Palatak Tuphan. He was the first science fiction writer in the Bengali language.[21]
Bose and patents

Bose was not interested in patenting his invention. In his Friday Evening Discourse at the Royal Institution, London,
he made public his construction of the coherer. Thus The Electric Engineer expressed "surprise that no secret was at
anytime made as to its construction, so that it has been open to all the world to adopt it for practical and possibly
moneymaking purposes."[7] Bose declined an offer from a wireless apparatus manufacturer for signing a
remunerative agreement. It might be interesting to note here that although Sir J. C. Bose did not see the merit of
patenting, Swami Vivekananda disagreed. However, prior to his trip to USA, Swami Vivekananda visited Prof. J. C.
Bose and tried to convince him to patent this invention of his. Since he knew that it wouldl be futile to try convince
him do such an act, he instead made copies of this ground breaking and carried it with him to USA. Besides,
delivering his world famous talk at the conference on World Religions, Swami Vivekananda asked one of his
disciples, Sara Chapman Bull, to file a patent application for "detector for electrical disturbances" in the absence of
Sir J. C. Bose. The application was filed on 30 September 1901 and it was granted as US 755840 [22] on 29 March
1904. This act of Swami Vivekananda has finally garnered an Indian scientist with the recognition for being one of
the founding fathers of wireless communication. Prof. J. C. Bose never visited USA.
Speaking in New Delhi in August 2006, at a seminar titled Owning the Future: Ideas and Their Role in the Digital
Age, Dr. V S Ramamurthy, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT Delhi, stressed the attitude of Bose
towards patents:
"His reluctance to any form of patenting is well known. It was contained in his letter to (Indian Nobel laureate)
Rabindranath Tagore dated 17 May 1901 from London. It was not that Sir Jagadish was unaware of patents
and its advantages. He was the first Indian to get a US Patent (No: 755840) in 1904. And Sir Jagadish was not
alone in his avowed reluctance to patenting. Roentgen, Pierre Curie and others also chose the path of no
patenting on moral grounds." However, it is necessary to mention that Roentgen is not the original inventor of
X-rays. It was Nikolai Tesla's invention. Tesla had patented this technology prior to Roentgen inventing it.
Roentgen had eventually met Tesla and had long conversations with him regarding Tesla's inventions, and
might have realized that he could never patent his invention as it was prior art at that point.
Bose also recorded his attitude towards patents in his inaugural lecture at the foundation of the Bose Institute on 30
November 1917.
Legacy
Bose’s place in history has now been re-evaluated, and he is credited with the invention of the first wireless detection
device and the discovery of millimetre length electromagnetic waves and considered a pioneer in the field of
biophysics.
Many of his instruments are still on display and remain largely usable now, over 100 years later. They include
various antennas, polarisers, and waveguides, which remain in use in modern forms today.
To commemorate his birth centenary in 1958, the JBNSTS scholarship programme was started in West Bengal.
Publications
Journals
• Nature published about 27 papers.
• Bose J.C. (1902). "On Elektromotive Wave accompanying Mechanical Disturbance in Metals in Contact with
Electrolyte". Proc. Roy. Soc. 70 (459-466): 273–294. doi:10.1098/rspl.1902.0029.
• Bose J.C. (1902). "Sur la response electrique de la matiere vivante et animee soumise ä une excitation.—Deux
proceeds d'observation de la r^ponse de la matiere vivante". Journ. De phys. 4 (1): 481–491.
Books
• Response in the Living and Non-living [23], 1902
• Plant response as a means of physiological investigation, 1906
• Comparative Electro-physiology [24]: A Physico-physiological Study, 1907
• Researches on Irritability of Plants [25], 1913
• Physiology of the Ascent of Sap, 1923
• The physiology of photosynthesis, 1924
• The Nervous Mechanisms of Plants, 1926
• Plant Autographs and Their Revelations, 1927
• Growth and tropic movements of plants, 1928
• Motor mechanism of plants, 1928
Other
• J.C. Bose, Collected Physical Papers. New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., 1927
• Abyakta (Bangla), 1922
Honors
• Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) (1903)
• Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI) (1912)
• Knighthood, 1917
• Fellow of the Royal Society (1920)
• Member of the Vienna Academy of Sciences, 1928
• President of the 14th session of the Indian Science Congress in 1927.
• Member of Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters in 1929.
• Member of the League of Nations' Committee for Intellectual Cooperation
• Founding fellow of the National Institute of Sciences of India (now renamed as the Indian National Science
Academy)
• The Indian Botanic Garden was renamed as the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden on June
25, 2009 in honor of Jagadish Chandra Bose.[26]
Notes
[1] Viewing Page 3597 of Issue 30022 (http:/ / www. london-gazette. co. uk/ issues/ 30022/ pages/ 3597). London-gazette.co.uk (1917-04-17).
Retrieved on 2010-09-01.
[2] Viewing Page 9359 of Issue 28559 (http:/ / www. london-gazette. co. uk/ issues/ 28559/ pages/ 9359). London-gazette.co.uk (1911-12-08).
[3] Viewing Page 4 of Issue 27511 (http:/ / www. london-gazette. co. uk/ issues/ 27511/ supplements/ 4). London-gazette.co.uk (1902-12-30).
[4] A versatile genius (http:/ / frontlineonnet. com/ fl2124/ stories/ 20041203003009100. htm), Frontline 21 (24), 2004.
[5] Chatterjee, Santimay and Chatterjee, Enakshi, Satyendranath Bose, 2002 reprint, p. 5, National Book Trust, ISBN 81-237-0492-5
[6] A. K. Sen (1997). "Sir J.C. Bose and radio science", Microwave Symposium Digest 2 (8-13), p. 557-560.
[7] Mahanti, Subodh. "Acharya Jagadis Chandra Bose" (http:/ / www. vigyanprasar. gov. in/ scientists/ JCBOSE. htm). Biographies of Scientists.
Vigyan Prasar, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. . Retrieved 2007-03-12.
[8] Mukherji, Visvapriya, Jagadish Chandra Bose, second edition, 1994, pp. 3-10, Builders of Modern India series, Publications Division,
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, ISBN 81-230-0047-2
[9] Murshed, Md Mahbub. "Bose, (Sir) Jagadish Chandra" (http:/ / banglapedia. search. com. bd/ HT/ B_0584. htm). Banglapedia. Asiatic
Society of Bangladesh. . Retrieved 2007-03-12.
[10] "Jagadish Chandra Bose" (http:/ / www. calcuttaweb. com/ people/ jcbose. shtml). People. Calcuttaweb.com. . Retrieved 2007-03-10.
[11] Bose, Jagadis Chandra (http:/ / venn. lib. cam. ac. uk/ cgi-bin/ search. pl?sur=& suro=c& fir=& firo=c& cit=& cito=c& c=all&
tex=BS881JC& sye=& eye=& col=all& maxcount=50) in Venn, J. & J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge University Press, 10 vols,
1922–1958.
[12] Mukherji, Visvapriya, pp.11-13
[13] Gangopadhyay, Sunil, Protham Alo, 2002 edition, p. 377, Ananda Publishers Pvt. Ltd.. ISBN 81-7215-362-7
[14] "Jagadish Chandra Bose" (http:/ / www. iisc. ernet. in/ insa/ ch2. pdf) (PDF). Pursuit and Promotion of Science: The Indian Experience
(Chapter 2). Indian National Science Academy. 2001. pp. 22–25. . Retrieved 2007-03-12.
[15] Mukherji, Visvapriya, pp.14-25
[16] "Nikola Tesla, 1856 - 1943". IEEE History Center, IEEE, 2003. (cf., In a lecture-demonstration given in St. Louis in [1893]—two years
before Marconi's first experiments—Tesla also predicted wireless communication; the apparatus that he employed contained all the elements
of spark and continuous wave that were incorporated into radio transmitters before the advent of the vacuum tube.)
[17] Emerson, D.T. (February 1998). "The Work of Jagadis Chandra Bose: 100 Years of MM-wave Research" (http:/ / www. tuc. nrao. edu/
~demerson/ bose/ bose. html). IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, December 1997, Vol. 45, No. 12, pp.2267-2273.
IEEE. . Retrieved 2007-03-13.
[18] Bondyopadhyay, P.K. (January 1998). "Sir J. C. Bose's Diode Detector Received Marconi's First Transatlantic Wireless Signal Of December
1901 (The "Italian Navy Coherer" Scandal Revisited)" (http:/ / ieeexplore. ieee. org/ Xplore/ login. jsp?url=/ iel3/ 5/ 14340/ 00658778.
pdf?arnumber=658778). Proceedings of the IEEE 86 (1): 259–285. doi:10.1109/5.658778. . Retrieved 2007-03-13.
[19] Jagadish Chandra Bose: The Real Inventor of Marconi’s Wireless Receiver (http:/ / web. mit. edu/ varun_ag/ www/ bose_real_inventor.
pdf); Varun Aggarwal, NSIT, Delhi, India
[20] M.J. Canny, Ann. Bot., 1995, 75
[21] "Symposium at Christ’s College to celebrate a genius" (http:/ / www. admin. cam. ac. uk/ news/ dp/ 2008112703). University of Cambridge.
2008-11-27. . Retrieved 2009-01-26.
[22] http:/ / v3. espacenet. com/ textdoc?DB=EPODOC& IDX=US755840
[23] http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=B0EpSt9pOlUC

[24] http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=-wYFAAAAYAAJ
[25] http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=QfaTKrzUmJwC
[26] "A new name now for grand old Indian Botanical Gardens" (http:/ / www. hindu. com/ 2009/ 06/ 26/ stories/ 2009062657280500. htm). The
Hindu. 2009-06-26. . Retrieved 2009-06-26.
References and general information

Books
• Pearson G.L., Brattain W.H. (1955). "History of Semiconductor Research". Proc. IRE 43 (12): 1794–1806.
doi:10.1109/JRPROC.1955.278042.
• Frontiers in Biophysics, Vol. 6. Chapter "The ascent of sap", pp. 11–14.
• Davies, E., in The Biochemistry of Plants, Academic Press, 1987b, vol. 12, pp. 243–264.
• J.M. Payne & P.R. Jewell, "The Upgrade of the NRAO 8-beam Receiver," in Multi-feed Systems for Radio
Telescopes, D.T. Emerson & J.M. Payne, Eds. San Francisco: ASP Conference Series, 1995, vol. 75, p. 144
• Fleming, J. A. (1908). The principles of electric wave telegraphy (http://books.google.com/
books?id=JetIAAAAMAAJ). London: New York and.
Journals
• Canny M.J. (1995). "A New Theory for the Ascent of Sap—Cohesion Supported by Tissue Pressure". Ann. Bot.
75 (4): 343–357. doi:10.1006/anbo.1995.1032.
• Canny M.J. (1998). "Applications of the Compensating Pressure Theory of Water Transport". Am. J. Bot. 85 (7):
897–909. doi:10.2307/2446355. JSTOR 2446355.
• Canny M.J. (1998). Am. Sci. 86: 152–9.
• Wayne R. (1994). "The excitability of plant cells: with a special emphasis on characean internodal cells.". Bot.
Rev. 60 (3): 265–367. doi:10.1007/BF02960261. PMID 11539934.
• Pickard B. G. (1973). "Action potentials in higher plants". Bot. Rev. 39 (2): 172–201. doi:10.1007/BF02859299.
• Davies E. (1987a). "Action potentials as multifunctional signals in plants: a unifying hypothesis to explain
apparently disparate wound responses". Plant Cell Environ. 10 (8): 623–631.
doi:10.1111/j.1365-3040.1987.tb01844.x.
• Wildon D.C., et al. (1992). "Electrical signalling and systemic proteinase inhibitor induction in the wounded
plant". Nature 360 (6399): 62–5. doi:10.1038/360062a0.
• Roberts K. (1992). "Potential awareness of plants". Nature 360 (6399): 14–5. doi:10.1038/360014a0.
• Schaefer C., Gross G. (1910). "Untersuchungen ueber die Totalreflexion". Annalen der Physik 32: 648.
Papers and essays
• Varun Aggarwal, Jagadish Chandra Bose: The Real Inventor of Marconi’s Wireless Receiver (http://web.mit.
edu/varun_ag/www/bose_real_inventor.pdf)
• A versatile genius (http://frontlineonnet.com/fl2124/stories/20041203003009100.htm), Frontline 21 (24),
2004.
Further reading
• The life and work of Sir Jagadis C. Bose by Patrick Geddes, Longmans London, 1920
External links
• Bose Institute Website (http://www.boseinst.ernet.in/home.html)
• Biography at Calcuttaweb (http://www.calcuttaweb.com/people/jcbose.shtml)
• SIR JAGADISH CHANDRA BOSE: the unsung Hero of Radio Communication (http://web.mit.edu/varun_ag/
www/bose.html) at web.mit.edu J. C. Bose, The Unsung hero of radio communication
• JC Bose: 60 GHz in the 1890s (http://www.tuc.nrao.edu/~demerson/bose/bose.html)
• J., Mervis (1998). "HISTORY OF SCIENCE: Bose Credited With Key Role in Marconi's Radio Breakthrough"
(full text). Science 279 (5350): 476. doi:10.1126/science.279.5350.476. Science Magazine on Bose priority
• Article on Jagadish Chandra Bose (http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/B_0584.htm), Banglapedia
• IEEEGHN: Jagadish Chandra Bose (http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Jagadish_Chandra_Bose) at
www.ieeeghn.org
• ECIT Bose article (http://www.infinityfoundation.com/ECITboseframeset.htm) at
www.infinityfoundation.com
• INSA publication (http://www.iisc.ernet.in/insa/ch2.pdf)
• Radio history (http://didyouknow.org/history/radiohistory/)
• Vigyan Prasar article (http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/scientists/JCBOSE.htm)
• Frontline article (http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2124/stories/20041203003009100.htm)
• India's Great Scientist, J. C. Bose
• Acharya Jagadis Chandra Bose (http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/scientists/JCBOSE.htm) at
www.vigyanprasar.gov.in
• Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose by Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/22085) at Project
Gutenberg (Project Gutenberg)
• Response in the Living and Non-Living by Jagadis Chandra Bose (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18986) at
Project Gutenberg (Project Gutenberg)
Satish Dhawan 117
Satish Dhawan
Satish Dhawan
Born 25 September 1920Srinagar, India
Died 3 March 2002 (aged 81)India
Residence India
Nationality Indian
Fields Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Institutions Indian Space Research Organization

California Institute of Technology
National Aerospace laboratories
Indian Academy of Sciences and Indian Space Commission
Alma mater University of Punjab (Pakistan)

University of Minnesota
California Institute of Technology
Doctoral advisor Dr.Hans W. Liepmann
Known for Indian space program
Notable awards Padma Vibhushan

Indira Gandhi Award
Satish Dhawan (Punjabi: ਸਤੀਸ਼ ਧਵਨ, Hindi: सतीश धवन) (25 September 1920–3 January 2002) was an Indian rocket
scientist and a pioneer aerospace engineer who was born in Srinagar, India and educated in India and the United
States. He is considered by the Indian scientific community to be the father of experimental fluid dynamics research
in India, and one of the most eminent researchers in the field of turbulence and boundary layers. He succeeded
Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of the Indian space programme, as Chairman of the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) in 1972.
Education
Dhawan was a graduate of University of the Punjab in Lahore, British India (now Pakistan), where he completed a
Bachelors of Arts in Mathematics and Bachelors of Science in Physics, followed by a Master of Arts in Mathematics
from the same institution. In 1943, moved to United States to further his education. He attended University of
Minnesota, Minneapolis and completed a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering. In 1947, he
completed a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering and Aeronautical Engineer’s Degree from California
Institute of Technology (CIT), followed by a double Ph.D. in Mathematics and Aerospace Engineering under the
supervision of Dr. Prof. Hans W. Liepmann as his advisor in 1951.
Satish Dhawan 118
Chairman of ISRO
He was the Chairman of the Space Commission and Secretary to the Government of India at the Department of
Space. In the decade following his appointment, he directed the Indian space programme through a period of
extraordinary growth and spectacular achievement.
Although he was the head of the Indian space programme, he devoted substantial efforts towards boundary layer
research. His most important contributions are presented in the seminal book Boundary Layer Theory by Hermann
Schlichting. He was a professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), located in Bangalore. He is credited for
setting up the first supersonic wind tunnel in India at IISc. He also pioneered research on relaminarization of
separated boundary layer flows, three-dimensional boundary layers and trisonic flows.
Support of space research

Dhawan carried out pioneering experiments in rural education, remote sensing and satellite communications. His
efforts led to operational systems like INSAT, a telecommunications satellite; IRS, the Indian Remote Sensing
satellite; and the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), that placed India in the league of space faring nations.
Honors
Following his death in 2002, the Indian satellite launch centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, located about 100 km
north of Chennai in South India, was renamed the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
Career
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
• Senior Scientific Officer, 1951
• Professor and Head of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering, 1955
• Director, 1962–1981
California Insititute of Technology, USA
• Visiting Professor, 1971–72
National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore, India
• Chairman, Research council, 1984–93
Indian Academy of Sciences
• President, 1977–1979
Indian Space Research Organisation
• Chairman, 1972–1995
Indian Space Commission
• Chairman, 1972–2002
Satish Dhawan 119
Education
University of the Punjab in Lahore (undivided India at that time and now in Pakistan)
• B.A. in Mathematics and B.Sc. in Physics
• M.A. in English Literature
• B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering, 1945, from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
• M.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering from California Institute of Technology (CIT), 1947
• Aeronautical Engineer’s Degree, from CIT, 1949
• Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering and Mathematics, 1951, with Prof Hans W. Liepmann as his advisor
Awards
• Padma Vibhushan (India's second highest civilian honour), 1981
• Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration, 1999
• Distinguished Alumnus Award, Indian Institute of Science
• Distinguished Alumnus Award, California Insititute of Technology, 1969
Trivia
His daughter Jyotsna Dhawan, is a renowned molecular biologist.
References
1. Dhawan S: Direct measurements of skin friction. Tech. Rep No.1121, National Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics, Washington DC 1953.
2. Schlichting H, Gersten K: Boundary Layer Theory (8th Revised & Enlarged Edition). Springer, 1999.
3. Dhawan S: A glimpse of fluid mechanics research in Bangalore 25 years ago. India: Surveys in fluid mechanics
Indian Academy of Sciences (Eds. R Narasimha, S M Deshpande) 1-15, 1982.
4. Developments in Fluid Mechanics and Space Technology. (Eds. R Narasimha, APJ Abdul Kalam) Indian
Academy of Sciences, 1988.
5. Dhawan S: Bird flight. Indian Academy of Sciences, 1991.
6. Dhawan S: Aeronautical Research in India. (22nd British Commonwealth Lecture). J. Royal Aero. Soc. 71,
149-184, 1967.
7. Special Section on Instabilities, transitions and turbulence. (Ed. R Narasimha) Current Science, 79:725-883, 2000
External links
1. Prof. Roddam Narasimha, JNCASR about his professor. [1]
2. Prof. Hans Liepmann, Caltech about his student. [2]
References
[1] http:/ / www. iisc. ernet. in/ nias/ sdhawan. htm
[2] http:/ / pr. caltech. edu/ periodicals/ EandS/ articles/ LXV4/ obituaries. html
Satyendra Nath Bose

Satyendra Nath Bose
সত্যেন্দ্র নাথ বসু
Shottendro-Nath Boshū
Satyendra Nath Bose in 1925
Born 1 January 1894Calcutta, British India
Died 4 February 1974 (aged 80)Calcutta, India
Residence India
Nationality Indian
Fields Mathematics and Physics
Institutions University of Calcutta

University of Dhaka
Alma mater University of Calcutta
Doctoral advisor none
Known for Bose–Einstein condensate, Bose–Einstein statistics, Bose gas
Notes
*Note that Bose didn't have a doctorate, and the highest degree he obtained was an M. Sc. from the University of Calcutta in 1915; his mentor was
Sahill Poddar.
Satyendra Nath Bose (Bengali: সত্যেন্দ্র নাথ বসু Shottendronath Boshū, IPA: [ʃot̪ːend̪ronat̪ʰ boʃu]; 1 January 1894
– 4 February 1974), FRS, was a Bengali mathematician and physicist noted for his collaboration with Albert Einstein
in developing a theory regarding the gaslike qualities of electromagnetic radiation. He is best known for his work on
quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, providing the foundation for Bose–Einstein statistics and the theory of the
Bose–Einstein condensate. He is honoured as the namesake of the boson.[1] He was awarded India's second highest
civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan in 1954 by the Government of India.[2]
Although more than one Nobel Prize was awarded for research related to the concepts of the boson, Bose–Einstein
statistics and Bose–Einstein condensate—the latest being the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics, which was given for
advancing the theory of Bose–Einstein condensates—Bose himself was not awarded the Nobel Prize. Among his
other talents, Bose spoke several languages and could also play the esraj, a musical instrument similar to a violin.
In his book, The Scientific Edge, the noted physicist Jayant Narlikar observed:
“ S. N. Bose’s work on particle statistics (c. 1922), which clarified the behaviour of photons (the particles of light in an enclosure) and opened
the door to new ideas on statistics of Microsystems that obey the rules of quantum theory, was one of the top ten achievements of 20th century
Indian science and could be considered in the Nobel Prize class.
[3]
”
Early life and career

Bose was born in Calcutta, British India, the eldest of seven children. His father, Surendranath Bose, worked in the
Engineering Department of the East Indian Railway Company. Bose attended Hindu School in Calcutta, and later
attended Presidency College, also in Calcutta, earning the highest marks at each institution. He came in contact with
teachers such as Jagadish Chandra Bose and Prafulla Chandra Roy who provided inspiration to aim high in life.
From 1916 to 1921 he was a lecturer in the physics department of the University of Calcutta. In 1921, he joined the
department of Physics of the then recently founded Dhaka University (now in Bangladesh and called University of
Dhaka).
In 1924, while working as a Reader at the Physics Department of the University of Dhaka, Bose wrote a paper
deriving Planck's quantum radiation law without any reference to classical physics and using a novel way of
counting states with identical particles. This paper was seminal in creating the very important field of quantum
statistics. After initial setbacks to his efforts to publish, he sent the article directly to Albert Einstein in Germany.
Einstein, recognizing the importance of the paper, translated it into German himself and submitted it on Bose's behalf
to the prestigious Zeitschrift für Physik. As a result of this recognition, Bose was able to leave India for the first time
and spent two years in Europe, during which he worked with Louis de Broglie, Marie Curie, and Einstein.
After his stay in Europe, Bose returned to Dhaka in 1926. He became a professor and was made head of the
Department of Physics, and continued teaching at Dhaka University until 1945. He was also Dean of the Faculty of
Science at Dhaka University for a long period. When the partition of India became imminent, he returned to Calcutta
and taught at Calcutta University until 1956, when he retired and was made professor emeritus.
Bose–Einstein condensate
Two heads Two tails One of each
|+ Possible outcomes of flipping two coins

There are three outcomes. What is the probability of producing two heads?
Coin 1
Head Tail
Coin 2 Head HH HT
Tail TH TT
|+ Outcome probabilities
Since the coins are distinct, there are two outcomes which produce a head and a tail. The probability of two heads is
one-quarter.
While presenting a lecture at the University of Dhaka on the theory of radiation and the ultraviolet catastrophe, Bose
intended to show his students that the contemporary theory was inadequate, because it predicted results not in
accordance with experimental results. During this lecture, Bose committed an error in applying the theory, which
unexpectedly gave a prediction that agreed with the experiment (he later adapted this lecture into a short article
called Planck's Law and the Hypothesis of Light Quanta).
The error was a simple mistake—similar to arguing that flipping two fair coins will produce two heads one-third of
the time—that would appear obviously wrong to anyone with a basic understanding of statistics. However, the
results it predicted agreed with experiment, and Bose realized it might not be a mistake at all. He for the first time
took the position that the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution would not be true for microscopic particles where
fluctuations due to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle will be significant. Thus he stressed the probability of finding
particles in the phase space, each state having volume h³, and discarding the distinct position and momentum of the
particles.
Physics journals refused to publish Bose's paper. It was their contention that he had presented to them a simple
mistake, and Bose's findings were ignored. Discouraged, he wrote to Albert Einstein, who immediately agreed with
him. His theory finally achieved respect when Einstein sent his own paper in support of Bose's to Zeitschrift für
Physik, asking that they be published together. This was done in 1924. Bose had earlier translated Einstein's theory
of General Relativity from German to English.
The reason Bose's "mistake" produced accurate results was that since photons are indistinguishable from each other,
one cannot treat any two photons having equal energy as being two distinct identifiable photons. By analogy, if in an
alternate universe coins were to behave like photons and other bosons, the probability of producing two heads would
indeed be one-third (tail-head = head-tail). Bose's "error" is now called Bose–Einstein statistics.
Einstein adopted the idea and extended it to atoms. This led to the prediction of the existence of phenomena which
became known as Bose-Einstein condensate, a dense collection of bosons (which are particles with integer spin,
named after Bose), which was demonstrated to exist by experiment in 1995.
Later work
Bose's ideas were afterwards well received in the world of physics, and he was granted leave from the University of
Dhaka to travel to Europe in 1924. He spent a year in France and worked with Marie Curie, and met several other
well-known scientists. He then spent another year abroad, working with Einstein in Berlin. Upon his return to Dhaka,
he was made a professor in 1926. He did not have a doctorate, and so ordinarily he would not be qualified for the
post, but Einstein recommended him. His work ranged from X-ray crystallography to unified field theories. He also
published an equation of state for real gases with Megh Nad Saha.
Apart from physics he did some research in biochemistry and literature (Bengali, English). He made deep studies in
chemistry, geology, zoology, anthropology, engineering and other sciences. Being an Indian of Bengali descent, he
devoted a lot of time to promoting Bengali as a teaching language, translating scientific papers into it, and promoting
the development of the region.
In 1944 Bose was elected General President of the Indian Science Congress.
In 1958 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Notes
[1] "boson (dictionary entry)" (http:/ / www. merriam-webster. com/ dictionary/ boson). Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary. . Retrieved
2010-03-21.
[2] "Padma Awards" (http:/ / india. gov. in/ myindia/ padma_awards. php). Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. .
[3] The Scientific Edge by Jayant V. Narlikar, Penguin Books, 2003, page 127. The work of other 20th century Indian scientists which Narlikar
considered to be of Nobel Prize class were Srinivasa Ramanujan, Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman and Megh Nad Saha.
References
• S. N. Bose. "Plancks Gesetz und Lichtquantenhypothese", Zeitschrift für Physik 26:178-181 (1924). (The German
translation of Bose's paper on Planck's law)
• Abraham Pais. Subtle is the Lord...: The Science and Life of Albert Einstein. Oxford and New York: Oxford
University Press, 1982. (pp. 423–434). ISBN 0-19-853907-X.
• "Heat and thermodynamics" Saha and Srivasthava.
• Lev Pitaevskii and Sandro Stringari. "Bose-Einstein Condensation". Clarendon Press, 2003, Oxford.
External links
• Hindu School, Kolkata (http://www.hindu-school.com/)
• Scienceworld's (http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Bose.html) biography of Satyendra Nath Bose
• Satyendra Nath Bose (http://www.calcuttaweb.com/people/snbose.shtml) (biography at Calcuttaweb (http://
calcuttaweb.com))
• O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Satyendra Nath Bose" (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/
Biographies/Bose.html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews.
• The Indian Particle Man (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/rams/wed1102.ram) (audio biography at
BBC Radio 4 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4))
• Bosons - The Birds That Flock and Sing Together (http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/dream/jan2002/article1.
htm) (biography of Bose and Bose-Einstein Condensation)
• http://www.itbhuglobal.org/chronicle/archives/2007/04/#001646 - Satyendra Nath Bose and Bose-Einstein
Condensation Principle.
• University of Dhaka (http://www.du.ac.bd/)
Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar

Sir Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar
Born 21 February 1894Shahpur, British India
Died 1 January 1955 (aged 60)New Delhi, India
Residence India
Nationality Indian
Fields Chemistry
Institutions Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
Alma mater Punjab University

University College London
Doctoral advisor Frederick G. Donnan
Notable awards Padma Vibhushan (1954), OBE (1936), Knighthood (1941)
Sir Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, OBE, FRS (February 21, 1894 – January 1, 1955) was a well-known Indian
scientist.
Early life
Bhatnagar was born in Shahpur, now in Pakistan. His Brahmo father Parmeshwari Sahai Bhatnagar died when he
was only eight months old and he spent his childhood in the house of his maternal grandfather, an engineer, where he
developed a liking for science and engineering. He used to enjoy building mechanical toys, electronic batteries,
string telephones. From his maternal family he also inherited a gift of poetry, and his Urdu one-act play Karamati
won the first prize in a competition.
Education and early research

He went to England on a research fellowship after competing his Master's Degree in India. He received his DSc from
the University College London in 1921, under the guidance of chemistry professor Frederick G. Donnan.[1] After
returning to India, he was awarded a professorship at Benaras Hindu University. He was knighted in 1941 by the
British Government as a reward for his research in science. On March 18, 1943 he was elected as a Fellow of the
Royal Society. His research interests included emulsions, colloids, and industrial chemistry, but his fundamental
contributions were in the field of magneto-chemistry. He used magnetism as a tool to know more about chemical
reactions. The Bhatnagar-Mathur interference balance, which he designed along with a physicist R.N. Mathur. This
was later manufactured by a British firm. He also composed a beautiful kulgeet (University song) which sung with
great reverence prior to functions held in the university.
Work in India
Prime Minister Nehru was a proponent of scientific development, and after India's independence in 1947, the
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was set up under the chairmanship of Dr. Bhatnagar. He
became the first director-general of the CSIR. He became known as "The Father of Research Laboratories" and is
largely remembered for having established various chemical laboratories in India. He established a total twelve
national laboratories such as Central Food Processing Technological Institute, Mysore, National Chemical
Laboratory, Pune, the National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, the National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur,
the Central Fuel Institute, Dhanbad, just to name a few.
Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar played a significant part along with Homi Jehangir Bhabha, Prasanta Chandra
Mahalanobis, Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai and others in building of post-independent S&T infrastructure and in the
formulation of India’s science and technology policies. Bhatnagar was the Founder Director of the Council of
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR),which was to later became a major agency for research in independent
India. He was the first Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC).
He was Secretary, Ministry of Education and Educational Adviser to Government. Bhatnagar played an important
role both in the constitution and deliberations of the Scientific Manpower Committee Report of 1948. ‘It may be
pointed out that this was the first-ever systematic assessment of the scientific manpower needs of the country in all
aspects which served as an important policy document for the government to plan the post-independent S&T
infrastructure.’ Bhatnagar was a University Professor for 19 years (1921-40) first at the Banaras Hindu University
and then at the Punjab University and he had a reputation as a very inspiring teacher and it was as a teacher that he
himself was most happy. His research contribution in the areas of magneto chemistry and physical chemistry of
emulsion were widely recognised. He also did considerable work in applied chemistry. He played an instrumental
role in the establishment of the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) of India, which bridges the
gap between research and development. Bhatnagar was responsible for the initiation of the Industrial Research
Association movement in the country. He constituted the one-man Commission in 1951 to negotiate with oil
companies for starting refineries and this ultimately led to the establishment of many oil refineries in different parts
of the country. He induced many individuals and organisations to donate liberally for the cause of science and
education. He exhibited high poetic talent particularly in Urdu .
On returning to India in August 1921 he joined the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) as Professor of Chemistry. It
may be noted that the BHU was founded by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya in 1916. Bhatnagar stayed for three
years in BHU and during this short span of time he was able to create an active school of physico-chemical research.
Bhatnagar wrote the ‘Kulgeet’ (University song) of the University. Justice N.H. Bhagwati, Vice-Chancellor of BHU
said: "Many of you perhaps do not know that besides being an eminent scientist, Professor Bhatnagar was a Hindi
poet of repute and that during his stay in Banaras, he composed the ‘Kulgeet’ of the University...Prof. Bhatnagar is
remembered with reverence in this University and will continue to be so remembered till this University exists."
From Banaras Bhatnagar moved to Lahore where he was appointed as University Professor of Physical Chemistry
and Director of University Chemical Laboratories. He spent 16 years in the Panjab University, Lahore and this
period was the most active period of his life for original scientific work. While his major fields of study were
colloidal chemistry and magneto-chemistry he did considerable work in applied and industrial chemistry. In 1928
Bhatnagar, jointly with K.N. Mathur, invented an instrument called the Bhatnagar-Mathur Magnetic Interference
Balance. The balance was one of the most sensitive instruments for measuring magnetic properties. It was exhibited
at the Royal Society Soiree in 1931 and it was marketed by Messers Adam Hilger and Co, London.
Bhatnagar did considerable work in applied and industrial chemistry. The first industrial problem undertaken by
Bhatnagar was the development of a process to convert bagasse (peelings of sugarcane) into food cake for cattle.
This was done for the Grand Old Man of Punjab, Sir Ganga Ram. He had undertake industrial problems for Delhi
Cloth Mills; J.K. Mills Ltd., Kanpur; Ganesh Flour Mills Ltd., Layallapur; Tata Oil Mills Ltd., Bombay; Steel
Brothers & Co. Ltd., London and so on. One of the important achievements of Bhatnagar in applied and industrial
chemistry was the work he did for Attock Oil Company at Rawalpindi (representative of Messers Steel Brothers &
Co London). Attock Oil Company in their drilling operations confronted a peculiar problem, wherein the mud used
for drilling operation when came in contact with the saline water got converted into a solid mass which hardened
further. This solidification of the mud rendered all drilling operations impossible.
Bhatnagar realised that this was a problem in colloidal chemistry and developed a suitable method to solve it. ‘The
problem was elegantly solved by the addition of an Indian gum which had the remarkable property of lowering the
viscosity of the mud suspension and of increasing at the same time its stability against the flocculating action of
electrolytes." M/s Steel Brothers was so pleased with the method developed by Bhatnagar that they offered a sum of
Rs. 1,50,000/- to Bhatnagar for his research work on any subject related to petroleum. At the instance of Bhatnagar
the company placed the amount at the disposal of the University. The grant helped to establish the Department of
Petroleum Research under the guidance of Bhatnagar. Investigations carried out under this collaborative scheme
included deodourisation of waxes, increasing flame height of kerosene and utilisation of waste products in vegetable
oil and mineral oil industries. Realising the commercial importance of the collaborative scheme the Company
increased the amount and extended the period from five years to ten years.
Bhatnagar persistently refused to receive any monetary benefit arising out of his applied/industrial chemical research
for his personal ends on the ground that it may be utilised for strengthening research facilities at the University. His
sacrifices drew wide attention. Meghnad Saha wrote to Bhatnagar in 1934 saying, ‘you have hereby raised the status
of the university teachers in the estimation of public, not to speak of the benefit conferred on your Alma Mater’.
Bhatnagar jointly with K.N. Mathur wrote a book ‘Physical Principles and Applications of Magneto chemistry’ and
which was published by Macmillan publishers. This book was recognised as a standard work on the subject. Prafulla
Chandra Ray wrote: "On turning over the pages of Nature my eyes chanced upon an advertisement of Macmillan’s in
which I find your book at last advertised. That the book is of a high standard is indicated by the most excellent
review in Current Science by Professor Stoner, who is competent to judge. As far as I know Meghnad’s is the only
text book in physical sciences which has been adopted by foreign universities; and it gladdens my heart that another
work in physical science is likely to occupy a similar place. My days are practically numbered; and my great
consolation is that you, in chemistry, are raising the reputation, abroad, of Indian workers".
In 1930s there were no appropriate research organisations for the development of natural resources and new
industries. Thus Sir Richard Gregory, then editor of Nature, who after visiting scientific departments and universities
in India in 1933 drew the attention of Sir Samuel Hoare, Secretary of State for India, to the lack of appropriate
research organisation equivalent to those of in DSIR in Britain for the development of natural research and new
industries. He observed: "I knew that work of the Geological Survey of India, Botanical Survey of India,
Meteorological Department, Forestry and so on; but I think something should be done to form an Indian Research
Council to make use of the undoubted capacity of Indians for scientific investigations and its applications. Scientific
activities, many of them having a direct bearing upon the development of resources of the country, are scarcely given
the attention they deserve." Gregory was not alone in realising the need for appropriate research organisation. C.V.
Raman, Lt. Col. Seymour Sewell and Dr. J.C. Ghosh had earlier proposed the creation of an Advisory Board of
Scientific Research for India. Indian scientists at Calcutta and Bangalore initiated schemes to launch a National
Institute of Sciences and an India Academy Science respectively. At the Fifth Industries Conference in 1933 the
Provincial Governments of Bombay, Madras, Bihar and Orissa unanimously reiterated their demand to set up a
co-ordinating forum for industrial research, Sir Hoare advised the Viceroy, Lord Willingdon to support the idea of an
Indian version of DSIR. However, in May 1934 Willingdon informed Hoare in London that `the creation of a
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in India to promote the application of research to natural resources
does not appear to be necessary." Having rejected an Indian version of the DSIR the colonial Government decided in
1934 to make a small concession. The Govt. agreed to create an Industrial Intelligence and Research Bureau and
which came into operation in April 1935 under the Indian Stores Department. The Bureau had very limited resources
(with a budget of Rs. 1.0 lakh per annum) and thus it was not possible for it to undertake any industrial activity. It
was mainly concerned with testing and quality control.

When the Second World War began it was proposed to abolish the Bureau. Sir Ramaswamy Mudaliar, the
Commerce Member, while accepting the recommendation that the Bureau be abolished argued that "the old Bureau
should be abolished not as a measure of economy but to make room for a Board of Scientific and Industrial Research
with vaster resources and wider objectives. Mudaliar’s persistent efforts led to the creation of the Board of Scientific
and Industrial Research (BSIR) on April 1, 1940 for a period of two years. Bhatnagar, who by then had made
remarkable contributions to chemistry was called on to take charge. Bhatnagar was designated Director, Scientific
and Industrial Research and Sir Mudaliar became BSIR’s first Chairman. The BSIR was allocated an annual budget
of Rs. 500,000 and placed under the Department of Commerce. By the end of 1940, about eighty researchers were
engaged under BSIR, of whom one-quarter was directly employed. Within two years of its establishment the BSIR
was able to work out a number of processes at the laboratory level for industrial utilisation. Those included
techniques for the purification of Baluchistan sulphur anti-gas cloth manufacture, the development of vegetable oil
blends as fuel and lubricants, the invention of a pyrethrum emulsifier and cream, the development of plastic packing
cases for army boots and ammunition, dyes for uniforms and the preparation of vitamins. Bhatnagar persuaded the
Government to set up an Industrial Research Utilisation Committee (IRUC) in early 1941 for translating results into
application. Following the recommendation of IURC the Government agreed to make a separate fund out of the
royalties received from industry for further investment into industrial research. A resolution moved by Mudaliar,
recommending that an Industrial Research Fund be constituted for the purpose of fostering industrial development in
the country , and that provision be made for an annual grant of rupees one million for a period of five years was
accepted by the Central Assembly in Delhi at its session on 14 November 1941. The efforts of Mudaliar and
Bhatnagar led to the constitution of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) as an autonomous body,
to administer the Research Fund created by the government. The CSIR came into operation on 28th September 1942.
The BSIR and IRUC were designated as advisory bodies to the Governing body of the CSIR. In 1943 the Governing
Body of the CSIR approved the proposal mooted by Bhatnagar to establish five national laboratories — the National
Chemical Laboratory, the National Physical Laboratory, the Fuel Research Station, and the Glass and Ceramics
Research Institute. In 1944 in addition to its annual budget of Rs. 1 million, the CSIR received a grant of Rs.10
million for the establishment of these laboratories. The Tata Industrial House donated Rs. 2 million for the Chemical,
metallurgical and fuel research laboratories.
After his death, CSIR established the Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award for eminent scientists in his honour.
References
• Richards, Norah (1948). Sir Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar F. R. S.: A Biographical Study of India's Eminent
Scientist. New Delhi, India: New Book Society of India.
• Seshadri, T. R. (November 1962). "Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar. 1894-1955" [2]. Biographical Memoirs of Fellows
of the Royal Society (London: Royal Society) 8: 1–17. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1962.0001.
Notes
[1] Seshadri, p4.
[2] http:/ / www. jstor. org/ view/ 00804606/ ap030010/ 03a00010/ 0
External links
• Biography at The Tribune (http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000319/spectrum/main2.htm)
• Biography at the Insitiute of Photonics, Cochin (http://www.photonics.cusat.edu/Indian_scientists2.html)
• University Song (kulgeet) composed by Bhatnagar for Benares Hindu University (http://www.bhu.ac.in/
kulgeet.htm)
www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/scientists/ssbhatnagar/ShantiSwaroopBhatnagar.htm
Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya
Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya KCIE
Diwan of the Mysore kingdom

In office
1912–1919
Monarch Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV
Preceded by T. Ananda Rao
Succeeded by M. Kantaraj Urs
Born September 15, 1860Muddenahalli, Chikballapur, Kingdom of Mysore (now Karnataka)
Died April 14, 1962 (aged 101)Bangalore
Alma mater Poona Civil Engineering College
Profession Engineer
Religion Hindu
Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, KCIE (Kannada: ಮೋಕ್ಷಗುಂಡಂ ವಿಶ್ವೇಶ್ವರಯ್ಯ) (other spellings include
Visvesvaraya, Visweswaraiah, Vishweshwaraiah, however, "Visvesvaraya" also known as Sir MV; 15 September
1860 - 14 April 1962) was a notable Indian engineer, scholar, statesman and the Diwan of Mysore during 1912 to
1919. He was a recipient of the Indian Republic's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955. He was knighted as a
Commander of the Indian Empire by King George V for his myriad contributions to the public good. Every year, 15
September is celebrated as Engineer's Day in India in his memory. He is held in high regard as the first and
pre-eminent engineer of India. He was the chief designer of the flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad.
Early years
Visvesvaraya was born to Srinivasa Shastry and Venkata lakshmamma at Muddenahalli village, Kanivenarayanapura
hobli, Chikkaballapur District of present-day Karnataka, in what was then the princely state of Mysore. : Bharatha
Rathna Sir M Visvesvaraya (Kan) Purogami Sahitya 1972</ref> Srinivasa Sastry was a Sanskrit scholar and an
authority on the Hindu scriptures, besides being an Ayurvedic practitioner. His mother was venkata
lakshmamma.The family was a pious Telugu-speaking smartha brahmin family of mulkunadu subsect. Visvesvaraya
lost his father at the age of 15.[1] He attended primary school at Chikkaballapur and high school at Bangalore.He
studied his B.A. at Central College, Bangalore, affiliated to Madras University in 1881 and later studied Civil
Engineering at the College of Science, Pune, now known as the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP).[2] sep 15
1860 born died apr 14 1962(101)
Career as Engineer
Upon graduating as an engineer, Visvesvaraya took up a job with the Public Works Department (PWD) of Bombay
(now known as Mumbai) and was later invited to join the Indian Irrigation Commission. He implemented an
extremely intricate system of irrigation in the Deccan area. He also designed and patented a system of automatic weir
water floodgates that were first installed in 1903 at the Khadakvasla Reservoir near Pune. These gates were
employed to raise the flood supply level of storage in the reservoir to the highest level likely to be attained by a flood
without causing any damage to the dam. Based on the success of these gates, the same system was installed at the
Tigra Dam in Gwalior and the Krishnaraja Sagara (KRS) Dam in Mandya/ Mysore,Karnataka. In 1906-07,
Government of India sent him to Eden,(Africa) to study water supply and drainage system and the project prepared
by him was implemented in Eden successfully.
Visvesvaraya achieved celebrity status when he designed a flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad from
floods. He was instrumental in developing a system to protect Vishakapatnam port from sea erosion. [3]
Visvesvaraya supervised the construction of the KRS Dam across the Cauvery River from concept to inauguration.
This dam created the biggest reservoir in Asia when it was built.[4] He was rightly called the "Father of modern
Mysore state" (now Karnataka): During his period of service with the Government of Mysore state, he was
responsible for the founding of, (under the Patronage of Mysore Government), the Mysore Soap Factory, the
Parasitoide Laboratory, the Mysore Iron & Steel Works (now known as Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Limited) in
Bhadravathi, the Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic Institute, the Bangalore Agricultural University, the State Bank
of Mysore, The Century Club, Mysore Chambers of Commerce and numerous other industrial ventures. He
encouraged private investment in industry during his tenure as Diwan of Mysore. He was instrumental in charting
out the plan for road construction between Tirumala and Tirupati. He was known for sincerity, time management and
dedication to a cause.
Diwan of Mysore
After opting for voluntary retirement in 1908, he took a foreign tour to study industrialised nations and after, for a
short period he worked for Nizam of Hyderabad. He suggested flood relief measures for Hyderabad town, which was
under constant threat of floods by Moosi river. Later, during November 1909, Visvesvaraya was appointed as Chief
Engineer of Mysore State. Further, during the year, 1912, he was appointed as Diwan (First Minister) of the princely
state of Mysore. He was Diwan for 7 years.
With the support of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, Maharaja of Mysore, Visvesvaraya made an arguably unprecedented
contribution as Diwan to the all-round development of the state. Not only the achievements listed above, but many
other industries and public works owe their inception or active nurturing to him. He was instrumental in the founding
of the Government Engineering College at Bangalore in 1917, one of the first engineering institutes in India. This
institution was later named the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering after its founder. It remains one of
the most reputed institutes of engineering in Karnataka. He also commissioned several new railway lines in Mysore
states. Visvesvaraya was Sir Mirza Ismail's mentor and in 1926 by way of recommendation to the King who
supplemented Mirza Ismail by elevating him to the coveted position of the Diwan of Mysore.
Awards and Honours

In 1915, while he was the Diwan of Mysore, Visvesvaraya was made Knight
Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire by the British for his myriad
contributions to the public good. After India attained independence, Sir M.
Visvesvaraya was given the nation's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955.[5]
The Bharat Ratna medal
Sir M.V. was honoured with honorary membership of the international Institution of
Civil Engineers (based in London) and a fellowship of the Indian Institute of
Science (based in Bangalore). He was awarded several honorary doctoral degrees
like D.Sc., LL.D., D.Litt. from eight universities in India. He was president of the
1923 Session of the Indian Science Congress. Sir M.V. was awarded honorary
Membership of London Institution of Civil Engineers for an unbroken 50 years.[6]
The family temple at Muddenahalli

Sir M. V.'s mother, Venkatalakshamma discovered the stone sculpture near her
house and figure of Hanuman was caraved on it and same is worshipped at
The Knight Commander of The
Indian Empire medal
Muddenahalli.
Memorial at Muddenahalli
There is a beautiful and very picturesque memorial of Sir M. V. located on the
family-owned land at Muddenahalli, with the Nandi Hills as a backdrop.
Developments in Muddenahalli
In honor of Sir Visvesvarayya, a number of educational institutions are being
constructed in the Muddenahalli-Kanivenarayanapura region. Among these is the
The Samadhi of Sir M.V. at
Muddenahalli Sathya Sai Baba University and School of Medicine,[7] the elite Indian Institute of
Technology Muddenahalli, as well as the 600 crore Visvesvaraya Institute of
[8] [9]
Advanced Technology. These developments will make the historical town of Muddenahalli the premier
education hub in northern Bangalore.
Institutions named in his honour

• The Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, to which nearly all engineering colleges in Karnataka are
now affiliated.
• The Visvesvaraya Institute of Advanced Technology located in Muddenahalli-Kanivenarayanapura.[10]
• The upcoming Indian Institute of Technology Muddenahalli is being built in Sir M.V.'s birthplace.[11]
• The University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, Bangalore popularly known as UVCE, is an engineering
college, affiliated to the Bangalore University, established in 1917 by Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The
college was renamed University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering from its earlier name — University
College of Engineering, Bangalore — in honour of its illustrious founder.[12]
• Vishweshwarayya Polytechnic College
• Sir M Visvesvaraya Institute Of Technology (popularly known as Sir M.V.I.T), Bangalore, is named after Sir
M.V.
• Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (V.N.I.T.), Nagpur (formerly Visvesvaraya Regional College of
Engineering) was established in the early 1960s in his honour. The college is among the elite 19 National
Institutes of Technology (formerly Regional Engineering Colleges) in India.
• Sir M Visvesvaraya Co-operative Bank Ltd,Bangalore - This is the second biggest Co-operative bank of
Karnataka with a turnover of more than Rs. 400 crores
• The Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum, Bangalore, set up as part of his birth centenary
celebrations
• Visvesvaraya Iron & Steel Limited, a public sector undertaking, at Bhadravathi, the founding of which he was
instrumental. He also supervised VISL and, under his supervsion, the loss-making factory started earning profit.
• His alma mater, the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP), has erected a statue in his memory and honour on their
campus in central Pune, immediately outside the historic COEP administration building.
• Institute of Technology - Banaras Hindu University, and R.V. College of Engineering, Bangalore have hostels
named after Sir M Visvesvaraya.
• Karnataka Industrial Cooperative Bank Ltd
• NIT Rourkela named a hall of residence in his honour
Works
• Visvesvaraya, M (1920), Reconstructing India [13], P. S. King & son, ltd, OCLC 2430680
• Visvesvaraya, M (1936), Planned economy for India [14], Bangalore: Bangalore Press, OCLC 19373044
• Visvesvaraya, M (1951), Memoirs of my working life [15], Bangalore, OCLC 6459729
• Visvesvaraya, M (1932), Unemployment in India; its causes and cure [16], Bangalore: The Bangalore Press,
OCLC 14348788
• Visvesvaraya, M (1917), Speeches [17], Bangalore: Government Press, OCLC 6258388
• A Brief Momoir of my complete working life, Government Press, Bangalore, 1959
References
[1] Rao, V. S. Narayana (1973). Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya: his life and work. Geetha Book House
[2] Dr.D.S.Jayappa Gowda: Bharathna Sri M.V.(Kan) 2007
[3] "Visvesvaraya's services recalled" (http:/ / www. hindu. com/ 2006/ 09/ 16/ stories/ 2006091619630300. htm). The Hindu. 16 September
2006. . Retrieved 21 March 2011.
[4] Dildar Husain : An Engineering Wizard of India,Pub: Institution of Engineers (India) AP,Hyderabad, 1966
[5] "Padma Awards Directory (1954-2007)" (http:/ / www. mha. nic. in/ pdfs/ PadmaAwards1954-2007. pdf). Ministry of Home affairs. .
Retrieved 26 November 2010.
[6] "Welcome to Chikballapur District - Visvesvaraya" (http:/ / www. chikballapur. nic. in/ visvesvaraya. html). Chikballapur.nic.in. . Retrieved
2010-08-11.
[7] "Children of Sathya Sai, Sri Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli - Home Page" (http:/ / www. childrenofsathyasai. org).
Childrenofsathyasai.org. . Retrieved 2010-08-11.
[8] "Karnataka News : IIT will be established at Muddenahalli, says Moily" (http:/ / www. hindu. com/ 2009/ 06/ 02/ stories/
2009060256860500. htm). The Hindu. 2009-06-02. . Retrieved 2010-08-11.
[9] "Education Plus : An emerging educational hub" (http:/ / www. hindu. com/ edu/ 2009/ 09/ 07/ stories/ 2009090750800300. htm). The Hindu.
2009-09-07. . Retrieved 2010-08-11.
[10] "UVCE plans year-long celebrations" (http:/ / www. deccanherald. com/ content/ 96274/ uvce-plans-year-long-celebrations. html). Deccan
Herald. 13 September 2010. . Retrieved 30 December 2010.
[11] "IIT at Muddenahalli: Moily" (http:/ / www. deccanherald. com/ content/ 15938/ iit-muddenahalli-moily. html). Deccan Herald. 14
September 2010. . Retrieved 30 December 2010.
[12] "UVCE plans year-long celebrations" (http:/ / www. deccanherald. com/ content/ 96274/ uvce-plans-year-long-celebrations. html). Deccan
Herald. 13 September 2010. . Retrieved 30 December 2010.
[13] http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=J0I_AAAAIAAJ
[14] http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=Akc_AAAAIAAJ
[15] http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=PkY_AAAAIAAJ
[16] http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=FkYRAQAAIAAJ
[17] http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=5q4CAAAAMAAJ
External links
• A list of books on Sir MV, complied by the Institute of Engineers (India) (http://www.ieimysore.org/study.
html)
• Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya – A Visionary Engineer par Excellence (http://www.ias.ac.in/resonance/
May2002/May2002ArticleInABox.html)
• A biography of Sir MV (http://www.karnataka.com/personalities/visvesvaraya/)
• Another biography relating several interesting anecdotes (http://www.freeindia.org/biographies/
greatpersonalities/visvesvaraya/page3.htm)
• On Sir MV's role as founder of the State Bank of Mysore (http://www.statebankofmysore.co.in/founder.htm)
• Why every Kannadiga should be proud of Sir MV Visvesvaraya (http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/
report_why-every-kannadiga-should-be-proud-of-sir-mv-visvesvaraya_1437644)
• Visvesvaraya, an engineer of modernity (http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article646018.ece)
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Born 22 December 1887Erode, British India
Died 26 April 1920 (aged 32)Chetput, (Madras), British India
Residence India, U.K.
Nationality Indian
Fields Mathematics
Alma mater Government Arts College

Pachaiyappa's College
Cambridge University
Academic advisors G. H. Hardy

J. E. Littlewood
Known for Landau–Ramanujan constant

Mock theta functions
Ramanujan conjecture
Ramanujan prime
Ramanujan–Soldner constant
Ramanujan theta function
Ramanujan's sum
Rogers–Ramanujan identities
Srīnivāsa Aiyangār Rāmānujam FRS, better known as Srinivasa Iyengar Ramanujan pronunciation (Tamil:
சீனிவாச இராமானுஜன் or ஸ்ரீனிவாஸ ஐயங்கார் ராமானுஜன்) (22 December 1887 – 26 April 1920)
was an Indian mathematician and autodidact who, with almost no formal training in pure mathematics, made
substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series and continued fractions.
Ramanujan's talent was said by the English mathematician G.H. Hardy to be in the same league as legendary
mathematicians such as Euler, Gauss, Newton and Archimedes.[1]
Born in Erode, Tamil Nadu, India, Ramanujan first encountered formal mathematics at age 10. He demonstrated a
natural ability, and was given books on advanced trigonometry written by S. L. Loney.[2] He had mastered them by
age 12, and even discovered theorems of his own. He demonstrated unusual mathematical skills at school, winning
accolades and awards. By 17, Ramanujan conducted his own mathematical research on Bernoulli numbers and the
Euler–Mascheroni constant. He received a scholarship to study at Government College in Kumbakonam, but lost it
when he failed his non-mathematical coursework. He joined another college to pursue independent mathematical
research, working as a clerk in the Accountant-General's office at the Madras Port Trust Office to support himself.[3]
In 1912–1913, he sent samples of his theorems to three academics at the University of Cambridge. Only Hardy
recognized the brilliance of his work, subsequently inviting Ramanujan to visit and work with him at Cambridge. He
became a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, dying of illness, malnutrition and
possibly liver infection in 1920 at the age of 32.

During his short lifetime, Ramanujan independently compiled nearly 3900 results (mostly identities and
equations).[4] Although a small number of these results were actually false and some were already known, most of
his claims have now been proven correct.[5] He stated results that were both original and highly unconventional, such
as the Ramanujan prime and the Ramanujan theta function, and these have inspired a vast amount of further
research.[6] However, some of his major discoveries have been rather slow to enter the mathematical mainstream.
Recently, Ramanujan's formulae have found applications in crystallography and string theory.[7] The Ramanujan
Journal, an international publication, was launched to publish work in all areas of mathematics influenced by his
work.[8]
Early life
Ramanujan was born on 22 December 1887 in the city Erode, Tamil
Nadu, India, at the residence of his maternal grandparents.[9] His
father, K. Srinivasa Iyengar worked as a clerk in a sari shop and hailed
from the district of Thanjavur.[10] His mother, Komalatammal or
Komal Ammal was a housewife and also sang at a local temple.[11]
They lived in Sarangapani Street in a traditional home in the town of
Kumbakonam. The family home is now a museum. When Ramanujan
was a year and a half old, his mother gave birth to a son named
Sadagopan, who died less than three months later. In December 1889,
Ramanujan had smallpox and recovered, unlike thousands in the
Thanjavur district who succumbed to the disease that year.[12] He
moved with his mother to her parents' house in Kanchipuram, near
Madras (now Chennai). In November 1891, and again in 1894, his
mother gave birth, but both children died in infancy.
On 1 October 1892, Ramanujan was enrolled at the local school.[13] In Ramanujan's home on Sarangapani Street,
March 1894, he was moved to a Telugu medium school. After his Kumbakonam.
maternal grandfather lost his job as a court official in Kanchipuram,[14]
Ramanujan and his mother moved back to Kumbakonam and he was enrolled in the Kangayan Primary School.[15]
After his paternal grandfather died, he was sent back to his maternal grandparents, who were now living in Madras.
He did not like school in Madras, and he tried to avoid going to school. His family enlisted a local constable to make
sure he attended school. Within six months, Ramanujan was back in Kumbakonam.[15]
Since Ramanujan's father was at work most of the day, his mother took care of him as a child. He had a close
relationship with her. From her, he learned about tradition and puranas. He learned to sing religious songs, to attend
pujas at the temple and particular eating habits – all of which are part of Brahmin culture.[16] At the Kangayan
Primary School, Ramanujan performed well. Just before the age of 10, in November 1897, he passed his primary
examinations in English, Tamil, geography and arithmetic. With his scores, he finished first in the district.[17] That
year, Ramanujan entered Town Higher Secondary School where he encountered formal mathematics for the first
time.[17]
By age 11, he had exhausted the mathematical knowledge of two college students who were lodgers at his home. He
was later lent a book on advanced trigonometry written by S. L. Loney.[18] [19] He completely mastered this book by
the age of 13 and discovered sophisticated theorems on his own. By 14, he was receiving merit certificates and
academic awards which continued throughout his school career and also assisted the school in the logistics of
assigning its 1200 students (each with their own needs) to its 35-odd teachers.[20] He completed mathematical exams
in half the allotted time, and showed a familiarity with infinite series. When he was 16, Ramanujan came across the
book A Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics by George S. Carr.[21] This book was a
collection of 5000 theorems, and it introduced Ramanujan to the world of mathematics. The next year, he had
independently developed and investigated the Bernoulli numbers and had calculated Euler's constant up to 15
decimal places.[22] His peers of the time commented that they "rarely understood him" and "stood in respectful awe"
of him.[20]
When he graduated from Town Higher Secondary School in 1904, Ramanujan was awarded the K. Ranganatha Rao
prize for mathematics by the school's headmaster, Krishnaswami Iyer. Iyer introduced Ramanujan as an outstanding
student who deserved scores higher than the maximum possible marks.[20] He received a scholarship to study at
Government College in Kumbakonam,[23] [24] However, Ramanujan was so intent on studying mathematics that he
could not focus on any other subjects and failed most of them, losing his scholarship in the process.[25] In August
1905, he ran away from home, heading towards Visakhapatnam.[26] He later enrolled at Pachaiyappa's College in
Madras. He again excelled in mathematics but performed poorly in other subjects such as physiology. Ramanujan
failed his Fine Arts degree exam in December 1906 and again a year later. Without a degree, he left college and
continued to pursue independent research in mathematics. At this point in his life, he lived in extreme poverty and
was often on the brink of starvation.[27]
Adulthood in India
On 14 July 1909, Ramanujan was married to a nine-year old bride, Janaki Ammal.[28] – in the branch of Hinduism to
which Ramanujan belonged, marriage was a formal engagement that was consummated only after the bride turned
17 or 18, as per the traditional calendar.
After the marriage, Ramanujan developed a hydrocele testis, an abnormal swelling of the tunica vaginalis, an internal
membrane in the testicle.[29] The condition could be treated with a routine surgical operation that would release the
blocked fluid in the scrotal sac. His family did not have the money for the operation, but in January 1910, a doctor
volunteered to do the surgery for free.[30]
After his successful surgery, Ramanujan searched for a job. He stayed at friends' houses while he went door to door
around the city of Madras (now Chennai) looking for a clerical position. To make some money, he tutored some
students at Presidency College who were preparing for their F.A. exam.[31]
In late 1910, Ramanujan was sick again, possibly as a result of the surgery earlier in the year. He feared for his
health, and even told his friend, R. Radakrishna Iyer, to "hand these [my mathematical notebooks] over to Professor
Singaravelu Mudaliar [mathematics professor at Pachaiyappa's College] or to the British professor Edward B. Ross,
of the Madras Christian College."[32] After Ramanujan recovered and got back his notebooks from Iyer, he took a
northbound train from Kumbakonam to Villupuram, a coastal city under French control.[33] [34]
Attention from mathematicians

He met deputy collector V. Ramaswamy Aiyer, who had recently founded the Indian Mathematical Society.[35]
Ramanujan, wishing for a job at the revenue department where Aiyer worked, showed him his mathematics
notebooks. As Aiyer later recalled:
I was struck by the extraordinary mathematical results contained in it [the notebooks]. I had no mind to
smother his genius by an appointment in the lowest rungs of the revenue department.[36]
Aiyer sent Ramanujan, with letters of introduction, to his mathematician friends in Madras.[35] Some of these friends
looked at his work and gave him letters of introduction to R. Ramachandra Rao, the district collector for Nellore and
the secretary of the Indian Mathematical Society.[37] [38] [39] Ramachandra Rao was impressed by Ramanujan's
research but doubted that it was actually his own work. Ramanujan mentioned a correspondence he had with
Professor Saldhana, a notable Bombay mathematician, in which Saldhana expressed a lack of understanding for his
work but concluded that he was not a phony.[40] Ramanujan's friend, C. V. Rajagopalachari, persisted with
Ramachandra Rao and tried to quell any doubts over Ramanujan's academic integrity. Rao agreed to give him
another chance, and he listened as Ramanujan discussed elliptic integrals, hypergeometric series, and his theory of
divergent series, which Rao said ultimately "converted" him to a belief in Ramanujan's mathematical brilliance.[40]
When Rao asked him what he wanted, Ramanujan replied that he needed some work and financial support. Rao
consented and sent him to Madras. He continued his mathematical research with Rao's financial aid taking care of his
daily needs. Ramanujan, with the help of V. Ramaswamy Aiyer, had his work published in the Journal of Indian
Mathematical Society.[41]
One of the first problems he posed in the journal was:
He waited for a solution to be offered in three issues, over six months, but failed to receive any. At the end,
Ramanujan supplied the solution to the problem himself. On page 105 of his first notebook, he formulated an
equation that could be used to solve the infinitely nested radicals problem.
Using this equation, the answer to the question posed in the Journal was simply 3.[42] Ramanujan wrote his first
formal paper for the Journal on the properties of Bernoulli numbers. One property he discovered was that the
denominators (sequence A027642 [43] in OEIS) of the fractions of Bernoulli numbers were always divisible by six.
He also devised a method of calculating Bn based on previous Bernoulli numbers. One of these methods went as
follows:
It will be observed that if n is even but not equal to zero,
(i) Bn is a fraction and the numerator of in its lowest terms is a prime number,
(ii) the denominator of Bn contains each of the factors 2 and 3 once and only once,
(iii) is an integer and consequently is an odd integer.
In his 17–page paper, "Some Properties of Bernoulli's Numbers", Ramanujan gave three proofs, two corollaries and
three conjectures.[44] Ramanujan's writing initially had many flaws. As Journal editor M. T. Narayana Iyengar noted:
Mr. Ramanujan's methods were so terse and novel and his presentation so lacking in clearness and
precision, that the ordinary [mathematical reader], unaccustomed to such intellectual gymnastics, could
hardly follow him.[45]
Ramanujan later wrote another paper and also continued to provide problems in the Journal.[46] In early 1912, he got
a temporary job in the Madras Accountant General's office, with a salary of 20 rupees per month. He lasted for only
a few weeks.[47] Toward the end of that assignment he applied for a position under the Chief Accountant of the
Madras Port Trust. In a letter dated 9 February 1912, Ramanujan wrote:
Sir,
I understand there is a clerkship vacant in your office, and I beg to apply for the same. I have passed the
Matriculation Examination and studied up to the F.A. but was prevented from pursuing my studies
further owing to several untoward circumstances. I have, however, been devoting all my time to
Mathematics and developing the subject. I can say I am quite confident I can do justice to my work if I
am appointed to the post. I therefore beg to request that you will be good enough to confer the
appointment on me.[48]
Attached to his application was a recommendation from E. W. Middlemast, a mathematics professor at the
Presidency College, who wrote that Ramanujan was "a young man of quite exceptional capacity in Mathematics".[49]
Three weeks after he had applied, on 1 March, Ramanujan learned that he had been accepted as a Class III, Grade IV
accounting clerk, making 30 rupees per month.[50] At his office, Ramanujan easily and quickly completed the work
he was given, so he spent his spare time doing mathematical research. Ramanujan's boss, Sir Francis Spring, and S.
Narayana Iyer, a colleague who was also treasurer of the Indian Mathematical Society, encouraged Ramanujan in his
mathematical pursuits.
Contacting English mathematicians

Spring, Narayana Iyer, Ramachandra Rao and E. W. Middlemast tried to present Ramanujan's work to British
mathematicians. One mathematician, M. J. M. Hill of University College London, commented that Ramanujan's
papers were riddled with holes.[51] He said that although Ramanujan had "a taste for mathematics, and some ability",
he lacked the educational background and foundation needed to be accepted by mathematicians.[52] Although Hill
did not offer to take Ramanujan on as a student, he did give thorough and serious professional advice on his work.
With the help of friends, Ramanujan drafted letters to leading mathematicians at Cambridge University.[53]
The first two professors, H. F. Baker and E. W. Hobson, returned Ramanujan's papers without comment.[54] On 16
January 1913, Ramanujan wrote to G. H. Hardy. Coming from an unknown mathematician, the nine pages of
mathematical wonder made Hardy originally view Ramanujan's manuscripts as a possible "fraud".[55] Hardy
recognized some of Ramanujan's formulae but others "seemed scarcely possible to believe".[56] One of the theorems
Hardy found so incredible was found on the bottom of page three (valid for 0 < a < b + 1/2):
Hardy was also impressed by some of Ramanujan's other work relating to infinite series:
The first result had already been determined by a mathematician named Bauer. The second one was new to Hardy,
and was derived from a class of functions called a hypergeometric series which had first been researched by
Leonhard Euler and Carl Friedrich Gauss. Compared to Ramanujan's work on integrals, Hardy found these results
"much more intriguing".[57] After he saw Ramanujan's theorems on continued fractions on the last page of the
manuscripts, Hardy commented that the "[theorems] defeated me completely; I had never seen anything in the least
like them before".[58] He figured that Ramanujan's theorems "must be true, because, if they were not true, no one
would have the imagination to invent them".[58] Hardy asked a colleague, J. E. Littlewood, to take a look at the
papers. Littlewood was amazed by the mathematical genius of Ramanujan. After discussing the papers with
Littlewood, Hardy concluded that the letters were "certainly the most remarkable I have received" and commented
that Ramanujan was "a mathematician of the highest quality, a man of altogether exceptional originality and
power".[59] One colleague, E. H. Neville, later commented that "not one [theorem] could have been set in the most
advanced mathematical examination in the world".[60]
On 8 February 1913, Hardy wrote a letter to Ramanujan, expressing his interest for his work. Hardy also added that
it was "essential that I should see proofs of some of your assertions".[61] Before his letter arrived in Madras during
the third week of February, Hardy contacted the Indian Office to plan for Ramanujan's trip to Cambridge. Secretary
Arthur Davies of the Advisory Committee for Indian Students met with Ramanujan to discuss the overseas trip.[62]
In accordance with his Brahmin upbringing, Ramanujan refused to leave his country to "go to a foreign land".[63]
Meanwhile, Ramanujan sent a letter packed with theorems to Hardy, writing, "I have found a friend in you who
views my labour sympathetically."[64]
To supplement Hardy's endorsement, a former mathematical lecturer at Trinity College, Cambridge, Gilbert Walker,
looked at Ramanujan's work and expressed amazement, urging him to spend time at Cambridge.[65] As a result of
Walker's endorsement, B. Hanumantha Rao, a mathematics professor at an engineering college, invited Ramanujan's
colleague Narayana Iyer to a meeting of the Board of Studies in Mathematics to discuss "what we can do for S.
Ramanujan".[66] The board agreed to grant Ramanujan a research scholarship of 75 rupees per month for the next
two years at the University of Madras.[67] While he was engaged as a research student, Ramanujan continued to
submit papers to the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society. In one instance, Narayana Iyer submitted some
theorems of Ramanujan on summation of series to the above mathematical journal adding “The following theorem is
due to S. Ramanujan, the mathematics student of Madras University”. Later in November, British Professor Edward
B. Ross of Madras Christian College, whom Ramanujan had met few years ago, stormed into his class one day with
his eyes glowing, asking his students, “Does Ramanujan know Polish?” The reason was that in one paper, Ramanujan
had anticipated the work of a Polish mathematician whose paper had just arrived by the day’s mail.[68] In his
quarterly papers, Ramanujan drew up theorems to make definite integrals more easily solvable. Working off
Giuliano Frullani's 1821 integral theorem, Ramanujan formulated generalizations that could be made to evaluate
formerly unyielding integrals.[69]
Hardy's correspondence with Ramanujan soured after Ramanujan refused to come to England. Hardy enlisted a
colleague lecturing in Madras, E. H. Neville, to mentor and bring Ramanujan to England.[70] Neville asked
Ramanujan why he would not go to Cambridge. Ramanujan apparently had now accepted the proposal; as Neville
put it, "Ramanujan needed no converting and that his parents' opposition had been withdrawn".[60] Apparently,
Ramanujan's mother had a vivid dream in which the family Goddess Namagiri commanded her "to stand no longer
between her son and the fulfillment of his life's purpose".[60]
Life in England
Ramanujan boarded the S.S. Nevasa on 17 March 1914, and at 10 o'clock in the morning, the ship departed from
Madras.[71] He arrived in London on 14 April, with E. H. Neville waiting for him with a car. Four days later, Neville
took him to his house on Chesterton Road in Cambridge. Ramanujan immediately began his work with Littlewood
and Hardy. After six weeks, Ramanujan moved out of Neville's house and took up residence on Whewell's Court,
just a five-minute walk from Hardy's room.[72] Hardy and Ramanujan began to take a look at Ramanujan's
notebooks. Hardy had already received 120 theorems from Ramanujan in the first two letters, but there were many
more results and theorems to be found in the notebooks. Hardy saw that some were wrong, some had already been
discovered, while the rest were new breakthroughs.[73] Ramanujan left a deep impression on Hardy and Littlewood.
Littlewood commented, "I can believe that he's at least a Jacobi",[74] while Hardy said he "can compare him only
with [Leonhard] Euler or Jacobi."[75]
Ramanujan spent nearly five years in Cambridge collaborating with Hardy and Littlewood and published a part of
his findings there. Hardy and Ramanujan had highly contrasting personalities. Their collaboration was a clash of
different cultures, beliefs and working styles. Hardy was an atheist and an apostle of proof and mathematical rigour,
whereas Ramanujan was a deeply religious man and relied very strongly on his intuition. While in England, Hardy
tried his best to fill the gaps in Ramanujan's education without interrupting his spell of inspiration.
Ramanujan was awarded a B.A. degree by research (this degree was later renamed PhD) in March 1916 for his work
on highly composite numbers, which was published as a paper in the Journal of the London Mathematical Society.
The paper was over 50 pages with different properties of such numbers proven. Hardy remarked that this was one of
the most unusual papers seen in mathematical research at that time and that Ramanujan showed extraordinary
ingenuity in handling it. On 6 December 1917, he was elected to the London Mathematical Society. He became a
Fellow of the Royal Society in 1918, becoming the second Indian to do so, following Ardaseer Cursetjee in 1841,
and he was the youngest Fellow in the entire history of the Royal Society.[76] He was elected "for his investigation in
Elliptic functions and the Theory of Numbers." On 13 October 1918, he became the first Indian to be elected a
Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.[77]
Illness and return to India

Plagued by health problems throughout his life, living in a country far away from home, and obsessively involved
with his mathematics, Ramanujan's health worsened in England, perhaps exacerbated by stress and by the scarcity of
vegetarian food during the First World War. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis and a severe vitamin deficiency and
was confined to a sanatorium.
Ramanujan returned to Kumbakonam, India in 1919 and died soon thereafter at the age of 32. His widow, S. Janaki
Ammal, lived in Chennai (formerly Madras) until her death in 1994.[78]
A 1994 analysis of Ramanujan's medical records and symptoms by Dr. D.A.B. Young concluded that it was much
more likely he had hepatic amoebiasis, a parasitic infection of the liver widespread in Madras, where Ramanujan had
spent time. He had two episodes of dysentery before he left India. When not properly treated dysentery can lie
dormant for years and lead to hepatic amoebiasis,[3] a difficult disease to diagnose, but once diagnosed readily
cured.[3]
Personality and spiritual life

Ramanujan has been described as a person with a somewhat shy and quiet disposition, a dignified man with pleasant
manners.[79] He lived a rather Spartan life while at Cambridge. Ramanujan's first Indian biographers describe him as
rigorously orthodox. Ramanujan credited his acumen to his family Goddess, Namagiri of Namakkal. He looked to
her for inspiration in his work,[80] and claimed to dream of blood drops that symbolised her male consort,
Narasimha, after which he would receive visions of scrolls of complex mathematical content unfolding before his
eyes.[81] He often said, "An equation for me has no meaning, unless it represents a thought of God."[82] [83]
Hardy cites Ramanujan as remarking that all religions seemed equally true to him.[84] Hardy further argued that
Ramanujan's religiousness had been romanticized by Westerners and overstated—in reference to his belief, not
practice—by Indian biographers. At the same time, he remarked on Ramanujan's strict observance of vegetarianism.
Mathematical achievements
In mathematics, there is a distinction between having an insight and having a proof. Ramanujan's talent suggested a
plethora of formulae that could then be investigated in depth later. It is said that Ramanujan's discoveries are
unusually rich and that there is often more to them than initially meets the eye. As a by-product, new directions of
research were opened up. Examples of the most interesting of these formulae include the intriguing infinite series for
π, one of which is given below
This result is based on the negative fundamental discriminant d = −4×58 with class number h(d) = 2 (note that
5×7×13×58 = 26390 and that 9801=99×99; 396=4×99) and is related to the fact that
Compare to Heegner numbers, which have class number 1 and yield similar formulae. Ramanujan's series for π
converges extraordinarily rapidly (exponentially) and forms the basis of some of the fastest algorithms currently used
to calculate π. Truncating the sum to the first term also gives the approximation for π, which is
correct to six decimal places.
One of his remarkable capabilities was the rapid solution for problems. He was sharing a room with P. C.
Mahalanobis who had a problem, "Imagine that you are on a street with houses marked 1 through n. There is a house
in between (x) such that the sum of the house numbers to left of it equals the sum of the house numbers to its right. If
n is between 50 and 500, what are n and x." This is a bivariate problem with multiple solutions. Ramanujan thought
about it and gave the answer with a twist: He gave a continued fraction. The unusual part was that it was the solution
to the whole class of problems. Mahalanobis was astounded and asked how he did it. "It is simple. The minute I
heard the problem, I knew that the answer was a continued fraction. Which continued fraction, I asked myself. Then
the answer came to my mind", Ramanujan replied.[85] [86]
His intuition also led him to derive some previously unknown identities, such as
for all , where is the gamma function. Equating coefficients of , , and gives some deep identities
for the hyperbolic secant.
In 1918, Hardy and Ramanujan studied the partition function P(n) extensively and gave a non-convergent asymptotic
series that permits exact computation of the number of partitions of an integer. Hans Rademacher, in 1937, was able
to refine their formula to find an exact convergent series solution to this problem. Ramanujan and Hardy's work in
this area gave rise to a powerful new method for finding asymptotic formulae, called the circle method.[87]
He discovered mock theta functions in the last year of his life. For many years these functions were a mystery, but
they are now known to be the holomorphic parts of harmonic weak Maass forms.
The Ramanujan conjecture

Although there are numerous statements that could bear the name Ramanujan conjecture, there is one statement that
was very influential on later work. In particular, the connection of this conjecture with conjectures of André Weil in
algebraic geometry opened up new areas of research. That Ramanujan conjecture is an assertion on the size of the tau
function, which has as generating function the discriminant modular form Δ(q), a typical cusp form in the theory of
modular forms. It was finally proven in 1973, as a consequence of Pierre Deligne's proof of the Weil conjectures.
The reduction step involved is complicated. Deligne won a Fields Medal in 1978 for his work on Weil
conjectures.[88]
Ramanujan's notebooks
While still in India, Ramanujan recorded the bulk of his results in four notebooks of loose leaf paper. These results
were mostly written up without any derivations. This is probably the origin of the misperception that Ramanujan was
unable to prove his results and simply thought up the final result directly. Mathematician Bruce C. Berndt, in his
review of these notebooks and Ramanujan's work, says that Ramanujan most certainly was able to make the proofs
of most of his results, but chose not to.
This style of working may have been for several reasons. Since paper was very expensive, Ramanujan would do
most of his work and perhaps his proofs on slate, and then transfer just the results to paper. Using a slate was
common for mathematics students in India at the time. He was also quite likely to have been influenced by the style
of G. S. Carr's book, which stated results without proofs. Finally, it is possible that Ramanujan considered his
workings to be for his personal interest alone; and therefore only recorded the results.[89]
The first notebook has 351 pages with 16 somewhat organized chapters and some unorganized material. The second
notebook has 256 pages in 21 chapters and 100 unorganized pages, with the third notebook containing 33
unorganized pages. The results in his notebooks inspired numerous papers by later mathematicians trying to prove
what he had found. Hardy himself created papers exploring material from Ramanujan's work as did G. N. Watson, B.
M. Wilson, and Bruce Berndt.[89] A fourth notebook with 87 unorganized pages, the so-called "lost notebook", was
rediscovered in 1976 by George Andrews.[3]
Hardy–Ramanujan number 1729

A common anecdote about Ramanujan relates to the number 1729. Hardy arrived at Ramanujan's residence in a cab
numbered 1729. Hardy commented that the number 1729 seemed to be uninteresting. Ramanujan is said to have
stated on the spot that it was actually a very interesting number mathematically, being the smallest natural number
representable in two different ways as a sum of two cubes:
Generalizations of this idea have spawned the notion of "taxicab numbers".
Other mathematicians' views of Ramanujan

Ramanujan is generally hailed as an all-time great like Carl Friedrich Gauss, Leonhard Euler and Carl Gustav Jacob
Jacobi, for his natural mathematical genius.[90] Hardy quotes: "The limitations of his knowledge were as startling as
its profundity. Here was a man who could work out modular equations and theorems... to orders unheard of, whose
mastery of continued fractions was... beyond that of any mathematician in the world, who had found for himself the
functional equation of the zeta function and the dominant terms of many of the most famous problems in the analytic
theory of numbers; and yet he had never heard of a doubly periodic function or of Cauchy's theorem, and had indeed
but the vaguest idea of what a function of a complex variable was...".[91] When asked about the methods employed
by Ramanujan to arrive at his solutions, Hardy said that they were "arrived at by a process of mingled argument,
intuition, and induction, of which he was entirely unable to give any coherent account."[92] He also gushed that he
had "never met his equal, and can compare him only with Euler or Jacobi."[92]
Quoting K. Srinivasa Rao,[93] "As for his place in the world of Mathematics, we quote Bruce C. Berndt: 'Paul Erdős
has passed on to us Hardy's personal ratings of mathematicians. Suppose that we rate mathematicians on the basis of
pure talent on a scale from 0 to 100, Hardy gave himself a score of 25, J.E. Littlewood 30, David Hilbert 80 and
Ramanujan 100.'"
In his book Scientific Edge, noted physicist Jayant Narlikar spoke of "Srinivasa Ramanujan, discovered by the
Cambridge mathematician Hardy, whose great mathematical findings were beginning to be appreciated from 1915 to
1919. His achievements were to be fully understood much later, well after his untimely death in 1920. For example,
his work on the highly composite numbers (numbers with a large number of factors) started a whole new line of
investigations in the theory of such numbers."
During his lifelong mission in educating and propagating mathematics among the school children in India, Nigeria
and elsewhere, P.K. Srinivasan has continually introduced Ramanujan's mathematical works.
Recognition
Ramanujan's home state of Tamil Nadu celebrates 22 December (Ramanujan's birthday) as 'State IT Day',
memorializing both the man and his achievements, as a native of Tamil Nadu. A stamp picturing Ramanujan was
released by the Government of India in 1962 – the 75th anniversary of Ramanujan's birth – commemorating his
achievements in the field of number theory.
Since the Centennial year of Srinivasa Ramanujan,every year Dec 22nd, is Ramanujan Day for his hometown
College (Government Arts College(Autonomous)), Kumbakonam. It is celebrated by the Department Of
Mathematics by organising one-, two-, or three-day seminar by inviting eminent scholars from universities/colleges,
and participants are mainly students of Mathematics, research scholars, and professors from local colleges. It has
been planned to celebrate the 125-th birthday in a grand manner by inviting the foreign Eminent Mathematical
scholars of this century viz., G E Andrews. and Bruce C Berndt, who are very familiar with the contributions and
works of Ramanujan.
Ever year, in Chennai (formerly Madras), the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Madras,Chennai), every Dec 22 is
a memorable day for Ramanujan. The Department of Mathematics celebrate this day by organising a National
Symposium On Mathematical Methods and Applications (NSMMA) for one day by inviting Eminent scholars
from India/Foreign countries.
A prize for young mathematicians from developing countries has been created in the name of Ramanujan by the
International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), in cooperation with the International Mathematical Union, who
nominate members of the prize committee. The Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology, Research Academy
(SASTRA), based in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India, has instituted the SASTRA Ramanujan Prize of $10,000
to be given annually to a mathematician not exceeding the age of 32 for outstanding contributions in an area of
mathematics influenced by Ramanujan. The age limit refers to the years Ramanujan lived, having nevertheless still
achieved many accomplishments. This prize has been awarded annually since 2005, at an international conference
conducted by SASTRA in Kumbakonam, Ramanujan's hometown, around Ramanujan's birthday, December 22.
In popular culture
• An international feature film on Ramanujan's life was announced in 2006 as due to begin shooting in 2007. It was
to be shot in Tamil Nadu state and Cambridge and be produced by an Indo-British collaboration and co-directed
by Stephen Fry and Dev Benegal.[94] A play, First Class Man by Alter Ego Productions,[95] was based on David
Freeman's First Class Man. The play is centered around Ramanujan and his complex and dysfunctional
relationship with Hardy.
• Another film, based on the book The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan by Robert
Kanigel, is being made by Edward Pressman and Matthew Brown.[96]
• In the film Good Will Hunting, the eponymous character is compared to Ramanujan.
• "Gomez", a short story by Cyril Kornbluth, describes the conflicted life of an untutored mathematical genius,
clearly based on Ramanujan.
• A Disappearing Number is a recent British stage production by the company Complicite that explores the
relationship between Hardy and Ramanujan.
• The character Amita Ramanujan on the television show Numb3rs is named after Ramanujan.
• The novel The Indian Clerk by David Leavitt explores in fiction the events following Ramanujan's letter to
Hardy.
• An episode of Ancient Aliens produced by The History Channel mentions how Hardy met Ramanujan. It goes on
to mention that Ramanujan's work has application today in String Theory and might contain insights into future
applications in science including multiple dimensions, wormholes, levitation and more.
Notes
[1] C.P. Snow Foreword to "A Mathematician's Apology" by G.H. Hardy
[2] Berndt, Bruce C. (2001). Ramanujan: Essays and Surveys. Providence, Rhode Island: American Mathematical Society. pp. 9.
ISBN 0-8218-2624-7.
[3] Peterson, Doug. "Raiders of the Lost Notebook" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20070517174549/ http:/ / www. las. uiuc. edu/ alumni/
news/ fall2006/ 06fall_lostnotebook. html). UIUC College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original (http:/ / www. las. uiuc.
edu/ alumni/ news/ fall2006/ 06fall_lostnotebook. html) on May 17, 2007. . Retrieved 2007-06-22.
[4] Berndt, Bruce C. (2005). Ramanujan's Notebooks Part V. SpringerLink. pp. 4. ISBN 0-387-94941-0.
[5] "Rediscovering Ramanujan" (http:/ / www. hinduonnet. com/ fline/ fl1617/ 16170810. htm). Frontline 16 (17): 650. August 1999. . Retrieved
2007-06-23.
[6] Ono, Ken; Rankin, Robert A. (June–July 2006). "Honoring a Gift from Kumbakonam" (http:/ / www. ams. org/ notices/ 200606/ fea-ono.
pdf) (PDF). Notices of the American Mathematical Society (Mathematical Association of America) 53 (6): 650. doi:10.2307/2589114.
JSTOR 2589114. . Retrieved 2007-06-23.
[7] references needed
[8] Alladi, Krishnaswami (1998). Analytic and Elementary Number Theory: A Tribute to Mathematical Legend Paul Erdös. Norwell,
Massachusetts: Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 6. ISBN 0-7923-8273-0.
[9] Kanigel, Robert (1991). The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 11.
ISBN 0-684-19259-4.
[10] Kanigel (1991), p. 17–18.
[11] Bruce C. Berndt; Robert Alexander Rankin (2001). Ramanujan: essays and surveys. AMS Bookstore. pp. 89. ISBN 0821826247, ISBN
978-0-8218-2624-9.
[12] Kanigel (1991), p12.
[13] Kanigel (1991), p13.
[14] Kanigel (1991), p19.
[15] Kanigel (1991), p14.
[16] Kanigel (1991), p20.
[17] Kanigel (1991), p25.
[18] Hardy, G. H. (1999). Ramanujan: Twelve Lectures on Subjects Suggested by His Life and Work. Providence, Rhode Island: American
Mathematical Society. pp. 2. ISBN 0-8218-2023-0.
[19] Berndt, Bruce C.; Robert A. Rankin (2001). Ramanujan: Essays and Surveys. Providence, Rhode Island: American Mathematical Society.
pp. 9. ISBN 0-8218-2624-7.
[20] Kanigel (1991), p27.
[21] Kanigel (1991), p39.
[22] Kanigel (1991), p90.
[23] Kanigel (1991), p28.
[24] Kanigel (1991), p45.
[25] Kanigel (1991), p47.
[26] Kanigel (1991), pp48–49.
[27] Kanigel (1991), pp55–56.
[28] Kanigel (1991), p71.
[29] Kanigel (1991), p72.
[30] Ramanujan, Srinivasa (1968). P. K. Srinivasan. ed. Ramanujan Memorial Number: Letters and Reminiscences. Madras: Muthialpet High
School. Vol. 1, p100.
[31] Kanigel (1991), p73.
[32] Kanigel (1991), pp74–75.
[33] Ranganathan, S. R. (1967). Ramanujan: The Man and the Mathematician. Bombay: Asia Publishing House. pp. 23.
[34] Srinivasan (1968), Vol. 1, p99.
[35] Kanigel (1991), p77.
[36] Srinivasan (1968), Vol. 1, p129.
[37] Srinivasan (1968), Vol. 1, p86.
[38] Neville, Eric Harold (January 1921). "The Late Srinivasa Ramanujan". Nature 106 (2673): 661–662. doi:10.1038/106661b0.
[39] Ranganathan (1967), p24.
[40] Kanigel (1991), p80.
[41] Kanigel (1991), p86.
[42] Kanigel (1991), p87.
[43] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Oeis%3Aa027642
[44] Kanigel (1991), p91.
[45] Seshu Iyer, P. V. (June 1920). "The Late Mr. S. Ramanujan, B.A., F.R.S.". Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society 12 (3): 83.
[46] Neville (March 1942), p292.
[47] Srinivasan (1968), p176.
[48] Srinivasan (1968), p31.
[49] Srinivasan (1968), p49.
[50] Kanigel (1991), p96.
[51] Kanigel (1991), p105.
[52] Letter from M. J. M. Hill to a C. L. T. Griffith (a former student who sent the request to Hill on Ramanujan's behalf), 28 November 1912.
[53] Kanigel (1991), p106.
[54] Kanigel (1991), pp170–171.
[55] Snow, C. P. (1966). Variety of Men. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 30–31.
[56] Hardy, G. H.; Rankin, Robert A. (June 1920). "Obituary, S. Ramanujan". Nature (Mathematical Association of America) 105 (7): 494.
doi:10.2307/2589114. JSTOR 2589114.
[57] Kanigel (1991), p167.
[58] Kanigel (1991), p168.
[59] Hardy (June 1920), pp494–495.
[60] Neville, Eric Harold (March 1942). "Srinivasa Ramanujan". Nature 149 (3776): 293. doi:10.1038/149292a0.
[61] Letter, Hardy to Ramanujan, 8 February 1913.
[62] Letter, Ramanujan to Hardy, 22 January 1914.

[63] Kanigel (1991), p185.
[64] Letter, Ramanujan to Hardy, 27 February 1913, Cambridge University Library.
[65] Kanigel (1991), p175.
[66] Ram, Suresh (1972). Srinivasa Ramanujan. New Delhi: National Book Trust. pp. 29.
[67] Ranganathan (1967), pp30–31.
[68] Ranganathan (1967), p12.
[69] Kanigel (1991), p183.
[70] Kanigel (1991), p184.
[71] Kanigel (1991), p196.
[72] Kanigel (1991), p202.
[73] Hardy, G. H. (1940). Ramanujan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 10.
[74] Letter, Littlewood to Hardy, early March 1913.
[75] Hardy, G. H. (1979). Collected Papers of G. H. Hardy. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press. Vol. 7, p720.
[76] Kanigel (1991), p295.
[77] Kanigel (1991), pp299–300.
[78] "Ramanujan’s wife: Janakiammal (Janaki)" (http:/ / www. imsc. res. in/ ~rao/ ramanujan/ newnow/ janaki. pdf) (PDF). .
[79] "Ramanujan's Personality" (http:/ / www. imsc. res. in/ ~rao/ ramanujan/ newnow/ pcm5. htm). .
[80] Kanigel (1991), p36.
[81] Kanigel (1991), p281.
[82] "Quote by Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar" (http:/ / lagrange. math. trinity. edu/ aholder/ misc/ quotes. shtml). .
[83] Chaitin, Gregory; Rankin, Robert A. (2007-07-28). "Less Proof, More Truth". NewScientist (Mathematical Association of America) 107
(2614): 49. doi:10.2307/2589114. JSTOR 2589114.
[84] Kanigel (1991), p283.
[85] Ranganathan, Shiyali Ramamrita (1967). Ramanujan, the man and the mathematician (http:/ / books. google. com/
?id=OuTuAAAAMAAJ& q="Which+ continued+ fraction"). Asia Publishing House. p. 82. . Retrieved 2010-06-07.
[86] Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao (1997). Statistics and truth: putting chance to work (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=jqWd4oe3iwIC&
pg=PA185& dq="Which+ continued+ fraction"). World Scientific. p. 185. ISBN 9789810231118. . Retrieved 2010-06-07.
[87] "Partition Formula" (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ PartitionFunctionP. html). .
[88] Ono (June–July 2006), p649.
[89] "Ramanujans Notebooks" (http:/ / www. amazon. com/ Ramanujans-Notebooks-Part-Bruce-Berndt/ dp/ 0387949410). .
[90] K. Srinivasa Rao, "Srinivasa Ramanujan" (http:/ / www. imsc. res. in/ ~rao/ ramanujan. html). .
[91] "Ramanujan quote" (http:/ / www-groups. dcs. st-and. ac. uk/ ~history/ Biographies/ Ramanujan. html). .
[92] Srinivasa Ramanujan (http:/ / www. usna. edu/ Users/ math/ meh/ ramanujan. html). Retrieved December 2, 2010.
[93] K Srinivasa Rao. "Srinivasa Ramanujan (22 December 1887 – 26 April 1920)" (http:/ / www. imsc. res. in/ ~rao/ ramanujan. html). .
[94] Biswas, Soutik (2006-03-16). "Film to celebrate maths genius" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ south_asia/ 4811920. stm). BBC News. .
[95] First Class Man (http:/ / www. alteregoproductions. org/ blog/ 2006/ 06/ alteregos_new_theater_season_b. htm)
[96] Two Hollywood movies on Ramanujan (http:/ / sify. com/ news/ othernews/ fullstory. php?id=14173864)
Selected publications by Ramanujan

• Srinivasa Ramanujan, G. H. Hardy, P. V. Seshu Aiyar, B. M. Wilson, Bruce C. Berndt (2000). Collected Papers
of Srinivasa Ramanujan. AMS. ISBN 0-8218-2076-1.
This book was originally published in 1927 after Ramanujan's death. It contains the 37 papers published in
professional journals by Ramanujan during his lifetime. The third re-print contains additional commentary by
Bruce C. Berndt.
• S. Ramanujan (1957). Notebooks (2 Volumes). Bombay: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
These books contain photo copies of the original notebooks as written by Ramanujan.
• S. Ramanujan (1988). The Lost Notebook and Other Unpublished Papers. New Delhi: Narosa.
ISBN 354018726X.
This book contains photo copies of the pages of the "Lost Notebook".
• Problems posed by Ramanujan (http://www.imsc.res.in/~rao/ramanujan/collectedpapers/question/qJIMS.
htm), Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society.
Selected publications about Ramanujan and his work

• Berndt, Bruce C. " An Overview of Ramanujan's Notebooks (http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~berndt/articles/
aachen.pdf)." Charlemagne and His Heritage: 1200 Years of Civilization and Science in Europe. Ed. P. L.
Butzer, W. Oberschelp, and H. Th. Jongen. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 1998. 119–146.
• Berndt, Bruce C., and George E. Andrews. Ramanujan's Lost Notebook, Part I. New York: Springer, 2005. ISBN
0-387-25529-X.
• Berndt, Bruce C., and George E. Andrews. Ramanujan's Lost Notebook, Part II. New York: Springer, 2008.
ISBN 978-0-387-77765-8
• Berndt, Bruce C., and Robert A. Rankin. Ramanujan: Letters and Commentary. Vol. 9. Providence, Rhode Island:
American Mathematical Society, 1995. ISBN 0-8218-0287-9.
• Berndt, Bruce C., and Robert A. Rankin. Ramanujan: Essays and Surveys. Vol. 22. Providence, Rhode Island:
American Mathematical Society, 2001. ISBN 0-8218-2624-7.
• Berndt, Bruce C. Number Theory in the Spirit of Ramanujan. Providence, Rhode Island: American Mathematical
Society, 2006. ISBN 0-8218-4178-5.
• Berndt, Bruce C. Ramanujan's Notebooks, Part I. New York: Springer, 1985. ISBN 0-387-96110-0.
• Berndt, Bruce C. Ramanujan's Notebooks, Part II. New York: Springer, 1999. ISBN 0-387-96794-X.
• Berndt, Bruce C. Ramanujan's Notebooks, Part III. New York: Springer, 2004. ISBN 0-387-97503-9.
• Berndt, Bruce C. Ramanujan's Notebooks, Part IV. New York: Springer, 1993. ISBN 0-387-94109-6.
• Berndt, Bruce C. Ramanujan's Notebooks, Part V. New York: Springer, 2005. ISBN 0-387-94941-0.
• Hardy, G. H. Ramanujan. New York, Chelsea Pub. Co., 1978. ISBN 0-8284-0136-5
• Hardy, G. H. Ramanujan: Twelve Lectures on Subjects Suggested by His Life and Work. Providence, Rhode
Island: American Mathematical Society, 1999. ISBN 0-8218-2023-0.
• Henderson, Harry. Modern Mathematicians. New York: Facts on File Inc., 1995. ISBN 0-8160-3235-1.
• Kanigel, Robert. The Man Who Knew Infinity: a Life of the Genius Ramanujan. New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1991. ISBN 0-684-19259-4.
• Kolata, Gina. "Remembering a 'Magical Genius'", Science, New Series, Vol. 236, No. 4808 (Jun. 19, 1987),
pp. 1519–1521, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
• Leavitt, David. The Indian Clerk. London: Bloomsbury, 2007. ISBN 978-0-7475-9370-6 (paperback).
• Narlikar, Jayant V. Scientific Edge: the Indian Scientist From Vedic to Modern Times. New Delhi, India: Penguin
Books, 2003. ISBN 0-14-303028-0.
• T.M.Sankaran. "Srinivasa Ramanujan- Ganitha lokathile Mahaprathibha", (in Malayalam), 2005, Kerala Sastra
Sahithya Parishath, Kochi.
External links
Media links
• Biswas, Soutik (16 March 2006). "Film to celebrate mathematics genius" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
south_asia/4811920.stm). BBC. Retrieved 24 August 2006.
• Feature Film on Mathematics Genius Ramanujan by Dev Benegal and Stephen Fry (http://devbenegal.com/
2006/03/15/feature-film-on-math-genius-ramanujan/)
• BBC radio programme about Ramanujan – episode 5 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/further5.shtml)
• A biographical song about Ramanujan's life (http://www.archive.org/details/Ramanujan)
Biographical links
• O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Srinivasa Ramanujan" (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/
Biographies/Ramanujan.html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews.
• Weisstein, Eric W., Ramanujan, Srinivasa (1887–1920) (http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/
Ramanujan.html) from ScienceWorld.
• Biography of this mathematical genius at World of Biography (http://www.worldofbiography.com/9094-S.
Ramanujan/)
• Srinivasan Ramanujan in One Hundred Tamils of 20th Century (http://www.tamilnation.org/hundredtamils/
ramanujan.htm)
• Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan (http://intranet.woodvillehs.sa.edu.au/pages/resources/maths/History/
Rmnjn.htm)
• A short biography of Ramanujan (http://www.usna.edu/Users/math/meh/ramanujan.html)
• "A passion for numbers" (http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo0102/01020480.htm)
Other links
• A Study Group For Mathematics: Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/
srinivasaramanujan/)
• The Ramanujan Journal (http://www.math.ufl.edu/~frank/ramanujan.html) – An international journal
devoted to Ramanujan
• International Math Union Prizes (http://www.mathunion.org/General/Prizes/), including a Ramanujan Prize.
• Complicite Production of "A Disappearing Number" (http://www.complicite.org/productions/detail.
html?id=43) – a play about Ramanujan's work
• Hindu.com: Norwegian and Indian mathematical geniuses (http://www.hindu.com/mag/2004/12/26/stories/
2004122600610400.htm), RAMANUJAN — Essays and Surveys (http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/br/2003/
08/26/stories/2003082600120300.htm), Ramanujan's growing influence (http://www.hindu.com/2003/12/
22/stories/2003122204061100.htm), Ramanujan's mentor (http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mag/2002/12/
22/stories/2002122200040400.htm)
• Hindu.com: The sponsor of Ramanujan (http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article884010.
ece)
• Bruce C. Berndt; Robert A. Rankin (2000). "The Books Studied by Ramanujan in India". American Mathematical
Monthly (Mathematical Association of America) 107 (7): 595–601. doi:10.2307/2589114. JSTOR 2589114.
MR1786233.
• "Ramanujan's mock theta function puzzle solved" (http://www.maa.org/news/030807puzzlesolved.html)
• Ramanujan's papers and notebooks (http://www.imsc.res.in/~rao/ramanujan/contentindex.html)
• Sample page from the second notebook (http://www.cecm.sfu.ca/organics/papers/borwein/paper/html/
local/ramnotebook.html)
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Born October 19, 1910Lahore, India [now in Pakistan]
Died August 21, 1995 (aged 84)Chicago, Illinois, United States
Nationality British India (1910–1947)

India (1947–1953)
United States (1953–1995)
Fields Astrophysics
Institutions University of Chicago

Alma mater Trinity College, Cambridge

Presidency College, Madras
Doctoral advisor R.H. Fowler
Doctoral students Donald Edward Osterbrock, Roland Winston
Known for Chandrasekhar limit
Notable awards Nobel Prize in Physics (1983)

Copley Medal (1984)
National Medal of Science (1966)
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, FRS (Tamil: சுப்பிரமணியன் சந்திரசேகர்), English

[1] [2]
pronunciation: /ˌtʃʌndrəˈʃeɪkɑr/ ( listen))
(October 19, 1910 – August 21, 1995) was an Indian-born American
astrophysicist who, with William A. Fowler, won the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics for key discoveries that led to the
currently accepted theory on the later evolutionary stages of massive stars.[3] Chandrasekhar was the nephew of Sir
Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930.
Chandrasekhar served on the University of Chicago faculty from 1937 until his death in 1995 at the age of 84. He
became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1953.
Biography
Chandrasekhar was born in Lahore, Punjab, British India (now Pakistan) to Chandrasekhara Subrahmanya Iyer
(1885–1960), assistant auditor to the Northwest Railways and his wife, Sitalakshmi (1891–1931).[4] He was the
eldest of their four sons and the third of their ten children. The name Chandrasekhar is one of the appellations of
Shiva, meaning "holder of the moon" in Sanskrit, and is a common name among Tamils. His paternal uncle was the
Indian physicist and nobel laureate C. V. Raman. C. S. Iyer was posted in Lahore as the Deputy Auditor General of
the Northwestern Railways at the time of Chandrasekhar's birth. His mother tongue was Tamil. Chandra's father was
also an accomplished Carnatic music violinist who had authored several books on musicology. His mother was
devoted to intellectual pursuits and had translated Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House into Tamil. She is credited with
arousing Chandra's intellectual curiosity early on.
Chandrasekhar was tutored at home initially through middle school and later attended the Hindu High School,
Triplicane, Madras, British India during the years 1922-25. Subsequently, he studied at Presidency College, Chennai
from 1925 to 1930, obtaining his bachelor's degree, B.Sc. (Hon.), in physics in June 1930. In July 1930,
Chandrasekhar was awarded a Government of India scholarship to pursue graduate studies at the University of
Cambridge, where he was admitted to Trinity College and became a research student of Professor R. H. Fowler. On
the advice of Prof. P. A. M. Dirac, as part of his graduate studies, he spent a year at the Institute for Theoretical
Physics in Copenhagen, where he met Prof. Niels Bohr. In the summer of 1933, Chandrasekhar was awarded his
Ph.D. degree at Cambridge, and the following October, he was elected to a Prize Fellowship at Trinity College for
the period 1933-37. During this time, he made acquaintances with Sir Arthur Eddington and Professor E. A. Milne.
In September 1936, Chandrasekhar married Lalitha Doraiswamy, who he had met as a fellow student at Presidency
College, Madras, and who was a year junior to him. In his Nobel autobiography, Chandrasekhar wrote, "Lalitha's
patient understanding, support, and encouragement have been the central facts of my life."[5]
Career
The following year in January 1937, Chandrasekhar was recruited to the University of Chicago faculty as Assistant
Professor by Dr. Otto Struve and President Robert Maynard Hutchins. He was to remain at the university for his
entire career, becoming Morton D. Hull Distinguished Service Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics in 1952 and
attaining emeritus status in 1985.
Chandrasekhar did some work at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, which was run by the University
of Chicago. After the Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Research (LASR) was built by NASA in 1966 at the
University, Chandrasekhar occupied one of the four corner offices on the second floor. (The other corners housed
John A. Simpson, Peter Meyer, and Eugene N. Parker.) Chandrasekhar lived at 4800 Lake Shore Drive, about a mile
from the University, after the high-rise apartment complex was built in the late 1960s.
During World War II, Chandrasekhar worked at the Ballistic Research Laboratories at the Aberdeen Proving Ground
in Maryland. While there, he worked on problems of ballistics; for example, two reports from 1943 were titled, On
the decay of plane shock waves and The normal reflection of a blast wave.[6]
Chandrasekhar developed a style of working continuously in one specific area of physics for a number of years;
consequently, his working life can be divided into distinct periods. He studied stellar structure, including the theory
of white dwarfs, during the years 1929 to 1939, and subsequently focused on stellar dynamics from 1939 to 1943.
Next, he concentrated on the theory of radiative transfer and the quantum theory of the negative ion of hydrogen
from 1943 to 1950. This was followed by sustained work on hydrodynamic and hydromagnetic stability from 1950
to 1961. In the 1960s, he studied the equilibrium and the stability of ellipsoidal figures of equilibrium, and also
general relativity. During the period, 1971 to 1983 he studied the mathematical theory of black holes, and, finally,
during the late 80s, he worked on the theory of colliding gravitational waves.[6]
From 1952 to 1971 Chandrasekhar was editor of the Astrophysical Journal.
During the years 1990 to 1995, Chandrasekhar worked on a project devoted to explaining the detailed geometric
arguments in Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica using the language and methods of
ordinary calculus. The effort resulted in the book Newton's Principia for the Common Reader, published in 1995.
Chandrasekhar was an honorary member of the International Academy of Science.
Chandrasekhar died of heart failure in Chicago in 1995, and was survived by his wife, Lalitha Chandrasekhar. In the
Biographical Memoirs of the Fellows of the Royal Society of London, R. J. Tayler wrote: "Chandrasekhar was a
classical applied mathematician whose research was primarily applied in astronomy and whose like will probably
never be seen again."[7]
Nobel prize
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 for his studies on the physical processes important to the
structure and evolution of stars. Chandrasekhar accepted this honor, but was upset that the citation mentioned only
his earliest work, seeing it as a denigration of a lifetime's achievement. He shared it with William A. Fowler.
Legacy
Chandrasekhar's most notable work was the astrophysical Chandrasekhar limit. The limit describes the maximum
mass of a white dwarf star, ~1.44 solar masses, or equivalently, the minimum mass, above which a star will
ultimately collapse into a neutron star or black hole (following a supernova). The limit was first calculated by
Chandrasekhar in 1930 during his maiden voyage from India to Cambridge, England for his graduate studies. In
1999, NASA named the third of its four "Great Observatories'" after Chandrasekhar. This followed a naming contest
which attracted 6,000 entries from fifty states and sixty-one countries. The Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched
and deployed by Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999. The Chandrasekhar number, an important dimensionless
number of magnetohydrodynamics, is named after him. The asteroid 1958 Chandra is also named after
Chandrasekhar. American astronomer Carl Sagan, who studied Mathematics under Chandrasekhar, at the University
of Chicago, praised him in the book The Demon-Haunted World: "I discovered what true mathematical elegance is
from Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar."
Awards
• Fellow of the Royal Society (1944)
• Henry Norris Russell Lectureship (1949)[8]
• Bruce Medal (1952)[9]
• Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1953)[10]
• Rumford Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1957) [11]
• National Medal of Science, USA (1966)[12]
• Padma Vibhushan (1968)
• Henry Draper Medal of the National Academy of Sciences (1971)[13]
• Nobel Prize in Physics (1983)
• Copley Medal of the Royal Society (1984)
• Honorary Fellow of the International Academy of Science (1988)
• Gordon J. Laing Award (1989)
Bibliography
Books by Chandrasekhar
• Chandrasekhar, S. (1958) [1939]. An Introduction to the Study of Stellar Structure. New York: Dover.
ISBN 0486604136.
• Chandrasekhar, S. (2005) [1942]. Principles of Stellar Dynamics. New York: Dover. ISBN 048644273X.
• Chandrasekhar, S. (1960) [1950]. Radiative Transfer. New York: Dover. ISBN 0486605906.
• Chandrasekhar, S. (1975) [1960]. Plasma Physics. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226100847.
• Chandrasekhar, S. (1981) [1961]. Hydrodynamic and Hydromagnetic Stability. New York: Dover.
ISBN 048664071X.
• Chandrasekhar, S. (1987) [1969]. Ellipsoidal Figures of Equilibrium. New York: Dover. ISBN 0486652580.
• Chandrasekhar, S. (1998) [1983]. The Mathematical Theory of Black Holes. New York: Oxford University Press.
ISBN 0198503709.
• Chandrasekhar, S. (1990) [1987]. Truth and Beauty. Aesthetics and Motivations in Science. Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226100871.
• Chandrasekhar, S. (1995). Newton's Principia for the Common Reader. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
ISBN 0198517440.
Books about Chandrasekhar
• Miller, Arthur I. (2005). Empire of the Stars: Friendship, Obsession, and Betrayal in the Quest for Black Holes.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 061834151X.
• Srinivasan, G. (ed.) (1997). From White Dwarfs to Black Holes: The Legacy of S. Chandrasekhar. Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226769968.
• Wali, Kameshwar C. (1991). Chandra: A Biography of S. Chandrasekhar. Chicago: The University of Chicago
Press. ISBN 0226870545.
• Wali, Kameshwar C. (ed.) (1997). Chandrasekhar: The Man Behind the Legend - Chandra Remembered.
London: imperial College Press. ISBN 1860940382.
• Wignesan, T. (ed.) (2004). The Man who Dwarfed the Stars. Asianists' Asia. ISBN 1298-0358.
• Venkataraman, G. (1992). Chandrasekhar and His Limit. Hyderabad,India: Universities Press.
ISBN 817371035X.
Notes
[2] Bio-Chandrasekhar (http:/ / books. nap. edu/ readingroom/ books/ biomems/ schandrasekhar. html)
[3] Vishveshwara, S. (25 April 2000). "Leaves from an unwritten diary: S. Chandrasekhar, Reminiscences and Reflections" (http:/ / www. ias. ac.
in/ currsci/ apr252000/ generalia. pdf) (.PDF). Current Science 78 (8): 1025–1033. . Retrieved 2008-02-27.
[4] Chandrasekhar, S. 1983. Autobiography (http:/ / nobelprize. org/ nobel_prizes/ physics/ laureates/ 1983/ chandrasekhar-autobio. html) Nobel
Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden.
[5] Subrahmanyam Chandrasekhar : Autobiography (http:/ / www. huwu. org/ nobel_prizes/ physics/ laureates/ 1983/ chandrasekhar-autobio.
html)
[6] Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ Biographies/ Chandrasekhar. html) Biography. School of
Mathematics and Statistics, University of St. Andrews, Scotland. February 2005.
[7] Tayler, R. J. (November 1996). "Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. 19 October 1910-21 August 1995" (http:/ / www. jstor. org/ view/ 00804606/
ap030044/ 03a00060/ 0) (– Scholar search (http:/ / scholar. google. co. uk/ scholar?hl=en& lr=& q=author:Tayler+ intitle:Subrahmanyan+
Chandrasekhar. + 19+ October+ 1910-21+ August+ 1995& as_publication=[[Biographical+ Memoirs+ of+ Fellows+ of+ the+ Royal+
Society]]& as_ylo=1996& as_yhi=1996& btnG=Search)). Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society (London: Royal Society) 42:
81–94. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1996.0006. .
[8] "Grants, Prizes and Awards" (http:/ / aas. org/ grants/ awards. php#russell). American Astronomical Society. . Retrieved 24 February 2011.
[9] "Past Winners of the Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal" (http:/ / astrosociety. org/ membership/ awards/ pastbruce. html). Astronomical
Society of the Pacific. . Retrieved 24 February 2011.
[10] "Winners of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society" (http:/ / www. ras. org. uk/ awards-and-grants/ awards/ 268). Royal
Astronomical Society. . Retrieved 24 February 2011.
[11] "Past Recipients of the Rumford Prize" (http:/ / www. amacad. org/ about/ rumford. aspx). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. .
Retrieved 24 February 2011.
[12] National Science Foundation - The President's National Medal of Science (http:/ / www. nsf. gov/ od/ nms/ recip_details. cfm?recip_id=73)
[13] "Henry Draper Medal" (http:/ / www. nasonline. org/ site/ PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_draper). National Academy of Sciences. .
Retrieved 24 February 2011.
External links
• Audio - Cain/Gay (2010) Astronomy Cast (http://www.astronomycast.com/history/ep-191-chandrasekhar/)
Chandrasekhar
• National Academy of Sciences biography (http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/biomems/
schandrasekhar.html)
• Harvard's site on Chandrasekhar (http://chandra.harvard.edu/about/chandra.html)
• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (http://www.nobel-winners.com/Physics/subrahmanyan_chandrasekhar.html)
• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1983/index.html)
• Subramaniam Chandrashekhar (http://www.iasf.org/subraman.htm)
• Bruce Medal page (http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/BruceMedalists/Chandrasekhar/index.html)
• Awarding of Bruce Medal: PASP 64 (1952) 55 (http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/PASP./0064//0000055.
000.html)
• Oral History interview transcript with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar 17, 18 May 1977 & 31 October 1977,
American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives (http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/4551_1.
html)
• Oral History interview transcript with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar 6 October 1987, American Institute of
Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives (http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/4552.html)
Obituaries
• BAAS 28 (1996) 1448 (http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/BAAS./0028//0001448.000.html)
• Obs 116 (1996) 121 (http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/Obs../0116//0000121.000.html) comment (http:/
/adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/Obs../0118//0000024.000.html)
• PASP 109 (1997) 73 (http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/PASP./0109//0000073.000.html)
• QJRAS 37 (1996) 261 (http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/QJRAS/0037//0000261.000.html)
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
Born 1952 (age 58–59)Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India
Residence United Kingdom
Citizenship United States
Fields Biochemistry and Biophysics
Institutions MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, England Trinity College, University of Cambridge
Alma mater Baroda University

Ohio University
University of California, San Diego
Known for Structure and function of the ribosome; macromolecular crystallography
Notable awards Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine (2007)

Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2009)
Venkatraman "Venki" Ramakrishnan (Tamil: வெங்கட்ராமன் ராமகிருஷ்ணன்; b. 1952) is an Indian-born

American structural biologist, who shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada E.
Yonath, "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome".[1] He currently works at the MRC Laboratory of
Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England.[2]
Early life
Ramakrishnan was born in Chidambaram in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, India[3] to C. V. Ramakrishnan and
Rajalakshmi. Both his parents were scientists and taught biochemistry at the Maharaj Sayajirao University in
Baroda.[4] He moved to Baroda (Vadodara) in Gujarat state at the age of three, where he had his schooling at
Convent of Jesus and Mary, except for spending 1960–61 in Adelaide, Australia. Following his Pre-Science at the
Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, he did his undergraduate studies in the same university on a National
Science Talent Scholarship, graduating with a B.Sc. in Physics in 1971.
In a January 2010 lecture at the Indian Institute of Science, he revealed that he failed to get admitted at any of the
Indian Institutes of Technology, or Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu.[5]
Immediately after graduation he moved to the U.S.A., where he obtained his Ph.D. in Physics from Ohio University
in 1976.[6] [7] He then spent two years studying biology as a graduate student at the University of California, San
Diego while making a transition from theoretical physics to biology.[8]
Career
Ramakrishnan began work on ribosomes as a postdoctoral fellow with Peter Moore at Yale University.[2] After his
post-doctoral fellowship, he initially could not find a faculty position even though he had applied to about 50
universities in the U.S.[5]
He continued to work on ribosomes from 1983-95 as a staff scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory. In 1995 he
moved to the University of Utah as a Professor of Biochemistry, and in 1999, he moved to his current position at the
Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, where he had also been a
sabbatical visitor during 1991-2.
In 1999, Ramakrishnan's laboratory published a 5.5 Angstrom resolution structure of the 30S subunit. The following
year, his laboratory determined the complete molecular structure of the 30S subunit of the ribosome and its
complexes with several antibiotics. This was followed by studies that provided structural insights into the
mechanism that ensures the fidelity of protein biosynthesis. More recently, his laboratory has determined the atomic
structure of the whole ribosome in complex with its tRNA and mRNA ligands. Ramakrishnan is also known for his
past work on histone and chromatin structure.
Honors
Ramakrishnan is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a member of EMBO and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences
and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He was awarded the 2007 Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine, the 2008
Heatley Medal of the British Biochemical Society and the 2009 Rolf-Sammet Professorship at the University of
Frankfurt. In 2009, Ramakrishnan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada
Yonath.[9] He received India's second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2010.[10]
Personal life
Ramakrishnan is married to Vera Rosenberry, an author and illustrator of children's books. He has a stepdaughter,
Tanya Kapka, who is a doctor in Oregon, and a son, Raman Ramakrishnan, who is a cellist based in New York who
plays with the Daedalus Quartet.[11]
Publications
A full list of publications can be found here [12]
References
[1] "2009 Chemistry Nobel Laureates" (http:/ / nobelprize. org/ nobel_prizes/ chemistry/ laureates/ 2009/ ). Nobel Foundation. 2009. . Retrieved
2009-10-14.
[2] "Venki Ramakrishnan Home Page" (http:/ / www. mrc-lmb. cam. ac. uk/ ribo/ homepage/ ramak/ index. html). Laboratory of Molecular
Biology. 2009. . Retrieved 2009-10-07.
[3] "Common root: Tamil Nadu gets its third laureate" (http:/ / timesofindia. indiatimes. com/ articleshow/ msid-5099742,prtpage-1. cms). TNN.
Times of India. 8 October 2009. .
[4] http:/ / www. asianwindow. com/ tag/ venkatraman-venki-ramakrishnan/
[5] "Nobel laureate Venkat Ramakrishnan failed IIT, medical entrance tests" (http:/ / timesofindia. indiatimes. com/ india/
Nobel-laureate-Venkat-Ramakrishnan-failed-IIT-medical-entrance-tests/ articleshow/ 5414148. cms). The Times Of India. 2010-01-05. .
[6] "Venkatraman Ramakrishnan: A profile" (http:/ / timesofindia. indiatimes. com/ articleshow/ msid-5098151,prtpage-1. cms). Times of India.
2009-10-07. . Retrieved 2009-10-07.
[7] "FACTBOX: Nobel chemistry prize – Who are the winners?" (http:/ / www. reuters. com/ articlePrint?articleId=USTRE5962EE20091007).
Reuters. 2009-10-07. . Retrieved 2009-10-07.
[8] "Profile: Dr Venkatraman Ramakrishnan" (http:/ / www. indianexpress. com/ story-print/ 526251/ ). Indian Express. 7 October 2009. .
[9] "All Nobel Laureates in Chemistry" (http:/ / nobelprize. org/ nobel_prizes/ chemistry/ laureates/ index. html). Nobel Foundation. . Retrieved
2009-10-07.
[10] Ministry of Home Affairs (25 January 2010). "This Year's Padma Awards announced" (http:/ / www. pib. nic. in/ release/ release.
asp?relid=57307). Press release. . Retrieved 25 January 2010.
[11] Amit Roy (17-Oct-2009). "‘Venki’ makes light of India link – Winner says not to treat science like cricket; league of misses grows" (http:/ /
www. telegraphindia. com/ 1091017/ jsp/ frontpage/ story_11626163. jsp). The Telegraph. . Retrieved 2009-10-17.
[12] http:/ / www. mrc-lmb. cam. ac. uk/ ribo/ homepage/ ramak/ ramak_publications. html
External links
• Biography and Bibliographic Resources (http://www.osti.gov/accomplishments/ramakrishnan_steitz.html),
from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, United States Department of Energy
• Venki Ramakrishnan (http://www.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/ribo/homepage/ramak/index.html), homepage at
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology.
• Venkatraman Ramakrishnan Audio Interview (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2009/
ramakrishnan-interview.html) Official Nobel Foundation website telephone interview.
Salim Ali 156
Salim Ali
Salim Ali
Born November 12, 1896Mumbai, British India
Died July 27, 1987 (aged 90)Mumbai, India
Nationality India
Fields ornithology
natural history
Influences Erwin Stresemann
Notable awards Padma Vibhushan (1976)
Spouse Tehmina Ali
Sálim Moizuddin Abdul Ali (November 12, 1896 – July 27, 1987) was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist.
Known as the "birdman of India", Salim Ali was among the first Indians to conduct systematic bird surveys across
India and his bird books helped develop ornithology. He became the key figure behind the Bombay Natural History
Society after 1947 and used his personal influence to garner government support for the organization, create the
Bharatpur bird sanctuary (Keoladeo National Park) and prevent the destruction of what is now the Silent Valley
National Park. He was awarded India's second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan in 1976.
Early life
Salim Ali was born into a Sulaimani Bohra Muslim family of Bombay, the ninth and youngest child. His father
Moizuddin died when he was one year old and his mother Zeenat-un-nissa died when he was three. The children
were brought up by his maternal uncle, Amiruddin Tyabji, and childless aunt, Hamida Begum, in a middle-class
household in Khetwadi, Mumbai.[1] Another uncle was Abbas Tyabji, well known Indian freedom fighter. Salim was
introduced to the serious study of birds by W. S. Millard, secretary of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS),
who identified an unusually coloured sparrow that young Salim had shot for sport with his toy airgun. Millard
identified it as a Yellow-throated Sparrow, and showed Salim around the Society's collection of stuffed birds.[2]
Millard lent Salim a few books including Eha's Common birds of Bombay, encouraged Salim to make a collection of
birds and offered to train him in skinning and preservation. Young Salim was introduced to (later Sir) Norman Boyd
Kinnear, the first paid curator at the BNHS, who later provided help from the British Museum.[3] In his
autobiography, The Fall of a Sparrow Ali notes the Yellow-throated Sparrow event as the turning point of his life
that led him into ornithology, an unusual career choice, especially for an Indian in those days.[4] His early interest
was in books on hunting in India and he became interested in sport-shooting, encouraged by the hunting interests of
his foster-father Amiruddin. Shooting contests were often held in the neighbourhood in which he grew and among
his playmates was Iskandar Mirza, a distant cousin who was a particularly a good marksman who went on in later
life to become the first President of Pakistan.[5]
Salim Ali 157
Salim went to primary school at Zanana Bible Medical Mission Girls High School at Girgaum along with two of his
sisters and later to St. Xavier's College in Bombay. Around the age of 13 he suffered from chronic headaches,
making him drop out of class frequently. He was sent to Sind to stay with an uncle who had suggested that the dry
air might help and on returning back after such breaks in studies, he barely managed to pass the matriculation exam
of the Bombay University in 1913.[6]
Burma and Germany

Salim Ali's early education was at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.
Following a difficult first year in college, he dropped out and went to
Tavoy, Burma (Tenasserim) to look after the family's Wolfram
(Tungsten) mining (tungsten was used in armour plating and was
valuable during the war) and timber interests there. The forests
surrounding this area provided an opportunity for Ali to hone his
naturalist (and hunting) skills. He also made acquaintance with J C
Hopwood and Berthold Ribbentrop who were with the Forest Service
in Burma. On his return to India in 1917 after seven years, he decided Yellow-throated Sparrow
to continue formal studies. He was to study commercial law and

accountancy at Davar's College of Commerce. His true interest was however noticed by Father Ethelbert Blatter at
St. Xavier's College and at his persuasion. After attending morning classes at Davar's College, he would attend
zoology classes at St. Xavier's College and was able to complete the course in zoology.[7] [8] During this break in
Bombay he was married to a distant relative, Tehmina in December 1918.[9]
Ali was fascinated by motorcycles from an early age and starting with a 3.5 HP NSU in Tavoy, he owned a
Sunbeam, Harley-Davidsons (three models), a Douglas, a Scott, a New Hudson and a Zenith among others at various
times. On invitation to the 1950 Ornithological Congress at Uppsala in Sweden he shipped his Sunbeam aboard the
SS Stratheden from Bombay and biked around Europe, injuring himself in a minor mishap in France apart from
having several falls on cobbled roads in Germany. When he arrived on a fully loaded bike, just in time for the first
session at Uppsala, word went around that he had ridden all the way from India! He regretted not having owned a
BMW.[10]
Ali failed to get an ornithologist's position at the Zoological Survey of India around this time due to lack of a formal
university degree, a position that was finally taken by M L Roonwal.[11] He however decided to study further after he
was hired as guide lecturer in 1926 at the newly opened natural history section in the Prince of Wales Museum in
Mumbai for the salary of Rs 350 a month.[2] [12] He however tired of the job after two years and decided to go on
study leave in 1928 to Germany, where he was to work under Professor Erwin Stresemann at the Zoological
Museum of Berlin University. Part of the work involved examining the specimens collected by J. K. Stanford.
Stanford, a BNHS member had communicated with Claud Ticehurst at the British Museum who wanted to take up
the work on his own with the help of the BNHS. Ticehurst did not appreciate the idea of an Indian being involved in
the work and resented the involvement of Stresemann, a German, even more.[13] Ali however moved to Berlin and
here he made acquaintance with many of the major German ornithologists of the time including Bernhard Rensch,
Oskar Heinroth and Ernst Mayr. He also gained experience in ringing at the Heligoland observatory.[14]
Salim Ali 158
Ornithology
On his return to India in 1930, he discovered that the guide lecturer
position had been eliminated due to lack of funds. Unable to find a
suitable job, Salim Ali and Tehmina moved to Kihim, a coastal village
near Mumbai. Here he had the opportunity to study at close hand, the
breeding of the Baya Weaver and discovered their mating system of
sequential polygamy.[15] Later commentators have suggested that this
study was in the tradition of the Mughal naturalists that Salim Ali
admired.[16] A few months were then spent in Kotagiri where he had
been invited by K M Anantan, a retired army doctor who had served in
With Mary and Dillon Ripley on a collection trip Mesopotamia during World War I. He also came in contact with Mrs
(1976)
Kinloch who lived at Longwood Shola and her son-in-law R C Morris
who lived in the Biligirirangan Hills.[17] He then discovered an
opportunity to conduct systematic bird surveys of the princely states that included Hyderabad, Cochin, Travancore,
Gwalior, Indore and Bhopal with the sponsorship of the rulers of those states. He was aided and supported in these
surveys by Hugh Whistler who had surveyed many parts of India and had kept very careful notes. Interestingly,
Whistler had initially been irritated by the unknown Indian. Whistler had in a note on The study of Indian birds
mentioned that the long tail feathers of the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo lacked webbing on the inner vane.[18] Salim
Ali wrote that such inaccuracies had been carried on from early literature and pointed out that it was incorrect on
account of a twist in the rachis.[19] Whistler was initially resentful of an unknown Indian finding fault and wrote
"snooty" letters to the editors of the journal S H Prater and Sir Reginald Spence. Subsequently Whistler re-examined
his specimens and not only admitted his error[20] but became a close friend.[21]
Whistler also introduced Salim to Richard Meinertzhagen and the two made an expedition into Afghanistan.
Although Meinertzhagen had very critical views of him they became good friends. Salim Ali found nothing amiss in
Meinertzhagen's bird works but later studies have shown many of his studies to be fraudulent. Meinertzhagen made
his diary entries from their days in the field available and Salim Ali reproduces them in his autobiography:[22]
30.4.1937 'I am disappointed in Salim. He is quite useless at anything but collecting. He cannot skin a bird, nor
cook, nor do anything connected with camp life, packing up or chopping wood. He writes interminable notes
about something-perhaps me... Even collecting he never does on his own initiative...
20.5.1937 'Salim is the personification of the educated Indian and interests me a great deal. He is excellent at
his own theoretical subjects, but has no practical ability, and at everyday little problems is hopelessly
inefficient... His views are astounding. He is prepared to turn the British out of India tomorrow and govern the
country himself. I have repeatedly told him that the British Government have no intention of handing over
millions of uneducated Indians to the mercy of such men as Salim:...
He was accompanied and supported on his early ornithological surveys by his wife, Tehmina, and was shattered
when she died in 1939 following a minor surgery. After Tehmina's death in 1939, Salim Ali stayed with his sister
Kamoo and brother-in-law. In the course of his later travels, Ali rediscovered the Kumaon Terai population of the
Finn's Baya but was unsuccessful in his expedition to find the Mountain Quail (Ophrysia superciliosa), the status of
which continues to remain unknown.
Salim Ali 159
Ali was not very interested in the details of bird systematics and
taxonomy and was more interested in studying birds in the field.[23] [24]
Ernst Mayr wrote to Ripley complaining that Ali failed to collect
sufficient specimens : "as far as collecting is concerned I don't think he
ever understood the necessity for collecting series. Maybe you can
convince him of that."[23] Ali himself wrote to Ripley complaining
about bird taxonomy:
My head reels at all these nomenclatural metaphysics! I feel

strongly like retiring from ornithology, if this is the stuff, and Label for a specimen collected by Salim Ali
spending the rest of my days in the peace of the wilderness with during his Mysore State survey
birds, and away from the dust and frenzy of taxonomical
warfare. I somehow feel complete detachment from all this, and am thoroughly unmoved by what name one
ornithologist chooses to dub a bird that is familiar to me, and care even less in regard to one that is unfamiliar
----- The more I see of these subspecific tangles and inanities, the more I can understand the people who
silently raise their eyebrows and put a finger to their temples when they contemplate the modern ornithologist
in action.
—Ali to Ripley, 5 January 1956[25]
Ali later wrote that his interest was in the "living bird in its natural environment."[26]
Salim Ali's associations with Sidney Dillon Ripley led to many bureaucratic problems. Ripley's past as an OSS agent
led to allegations that the CIA had a hand in the bird-ringing operations in India.[27]
Salim Ali took some interest in bird photography along with his friend Loke Wan Tho. Loke had been introduced to
Ali by JTM Gibson, a BNHS member and Lieutenant Commander of the Royal Indian Navy, who had taught
English to Loke at a school in Switzerland. A wealthy Singapore businessman with a keen interest in birds. Loke
helped Ali and the BNHS with financial support.[28] Ali was also interested in the historical aspects of ornithology in
India. In a series of articles, among his first publications, he examined the contributions to natural-history of the
Mughal emperors. In the 1971 Sunder Lal Hora memorial lecture and the 1978 Azad Memorial Lecture he spoke of
the history and importance of bird study in India.[29] [30] [31]
Other contributions
Salim Ali was very influential in ensuring the survival of the BNHS and managed to save the then 100-year old
institution by writing to the then Prime Minister Pandit Nehru for financial help. Salim also influenced other
members of his family. A cousin,[32] Humayun Abdulali became an ornithologist while his niece Laeeq took an
interest in birds and was married to Zafar Futehally, a distant cousin of Ali, who went on to become the honorary
Secretary of the BNHS and played a major role in the development of bird study through the networking of
birdwatchers in India. Ali also guided several M.Sc. and Ph. D. students, the first of whom was Vijaykumar
Ambedkar, who further studied the breeding and ecology of the Baya Weaver, producing a thesis that was
favourably reviewed by David Lack.[33] [34] [35]
Ali was able to provide support for the development of ornithology in India by identifying important areas where
funding could be obtained. He helped in the establishment of an economic ornithology unit within the Indian Council
for Agricultural Research.[36] [37] He was also able to obtain funding for migration studies through a project to study
the Kyasanur forest disease, an arthropod-borne virus that appeared to have similarities to a Siberian tick-borne
disease.[30] This project partly funded by the PL 480 grants of the USA however ran into political difficulties.[38] In
the late 1980s, he also guided a BNHS project that aimed to reduce bird hits at Indian airfields. He also attempted
some early citizen science projects through the birdwatchers of India who were connected by the "Newsletter for
Birdwatchers".[39]
Salim Ali 160
Dr. Ali had considerable influence in conservation related issues in post-independence India especially through
Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi was herself a keen birdwatcher, influenced by
Ali's bird books (a copy of the "Book of Indian Birds" was gifted to her in 1942 by her father Nehru who was in
Dehra Dun jail while she herself was imprisoned in Naini jail[40] ) and by the Gandhian birdwatcher Horace
Alexander. Ali influenced the designation of the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary and in decisions that saved the Silent
Valley National Park. One of Ali's later interventions at Bharatpur involved the exclusion of cattle and graziers into
the sanctuary and this was to prove costly and resulted in ecological changes that led to a decline in the numbers of
many species of waterbirds. Some historians have noted that the approach to conservation used by Salim Ali and the
BNHS followed an undemocratic process.[41] [42]
Personal views
Salim Ali held many views that were contrary to the mainstream ideas of his time. A question that he was asked
frequently was about the collection of bird specimens particularly in later life when he became known for his
conservation related activism. Although once a fan of shikar (hunting) literature, Ali held strong views on hunting
but upheld the collection of bird specimens for scientific study.[43] He held the view that the practice of wildlife
conservation needed to be practical and not grounded in philosophies like ahimsa.[44] He suggested that this
fundamental religious sentiment had hindered the growth of bird study in India.[31]
it is true that I despise purposeless killing, and regard it as an act of vandalism, deserving the severest
condemnation. But my love for birds is not of the sentimental variety. It is essentially aesthetic and scientific,
and in some cases may even be pragmatic. For a scientific approach to bird study, it is often necessary to
sacrifice a few, ... (and) I have no doubt that but for the methodical collecting of specimens in my earlier years
- several thousands, alas - it would have been impossible to advance our taxonomical knowledge of Indian
birds ... nor indeed of their geographic distribution, ecology, and bionomics.
– Ali (1985):195
Brought up in a Muslim household, he had in his younger life been taught to recite the Koran without understanding
any Arabic. In his adult life he despised the meaningless and what he saw as hypocritical practices of prayer and was
put off by the "ostentatiously sanctimonious elders".[45]
In the early 1960s the national bird of India was under consideration and Salim Ali was intent that it should be the
endangered Great Indian Bustard, however this proposal was overruled in favour of the Indian Peafowl.[46] [47] [48]
[49]
Honours and memorials

Although recognition came late, he received several honorary doctorates and numerous awards. The earliest was the
"Joy Gobinda Law Gold Medal" in 1953, awarded by the Asiatic Society of Bengal and was based on an appraisal of
his work by Sunder Lal Hora (and in 1970 received the Sunder Lal Hora memorial Medal of the Indian National
Science Academy). He received honorary doctorates from the Aligarh Muslim University (1958), Delhi University
(1973) and Andhra University (1978). In 1967 he became the first non-British citizen to receive the Gold Medal of
the British Ornithologists' Union. In the same year, he received the J Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation prize
consisting of a sum of $ 100,000, which he used to form the corpus of the Salim Ali Nature Conservation Fund. In
1969 he received the John C. Phillips memorial medal of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources. The USSR Academy of Medical Science gave him the Pavlovsky Centenary Memorial Medal in
1973 and in the same year he was made Commander of the Netherlands Order of the Golden Ark by Prince Bernhard
of the Netherlands. The Indian government decorated him with a Padma Bhushan in 1958 and the Padma Vibhushan
in 1976.[50] He was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1985.[51]
Salim Ali 161
Dr. Salim Ali died in 1987, at the age of 91 after a prolonged battle with prostate cancer in Mumbai. In 1990, the
Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) was established at Coimbatore by the Government
of India. Pondicherry University established the Salim Ali School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences. The
government of Goa set up the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary and the Thattakad bird sanctuary near Vembanad in Kerala
also goes by his name. The location of the BNHS in Bombay was renamed to "Dr Salim Ali Chowk". In 1972, Kitti
Thonglongya discovered a misidentified specimen in the collection of the BNHS and described a new species that he
called Latidens salimalii, considered one of the world's rarest bats, and the only species in the genus Latidens. The
subspecies of the Rock Bush Quail (Perdicula argoondah salimalii) and the eastern population of Finn's Weaver
(Ploceus megarhynchus salimalii) were named after him by Whistler and Abdulali respectively.[52] [53] A subspecies
of the Black-rumped Flameback Woodpecker (Dinopium benghalense tehminae) was after his wife, Tehmina by
Whistler and Kinnear.[54]
The International Jury for the J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize of the World Wildlife Fund has selected for
1975
Salim A. Ali
Creator of an environment for conservation in India, your work over fifty years in acquainting Indians with
the natural riches of the subcontinent has been instrumental in the promotion of protection, the setting up of
parks and reserves, and indeed the awakening of conscience in all circles from the government to the simplest
village Panchayat. Since the writing of your book, the Book of Indian Birds which in its way was the seminal
natural history volume for everyone in India, your name has been the single one known throughout the length
and breadth of your own country, Pakistan, and Bangladesh as the father of conservation and the fount of
knowledge on birds. Your message has gone high and low across the land and we are sure that weaver birds
weave your initials in their nests, and swifts perform parabolas in the sky in your honor.
For your lifelong dedication to the preservation of bird life in the Indian subcontinent and your identification
with the Bombay Natural History Society as a force for education, the World Wildlife Fund takes delight in
presenting you with the second J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize. February 19, 1976.
Writings
Salim Ali wrote numerous journal articles, chiefly in the Journal of the
Bombay Natural History Society. He also wrote a number of popular
and academic books, many of which remain in print. Ali credited
Tehmina, who had studied in England, for helping improve his English
prose. Some of his literary pieces were used in a collection of English
writing. A popular article that he wrote in 1930 Stopping by the woods
on a Sunday morning was reprinted in the Indian Express on his
birthday in 1984.[55] His most popular work was book The Book of
Indian Birds, written in the style of Whistler's Popular Handbook of
The 10 volume "Handbook" (second edition) Birds and first published in 1941, it has been translated into several
languages and has been through more than 12 editions. The first ten
editions alone sold more than forty-six thousand copies.[56] The first edition was reviewed by Ernst Mayr in 1943,
who commending it while noting that the illustrations were not to the standard of American bird-books.[57] His
magnum opus was however the 10 volume Handbook of the Birds of India & Pakistan written with Dillon Ripley
and often referred to as "the handbook". This work started in 1964 and ended in 1974 and a second edition was
completed by others, notably J S Serrao of the BNHS, Bruce Beehler, Michel Desfayes and Pamela Rasmussen, after
his death.[58] A single volume "compact edition" of the "Handbook" was also produced and a supplementary
Salim Ali 162
illustrative work A Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent with illustrations by John Henry Dick and
coauthored with Dillon Ripley was published in 1983, these plates were also used in the second edition of the
"Handbook".[58]
He also produced a number of regional field guides, including "The
Birds of Kerala" (the first edition in 1953 was titled "The Birds of
Travancore and Cochin"), "The Birds of Sikkim", "The Birds of
Kutch" (later "The Birds of Gujarat"), "Indian Hill Birds" and the
"Birds of the Eastern Himalayas".[59] Several low-cost book were Some of the books written by Salim Ali
produced by the National Book Trust including "Common Birds"

(1967) written with his niece Laeeq Futehally which was reprinted in several editions with translations into Hindi
and other languages.[60] [61] In 1985 he wrote his autobiography, The Fall of a Sparrow. Ali also wrote about his own
vision for the Bombay Natural History Society, noting the importance of conservation related activities.[62] In the
1986 issue of the Journal of the BNHS he noted the role that it had played, the changing interests from hunting to
conservation captured in 64 volumes that were preserved in microfiche copies and the zenith that it had reached
under the exceptional editorship of S H Prater.[63]
A two-volume compilation of his shorter letters and writings was published in 2007, edited by Tara Gandhi, one of
his last students.[64]
References
[1] Ali (1985):1
[2] Nandy, Pritish (1985) In search of the Mountain Quail (http:/ / www. archive. org/ details/ SalimAliPritishNandy). The Illustrated Weekly of
India. July 14–20. pp. 8-17
[3] Ali (1985):8
[4] Ali (1985):10
[5] Ali (1985):18
[6] Ali (1985):15
[7] Ali (1985):30
[8] Yahya, HSA (1996). "Transcript of an interview with Salim Ali" (http:/ / www. archive. org/ stream/ NLBW36_6#page/ n3/ mode/ 1up/ ).
Newsletter for Birdwatchers 36 (6): 100–102. .
[9] Ali (1985):37
[10] Ali (1985):158-167
[11] Ali (1985):46
[12] Ali (1985):55
[13] Ali (1985):57-58
[14] Ali (1985):59-61
[15] Ali,S (1931). "The nesting habits of the Baya (Ploceus philippinus)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 34 (4): 947–964.
[16] Newton, Paul & Matt Ridley (1983). "Biology under the Raj". New Scientist 99: 857–867.
[17] Ali (1985):78-83
[18] Whistler, H (1929). "The study of Indian birds, part 2". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 33 (2): 311–325.
[19] Ali, S (1929). "The racket-feathers of Dissemurus paradiseus". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 33 (3): 709–710.
[20] Whistler, H (1930). "The tail-racket of Dissemurus paradiseus". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 34 (1): 250.
[21] Ali (1985):64-65
[22] Ali (1985):248-249
[23] Lewis, M. L. (2003). Inventing global ecology: Tracking the Biodiversity Ideal in India, 1945-1997. Orient Longman. pp. 66–67.
ISBN 8125023771.
[24] Ali (1985):196
[25] Ripley Papers. Accession 92-063, Box 1. Quoted in Lewis (2003)
[26] Ali (1985):195
[27] Lewis, Michael (2002). "Scientists or Spies? Ecology in a Climate of Cold War Suspicion". Economic and Political Weekly 37 (24):
2324–2332.
[28] Ali (1985):122
[29] Ali, S (1979). Bird study in India: Its history and its importance (http:/ / www. archive. org/ details/ AzadMemorialBirds). Indian Council
for Cultural Relations, New Delhi. .
Salim Ali 163
[30] Ali, S (1971). Ornithology in India: Its past, present and future. Sunder Lal Hora Memorial Lecture (http:/ / www. new. dli. ernet. in/
rawdataupload/ upload/ insa/ INSA_1/ 20005b6d_99. pdf). INSA, New Delhi. .
[31] Ali, Salim (1980). "Indian Ornithology: The Current Trends". Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 100 (1): 80–83.
[32] Ali (1985):192
[33] Ali (1985):168
[34] Gadgil, M (2001). Ecological Journeys. Permanent Black, New Delhi. pp. 74–80. ISBN 8178241129.
[35] Ali (1985):213
[36] Ali, S (1936). "Economic ornithology in India" (http:/ / www. ias. ac. in/ jarch/ currsci/ 4/ 472-478. pdf). Current Science 4: 472–478. .
[37] Dhindsa, MS & Harjeet K Saini (1994). "Agricultural ornithology: an Indian perspective" (http:/ / www. ias. ac. in/ jarch/ jbiosci/ 19/
391-402. pdf). J. Biosci. 19 (4): 391–402. doi:10.1007/BF02703176. .
[38] Lewis, Michael (2005). "Indian Science for Indian Tigers?: Conservation Biology and the Question of Cultural Values". Journal of the
History of Biology 38 (2): 185–207. doi:10.1007/s10739-004-1486-8.
[39] Anonymous (1986). "A talk with Salim Ali about where do we go from here" (http:/ / www. archive. org/ stream/ NLBW26_78#page/ n2/
mode/ 1up/ ). Newsletter for Birdwatchers 26 (7-8): 2–3. .
[40] Ali (1985):205-206
[41] Lewis M. (2003). "Cattle and Conservation at Bharatpur: A Case Study in Science and Advocacy" (http:/ / www. conservationandsociety.
org/ text. asp?2003/ 1/ 1/ 1/ 49354). Conservation and Society 1: 1–21. .
[42] Rangarajan M. (2009). "Striving for a balance: Nature, power, science and India's Indira Gandhi, 1917-1984" (http:/ / www.
conservationandsociety. org/ text. asp?2009/ 7/ 4/ 299/ 65175). Conservation and Society 7: 299–312. doi:10.4103/0972-4923.65175. .
[43] Ali (1985):20
[44] Ali (1985):233
[45] Ali (1985):229
[46] Ali, S (1961). "Our national bird" (http:/ / www. archive. org/ stream/ NLBW1#page/ n14/ mode/ 1up). Newsletter for Birdwatchers 1 (4):
3–4. .
[47] Ali, Salim (1962). "National bird" (http:/ / www. archive. org/ stream/ NLBW1#page/ n23/ mode/ 1up). Newsletter for Birdwatchers 1 (6):
4. .
[48] Bindra, PS (2009). "On the brink" (http:/ / www. tehelka. com/ story_main41. asp?filename=hub250409extinction. asp). Tehelka Magazine
6 (16). .
[49] Nair, P Thankappan (1974). "The Peacock Cult in Asia" (http:/ / www. nanzan-u. ac. jp/ SHUBUNKEN/ publications/ afs/ pdf/ a272. pdf).
Asian Folklore Studies 33 (2): 93–170. doi:10.2307/1177550. JSTOR 1177550. .
[50] Ali (1985):215-220
[51] Anon (2005). Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha (http:/ / rajyasabha. nic. in/ rsnew/ practice_procedure/ nominated_member. pdf).
Rajya Sabha Secreteriat, New Delhi. .
[52] Abdulali, H. (1960). "A new race of Finn's Baya, Ploceus megarhynchus Hume". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 57 (3): 659–662.
[53] Ali,Salim; Whistler,Hugh (1943). "The birds of Mysore. Part V.". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 44 (2): 206–220.
[54] Whistler, H and N B Kinnear (1934). "The Vernay scientific survey of the Eastern Ghats. (Ornithological Section). Part VIII". J. Bombay
Nat. Hist. Soc. 37 (2): 281–297.
[55] Ali, S (1930). "Stopping by the woods on a Sunday morning (reprinted)" (http:/ / www. archive. org/ stream/ NLBW37_6#page/ n13/ mode/
1up/ ). Newsletter for Birdwatchers 37 (6): 104–106. .
[56] Ali (1985):205
[57] Ernst Mayr (1943). "Review: Birds of India" (http:/ / elibrary. unm. edu/ sora/ Auk/ v060n02/ p0287-p0305. pdf). The Auk 60 (2): 287. .
[58] Ali, S & SD Ripley (1999). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Edition 2. 10. Oxford University Press.
[59] Anonymous (1987). "On Salim Ali" (http:/ / www. archive. org/ stream/ NLBW27#page/ n56/ mode/ 1up/ ). Newsletter for Birdwatchers 27
(7-8): 2–7. .
[60] Ali (1985):213-214
[61] Watson GE (1971). The Auk 88 (1): 199–200. http:/ / elibrary. unm. edu/ sora/ Auk/ v088n01/ p0187-p0201. pdf.
[62] Ali, Salim (1987). "The Bombay Natural History Society Its Past, Present and Future". Interdisciplinary Science Reviews 12 (3): 206–210.
[63] Ali, S (1986). "The journal: Its role in Indian natural history". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 83 (supplement): 1–6.
[64] Gandhi, Tara, ed (2007). A Bird's Eye View : The Collected Essays and Shorter Writings of Salim Ali. Permanent Black. ISBN 8178241706.
Autobiography
• Ali, Salim (1985) The Fall of a Sparrow. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195621271
Salim Ali 164
External links
• Ali, Salim (1941). Book of Indian Birds (http://www.archive.org/stream/BookOfIndianBirds/
BookIndianBirds#page/n5/mode/2up). Bombay Natural History Society. ISBN 0195637321.
• Ali, Salim; Laeeq Futehally (1967). Common Birds (http://www.archive.org/details/CommonBirds). New
Delhi: National Book Trust.</ref>
Vikram Sarabhai 165
Vikram Sarabhai
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai
Dr. Vikram Sarabhai
Born 12 August 1919Ahmedabad, India
Died 31 December 1971 (aged 52)Halcyon Castle, Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Residence India
Nationality Indian
Fields Physics
Institutions Indian Space Research Organisation

Physical Research Laboratory
Alma mater Gujarat College

St. John's College, Cambridge University
Doctoral advisor Sir C. V. Raman
Notable awards Padma Bhushan (1966)

Padma Vibhushan (posthumously) (1972)
Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (August 12, 1919 – December 31, 1971) was an Indian physicist. He is considered to be
the father of the Indian space program.
Biography
Early years and education

Vikram ambalal Sarabhai was born on 12 August 1919 in the city of Ahmedabad , Gujarat State in western India.
The Sarabhai family was an important and rich Jain business family. His father Ambalal Sarabhai was an affluent
industrialist and owned many mills in Gujarat. Vikram Sarabhai was one of the eight children of Ambalal and Sarla
Devi.
To educate her eight children, Sarla Devi established a private school on the lines of the Montessori method,
propounded by Maria Montessori, which was gaining fame at that time. As the Sarabhai family was involved in the
Indian freedom struggle, many leaders of the freedom struggle like Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, Rabindranath
Tagore and Jawaharlal Nehru used to frequent the Sarabhai house. This is said to have greatly influenced the young
Vikram Sarabhai and played an important role in the growth of his personality.
Sarabhai matriculated from the Gujarat College in Ahmedabad after passing the Intermediate Science examination.
After that he moved to England and joined the St. John's College, University of Cambridge. He received the Tripos
Vikram Sarabhai 166
in Natural Sciences from Cambridge in 1940. With the escalation of the Second World War, Sarabhai returned to
India and joined the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and began research in cosmic rays under the guidance
of Sir C. V. Raman, a Nobel Prize winner. He returned to Cambridge after the war in 1945 and was awarded a PhD
degree in 1947, for his thesis titled Cosmic Ray investigation in Tropical Latitudes.
Marriage and children

In September, 1942, Vikram Sarabhai married Mrinalini Sarabhai, a celebrated classical dancer of India. The
wedding was held in Chennai without anyone from Vikram's side of the family attending the wedding ceremony
because of the ongoing Quit India movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. Vikram and Mrinalini had two children -
Kartikeya and Mallika. Vikram Sarabhai allowed considerable freedom to Mrinalini to develop her own potential.
Reportedly, they had a troubled marriage relationship[1] . According to biographer Amrita Shah, Vikram Sarabhai
had void in his personal life he sought to fill it by dedicating himself to applying science for social good.
His daughter Mallika Sarabhai is winner of Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor for the year 2010.
She is also a renowned dancer herself and has been awarded the Palme d'Or.
Physical Research Laboratory

Vikram returned to an independent India in 1947. Looking at the needs of the country, he persuaded charitable trusts
controlled by his family and friends to endow a research institution near home in Ahmedabad. Thus, Vikram
Sarabhai founded the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad on November 11, 1947. He was only 28 at
that time. Sarabhai was a creator and cultivator of institutions and PRL was the first step in that direction. Vikram
Sarabhai served of PRL from 1966-1971.
Death
Vikram Sarabhai died on 31 December 1971 at Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He was visiting
Thiruvananthapuram to attend the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Thumba railway station being built to
service Thumba launch center which would become one of ISRO's most important sites given its proximity to the
equator, thus a convenient location to launch equatorial orbit satellites. During his last days, he was under a great
amount of stress due to excessive travelling and a huge work-load which adversely affected his health. He did not
wake up to celebrate the New Year. He died in his sleep at Halcyon Castle and was apparently a victim of a silent
heart attack.
Indian Space Program

The establishment of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was one of his greatest achievements. He
successfully convinced the government of the importance of a space programme for a developing country like India
after the Russian Sputnik launch. Dr. Sarabhai emphasized the importance of a space program in his quote:
"There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity
of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of
the moon or the planets or manned space-flight."
"But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must
be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society."
Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha, widely regarded as the father of India's nuclear science program, supported Dr. Sarabhai
in setting up the first rocket launching station in India. This center was established at Thumba near
Thiruvananthapuram on the coast of the Arabian Sea, primarily because of its proximity to the equator. After a
remarkable effort in setting up the infrastructure, personnel, communication links, and launch pads, the inaugural
flight was launched on November 21, 1963 with a sodium vapour payload.
Vikram Sarabhai 167
As a result of Dr. Sarabhai's dialogue with NASA in 1966, the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE)
was launched during July 1975 - July 1976 (when Dr.Sarabhai was no more).
Dr. Sarabhai started a project for the fabrication and launch of an Indian Satellite. As a result, the first Indian
satellite, Aryabhata, was put in orbit in 1975 from a Russian Cosmodrome.
Dr. Sarabhai was very interested in science education and founded a Community Science Centre at Ahmedabad in
1966. Today, the Centre is called the Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre.
He led the family's 'Sarabhai' diversified business group.
His interests varied from science to sports to statistics. He set up Operations Research Group (ORG), the first market
research organization in the country.
Dr Vikram Sarabhai established many institutes which are of international repute. Most notable among them are
Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) which are considered world class for their management studies. Also he
helped establishing Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) which is doing commendable job in R&D in Physics. Dr
Vikram Sarabhai setup Ahmedabad Textiles Industrial Research Association (ATIRA) which helped the booming
textiles business in Ahmedabad. He also setup Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT). Not
stopping with all these he went ahead and setup Blind Men Association (BMA) which helps visually challenged
people with necessary skills and support.
Awards
• Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award (1962)
• Padma Bhushan (1966)
• Padma Vibhushan, posthumous (after-death) (1972)
Distinguished Positions
• President of the Physics section, Indian Science Congress (1962),
• President of the General Conference of the I.A.E.A., Verína (1970),
• Vice-President, Fourth U.N. Conference on 'Peaceful uses of Atomic Energy' (1971)
Honors
The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, (VSSC), which is the Indian Space Research Organization's lead facility for
launch vehicle development located in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), capital of Kerala state, is named in his
memory.
Along with other Ahmedabad-based industrialists, he played a major role in setting up of the Indian Institute of
Management, Ahmedabad.
References
[1] Vikram Sarabhai: A Life by Amrita Shah, 2007, Penguin Viking ISBN 0-670-99951-2
External links
• Great Scientists at freeindia.org (http://www.freeindia.org/biographies/greatscientists/vikramasarabhai/)
• Hindu Newspaper (http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/seta/2003/04/03/stories/2003040300100300.htm)
Yellapragada Subbarao
Yellapragada Subbarao
Indian Scientist
Born January 12, 1895Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh, India
Died August 9, 1948 (aged 53)
Nationality Indian
Fields Medicine
Institutions Lederle Laboratories, a division of American Cyanamid (Acquired by Wyeth in 1994)
Alma mater Madras Medical College

Harvard University
Known for Discovery of the role of Phosphocreatine and Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) in muscular
activity.
Synthesis of Folic Acid
Synthesis of Methotrexate
Discovery of Diethylcarbamazine
Yellapragada Subbarao (Telugu: యెల్లప్రగడ సుబ్బారావు) (January 12, 1895-August 9, 1948) was an Indian
biochemist who discovered the function of Adenosine Triphosphate as a energy source in the cell, and made
important contributions to the treatment of cancer. Most of his career was spent in the United States. Despite his
isolation of ATP, Subbarao was denied tenure at Harvard[1] and remained an alien without a green card all his life,
though he would lead some of America's most important medical research during World War II.

He was born to a Telugu 6000 Niyogi Brahmin family in Bhimavaram of the Old Madras Presidency, now in West
Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh. He passed through a traumatic period in his schooling at Rajahmundry (due to
the premature death of close relations by disease) and eventually matriculated in his third attempt from the Hindu
High School, Madras. He passed the Intermediate Examination from the Presidency College and entered the Madras
Medical College where his education was supported by friends and Kasturi Suryanarayana Murthy, whose daughter
he later married. Following Gandhi's call to boycott British goods he started wearing khadi surgical dress; this
incurred the displeasure of M. C. Bradfield, his surgery professor. Consequently, though he did well in his written
papers, he was awarded the lesser LMS certificate and not a full MBBS degree.
Subbarao tried to enter the Madras Medical Service without success. He then took up a job as Lecturer in Anatomy
at Dr. Lakshmipathi's Ayurvedic College at Madras. He was fascinated by the healing powers of Ayurvedic
medicines and began to engage in research to put Ayurveda on a modern footing.
A chance meeting with an American doctor, who was visiting on a Rockefeller Scholarship, changed his mind. The
promise of support from Satyalinga Naicker Charities and Malladi Charities, Kakinada and financial assistance
raised by his father-in-law, enabled Subbarao to proceed to the U.S. He arrived in Boston on October 26, 1922.
Career in America
After earning a diploma from the Harvard School of Tropical Medicine he joined Harvard as a junior faculty
member. With Cyrus Fiske, he developed a method for the estimation of phosphorus in body fluids and tissues. He
discovered the role of Phosphocreatine and Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) in muscular activity, which earned him
an entry into biochemistry textbooks in the 1930s. He obtained his Ph.D. degree the same year.
He joined Lederle Laboratories, a division of American Cyanamid (now a division of Wyeth which is owned by
Pfizer), after he was denied a regular faculty position at Harvard. At Lederle, he developed a method to synthesize
Folic Acid, Vitamin B9,[2] based on work by Lucy Wills to isolate folic acid as a ward against anemia. After his
work on folic acid and with considerable inputs from Dr. Sidney Farber, he developed the important anti-cancer drug
Methotrexate--one of the very first cancer chemotherapy agents and still in widespread clinical use.[3] [4] [5] He also
discovered the drug Hetrazan which was used by the World health Organization against filariasis.[6] Under Subbarao,
Benjamin Duggar made his discovery of the world's first tetracycline antibiotic, Aureomycin, in 1945. This
discovery was made as a result of the largest distributed scientific experiment ever performed to that date, when
American soldiers who had fought all over the world were instructed at the end of WWII to collect soil samples from
wherever they were, and bring the samples back for screening at Lederle Laboratories for possible anti-bacterial
agents from natural soil fungi.[7] [8]
Recognition and delayed acknowledgement

Subbaro's memory has been obscured by the achievements of others and his failure to promote his own self-interest.
Part of the reason for his obscurity was that Subbarao did not "market his work". A patent attorney was once
astonished to find that he had not taken any of the steps that scientists everywhere consider routine for linking their
name to their handiwork. He was invariably in the audience when a colleague or a collaborator, pushed by him to the
limelight, took the bow as each fruit of research directed by Subbarao was revealed to the public. He never granted
interviews to the press. He never made the rounds of the academies which apportion accolades among the achievers.
He never went on lecture tours.
His colleague, George Hitchings, who shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Gertrude Elion,
said, "Some of the nucleotides isolated by Subbarao had to be rediscovered years later by other workers because
Fiske, apparently out of jealousy, did not let Subbarao's contributions see the light of the day."[9]
A new fungus was named in his honor by American Cyanamid: Subbaromyces splendens.[10]
References
[1] The Emperor of All Maladies.quote: Any one of these achievements should have been enough to guarantee him a professorship at Harvard.
But Subbarao was a foreigner, a reclusive, nocturnal, heavily accented vegetarian who lived in a one-room apartment downtown, befriended
only by other nocturnal recluses
[2] Farber, S; Cutler, EC; Hawkins, JW; Harrison, JH; Peirce Ec, 2nd; Lenz, GG (1947). "The Action of Pteroylglutamic Conjugates on Man".
Science 106 (2764): 619–21. doi:10.1126/science.106.2764.619. PMID 17831847.
[3] Farber et al.'s article, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1946, noted Dr SubbaRow's work as a foundation for this
landmark paper. The paper remains one of the earliest, top-cited research articles and is a classics in the field of medicine.
[4] Miller, DR (2006). "A tribute to Sidney Farber-- the father of modern chemotherapy". British journal of haematology 134 (1): 20–6.
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2141.2006.06119.x. PMID 16803563.
[5] Diamond, L.K. (1985) This week’s citation classic (http:/ / www. garfield. library. upenn. edu/ classics1985/ A1985AEC4000001. pdf)
Current Contents
[6] WHO Report on Global Filaria Control [[2002 (http:/ / whqlibdoc. who. int/ hq/ 2002/ WHO_CDS_CPE_CEE_2002. 34_(p1-p51). pdf)]]
[7] History of Medicine: Dr. Yellapragada SubbaRow (1895-1948) - He Transformed Science; Changed Lives (http:/ / medind. nic. in/ jac/ t01/
i1/ jact01i1p96. pdf)
[8] Journal of the Indian Academy of Clinical Medicine (http:/ / medind. nic. in/ jac/ t01/ i1/ jact01i1c1. shtml); 2 (1,2) Jan.-Jun. 2001
[9] Press article (http:/ / www. hinduonnet. com/ seta/ 2003/ 03/ 13/ stories/ 2003031300140300. htm), The Hindu 13-mar-2003
[10] Taxon ID 50474 (http:/ / www. uniprot. org/ taxonomy/ 50474)
External links
• ysubbarow.info (http://www.ysubbarow.info)
• Yellapragada SubbaRow Archives Online (http://www.ysubbarow.info/Archive/home.php)
• Shehjar Magazine (http://shehjar.kashmirgroup.com/Admin/magazineresourcepage.do?pageUrl=/files/
resources/zip/070824025005_GreatScientist)
• The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2003031300140300.htm&
date=2003/03/13/&prd=seta&)
Meghnad Saha 171
Meghnad Saha
Meghnad Saha
মেঘনাদ সাহা
Meghnad Saha in Berlin
Born 6 October 1893Shaoratoli, Dhaka, Bengal, British India
Died 16 February 1956 (aged 62)
Residence India
Nationality Indian
Fields Physics
Institutions Allahabad University

University of Calcutta
Alma mater Dhaka College

Presidency College of the University of Calcutta
Known for Thermal ionisation
Meghnad Saha FRS (Bengali: মেঘনাদ সাহা) (6 October 1893 - 16 February 1956) was an Indian astrophysicist best
known for his development of the Saha equation, used to describe chemical and physical conditions in stars.
Early life
Meghnad Saha was born in a small village named Seoratali, about 40 km from Dhaka (in present Bangladesh). The
youngest of the five sons of Jagannath Saha and Bhubaneswari Debi, Meghnad belonged to a poor family and
struggled to rise in life. His father was reluctant to allow him to undergo higher education; he wanted him to assist
him in shopkeeping. With some persuasion from his eldest son Jayant and Meghnad's primary school teachers, he
relented, and Meghnad went to the neighbouring village to live there and attend an English-medium school. Here he
was lucky in that one Mr. Ananta Kumar Das, a medical practitioner, took interest in Meghnad and offered him free
boarding and lodging. In 1905, he joined the Dhaka Collegiate School. Here he not only received a free studentship,
but also a stipend. However he lost both his free studentship and stipend when he participated in a boycott against
the then British Governor of Bengal Sir Bampfylde Fuller when he came on a visit to Dacca. He managed to pull
through by joining the Kishorilal Jubilee School where he again received a free studentship and a stipend. Around
this time Saha joined the Bible classes run by the Dacca Baptist Society. In a test that was conducted, Saha stood
first and won a handsome prize of Rs.100/- plus a beautifully bound copy of the Bible. In 1909 Saha passed the
Collegiate entrance exam, standing first among the students from East Bengal, with highest marks in Mathematics,
English, Sanskrit and Bengali. This got him entry into the Intermediate Dhaka College, where he spent two years
studying Intermediate. During this time he also took private lessons in German which later was to stand him in good
stead.
Meghnad Saha 172
In 1911 he ranked third in the ISC exam. In the same year Saha came to Calcutta and joined the Presidency College
to study for the B.Sc. degree in Applied Mathematics. Presidency College by then had spawned numerous
luminaries, and Saha found himself surrounded by many: Satyendra Nath Bose, Jnan Ghosh, N.R. Sen, and J. N.
Mukherjee were his classmates, P.C. Mahalanobis was one year his senior, N. R. Dhar was senior by two years,
while Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was one year his junior. His teachers included Jagadish Chandra Bose in
physics, Prafulla Chandra Roy in chemistry, D.N. Mallik and C. E. Cullis in mathematics.[1] After B.Sc. came M.Sc.
and once again S.N. Bose was his classmate. In M.Sc. and B.Sc. Saha secured the second rank, while Bose stood
first, while in the M.sc. exam both stood first, Bose in Pure Mathematics and Saha in Applied Mathematics.[2]
While in college during 1913 through 1915, Meghnad got involved with Anushilan Samiti to take part in freedom
fighting movement. Bagha Jatin, a famous freedom fighter, was used to visit his hostel for building student
organization., Saha flirted a bit with the idea of joining hands with revolutionaries in their fight against the British.
However he soon gave up on the idea, his goal was to get a job, earn money and support his family. After college he
tried to enter the Indian Finance Service, but he was denied permission to appear in the exam as he was suspected of
having contacts with revolutionaries; besides, there was also the boycott he had participated in as a school student. In
order to procure some income, he started giving private tutions. It was around this time that Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee
became the Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University, and he opened a new College of Science for post-graduate
studies and research - this was made possible because of the magnificent donations of two eminent lawyers of
Calcutta, Tarak Nath Palit and Rash Behari Ghose.[3] He offered lecturerships to both Saha and Bose in the
Department of Mathematics in this college but because they could not get along with Dr. Ganesh Prasad, the
professor, he transferred them to the Physics Department where C.V. Raman had been appointed the Palit Professor.
In later life he was close to Amiya Charan Banerjee, a renowned mathematician at Allahabad University.
Scientific career
Selective Radiation Pressure

Shortly after the end of the First World War there was announced the momentous discovery of the deflexion of
starlight by the gravitational field of the sun, confirming Einstein's theory of general relativity. Saha got deeply
interested in the relativity theory. He, jointly with S. N. Bose, prepared an English translation of Einstein's papers,
later published in the form of a book by the University of Calcutta. The study of relativity led Saha to some
investigations in electromagnetic theory and his first original paper entitled On Maxwell's stresses appeared in the
Philosophical Magazine in 1917[4] [5] and quickly followed it up with several more in the next couple of years. This
was followed by papers on the dynamics of the electron. He derived, on the basis of the Special theory of Relativity,
the Liénard–Wiechert potential due to a point-charge. During these years he also worked on radiation pressure, and
in 1918 (with S. Chakravorti) he published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal (Calcutta) a paper
on the measurement of the pressure of light using a resonance method.[6] These were substantial enough for the
Calcutta University to award him the D.Sc. degree in 1918. In between, Saha got married to Radharani (he had
believed that a celibate life was most fit for him until he read The Cloister and the Hearth, which resolved him to
marry). At this point of time he became interested in the phenomenon of selective radiation pressure. The question
that piqued his curiosity was that how come a heavier element like Calcium is present up to a greater height
compared to a lighter element like Hydrogen, apparently defying gravity. He had read in Agnes Clerke's book about
the ‘hypothetical levitative force’ which apparently acted on atoms of some elements only, e.g. calcium. Several
models had already been proposed to explain this anomaly, all of them banking on the possibility of a sharp decrease
of density with increase in height that might negate the effect of increased weight of the element. One such model
suggested by Schwarzschild predicted that at a height of around 3500 km, there would be only one atom in a billion
cubic metres. However the flash spectra showed that the abundance of atoms at great heights was much higher,
clearly debunking such speculations. Saha gave this matter a great deal of thought and concluded that "It seems to be
the general opinion of the astrophysicists that there is some sort of a repulsive force on the Sun which neutralizes the
Meghnad Saha 173
greater part of gravity. " In a short paper entitled On Radiation-Pressure and the Quantum Theory"[7] contributed
in 1919 to the Astrophysical Journal, Saha showed that what countered gravity was selective radiation pressure.[8]
The idea of Radiation Pressure was by itself not new. It was a natural consequence of Maxwell's Electromagnetic
theory of light, and laboratory experiments had already been performed to demonstrate the existence of radiation
pressure. However Maxwell's theory also predicted that when the size of the object is reduced, the pressure
decreases, becoming vanishingly small when the size of the particle dwindles to that of an atom. Saha's theory
seemed to contradict this because it claimed that radiation lifts the atoms up into the chromosphere in defiance of
solar gravity. Saha explained this apparent difference: "An explanation of the existence of radiation-pressure on
molecules is furnished when we apply the quantum theory in place of the old continuous theory of light."
According to him, following Einstein and Planck, one visualizes light energy to be composed of ‘localized in packets
of energy hν’. Now supposing that one such pulse is absorbed by an atom of mass M. The light pulse comes with a
momentum (hν/c), and when it is absorbed this momentum is transferred into the atom, which then moves with a
velocity v = (hν/cM). However when actual values were substituted, the velocity came out to be rather small. Saha
countered: "It should be remembered that v is really an impulsive velocity and is one of the nature of an acceleration.
The total velocity acquired by a Hydrogen atom per second will depend upon the number of kicks of light it
experiences per second, and provided this is sufficiently great the velocity acquired may rise to enormous values. "
Thanks to such velocities, atoms could be carried away to long distances from the chromosphere, creating a blanket
of atoms thicker than what the theory of Schwarzschild and its concomitants predicted. However as the atom will not
absorb a light pulse of any arbitrary frequency ν but only a frequency that corresponds to one of the allowed
transitions, in this respect the atom is choosy, and therefore selective. Other factors which govern the value of the
pressure are:
1. How many photons there are at frequency ν in the spectrum coming out of the photosphere.
2. What sort of absorption frequencies are available to the atom.
3. How intense is the Blackbody spectrum at those frequencies.
In this way we can understand why Calcium is present at higher levels than hydrogen, it is because the radiation
pressure on the former is more than on the latter. He described his findings in a paper entitled The Stationary H-
and K-lines of Calcium in Stellar Atmosphere which he submitted to the Nature magazine in 1921."[9]
The Chromosphere Puzzle

By 1915, the subject of Stellar Spectroscopy had garnered substantial attention so that many scientists were devoting
their efforts to discern its mysteries. The foundations of the subject were laid by Fraunhofer and Kirchhoff. The next
important landmarks was the work of Higgins and Miller who reported on the Fraunhofer spectra of about fifty of the
brightest stars. They concluded that all the stars they had examined had a chemical composition similar to the Sun.
By 1920, over two hundred thousand stars had been studied and classified. This spawned a general consensus that if
one understood what was going on in the sun, one could figure out what was going in the stars as well. But in spite
of the welter of information regarding it, the Sun remained an enigma. Lockyer had said that lines (in the flash
spectrum) originating at the top of the chromosphere were similar to those seen in spark spectra. He also said that the
spark lines were enhanced, the enhancement being due to a stimulus, which he held, was temperature. However this
theory had its detractors. It was conceivable that the enhancement came not only from high temperature, but some
other agency was providing the stimulus as well. Saha later recalled:
I was a regular reader of German journals which had which had just started coming after four years of First
World War, and in the course of these studies I came across a paper by J.Eggert....in which he applied Third
Law of Thermodynamics to explain high ionisation in stars due to high temperatures, postulated by Arthur
Stanley Eddington in the course of his studies on stellar structures....While reading Eggert's paper I saw at
once the importance of introducing the value of the ionisation potential in the formula of Eggert, for
calculating accurately the ionisation, single or multiple, of any particular element under any combination of
Meghnad Saha 174
temperature and pressure. I thus arrived at a formula which now goes by my name. Owing to my previous
acquaintance with chromospheric and stellar problems, I could at once see its application...
European sojourn and Thermal Ionisation

Saha now realized that in order to delve deeply into the matter, he should go to Europe and consult with other
eminent astrophysicists to aid him in his research. He got hold of two books on astronomy by Agnes Clerke, which
furthered his interest in the subject. But he was short of money, so he had to compete for studentships and
fellowships. Among other things, the competition required him to submit a technical essay and he wrote one entitled
On the Harvard Classification of Stellar Spectra. Saha's essay was so much superior to the other entries that both
the Premchand Roychand Studentship and the Guru Prasanna Ghosh Fellowship easily came to him.[10] With some
guarantee for money in pocket, he set sail for Europe in September 1919. After reaching London Saha realized that
he was short of money of again, and something had to be done quickly both on the financial side and the scientific as
well. Fortunately he ran into an ex-classmate who was then at the Imperial College. He acquainted Saha with
Prof.A.Fowler, who himself was a famous stellar astrophysicist and a former assistant to Lockyer. Fowler was
impressed by his prize-winning essay and permitted him to work in his lab under his guidance. Under his guidance,
Saha rewrote the essay, giving it a new title: On a Physical Theory of Stellar Spectra.[11] [12] Fowler
communicated this paper to the Royal Society, which promptly published it in its proceedings; the paper attracted
wide attention in America. This thesis won him the Griffith Prize of the Calcutta University in 1920."[13] Saha later
reminisced:
I took about four months in rewriting the paper, and all the time I had the advantage of Professor Fowler's
criticism, and access to his unrivalled stock of knowledge of spectroscopy and astrophysics. Though the main
ideas and working of the paper remained unchanged, the substance matter was greatly improved on account of
Fowler's kindness in placing at my disposal fresh data, and offering criticism whenever I went a little astray
out of mere enthusiasm.
Commenting on the relationship, astronomer Dingle once observed: "On thinking back to the relation which existed
between Saha and Fowler, I am tempted to compare it with that between Maxwell and Faraday." In addition to this
paper he also published three other papers on his astrophysical research in the first six months of 1920 in the
Philosophical Magazine viz. Ionisation of the Solar Chromosphere (March 4, 1920),[14] On Elements in the Sun
(22 May 1920)[15] and On the Problems of Temperature-Radiation of Gases (25 May 1920).[16] In these papers
Saha laid the foundation of what later came to be known as the Theory of Thermal Ionisation. The absorption lines
of stellar spectra differ widely, with some stars showing virtually nothing but hydrogen and helium lines while others
show vast numbers of lines of different metals. Saha's great insight was to see that all these spectral lines could be
represented as the result of ionization. He saw that the degree of ionization, i.e., the number of electrons stripped
away from the nucleus, would depend primarily on temperature. As the temperature increases, so does the proportion
of ionized atoms. The remaining neutral atoms will thus produce only weak absorption lines that, when the
temperature gets high enough, will disappear entirely. But the singly, doubly, and even triply ionized atoms will
absorb at different sets of wavelengths, and different sets of lines will appear in stellar spectra, becoming stronger as
the proportions of these ions grow.[17] He also formulated what is known as the Saha equation. This equation is one
of the basic tools for interpretation of the spectra of stars in astrophysics. By studying the spectra of various stars,
one can find their temperature and from that, using Saha's equation, determine the ionisation state of the various
elements making up the star.Besides continuing on his works in astrophysics, Saha was also keen to pursue
experiments to verify his theory of thermal ionisation, which however called for advanced laboratories equipped
with high-temperature facilities. Since such labs were not available in England, on Fowler's advice, Saha wrote to
Nernst, who promptly extended him an invitation to visit his lab and perform his experiments. Saha spent about a
year in Nernst's lab and this proved an immense boon. Right next to the lab was held every week the University
Colloquium, and he attended all of them. This enabled him to meet many eminent German physicists like Max
Planck, Max von Laue and Einstein. Meanwhile Saha sent a copy of his paper on his stellar spectra to Sommerfeld
Meghnad Saha 175
who immediately invited him to Munich to deliver a seminar. This was done in May and the lecture was published in
the Zeitschrift fur Physik Vol 6.[18] This visit coincided with that of Rabindranath Tagore, whom Saha did not know
at that time. Sommerfeld acquainted them; Tagore received him very affectionately, enquired about his work, and
invited him to visit Santiniketan on his return to India.
From Germany Saha went to Switzerland and then back to England, where he met Eddington at Cambridge.
Eddington invited him to his house, and there he was introduced to Milne, who was then Eddington's assistant. Milne
told Saha that he had seen his paper on radiation pressure in Nature and that he had done further work on the subject.
Milne also added that he was collaborating with R.H.Fowler on extending Saha's work. (In fact this theory has seen
come to be known as Milne's theory of selective radiation pressure.) Saha later lamented: "I might claim to be the
originator of the theory of Selective Radiation Pressure...Milne read a note of mine in nature and in his paper he
mentioned my contribution in a footnote, though nobody appears to have noticed it."
Stellar Spectroscopy
Before leaving for Germany, Prof. H.H.Turner of Oxford suggested that the Mount Wilson Observatory in America
will be the best place for his kind of work and advised him to write to George Ellery Hale, Director of the Mount
Wilson Observatory. On 9 July 1921, Saha wrote to Hale: "I shall be very glad if someone at the Mount Wilson Solar
Observatory undertakes the work suggested overleaf. My means are too limited and my university is poorly provided
for astrophysical work, I see no prospects of ever being able to carry out the ideas contained in my papers. It will be
a source of great pleasure for me to find that my exertions have resulted in throwing some light on some dark
problems in astrophysics."[19] In the enclosure he added his predictions made in his four papers published in the
philosophical Magazine the previous year. There was no reply. However around this time Henry Norris Russell of
Princeton University took quick and serious notice of Saha's work. He convinced Hale of the authenticity of Saha's
work, and under their coordination, the general attack on spectra began in Mount Wilson Observatory. Saha however
was not asked to join them. Hence he was resigned to wok with limited data and scientific instruments, which
however did not deter him in the least. Meanwhile the Harvard College Observatory had accumulated mountains of
data and Russell was concerned as to what it all meant. Between 1908 and 1913 he applied his mind vigorously to
the problem and came to the conclusion that the data could be comprehensively represented as a map. Such a plot
was independently developed by Hertzsprung and so it is often called Hertzsprung–Russell diagram. However, while
making the plot, he found that most stars clustered in a band. This could not be the case unless the alphabets were in
some mysterious way related to some physical parameter of the star. Pickering and Cannon proposed the Harvard
Classification Scheme, because they observed that the spectra changed continuously across the sequence. But none
was sure as to what caused this change. Russell suspected that it was the temperature of the stellar atmosphere that
caused the change; he however could not explain how temperature variation caused a gradual change in the
absorption spectra.
Russell, however, was not aware that Saha had already taken the first step in this direction in his prize-winning essay
(under A.Fowler's guidance). Saha began that article by quoting Russell as follows: "The spectra of stars show
remarkably few radical differences in type. More than 99% of them fall into one or the other of the six great groups
which during the classic work of the Harvard College Observatory...received designations...by the rather arbitrary
letters B A F G K M. That there should be so few types is noteworthy, but much more remarkable is the fact that
they form a continuous series... Russell is of the opinion that the principal differences in the stellar spectra arise in
the main from variations in single physical variable in the stellar atmosphere...". In his paper Saha showed that
1. His analysis substantiated Russell's views that continuous variation of stellar spectra among the various types was
due to the variation of a single parameter.
2. The parameter in question was temperature.
3. He could convert the arbitrary Harvard scale of alphabets into a temperature scale based on spectral information
by the method of marginal displacement.
Meghnad Saha 176
Although he was the one who originally conjured up the idea of converting the Harvard scale into a temperature
scale, there were some practical difficulties, including in precisely determining when a line just disappears. Fowler
and Milne extended the formula by fixing the temperature scale after observing when the line intensity became
maximum. Hence this achievement is generally attributed to this duo. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, who was then
working in the Harvard College Observatory later recollected:
In my last year at Cambridge, I had come to know E.A.Miles, who with Ralph Fowler had just published the
historic paper on stellar atmospheres. They in turn had been inspired by the brilliant idea with which Meghnad
Saha had applied the principles of physical chemistry to the ionisation of stellar material, the idea that gave
birth to modern astrophysics...
Back to India
In Allahabad
In November 1921 Saha returned to India and joined the Calcutta University as Khaira Professor of Physics, a new
Chair created from the endowment of Kumar Guruprasad Singh of Khaira. However the university was going
through acute financial crisis, made no better by the enmity of Lord Ronaldshay, the then Governor of Bengal,
towards Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, who was then serving his second term as the Vice Chancellor of the university.
Saha was caught up in this turmoil and where he was concerned, he could not get an assistant, he could not buy
equipment and he even had problems with lab space. Much as he loved Calcutta, he concluded that he couldn't
possibly continue his research there, and decided to leave. Offers came from Aligarh Muslim University and Benaras
Hindu University, but he rejected both in favour of the Allahabad University, chiefly because some of his friends
were on the Executive Council of that university, who he hoped would assist him financially to conduct his
researches. At Allahabad before he could start research work he had to improve the workshop, the laboratory and the
library. Moreover, he found hardly any time for research after discharging heavy teaching responsibilities. But Saha
was not to be distracted by adverse conditions. And very soon research papers started appearing from Saha and his
students. Among his collaborators at Allahabad were N.K. Sur, P.K. Kichlu, D.S. Kothari, R.C. Majumdar,
K.B.Atmaram Mathur and B.D. Nag Choudhary. In 1927 the Italian Government organised a grand International
Conference to commemorate the birth centenary of Alessandro Volta. the venue was Como, and the principal
organiser was Fermi. Saha got an invitation, and there he presented a paper on the analysis of complex spectra, that
being then the topic of his interest. From Como, Saha proceeded to Oslo in Norway to join an expedition organised
by Prof.L.Vegard of Oslo University to observe a forthcoming total solar eclipse. For this purpose, the party
journeyed to Ringebu.
The same year he became a fellow of the Royal Society of London.[20] He was also elected a life member of the
Astronomical Society of France and was made a Foundation Fellow of the Institute of Physics in London.[21] This
chanced him an audience with the then Governor of United Provinces Sir William Sinclair Morris, and learning that
he was once a classfellow of Ernest Rutherford, took the opportunity to tell him about the poor condition of the lab.
The Governor was moved and immediately sanctioned a research grant of Rs. 5000/- per month. Realising that this
was by no means enough, he wrote to Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, imploring him to write to the Central Government in
Delhi recommending a research grant. However his request fell to deaf ears, and so he turned to the Royal Society.
Understanding his plight, the Society promptly granted a yearly sum of Rs. 1500/-, and now he could afford to
concentrate fully on research work without monetary problems. In the next year 1932, he became the University
Professor of Physics in the university.
Around this time Saha felt the necessity of developing a science academy to instill in the students the passion to
pursue research and other innovative works. He was inspired in this idea by the successful heritage of similar
academies like the Royal Society in England, the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, the Prussian Academy of
Sciences in Berlin, the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. The idea came to him when in 1930 the Indian
Science Congress Association met in Allahabad under the presidentship of C. S. Christopher. Delivering an address
Meghnad Saha 177
on the occasion, the Governor Malcolm Hailey said that if a scientific body could motivate research in the university
departments and steer it for public benefit, then it might become possible for the Government to offer grants for
research. Saha took this hint and thanks to his effort the U.P. Academy of Sciences came into existence. Despite its
name, National Academy of Sciences essentially functioned as a regional body. This prompted him to envision an
organisation with an all-India character and thus in 1934 he proposed the founding of an Indian Academy of
Sciences. On this issue there was strong difference of opinion between him and Raman and eventually Raman
announced in Bangalore the founding of the Indian Academy of Sciences. This was unacceptable to Saha who
continued his efforts and as a result there came into existence in 1935 the National Institute of Sciences, India with
its headquarters in Calcutta. The formation was formally announced on January 7 in the Senate Hall of the Calcutta
University under the Chairmanship of the J.H. Hutton. L.L. Fermor was elected the first president of the Institute.
The same year he also founded the Indian Science News Association at Calcutta. Its main objective was to
disseminate science amongst the public.The Association started publishing its journal called Science and Culture. On
receiving, a copy of the first issue of the Journal, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was impressed and he wrote: "The
appearance of Science and Culture is to be warmly welcomed not only by those, who are interested in abstract
science but also by those who are concerned with nationbuilding in practice. Whatever might have been the views of
our older "Nation builders" we younger folk approach the task of nation building in a thoroughly scientific spirit and
we desire to be armed with all the knowledge which modern science and culture can afford us. It is not possible
however, for political workers with their unending preoccupations to glean that knowledge themselves, it is
therefore, for scientists and scientific investigators to come in their rescue." Saha himself wrote more than 200
articles in Science and Culture on a wide range of topics which included: organization of scientific and industrial
research, atomic energy and its industrial use, river valley development projects, planning the national economy,
educational reforms and modification of Indian calendar. The journal is presently running in its 76th volume. Later,
on his initiative, the headquarters of the National Institute of Sciences was shifted to Delhi May 1946 and the name
was changed to the Indian National Science Academy.[22]
In 1936 Saha received a fellowship from the Carnegie Trust of the British Empire, and he went on an extended
outing that took him to countries like Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel. At Munich he was happily reunited with
Sommerfeld. He then proceeded to London to attend the centenary celebrations of the Physics society where Max
Planck was the chief guest. From London Saha went to Oxford and spent a month in the company of Milne. Then he
visited the Harvard College Observatory in Boston. here he met many noted scientists like Harlow Shapley, Donald
Menzel, and Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. Moving west, he made a grand tour visiting many observatories and
meeting famous people like Hubble, Walter Adams, and lastly Lawrence in Berkeley. Saha and Lawrence had earlier
met in Copenhagen in 1927, but by now Lawrence was famous as the inventor of the cyclotron. This contact proved
useful and later Lawrence helped Saha to some extent to construct a cyclotron in Calcutta. From there, he went to
Chicago to visit the Yerkes Observatory. Returning to Harvard, he attended the centenary celebrations of the
Harvard University. It was then he wrote a short note entitled A Stratosphere Solar Observatory,[23] which was
published in the Harvard College Observatory Bulletin, where he explicitly suggested the observation of the solar
spectrum at a height greater than 40 km, for he reckoned it was the most plausible way to get out of the atmosphere
and avoiding the UV depletion that otherwise results. While in Boston, he also visited the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, the then President of which was Karl Taylor Compton. Returning to Europe, he attended an
international conference on nuclear physics in the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. This was instrumental in
shifting his focus to nuclear science later. After his long but intellectually fulfilling tour, Saha returned to Allahabad
in 1937. In 1938, he organised a symposium on "Power Supply" under the auspices of the Academy, and requested
Nehru to inaugurate it. Though at that point of time, Nehru and Saha shared a cordial relationship, it later turned
sour, which considerably hindered the plans and propositions he wanted to advocate to employ nuclear science to
public benefit.
During his time in Allahabad he rederived Dirac's quantisation condition for magnetic monopole.[24] Dirac was one
of the first scientists to devote considerable attention to the study of magnetic monopole. This led Saha to the
Meghnad Saha 178
observation that a particle could in principle have both electric charge and magnetic charge. Such a particle
(hypothetical) would be called a dyon. This quantisation condition on its charges as derived by Saha turned out to be
an elegant generalisation of the principle proposed by Dirac.[25] Around this time, he felt constricted in Allahabad,
and feeling that Calcutta would provide better opportunities to disseminate science, he returned to Calcutta in 1938.
In Calcutta
Saha returned to the Calcutta University in July 1938. He became the Palit Professor and Head of the Department of
Physics. At that time Shyama Prasad Mukherjee was the Vice Chancellor of the University and who was soon to be
succeeded by Sir Mohammad Azizul Haque. After joining Saha immediately got involved in organizing research in
the Palit Laboratory. He also took the task of remodeling the MSc syllabus in physics. Saha later introduced a
general and a special paper in nuclear physics and a general paper in quantum mechanics in 1940.
Institute of Nuclear Physics

As mentioned earlier, Saha's interest in nuclear physics was aroused during his foreign trip in 1936-37. Impressed
particularly by what he saw at Berkeley, he sent in 1938 his student B.D.Nag Chowdhary to Berkeley to study and
work under Lawrence, and learn all he could about the cyclotron. Saha was keen to have a cyclotron in the Calcutta
University and used his influence with Nehru to persuade the Tatas to give him a grant to build one. The Tatas
obliged with Rs. 60,000/- which wasn't however sufficient to construct a cyclotron. In 1941 Nag Chowdhary
returned, and thanks to his efforts in America, a consignment of cyclotron parts (mainly for making the magnet) soon
followed. Meanwhile America entered the war and the ship carrying the next batch of equipments (mainly vacuum
pumps) was sunk by the Japanese. This was major setback, and now there was no hope of getting any parts from
America; anyway, American scientists, Lawrence included, had drifted towards the Manhattan Project. The parts
now all had to be made in Calcutta, and this proved to be an interminable affair. Eventually it took many years to
complete (it started working after Saha passed away). Apart from this Saha also started on a modest scale some
cosmic-ray observations in Darjeeling. The event of the atom bomb dropping on Japan made Saha further aware of
the profound importance of nuclear energy. So he resolved to establish an autonomous institute under the umbrella
of the university devoted exclusively to the study of nuclear science and its prospects. As a result the Saha Institute
of Nuclear Physics came into being in 1948. It was declared open by Irène Joliot-Curie in 1950. As per the university
regulations, Saha had to retire in 1952 both from the Palit Professorship and the post of the Director of the Institute
of Nuclear Physics. However he retained links with both the institutes in honorary capacity.
Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science

Right from the early thirties Saha was deeply interested in the IACS. In 1944 he became its Honorary Secretary, and
following the death of the president in 1946, himself became its president. At that time the IACS was located in
Bowbazar. Following the golden era in which Raman conducted his research there, the institute sort of plodded on,
and Saha was keen to inject a fresh life into it by starting several new research programmes. all this took time and
money, and eventually he persuaded the Government of West Bengal to shift the institute to Jadavpur after buying
ten acres of land there. Obeying the Association rules, Saha stepped down as president in 1950. Meanwhile Shanti
Swaroop Bhatnagar, with whom he had maintained a cordial relation since meeting him in London in 1920,
suggested that it was time that the IACS had a full time director. He further insisted that the post be offered to Saha
so that he could complete the reorganisation work he had started earlier. Thus in 1953, Saha became the first director
of IACS, a post he held till his death in 1956.
Meghnad Saha 179
Saha and Atomic Energy

Saha was aware of the electrifying discovery of nuclear fission by Hahn and Meitner in 1939 and the stupefying
possibilities this discovery was pregnant with. Meanwhile in 1940 the British rulers in Delhi formed a Board for
scientific and Industrial Research (BSIR) with Bhatnagar as the head. Saha was invited to be a member. In 1942, the
Government constituted a superior body called CSIR where once again Saha was made a member.
By 1944 it became clear that the tide of fortune in the war was turning against Germany and Japan. In anticipation of
victory, the British Government began to make plans for post-war reconstructions. As a part of the process, it asked
the Royal Society to send Prof. A.V. Hill to India to advise the government. Hill came and met many scientists, Saha
included. He then recommended that an Indian Scientific Mission (ISM) be sent abroad to observe scientific and
industrial progress and make post-war plans. The recommendation was accepted and a delegation left India in
October 1944; Saha was a member of the ISM.
The tour took the mission to several countries including America. While there, Saha made enquiries about research
on atomic energy but drew a blank. He did not know it right then that the Manhattan Project was going on in full
swing and atomic energy research was the most closely guarded secret. His enquiries prompted the FBI to
interrogate him to gather how much he really knew about their project. However they were relieved that he knew
nothing, though his knowledge and expertise on the matter astounded them. On return to India the ISM prepared an
official report and submitted it to the Government; the report was drafted by Saha. In 1947 India became free and
Nehru became the Prime Minister of India. Atomic energy was the new hope and as member of the BSIR, Saha had
every reason to hope that he would be able to play a key role in the development of atomic energy in India. Bhabha
also had similar thoughts and he too began to offer Nehru ideas on the subject. In 1948, Saha was formally asked by
the Government of India at Nehru's insistence about the formation of Atomic Energy Commission which Bhabha had
suggested. Saha firmly opposed the idea on the grounds that India lacked the required industrial base to augment it,
and that trained manpower was not available. In his view, before launching a full-fledged atomic energy programme,
the industry ought to build up first, and Nuclear physics-oriented courses should be introduced in various universities
to obtain a competent manpower. He strongly advocated the French model of atomic energy development which was
in fact the brainchild of his friend Frédéric Joliot-Curie. Bhabha, on the other hand, was a proponent of a much faster
and more vigorous programme of development which appealed to Nehru. As a result the Atomic Energy
Commission was set up in 1948 and the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay in 1954.
Saha and calendar reform

Saha's work relating to reform of Indian calendar was very significant. Saha was the Chairman of the Calendar
Reform Committee appointed by the Government of India in 1952 under the aegis of the Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research. Other members of the Committee were: A. C. Banerjee, K. K. Daftari, J. S. Karandikar, Gorakh
Prasad, R. V. Vaidya and N. C. Lahiri. It was Saha's effort which led to the formation of the Committee. The task
before the Committee was to prepare an accurate calendar based on scientific study, which could be adopted
uniformly throughout India. It was a mammoth task. The Committee had to undertake a detailed study of different
calendars prevalent in different parts of the country. There were thirty different calendars. The task was further
complicated by the fact that with calendar religion and local sentiments were involved. Nehru, in his preface to the
Report of the Committee, which was published in 1955, wrote: "They (different calendars) represent past political
divisions in the country…now that we have attained Independence, it is obviously desirable that there should be a
certain uniformity in the calendar for our civic, social and other purposes and this should be done on a scientific
approach to this problem." Some of the important recommendations of the Committee were:
1. The Saka era should be used in the unified national calendar. (The year 2002 corresponds to the Saka era of
1923-24.)
2. The year should start from the day following the vernal equinox (occurs about March 21) day.
Meghnad Saha 180
3. A normal year would consist of 365 days while a leap year would have 366 days. After adding seventy-eight to
the Saka era, if the sum is divisible by four, then it is a leap year. But when the same becomes a multiple of 100 it
would be a leap year when it is divisible by 400, otherwise it would be a common year.
4. Chaitra should be the first month of the year. From Chaitra to Bhaadra each month would have thirty-one days
and the rest to have thirty days.
Saha and river physics

Saha was deeply concerned with the recurring disastrous floods in many Indian rivers. The extensive damage caused
by floods in North Bengal in 1923 prompted Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray to organize relief operation under the
aegis of North Bengal Relief Committee. Ray was able to collect a large fund from the general public for the relief
work and he was assisted by Subhash Chandra Bose, Meghnad Saha and Satish Chandra Dasgupta. And it was while
carrying out the relief work Saha got a first hand experience of the devastating power of floods. Saha wrote about his
experience in newspapers and magazines. In his Presidential address to the Indian Science Congress in Mumbai in
1934 he drew specific attention to serious problems caused by floods. He also emphasized the need for a River
Research Laboratory. Again in 1938, in his presidential address to the National Institute of Sciences he made this
topic the theme of his discourse and highlighted the danger posed by recurrent floods in Indian rivers, particularly in
the deltaic ones. After the 1923 flood, Saha witnessed two major floods in 1931 and 1935. In 1943 the flood in
Bengal isolated Kolkata from rest of India and Saha wrote extensively on the issue. Saha's writings and speeches
made the government realize the gravity of the situation. As a result the Damodar Valley Enquiry Committee came
into being in 1943. The Committee was chaired by the Maharaja of Burdwan. Saha was also a member of the
Committee. Saha presented a plan for handling the Damodar river system before the Committee. He also wrote
extensively on river control based on modern science and technology. He argued that the model of Tennessee river
system under the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in United States could be adapted to the Damodar Valley. The
Central Government appointed a technical advisory committee in 1945 under the chairmanship of Mr.
H.M.Mathews. Another member of the committee was Mr.W.L.Voorduin, who had earlier served on TVA. The
committee supported the claims of Saha, and at the instance of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the then member-in-charge of
power and works in the Viceroy's cabinet, the Government adopted a resolution to set up a Damodar Valley
Corporation (DVC) after the model of TVA. The DVC was set up in March 1948.
Death
In early 1956, Saha developed serious health problems on account of high blood pressure. Though his doctors
advised him to slow down, he continued with his work. On February 16, he had an appointment with his old friend
P.C.Mahalanobis, now a favourite of Nehru and closely associated with the Planning Commission. Enroute to the
office he collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital, but he never recovered.
An estimate
Saha was of the opinion that large-scale industrialization was the only answer for improving the quality of life. He
thought that India had no hope if she failed to develop science and technology. Saha wrote: "The philosophy of
kindliness and service to our fellow-men was preached by all founders of great religions, and no doubt some great
kings and ministers of religions in every country and at all ages tried to give effect to this (altruistic) philosophy. But
the efforts were not successful, for the simple reason that the methods of production of commodities were too
indifferent to yield plenty for all, which is an indispensable condition for practical altruism. We can, therefore, hold
that so far as individual life is concerned, science has achieved a target aimed at by the great founders of religions in
advanced countries of the world. The effects of maldistribution of wealth, due to historical causes, are being rapidly
cured by introduction of social laws." Despite his patriotic dispositions, he refrained from participating in the
freedom struggle. Family responsibilities compelled him to take a job, and the job he got led him to the ineffable
Meghnad Saha 181
world of science. Becoming absorbed in research he then entered what is colloquially called the ivory tower.
However his withdrawal was temporary and he slowly drifted out. As he once put it: "Scientists are often accused of
living in the "Ivory Tower" and not troubling their mind with realities and apart from my association with political
movements in my juvenile years, I had lived in ivory tower up to 1930. But science and technology are as important
for administration now-a-days as law and order. I have gradually glided into politics because I wanted to be of some
use to the country in my own humble way.".[26] In 1952 Saha was elected Member of the Parliament as an
independent candidate from the North-West Calcutta constituency. It was at the request of Sharat Chandra Bose that
he decided to stand as a Indian National Congress candidate from Calcutta. Although there were rifts between him
and the Congress because he had persistently spoken against charka and khaddae which would be the cardinal points
of Congress activity. However this did not prevent him from defeating his nearest Congress rival by an
overwhelming margin. Welcoming Saha's election JBS Haldane said: "May I also be allowed to congratulate him on
his recent successful reentry recently into politics. India (and Britain too) needs men who will bring some
understanding of science to the government of the country. Even those who do not share his political views may
rejoice that he can make his voice heard in the council of the people." He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in
Physics four times- 1930, 1937, 1939, 1940."[27]
Tributes to Saha
• "Meghnad Saha's ionization equation (c. 1920), which opened the door to stellar astrophysics" was one of the top
ten achievements of 20th century Indian science [and] could be considered in the Nobel Prize class." - Jayant
Vishnu Narlikar[28]
• "The impetus given to astrophysics by Saha's work can scarcely be overestimated, as nearly all later progress in
this field has been influenced by it and much of the subsequent work has the character of refinements of Saha's
ideas." - S. Rosseland[29]
• "He (Saha) was extremely simple, almost austere, in his habits and personal needs. Outwardly, he sometimes gave
an impression of being remote, matter of fact, and even harsh, but once the outer shell was broken, one invariably
found in him a person of extreme warmth, deep humanity, sympathy and understanding; and though almost
altogether unmindful of his own personal comforts, he was extremely solicitous in the case of others. It was not in
his nature to placate others. He was a man of undaunted spirit, resolute determination, untiring energy and
dedication." - D. S. Kothari[30]
• "It is a pleasure to have the opportunity of congratulating you on the occasion of your sixtieth birthday for your
outstanding achievements, especially in the field of thermodynamics. As you know, I at one time had the honour
of nominating you for the Nobel Prize for your work in the area..." - Arthur Compton"[31]
• "I still remember with great pleasure the inspiration that I received from reading Professor Meghnad Saha's
fundamental contributions to the theory of gas ionization..." - Enrico Fermi"[32]
• "I well remember how, on the publication of his early and important paper on ionisation in stellar atmosphere, the
late Professor Alfred Fowler drew my attention to it and emphasized its fundamental importance. And so it
proved, for this paper was the stimulus to the work of Milne, R.H.Fowler, and others in subsequent years. In fact
almost all work on stellar atmosphere has been based on it, either directly or indirectly. The paper provided a new
method of attack and opened the way to the solution of many problems that had been puzzling." - Harold Spencer
Jones"[33]
• "I have known and admired him for many years. Indeed, I shall never forget the intellectual thrill I derived from
learning about "Saha's ionisation equation" in my early days as a graduate student...." - Ernest Lawrence"[34]
• "The Harvard Observatory owes much to Professor Meghnad Saha. His pioneer work thirty years ago on
temperature ionisations in sun and stars inspired the activities of British scientists who in turn inspired the work
here at Harvard of Mrs. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, Donald M. Menzel and Frank Hogg; their work established
Meghnad Saha 182
modern astrophysics in Harvard." - Harlow Shapley"[35]

• "Many years ago when I was a graduate at California, I was working on some things in connection with the
ionisation of the alkali metals - a problem which I never succeeded in finishing. In the course of this work I read
with great interest your very important publication of that time on the ionisation as it affected the spectra of the
star. It was in fact one of the first scientific papers which I read with very great care as a graduate student...I
greatly admired this publication and it has been referred to over and over again in the years since..." - Harold
Urey"[36]
References
[1] "Meghnad Saha" (http:/ / www. saha. ac. in/ cs/ archive. mns/ index. php?pg=3). . Retrieved 2010-06-13.
[2] "Meghnad Saha Biography" (http:/ / www. calcuttaweb. com/ people/ msaha. shtml). . Retrieved 2010-06-14.
[4] "Meghnad Saha" (http:/ / www. new. dli. ernet. in/ rawdataupload/ upload/ insa/ INSA_1/ 20005b68_99. pdf). . Retrieved 2010-06-13.
[7] "On Radiation-Pressure and the Quantum Theory" (http:/ / articles. adsabs. harvard. edu/ cgi-bin/ nph-iarticle_query?1919ApJ. . . . 50. .
220S& amp;data_type=PDF_HIGH& amp;whole_paper=YES& amp;type=PRINTER& amp;filetype=. pdf). . Retrieved 2010-06-13.
[8] Venkatraraman,G. (1995). Saha And His Formula. University Press. p. 57.
[9] "The Stationary H- and K-lines of Calcium in Stellar Atmosphere" (http:/ / www. nature. com/ nature/ journal/ v107/ n2694/ pdf/ 107488a0.
pdf). . Retrieved 2010-06-13.
[10] "Meghnad Saha" (http:/ / www. banglapedia. org/ httpdocs/ HT/ S_0022. HTM). . Retrieved 2010-06-14.
[11] "On a Physical Theory of Stellar Spectra" (http:/ / www. jstor. org/ pss/ 93980). . Retrieved 2010-06-13.
[13] "Meghnad Saha" (http:/ / www. vigyanprasar. gov. in/ scientists/ saha/ sahanew. htm). . Retrieved 2010-06-13.
[17] "Meghnad Saha" (http:/ / www. answers. com/ topic/ meghnad-saha). . Retrieved 2010-06-13.
[22] "History of INSA" (http:/ / insaindia. org/ history. htm). . Retrieved 2010-06-13.
[23] "A Stratosphere Solar Observatory" (http:/ / articles. adsabs. harvard. edu/ cgi-bin/ nph-iarticle_query?1937BHarO. 905. . . . 1S&
amp;data_type=PDF_HIGH& amp;whole_paper=YES& amp;type=PRINTER& amp;filetype=. pdf). . Retrieved 2010-06-13.
[25] "Meghnad Saha" (http:/ / www. stealthskater. com/ Documents/ Monopole_02. pdf). . Retrieved 2010-06-13.
[26] "Meghnad Saha" (http:/ / www. vigyanprasar. gov. in/ scientists/ saha/ sahanew. htm). . Retrieved 2008-05-31.
[27] "Meghnad Saha" (http:/ / rsnr. royalsocietypublishing. org/ content/ 61/ 3/ 333/ T1. expansion. html). . Retrieved 2010-06-13.
[28] Narlikar, Jayant (2003). The Scientific Edge. Penguin Books. p. 127.
[29] Rosseland, S. (1939). Theoretical Astrophysics (http:/ / www. vigyanprasar. gov. in/ scientists/ saha/ sahanew. htm). Oxford: Oxford
University Press. .
[30] Kothari, D. S. (1970). Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the National Institute of Sciences of India (http:/ / www. vigyanprasar. gov. in/
scientists/ saha/ sahanew. htm). 2. New Delhi. .
Meghnad Saha 183
Further reading
• Obituary - The Observatory 76 (1956) 40 (http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/Obs../0076//0000040.000.
html)
• Obituary - Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 68 (1956) 282 (http://adsabs.harvard.edu//
full/seri/PASP./0068//0000282.000.html)
External links
• "Meghnad Saha" (http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/scientists/saha/sahanew.htm). Retrieved 2008-05-31.
• Biography (http://www.calcuttaweb.com/people/msaha.shtml)
• Chitra Roy on her father (http://www.lifestylemac.com/life-with-meghnad-saha)
• Biography (http://banglapedia.org/HT/S_0022.htm)
• ScienceWorld: Saha Equation (http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/SahaEquation.html)
• List of M. N. Saha's papers (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-abs_connect?db_key=AST&
db_key=PRE&qform=AST&arxiv_sel=astro-ph&arxiv_sel=cond-mat&arxiv_sel=cs&arxiv_sel=gr-qc&
arxiv_sel=hep-ex&arxiv_sel=hep-lat&arxiv_sel=hep-ph&arxiv_sel=hep-th&arxiv_sel=math&
arxiv_sel=math-ph&arxiv_sel=nlin&arxiv_sel=nucl-ex&arxiv_sel=nucl-th&arxiv_sel=physics&
arxiv_sel=quant-ph&arxiv_sel=q-bio&sim_query=YES&ned_query=YES&aut_logic=OR&obj_logic=OR&
author=Saha,+M&object=&start_mon=&start_year=&end_mon=&end_year=&ttl_logic=OR&title=&
txt_logic=OR&text=&nr_to_return=100&start_nr=1&jou_pick=ALL&ref_stems=&data_and=ALL&
group_and=ALL&start_entry_day=&start_entry_mon=&start_entry_year=&end_entry_day=&
end_entry_mon=&end_entry_year=&min_score=&sort=SCORE&data_type=SHORT&aut_syn=YES&
ttl_syn=YES&txt_syn=YES&aut_wt=1.0&obj_wt=1.0&ttl_wt=0.3&txt_wt=3.0&aut_wgt=YES&
obj_wgt=YES&ttl_wgt=YES&txt_wgt=YES&ttl_sco=YES&txt_sco=YES&version=1)
M. S. Swaminathan
M. S. Swaminathan
M. S. Swaminathan
Born August 7, 1925Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu
Residence Chennai
Nationality India
Fields agriculture scientist
Institutions MS Swaminathan Research Foundation
Alma mater Coimbatore Agricultural College,

University of Wisconsin-Madison
Known for high-yielding varieties of wheat in India
Influences Dr. Norman Borlaug
Notable awards World Food Prize
Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (Tamil: மான்கொம்பு சாம்பசிவன் சுவாமிநாதன்; Hindi: एम्. एस.
स्वामीनाथन ) is an Indian agriculture scientist, born August 7, 1925, in Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu. He was the second of
four sons of a doctor. He is known as the "Father of the Green Revolution in India" , for his leadership and
success in introducing and further developing high-yielding varieties of wheat in India. He is the founder and
Chairman of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation.[1] His stated vision is to rid the world of hunger and
poverty.[2] Dr. Swaminathan is an advocate of moving India to sustainable development, especially using
environmentally sustainable agriculture, sustainable food security and the preservation of biodiversity, which he calls
an "evergreen revolution" [3] In 1999, Time magazine placed him in the Time 20 list of most influential Asian people
of the 20th century.[4]
Early Days
Swaminathan’s family was among the most important in the village of Moncombu. Generations before, the rajah of
Ambalapuzha had traveled to the neighboring region of Tamil Nadu. He had been very impressed by the scholars at
the Thanjavur court and requested that one such scholar be sent to his province. Enji Venkatachella Iyer,
Swaminathan’s ancestor, was chosen to move to Ambalapuzha. The rajah was so delighted and struck by
Venkatachella Iyer’s knowledge of the scriptures that he gifted him acres of land comprising the village of
Monkombu. The family came to be called the Kottaram family (‘kottaram’ means palace).
Education
M. S. Swaminathan was born on August 7, 1925. His father died when Swaminathan was 11. His early schooling
was at the Native High School and later at the Little Flower Catholic High School in Kumbakonam. He went to
college at Maharajas College in Ernakulam and earned a Bachelor of Science degree (B.Sc.) in zoology.
Swaminathan was strongly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s belief in ahimsa or non-violence to achieve Purna
swaraj (total freedom) and swadeshi, (self-reliance) on both a personal and national level.[5] During this time of
wartime food shortages he chose a career in agriculture and enrolled in Coimbatore Agricultural College where he
graduated as valedictorian with another B.Sc, this time in Agricultural Science. In 1947, the year of Indian
independence he moved to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in New Delhi as a post-graduate student
in genetics and plant breeding and obtained a post-graduate degree with high distinction in Cytogenetics in 1949. He
received a UNESCO Fellowship to continue his IARI research on potato genetics at the Wageningen Agricultural
University, Institute of Genetics in the Netherlands. Here he succeeded in standardizing procedures for transferring
genes from a wide range of wild species of Solanum to the cultivated potato, Solanum tuberosum. In 1950, he moved
to study at the Plant Breeding Institute of the University of Cambridge School of Agriculture. He earned a Doctor of
Philosophy (Ph.D) degree in 1952, for his thesis, "Species Differentiation, and the Nature of Polyploidy in certain
species of the genus Solanum – section Tuberarium". His work presented a new concept of the species relationships
within the tuber-bearing Solanum.
Swaminathan then accepted a post-doctoral research associateship at the University of Wisconsin, Department of
Genetics to help set up a USDA Potato Research Station. Despite his strong personal and professional satisfaction
with the research work in Wisconsin, he declined the offer of a full time faculty position, returning to India in early
1954.[5]
Personal life
M. S. Swaminathan is married to Mina Swaminathan who he met in 1951 while they were both studying at
Cambridge. They have three daughters: Soumya Swaminathan, Madhura Swaminathan and Nitya Rao. Dr.
Swaminathan lives in Chennai, Tamil Nadu with his wife, and has five grandchildren -
Anandi,Shreya,Kalyani,Akshay and Madhav. M.S. Swaminathan has been influenced by the Indian philosopher and
mystic Sri Aurobindo. Speaking at Auroville in 1997, he said , "My first visit to Sri Aurobindo Ashram was on 15th
August 1947. It was the day of India’s Independence. When everybody was going towards the Marina Beach in
Madras, I was walking towards Egmore Station to take a train to Pondicherry.”
Professional achievements
Dr. Swaminathan has worked worldwide in collaboration with colleagues and students on a wide range of problems
in basic and applied plant breeding, agricultural research and development and the conservation of natural resources.
His professional career began in 1949:
• 1949-55 - Research on potato (Solanum tuberosum), wheat (Triticum aestivum), rice (Oryza sativa), and jute
genetics.
• 1955–72 - Field research on Mexican dwarf wheat varieties. Teach Cytogenetics, Radiation Genetics, and
Mutation Breeding and build up the wheat and rice germplasm collections at Indian Agricultural Research
Institute IARI.
• 1970–80 - Director-General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR),Established the National Bureau of
Plant, Animal, and Fish Genetic Resources of India.,[6]
Established the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (changed in 2006 to Bioversity International)[7] ).
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, Transformed the Pre-investment Forest
Survey Programme into the Forest Survey of India.[8]
• 1981–85 - Independent Chairman, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Council, Rome, played a
significant role in establishing the Commission on Plant Genetic Resources.[9]
• 1983 - Developed the concept of Farmers' Rights and the text of the International Undertaking on Plant
Genetic Resources (IUPGR).President of the International Congress of Genetics.[10]
DNA
• 1982–88 - Director General, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), organized the International
Rice Germplasm Centre, now named International Rice Genebank [11].
• 1984-90 - President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources IUCN, develop
the Convention on Biological Diversity CBD.
• 1986-99 - Chairman of the editorial advisory board, World Resources Institute, Washington, D. C., conceived and
produced the first "World Resources Report".[12]
• 1988-91 - Chairman of the International Steering Committee of the Keystone International Dialogue on Plant
Genetic Resources,[13] regarding the availability, use, exchange and protection of plant germplasm.
• 1991-1995 - Member, Governing Board, Auroville Foundation
• 1988-96 - President, World Wide Fund for Nature–India WWF,[14] Organized the Indira Gandhi Conservation
Monitoring Centre.[15] Organize the Community Biodiversity Conservation Programme.[16]
• 1988-99 - Chairman/Trustee, Commonwealth Secretariat Expert Group,[17] organized the Iwokrama International
Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development,[18] for the sustainable and equitable management of
tropical rainforests in Guyana. The President of Guyana wrote in 1994 “there would have been no Iwokrama
without Swaminathan.”
• 1990-93 - Founder/President, International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME)[19]
• 1988-98 - Chaired various committees of the Government of India to prepare draft legislations relating to
biodiversity (Biodiversity Act)[20] and breeders’ and farmers’ rights (Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’
Rights Act).
• in 1993 Dr M. S. Swaminathan,headed an expert group to prepare a draft of a national population policy that
would be discussed by the Cabinet and then by Parliament. In 1994 it submitted its report.[21]
• 1994 - Chairman of the Commission on Genetic Diversity of the World Humanity Action Trust.[22] Established a
Technical Resource Centre at MSSRF for the implementation of equity provisions of CBD and FAO’s Farmers’
Rights.
• 1994 onwards - Chairman of the Genetic Resources Policy Committee (GRPC) of the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), development of policies for the management of the ex situ
collections of International Agricultural Research Centers.
• 1995-1999 Chairman, Auroville Foundation
• 1999 - Introduced the concept of trusteeship management of Biosphere reserves. Implemented the Gulf of Mannar
Biosphere Reserve Trust, with financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
• 2001 - Chairman of the Regional Steering Committee for the India – Bangladesh joint Project on Biodiversity
Management in the Sundarbans World Heritage Site, funded by the UN Foundation and UNDP.
• 2002 - President of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs which
work towards reducing the danger of armed conflict and to seek solutions to global security threats.[23]
• 2002 - 2005 - Co-chairman with Dr. Pedro Sanchezof the UN Millennium Task Force on Hunger,[24] a
comprehensive global action plan for fighting poverty, disease and environmental degradation in developing
countries.
• Over 68 students have done their Ph.D thesis work under his guidance:
Notable Mention
On the occasion of Dr. Norman Borlaug's receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, he said of Dr. Swaminathan:
"The green revolution has been a team effort and much of the credit for its spectacular development must go to
Indian officials, Organizations, Scientists and farmers. However, to you, Dr. Swaminathan, a great deal of the credit
must go for first recognizing the potential value of the Mexican dwarfs. Had this not occurred, it is quite possible
that there would not have been a green revolution in Asia".[25]
On the occasion of the presentation of the First World Food Prize[26] to Dr. Swaminathan in October 1987, Mr.
Javier Perez de Cuellar - Secretary General of the United Nations, wrote: "Dr. Swaminathan is a living legend. His
contributions to Agricultural Science have made an indelible mark on food production in India and elsewhere in the
developing world. By any standards, he will go into the annals of history as a world scientist of rare distinction".
Swaminathan has been described by the United Nations Environment Programme as "the Father of Economic
Ecology".He was one of three from India included in TIME Magazine's 1999 list of the "20 most influential Asian
people of the 20th century", the other two being Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore.[27]
Following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, he advised India to plant new mangrove groves along the shoreline to
minimize damage from future tsunamis.
Dr. Swaminathan was the featured speaker at The 2006 Norman E. Borlaug International Symposium: in Des
Moines, Iowa on, October 19, 2006. He was sponsored by Humanities Iowa, an affiliate of the National Endowment
for the Humanities. Dr. Swaminathan presented The "Third Annual Governor's Lecture" and spoke on "THE GREEN
REVOLUTION REDUX: Can we replicate the single greatest period of food production in all human history?" Read
full text:,[28] See: Powerpoint Presentation,[29] Hear:[30] about the cultural and social foundations of the Green
Revolution in India and the role of historic leaders in India, such as Mahatma Gandhi, in inspiring the Green
Revolution there by calling for the alleviation of widespread hunger. He also talked about the links between Gandhi
and the great Iowa scientist George Washington Carver.,[31]
Swaminathan is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London the U. S. National Academy of Sciences, the Russian
Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Italian Academy of Sciences.
Controversy
A scientific paper in which Swaminathan and his team claimed to have produced a mutant breed of wheat by gamma
irradiation of a Mexican variety (Sonora 64) resulting in Sharbati Sonora, claimed to have a very high lysine content
led to a major controversy. The case was discussed as a classic example of scientific misdemeanor and was claimed
to be an error made by the laboratory assistant.[32] The episode was also compounded by the suicide of an
agricultural scientist.[33] [34] [35] [36] [37] Recent workers have also studied it as part of a systemic problem in Indian
agriculture research.[38]
Publications
Dr Swaminathan is a prolific scientific researcher and writer. He published 46 single author papers between 1950
and 1980. Out of 118 two author papers, he was first author of 80. Out of 63 three author papers he was first author
of 15. Out of 21 four author papers he was first author of 9. In total he had 254 papers to his credit, 155 of which he
was the single author or first author. His scientific papers are in the fields of crop improvement (95), cytogenetics
and genetics (87) and phylogenetics (72). His most frequent publishers were: Indian Journal of Genetics (46),
Current Science (36), Nature (12) and Radiation Botany (12).[39] Some of the papers are listed below.
In addition he has written a few books around the general theme of his life's work, biodiversity and sustainable
agriculture for alleviation of hunger.
Dr. Swaminathan's books include
• "An Evergreen Revolution", 2006.[40]

• "I Predict: A Century of Hope Towards an Era of Harmony with Nature and Freedom from Hunger", (1999) [41]
• "Gender Dimensions in Biodiversity Management", (ed.) (1998) [42]
• "Implementing the Benefit Sharing Provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity: Challenges and
opportunities" (1997)[43]
• "Agrobiodiversity and Farmers' Rights", 1996 [44]
• "Sustainable Agriculture: Towards Food Security" [45]
• "Farmers’ Rights and Plant Genetic Resources: A dialogue." (ed.) (1995) [46]
• "Wheat Revolution: a Dialogue" (ed) (1993) [47]
Research reports
He has published laboratory research results in several scientific journals and increasingly writes for a wider
audience in environmental journals. Some of his publications are available online in abstract or full text.[48] and.[49]
• First author: Swaminathan MS.
• "CHOPRA VL, BHASKARAN, Cytological aberrations observed in barley embryos cultured in irradiated
potato mash.", Radiat Res. 1962 Feb;16:182-8.
• "Murty BR., Aspects of Asynapsis in Plants. I. Random and Non Random Chromosome Associations.",
Genetics. 1959 Nov;44(6):1271-80.
• "NINAN T, MAGOON ML. Effects of virus infection on microsporogenesis and seed fertility in Capsicum.",
Genetica. 1959;30:63-9.
• "MURTY BR., Effect of x-radiation on pollen tube growth and seed setting in crosses between Nicotiana
tabacum and N. rustica.", Z Vererbungsl., 1959;90:393-9.
• "GANESAN AT., Kinetics of mitosis in yeasts.", Nature. 1958 August 30;182(4635):610-1.
• "Nature of Polyploidy in Some 48-Chromosome Species of the Genus Solanum, Section, Tuberarium.",
Genetics. 1954 Jan;39(1):59-76.
• Second author
• GANESAN AT, SWAMINATHAN MS., "Staining the nucleus in yeasts.", Stain Technol. 1958
May;33(3):115-21.
• NATARAJAN AT, SWAMINATHAN MS., "Chromosome spreading induced by vegetable oils.", Stain
Technol. 1957 Jan;32(1):43-5.
• HOWARD HW, SWAMINATHAN MS., "The cytology of haploid plants of Solanum demissum.", Genetica.
1953;26(5-6):381-91.
• PRAKKEN R, SWAMINATHAN MS., "Cytological behaviour of some inter-specific hybrids in the genus
Solanum, sect. Tuberarium.", Genetica. 1952;26(1):77-101.
• Third author
• CHOPRA VL, KAPOOR ML, SWAMINATHAN MS., "EFFECTS OF PRE- & POST-TREATMENTS WITH
S-2-AMINOETHYLISOTHIOURONIUM BROMIDE HYDROBROMIDE ON THE FREQUENCY OF
CHROMOSOME ABERRATIONS & CHLOROPHYLL MUTATIONS INDUCED BY X-RAYS IN BARLEY.",
Indian J Exp Biol. 1965 Apr;3:123-5.
• NIRULA S, BHASKARAN S, SWAMINATHAN MS., "Effect of linear differentiation of chromosomes on
the proportionality between chromosome length and DNA content.", Exp Cell Res. 1961 Jun;24:160-2.
• Fourth author
• Latha R, Rubia L, Bennett J, Swaminathan MS., "Allele mining for stress tolerance genes in Oryza species and
related germplasm.", Mol Biotechnol. 2004 Jun;27(2):101-8.
• PAI RA, UPADHYA MD, BHASKARAN S, SWAMINATHAN MS., "Chromosome diminution and
evolution of polyploid species in Triticum. Chromosoma.", 1961;12:398-409.
• Siddiq EA, Kaul AK, Puri RP, Singh VP, Swaminathan MS., "Mutagen-induced variability in protein
characters in Oryza sativa.", Mutat Res. 1970 Jul;10(1):81-4.
Environmental articles
• First author: Swaminathan MS.mssrf
• "Nutrition in the third millennium: countries in transition.", Forum Nutr. 2003;56:18-24.</ref>
• "Bio-diversity: an effective safety net against environmental pollution.", Environ Pollut. 2003;126(3):287-91.
• "CGIAR statement on UN treaty.", Nat Biotechnol. 2002 Jun;20(6):547.
• "Ecology and equity: key determinants of sustainable water security.", Water Sci Technol. 2001;43(4):35-44.
• "An evergreen revolution.",Biologist (London). 2000 Apr;47(2):85-9.
• "Science in response to basic human needs.", Science. 2000 January 21;287(5452):425.
• "The ecology of hope.", People Planet. 1999;8(4):6-9.
• "Convocation address.", IIPS News. 1998 Jul;39(2 3):2-8.
• ""Farmers' Rights and Plant Genetic Resources."", 1998.[50]
• "Forward: Regional Workshop on the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Coral Reefs",[51] 1997
• "Perspectives for crop protection in sustainable agriculture.", Ciba Found Symp. 1993;177:257-67; discussion
267-72.
• "DNA in medicine. Agricultural production.", Lancet. 1984 December 8;2(8415):1329-32.
• "Nutrition and agricultural development: new frontiers.", Food Nutr (Roma). 1984;10(1):33-41.
• "The age of algeny, genetic destruction of yield barriers and agricultural transformation.", (1968).[52]
• Second author
• Kesavan PC, Swaminathan MS., "Managing extreme natural disasters in coastal areas.", Philos Transact A
Math Phys Eng Sci. 2006 August 15;364(1845):2191-216.
• Sanchez PA, Swaminathan MS., "Hunger in Africa: the link between unhealthy people and unhealthy soils.",
Lancet. 2005 January 29-February 4;365(9457):442-4. 5: Sanchez PA, Swaminathan MS., Public health.
Cutting world hunger in half.", Science. 2005 January 21;307(5708):357-9.
• Third author
• Raven P, Fauquet C, Swaminathan MS, Borlaug N, Samper C., "Where next for genome sequencing?",
Science. 2006 January 27;311(5760):468.
Awards and recognition

Dr. Swaminathan has received several outstanding awards and prizes. These prizes include large sums of money,
which has helped sustain and expand his work.
• H.K. Firodia award for excellence in Science & Technology
• Four Freedoms Award for demonstrating achievement of the principles of Freedom of speech, Freedom of
Religion, Freedom from want and Freedom from fear, 2000
• Planet and Humanity Medal of the International Geographical Union awarded "in recognition of his
unique success in outstanding scientific research and its application, leading to Asia’s Green Revolution. His
endeavors to combat hunger and food shortages by promoting new seed varieties and applying these with
ecologically sound principles and sustainable agriculture are all part of his profound humanitarian ethos, which
reminds scientists and politicians worldwide of their responsibilities for stewardship of nature and humanity on our
common Planet Earth." 2000
• UNEP Sasakawa Environment Prize Laureate for outstanding contributions to the
protection and management of the environment. Co - winner with Paul and Anne Ehrlich 1994, $200,000
prize.[53]
• The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement "in recognition of life-long contributions to increasing
biological productivity on an ecologically sustainable basis, and to promoting the conservation of biological
diversity”1991
• Honda Prize,[54] for achieving outstanding results in the field of ecotechnology, 1991
• Padma Vibhushan 1989
• World Food Prize for advancing human development through increased quantity, guality or accessibility of food,
1987
• Golden Heart Presidential Award of the Philippines, conferred by President Corazon Aquino "in
recognition of his contribution in resolving a wide range of problems in basic and applied genetics and agricultural
research and development in the Philippines, for his accomplishments in the area of agricultural science and research
highly beneficial to Filipino farmers, and for having expanded considerably the International Rice Research
Institute’s capacity for upstream research to bring the fruits of recent advances in science and technology to Asian
rice farmers."1987
• Albert Einstein World Science Award by the World Cultural Council for research which has brought true benefit
and well being to mankind.[55] 1986
• Borlaug Award, given by Coromandel Fertilizers in profound
appreciation of his catalytic role in providing deep insights and
inspiring fellow scientists to set goals ... for evolving a strategy for
agriculture rooted in science, but tempered by a concern for ecology
and human values 1979
• Padma Bhushan 1972
• Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership 1971
• Padma Shri 1967
• Foreign Fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences [56]
He holds 58 honorary Doctorate degrees from universities around the
world.
Ramon Magsaysay Award
National Awards
He has been honored with several awards in India for his work to
benefit the country.
• Karmaveer Puraskaar Noble Laureates, March,2007 by iCONGO- Confederation of NGOs.
• Dupont-Solae Award for his contribution to the field of food and nutrition security 2004[57]
• Life Time Achievement Award from BioSpectrum 2003[58]
• Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque by the Asiatic Society for his significant contribution towards human progress. 2002
• Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development "for his outstanding contribution in the domain of
plant genetics and ensuring food security to hundreds of millions of citizens in the developing world." This
prestigious award honors those outstanding global citizens who have made a significant contribution to
humanity’s material and cultural progress. 2000
• The Indian National Science Academy awarded him Millennium Scientist Award 2001, Asutosh Mookerjee
Memorial Award for 1999–2000, Shatabdi Puraskar award in the field of Agricultural Sciences 1999, Jawaharlal
Nehru Birth Centenary Award 1992, B.P. Pal Memorial Award of the 1998, Meghnad Saha Medal 1981, Silver
Jubilee Commemoration Medal for contributions to genetics and agricultural research 1971.
• Lokmanya Tilak Award by the Tilak Smarak Trust, in recognition of his contribution to the green revolution in
India and for his outstanding scientific and environmental works. 2001[59]
• Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development in recognition of creative efforts toward promoting
international peace, development and a new international economic order; ensuring that scientific discoveries are
used for the larger good of humanity, and enlarging the scope of freedom. 2000
• Millennium Alumnus Award by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University 2000
• Prof P N Mehra Memorial Award 1999

• Legend in his Lifetime Award by the World Wilderness Trust- India 1999[60]
• Dr. B.P. Pal Medal for unique contributions to agricultural research and development of the National Academy of
Agricultural Sciences, India 1997
• V. Gangadharan Award for outstanding contributions to National Development 1997
• Dr. B.P. Pal Medal for unique contributions to agricultural research and development of the National Academy of
Agricultural Sciences, India 1997
• V. Gangadharan Award for outstanding contributions to National Development 1997
• Lal Bahadur Shastri Deshgaurav Samman 1992
• Dr. J.C. Bose Medal, Bose Institute 1989[61]
• Krishi Ratna Award for “devotion to the cause of agroscience, and for being the benefactor of the farming
community,” instituted by the Bharat Krishak Samaj (Indian Farmer's Society)/World Agriculture Fair Memorial
Trust Society, and presented by President Giani Zail Singh of India 1986
• Rathindranath Tagore Prize of Visva Bharati University 1981
• R.D. Misra Medal of the Indian Environmental Society 1981[62]
• Barclay Medal of the Asiatic Society for contributions to genetics 1978
• Moudgil Prize of the Bureau of Indian Standards for contributions to standardisation 1978
• Birbal Sahni Medal of the Indian Botanical Society for contributions to Applied Botany 1965.[63]
• Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for contributions to Biological Sciences 1961
International Awards
He has been honored with recognition from several international organizations for spreading the benefits of his work
to other countries.
• UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Gold Medal for his outstanding work in
extending the benefits of biotechnology to marginalized and
poverty-stricken populations in developing countries and in securing
a sound basis for sustainable agricultural, environmental and rural
development 1999
• Henry Shaw Medal awarded by the Board of Trustees of the
Missouri Botanical Garden in consideration of important service to
humanity through emphasis on sustainability in agriculture - USA
1998
• Ordre du Merite Agricole, Govt of France to honour services of the
highest quality rendered to the cause of agriculture 1997
• Highest award for International Cooperation on Environment and
Development, Govt of China for outstanding contributions to the
lofty cause of environmental protection and development, and for his Mahatma Gandhi studying with microscope,
1940
signal accomplishments in the field of international cooperation 1997
• Global Environmental Leadership Award “for encouraging
village-level responses to environmental issues” by the Climate Institute 1995
• World Academy of Art and Science 1994
• Asian Regional Award by the Asian Productivity Organization APO 1994
• Charles Darwin International Science and Environment Medal 1993
• Commandeur of the Order of the Golden Ark of the Netherlands 1990
• The VOLVO Environment Prize for his outstanding research and devoted work in turning Indian food production
from a deficit to a much increased supply. 1990.[64]
• Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) international award for significant contributions to
promoting the knowledge, skill, and technological empowerment of women in agriculture and for his pioneering
role in mainstreaming gender considerations in agriculture and rural development 1985.[65]
• Bicentenary Medal of the University of Georgia, U.S.A. 1985
• Bennett Commonwealth Prize of the Royal Society of Arts for significant contributions to Household Nutrition
Security 1984
• Mendel Memorial Medal of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences for contributions to Plant Genetics 1965
he got nobel prize 2020
Critics
Despite these awards and honors, the credibility of Swaminathan and his promotion of biotechnology remains open
to question by some. His record retains some controversy. There are cases of scientific fraud and scandals involving
the suicide of a fellow scientist at the (ICAR).[66] The first among those who came to expose many of the claims
made by MS Swaminathan was Claude Alvares. In his article The Great Gene Robbery 23 March 1986 The
Illustrated Weekly.[67] Alvares provided enough evidences to show that most of the research that were initiated by
him and International Rice Research Institute were not original.[68] In the recent years Shiv Vishwanathan in an
EPW [69] article writes he is a sociological phenomenon. He is paradigm, exemplar, dissenter, critic and
alternative. .....Swaminathan always assimilates the new. Earlier Claude Alvares had given a better picture as
follows
Strangely, he has become more and more akin to HYV of the seeds he sells. Like them, he is capable of
high-yielding varieties of phrase and word. At a Gandhi seminar, he will speak of the relevance of
Gandhi. At a meeting in Madras on the necessity of combine harvesters. At another meeting on
appropriate technology, he will plump for organic manures. At a talk in London, he will speak on the
necessity of chemical fertilizers. He will label slum dwellers ‘ecological refugees’, and advertise his
career as a quest for ‘imparting an ecological basis to productivity improvement.’ This, after presiding
over, and indiscriminately furthering, one of the ecologically most devastating technologies of modern
times – the HYV package of the Green revolution.[70]
Current work
• He currently holds the UNESCO -Cousteau Chair[71] in Ecotechnology at the M. S. Swaminathan Research
Foundation in Chennai, India.
• He is the chairman of the National Commission on Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security of India (National
Commission on Farmers).[72]
• He is currently spearheading a movement to bridge the Digital divide called, "Mission 2007: Every Village a
Knowledge Centre".[73] [74]
• Bruce Alberts, President of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences said of Dr. Swaminathan: "At 80, M.S.
retains all the energy and idealism of his youth, and he continues to inspire good behavior and more idealism
from millions of his fellow human beings on this Earth. For that, we can all be thankful".[75]
Further reading
• "Biodiversity and Poverty – Natural Resources and the Millennium Goals", M.S. Swaminathan speech and a
discussion, University of Berne, Auditorium Maximum, Wednesday, 8/24/2005.Speech, Full text: [76]
• An insightful biography, "M.S. Swaminathan - One Man’s Quest for a Hunger-Free World" was written in 2002
by Gita Gopalkrishnanhas, Education Development Center Inc., Sri Venkatesa Printing House, Chennai, pp. 132
ISBN 81-7276-260-7 Full text: [77].
• To learn the most about M. S. Swaminathan, the book to read is: "Scientist and Humanist: M.S. Swaminathan" by
R.D. Iyer,
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, 2002. pp. 245 Excerpt with photos [78]
• "The Man Who Harvests Sunshine – The Modern Gandhi: M. S. Swaminathan." Andréi Erdélyi. Tertia Kiadó,
H-1158, Budapest, Kubelsberg Kunóu36,
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[72] National Commission on Farmers, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India (http:/ / nac. nic. in/ concept papers/ ncf. pdf)
[73] Mission 2007: Every Village a Knowledge Centre, 2005 (http:/ / 209. 31. 179. 166/ node/ 8)
[74] MSSRF, Mission 2007: Every Village a Knowledge Centre, 2005 (http:/ / mssrf. org/ iec/ 601/ Mission_2007. pdf)
[75] Alberts, Bruce, President - National Academy of Sciences, Washington D.C., "The M. S. Swaminathan I know", Current Science, vol. 89,
NO. 2, 8/25/2005, (http:/ / www. ias. ac. in/ currsci/ jul252005/ 310. pdf)
[76] http:/ / www. deza. ch/ pictures/ / Temp_docs/ 240805_Flyer_Swaminathan. pdf
[77] http:/ / www. yesweb. org/ docs/ mss_bio. pdf
[78] http:/ / www. harmonyindia. org/ hportal/ VirtualPageView. jsp?page_id=1432
External links
• Islamic banking may solve farmer suicide crisis: Swaminathan (http://twocircles.net/2010apr06/
islamic_banking_may_solve_farmer_suicide_crisis_swaminathan.html) - TCN News
• Listen:(8:46) (http://switchboard.real.com/player/email.html?PV=6.0.12&&title=ENB @ WSSD,
Johannesburg, 26 August - 4 September 2002&link=http://iisd.ca:8080/ramgen/linkages/2002/wssd/
2swaminathan2.rm) to Dr. M. S. Swaminathan speaking at
U. N. World Summit on Sustainable Development, p.83 (http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N02/
636/93/PDF/N0263693.pdf?OpenElement) August 27, 2002
• Prof MS Swaminathan's Inspiring Talk on Biotechnology and Food Security at BITS Pilani Rajasthan (http://
www.openpr.com/news/28733/
Prof-MS-Swaminathan-s-Inspiring-Talk-on-Biotechnology-and-Food-Security-at-BITS-Pilani-Rajasthan.html)
• Green Revolution Champion Prof MS Swaminathan at BITS Pilani (http://www.prleap.com/pr/94807/)
• Proud to be an Indian Prof MS Swaminathan lectures at BITS Pilani ... (http://www.indiaprwire.com/
pressrelease/biotechnology/200709204630.htm)
• Prof M S Swaminathan Talk on Biotechnology and Food Security at BITS Pilani Rajasthan (http://www.prlog.
org/10031284-prof-swaminathan-talk-on-biotechnology-and-food-security-at-bits-pilani-rajasthan.html)
• Evergreen Prof MS Swaminathan lectures at BITS Pilani Rajasthan (http://www.live-pr.com/en/
evergreen-prof-ms-swaminathan-lectures-at-r1048151779.htm)
• Evergreen Prof MS Swaminathan speech at BITS Pilani Rajasthan (http://www.i-newswire.com/pr122148.
html)
• BITS Pilani Rajasthan Prof V Lakshminarayanan Memorial Lecture 2007 – Curtain Raiser (http://www.prlog.
org/10030780-bits-pilani-rajasthan-prof-lakshminarayanan-memorial-lecture-2007-curtain-raiser.html)
• Prof V Lakshminarayanan Memorial Lecture 2007 at BITS Pilani Rajasthan – Curtain Raiser (http://www.
live-pr.com/en/prof-v-lakshminarayanan-memorial-lecture-r1048146699.htm)
• Curtain Raiser: Prof V Lakshminarayanan Memorial Lecture 2007 at BITS Pilani Rajasthan (http://www.
i-newswire.com/pr121313.html)
M. G. K. Menon 196
M. G. K. Menon
Mambillikalathil Govind Kumar Menon
Born August 28, 1928Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Nationality Indian
Fields Physics
Institutions Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

Indian Space Research Organization
Department of Science & Technology, Government of India
Alma mater Jaswant College

Royal Institute of Science
University of Bristol
Doctoral advisor Cecil F. Powell
Known for KGF Experiments
Notable awards Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (1960), Fellow of the Royal
Society(FRS)(1970)
Abdus Salam Medal (1996)
Mambillikalathil Govind Kumar Menon, FRS (born August 28, 1928), also known as M. G. K. Menon, is a
physicist and policy maker from India. He has had a prominent role the development of science and technology in
India during the past four decades. One of his most important contributions was nurturing the Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research, Mumbai, which his mentor Homi J. Bhabha founded in 1945.
He undertook experiments with cosmic rays to explore the properties of fundamental particles. He was actively
involved in setting up balloon flight experiments, as well as deep underground experiments with cosmic ray
neutrinos in the mines at Kolar Gold Fields. He is currently Vikram Sarabhai Fellow of the Indian Space Research
Organisation. In the past, he has been President of the National Academy of Sciences, India, Director of the Tata
Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai (1966–1975), Chairman Board Of Governors, Indian Institute of
Technology, Bombay and Chairman Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Information Technology,
Allahabad. He has won the Abdus Salam Award, and is a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He is one
of the most prominent scientists from the state of Kerala. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in May
1970.[1] The asteroid 7564 Gokumenon was named in his honour in late 2008.† [2]
Early life
Education
M. G. K. Menon was educated at Jaswant College, Jodhpur, and the Royal Institute of Science, Bombay, before he
moved to the University of Bristol for his Ph.D in elementary particle physics under the guidance of Nobel Laureate
Cecil F. Powell in 1953.
Association with TIFR

He joined TIFR in 1955 "essentially because of Bhabha", and the association lasted nearly five decades. He became
the director of the institute in 1966, at the age of 38, following Bhabha's untimely death. In fact, M. G. K. Menon
began handling the affairs of the institute ever since he was barely 33 because of Bhabha's increasing involvement
with the country's nascent atomic energy programme.
Special Awards: He won the Padmabhushan in 1968 and Padma Vibhushan in 1985
M. G. K. Menon 197
KGF experiments
M.G.K Menon was involved in all the large-scale experiments at the TIFR from its early days, in particular, the
cosmic ray studies initiated in 1964 in the mines at Kolar Gold Fields (KGF). In the nearly three-decade-long story
of experiments at the KGF, relating to muons, neutrinos, weak interactions and proton decay, he played a major role.
It was the KGF experiment that ruled out the hypothesis called "Utah Effect" to describe the energy spectrum of
muons reaching underground.
The more significant achievement of the KGF experiment was to demonstrate the feasibility of doing
neutrino-induced interactions and related new phenomena deep underground. It was also the first experiment in the
world, in 1965, to detect atmospheric neutrinos, which are formed at the top of the atmosphere due to cosmic ray
interactions. The neutrino experiments also threw up a handful of rare events, called Kolar events, which are
suggestive of massive (with more than 3 giga electron Volt mass) and long-lived (lifetimes of about a billionth of a
second) particles. These have, however remained unexplained till date and are perhaps suggestive of new physics.
In the 1980s, M. G. K. Menon led the proton decay experiment at the KGF, the first major dedicated experiment in
the world to look for decays of the apparently stable proton, which set a limit on a proton's lifetime to be greater than
10 to the power 30 years. The experiment also provided limits on the existence of the hypothetical magnetic
monopoles.
However, with the closure of the KGF mines, these underground cosmic ray experiments came to an end in the early
1990s, much to the disappointment of many Indian particle physicists. It was the atmospheric neutrinos that later led
to the Nobel Prize-winning discovery by Japanese scientists—who in fact, started later—that neutrinos have mass
and they exhibit the interesting phenonmenon called neutrino oscillation.
References
[1] "Lists of Royal Society Fellows 1660-2007" (http:/ / royalsociety. org/ Lists-of-Royal-Society-Fellows-1660-2007/ ). London: The Royal
Society. . Retrieved 2 October 2010.
[2] http:/ / ssd. jpl. nasa. gov/ sbdb. cgi?sstr=7564
External links
• Article by Menon: Impact of Advances in science and new technologies on society (http://www.here-now4u.
de/eng/impact_of_advances_in_science_.htm)
• Article on Menon (http://www.4to40.com/legends/index.asp?article=legends_mgkmenon)
• Interview about India's nuclear program (http://openvault.wgbh.org/wapina/barcode48888menon_3/index.
html/) for the WGBH series, War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
• Activists Condemn Gujarat Violence, Screen New Documentary (http://www.asata.org/node/97)
Harish-Chandra 198
Harish-Chandra
Harish-Chandra
Born October 11, 1923Kanpur, India
Died October 16, 1983 (aged 60)Princeton, New Jersey, United States
Nationality India
Fields Mathematics, Physics
Institutions Indian Institute of Science

Harvard University
Columbia University
Institute for Advanced Study
Alma mater BNSD Inter College

University of Allahabad
Doctoral advisor Paul Dirac
Known for Lie algebra
Notable awards Fellow of the Royal Society

Cole Prize
Srinivasa Ramanujan Medal
Harish-Chandra (Devanāgarī: हरिश्चन्द्र, Harish Chandra Mehrotra, 11 October 1923–16 October 1983) was an
Indian mathematician, who did fundamental work in representation theory, especially Harmonic analysis on
semisimple Lie groups. From 1968, until his death in 1983, he was IBM von Neumann Professor in the School of
Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences
of the U.S. and a Fellow of the Royal Society. The Harish-Chandra Research Institute, in Allahabad, India, is named
in his honour.
Early studies
Harish-Chandra was born in Kanpur (then Cawnpore), British India. He was educated at Scindia School, Gwalior,
and at the University of Allahabad. After receiving his masters degree in 1943, he moved to Bangalore for further
studies. In 1945, he moved to University of Cambridge as a research student of Paul Dirac. While at Cambridge, he
attended lectures by Wolfgang Pauli, and during one of them pointed out a mistake in Pauli's work. The two were to
become life long friends. During this time he became increasingly interested in mathematics. He obtained his PhD in
1947 and during the same year he moved to the USA.
When Dirac visited Princeton, Harish-Chandra worked as his assistant.
Work in mathematics
He was influenced by the mathematicians Hermann Weyl and Claude Chevalley. From 1950 to 1963 he was at the
Columbia University and carried out some of his best research, especially on representations of semisimple Lie
groups.[1] During this period he established as his special area the study of the discrete series representations of
semisimple Lie groups — which are the closest analogue of the Peter–Weyl theory in the non-compact case. The
methods were formidable and inductive, using Lie group decompositions. See also: Harish-Chandra homomorphism.
He is also known for work with Armand Borel founding the theory of arithmetic groups; and for papers on finite
group analogues. He enunciated a philosophy of cusp forms, a precursor of the Langlands philosophy.
Harish-Chandra 199
He was a faculty member at the Institute for Advanced Study in New Jersey from 1963. He was appointed IBM von
Neumann Professor in 1968.
Death
He died of a heart attack in 1983, during a conference in Princeton in honour of Armand Borel's 60th birthday. A
similar conference for his 60th birthday, scheduled for the following year, instead became a memorial conference.
He is survived by his wife, Lalitha (Lily), and his daughters Premala (Premi), and Devaki.
Awards
Harish-Chandra was a Fellow of the Royal Society and Fellow of National Academy of Sciences. He was the
recipient of the Cole Prize of the American Mathematical Society, in 1954. The Indian National Science Academy
honoured him with the Srinivasa Ramanujan Medal in 1974.
Memorial
Birthday event
The mathematics department of V.S.S.D college, Kanpur celebrates his birthday every year in different forms, which
includes lectures from students and professors from various colleges, institutes and students' visit to Harish-Chandra
Research Institute.
Harish-Chandra Research Institute

Indian Government honoured him by naming an institute dedicated to Theoretical Physics and Mathematics, after
him, in Allahabad, India. The institute is known as Harish-Chandra Research Institute, abbreviated HRI.
References
[1] Harish-Chandra (1951). "On some applications of the universal enveloping algebra of a semisimple Lie algebra" (http:/ / www. jstor. org/
stable/ 1990524). Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. (Transactions of the American Mathematical Society, Vol. 70, No. 1) 37 (1): 813–818. .
External links
• Harish-Chandra (http://www.genealogy.ams.org/id.php?id=92483) at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
• O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Harish-Chandra" (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/
Biographies/Harish-Chandra.html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews.
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Handbook On Indian Scientists

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Handbook On Indian Scientists

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Contents

Residence Nagaon, Assam, India

Education PhD, PDF, FRAS

Alma mater University of Jodhpur

Occupation Assistant Professor(Lecturer), Diphu Govt. College , Diphu,Assam,India

Years active 2004- onwards

Employer Diphu Government College

Known for Lecturer ,Assistant Professor,Mathematician,Academician,Fusion,Astronomy

Home town Nagaon, Assam, India

Salary Rs 40000 per month

Height 6 feet and 2 inches

Title Doctorate, Dr., FRAS (London), Assam Education Service, AES

Religion Sunni Islam,

Spouse Helmin Begum Hazarika

Children Laquit Ali Hazarika(son), Danisha Begum Hazarika(daughter)

Call-sign Drabrh or Raja

Dr.A.B.Rajib Hazarika with Laquit (son) and Danisha(daughter)

Awards and recognition

[44] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ File:Abstracts. pdf?page=2

Place value system and zero

Mensuration and trigonometry

Motions of the solar system

List of Indian scientists

Ancient Scientists from India

Modern Era Scientists

• Har Gobind Khorana

The sūtras of Baudhāyana

The mathematics in Sulbasūtra

Circling the Square

• Then draw a circle with radius , or , which equals .

• Now , so the area .

which is correct to five decimals.

Life and work

which is a generalization of an identity that was discovered by Diophantus,

Diagram for reference

for some rational numbers u, v, and w.[14]

Measurements and constructions

where Δ is the first-order forward-difference operator, i.e.

Citations and footnotes

well as unknown quantities, were represented by abbreviations of appropriate words."

Acharya Charaka & Ayurveda

Historical records on Jayadeva's life

The Gita Govinda

Nāgārjuna is sometimes credited with developing the philosophy of the

Golden statue of Nagarjuna at Samye Ling

Author Title Publisher Notes

Tola, Fernando Vaidalyaprakarana South Asia

Hopkins, Jeffrey Nagarjuna's Precious Snow Lion ISBN 1559392746

Jacques Derrida and French 'deconstruction'.)

The festival of Guru Purnima, is dedicated to him, and also known

Veda Vyasa (modern painting)

Author of the Mahābhārata

Vyasa fathers the princes Dhritarashtra and Pandu by Ambika and

Ugrasrava Sauti's Mahābhārata

Author of Brahma Sutra

Author of Yoga Bhashya

Fields of Indian mathematics

Samhitas and Brahmanas

Jaina Mathematics (400 BCE – 200 CE)

The Sūtra genre

The written tradition: prose commentary

Numerals and the decimal numeral system

Classical Period (400 – 1200)