Mahāvīra (mathematician)
| Mahāvīra | |
|---|---|
| Born | India |
| Occupation | Mathematician |
Mahāvīra (or Mahaviracharya, "Mahavira the Teacher") was a 9th-century Jain mathematician from Bihar, India. He was the author of Gaṇitasārasan̄graha (or Ganita Sara Samgraha, c. 850), which revised the Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta. He was patronised by the Rashtrakuta king Amoghavarsha. He separated astrology from mathematics. It is the earliest Indian text entirely devoted to mathematics. He expounded on the same subjects on which Aryabhata and Brahmagupta contended, but he expressed them more clearly. His work is a highly syncopated approach to algebra and the emphasis in much of his text is on developing the techniques necessary to solve algebraic problems. He is highly respected among Indian mathematicians, because of his establishment of terminology for concepts such as equilateral, and isosceles triangle; rhombus; circle and semicircle. Mahāvīra's eminence spread in all South India and his books proved inspirational to other mathematicians in Southern India. It was translated into Telugu language by Pavuluri Mallana as Saar Sangraha Ganitam.
He discovered algebraic identities like a3=a(a+b)(a-b) +b2(a-b) + b3. He also found out the formula for nCr as [n(n-1)(n-2)...(n-r+1)]/r(r-1)(r-2)...2*1. He devised formula which approximated area and perimeters of ellipses and found methods to calculate the square of a number and cube roots of a number. He asserted that the square root of a negative number did not exist.
Mahāvīra's Gaṇita-sāra-saṅgraha gave systematic rules for expressing a fraction as the sum of unit fractions. This follows the use of unit fractions in Indian mathematics in the Vedic period, and the Śulba Sūtras' giving an approximation of √2 equivalent to .
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