Āryabhaṭa

Āryabhaṭa was born in 476 CE. At the age of 23, he composed the work Āryabhaṭīya. He flourished in Pātaliputra, the present day Patna. His work Āryabhaṭīya is the first available precisely dated work in the field of siddhāntic astronomy and mathematics. Though it is believed that it was preceded by many earlier astronomical siddhāntas, authentic datable versions of these are yet to be discovered. Āryabhaṭīya is a precise and highly condensed work. The second chapter of Āryabhaṭīya is Gaṇitapāda (Chapter on mathematics). It consists of 33 verses which deals with various aspects of mathematics including the decimal pace value system,properties of different geometrical figures, algebra, trigonometry, sum of series of numbers and many other topics. It also gives the value of π (pi) to be 3.1416 which is accurate up to 4 decimal places. Āryabhaṭa developed a unique system of numeration where numbers are represented by a set of syllables. Scholars consider him to be one of the pillars of Indian astronomy and mathematics.