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Top 10 Great Mathematicians of India and Their Contributions

Samiksha Gupta

Updated on 05th June, 2023 , 7 min read

Great Mathematicians of India Overview

Some of the world's greatest minds are from India. Because of these incredibly gifted great mathematicians of India who have made the nation proud. India has been a pioneer in every field, from literature and science to art and theatre. The discipline of mathematics continues to be of the utmost importance around the globe. There are two distinct types of people when it comes to math: those who are utterly brilliant at it and those for whom it is nothing less than a nightmare. But if we look at our everyday lives, maths plays a significant role in them. Maths is used in everything, from slicing a cake into equal pieces to weighing people or calculating their height. 

History of Mathematics in India

Indian civilization has been shaped significantly by mathematics for many years. The mathematical concepts that originated on the Indian subcontinent have greatly influenced the rest of the world. There has been a lot of interest in the mathematical systems discovered in Vedic literature. Numerous dates have been assigned to the Vedic works, as is common. It's interesting to note that the mathematics of this era seems to have been developed to address real-world geometric problems, particularly the building of religious altars.

List of Great Mathematicians of India in Ancient Period

The term "classic period" is frequently used to describe the height of Indian mathematics (400–1600). During this time, mathematicians like Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, Bhaskara I, Mahavira, Bhaskara II, and others expanded and clarified several sections of the subject. The following is a list of their contributions-

  1. Aryabhata: In the fifth century, Aryabhatta was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, and physicist. He was a pioneer in the field of mathematics and demonstrated how to represent huge decimal values using alphabets. Zero was shown to be more than just a number by Aryabhatta; it was both a symbol and a concept. Zero was discovered by Aryabhatta, who used it to determine the precise distance between the earth and the moon. When zero was discovered, negative numbers were born.
  2. Brahmagupta: He was a brilliant astronomer and mathematician (597-668AD). Today, Brahmagupta's contributions to mathematics are more widely recognised than his work in astronomy. He presented the concepts of positive numbers (which he called dhan) and negative numbers (which he called debt). In addition to considering systems of simultaneous equations, Brahmagupta introduced the idea of solving quadratic equations with two variables.
  3. Mahavira: Mahavira was born in Karnataka, India, about the year 850. Mahavira developed certain rules for the use of permutations and combinations as one of the contributions. He also provided instructions on how to calculate the cube root of an integer and the volume of a sphere.
  4. Bhaskaracharya: Bhaskaracharya was the leading figure of the twelfth century. He was born in the Bijapur town of Karnataka. Siddhanta Shiromani, one of his books, is well renowned. The four components are Lilavati (arithmetic), Beejaganit (algebra), Goladhyaya (sphere), and Grahaganit (mathematics of planets). Bhaskara created the Chakrawat Method, also known as the Cyclic Method, to solve algebraic problems.

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List of Great Mathematicians of India of Medieval Period

The following is the list of great mathematicians of India in the medieval period-

  1. Madhava of Sangamagrama
  2. Parameshvara (1360–1455)
  3. Nilakantha Somayaji (1444–1545), mathematician and astronomer
  4. Shankara Variyar (c. 1530)
  5. Jyeshtadeva (1500–1610)
  6. Achyuta Pisharati (1550–1621), mathematician and astronomer
  7. Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri (1560–1646/1666)
  8. Achyuta Panikkar (c. 1550 – 7 July 1621)

List of Great Mathematicians of India of The Modern Era

Indian mathematicians have made breakthrough discoveries, as well as developments and specialisations, in the field. Therefore, it is crucial to pay tribute to these accomplished Indian mathematicians. The following is the list of great mathematicians of India- 

  1. Harish Chandra: He joined Paul Dirac's group at Princeton, where he made important contributions to the subject of representation theory after switching from physics to mathematics.
  2. Srinivasa Ramanujan: Ramanujan is arguably the most well-known contemporary Indian mathematician (1887–1920). In a groundbreaking article that was published in 1916, he helped to pioneer the research of the function. Ramanujan hypothesised numerous additional features of the function and demonstrated several of them.
  3. C.R. Rao: Mathematical statistician C.R. Rao is well known for his work on estimation theory. He is also credited with discovering the Rao-Blackwell theorem and the Cramer-Rao bound.
  4. P.C. Mahalanobis: He founded the Indian Institute of Statistical Science and is also referred to as the "Father of Indian Statistics." He is one of India's top mathematicians thanks to his contributions to statistics, which include the creation of the theory of pilot and large-scale surveys.
  5. Manjul Bhargava: One of Bhargava's most important works was a thesis that provided new insight into Gauss's Law for the union of two binary quadratic forms.

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List of Top 10 Great Mathematicians of India and Their Inventions

Here is a list of top 10 great mathematicians of India along with their greatest inventions-

Name

About

Inventions

Aryabhata

The inventor of the number system and the first to approximate the value of pi was Aryabhata.

Formula: (a + b)² = a² + b² + 2ab

Brahmagupta

The main contribution of Brahmagupta was the invention of the zero (0), which represented "nothing" in mathematics. Additionally, he included guidelines for computing squares and square roots, as well as an explanation of how to find an integer's cube and cube root.

Introduction of the number zero (0).

Srinivasa Ramanujan

Ramanujan, one of India's best mathematicians, developed the analytical theory of numbers and worked with elliptic functions. First admitted as a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge University, Ramanujan was an Indian. The mysteries that the guy who knew infinity solved are still employed to advance the study of mathematics.

Properties of the partition function.

P.C. Mahalanobis

The Mahalanobis Distance was Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis' most important contribution to statistics. In addition to these, he established the Indian Statistical Institute and conducted groundbreaking research in the field of anthropometry. He also helped in the planning of extensive sample surveys in India.

Mahalanobis Distance

C.R. Rao

The statistician, Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao, is well-known for his "theory of estimation." Numerous of his discoveries, many of which bear his name, are taught in statistics courses at the bachelor's and master's levels all around the world. His contributions to statistical theory and applications are well known.

Theory of Estimation

Dr. Kaprekar  

Dattaraya Ramchandra Kaprekar was an Indian amateur mathematician who found the Kaprekar constant and characterized various classes of natural numbers, including the Kaprekar, Harshad, and self-numbers. He didn't have any official mathematical training, yet he published a lot and was well-known in the community of recreational mathematicians.

Kaprekar numbers, Devlali numbers, the Harshad numbers, and Demlo numbers.

Harish Chandra

An Indian American mathematician and physicist named Harish-Chandra FRS made important contributions to representation theory, particularly in the area of harmonic analysis on semisimple Lie groups.

Representation theory, Harmonic analysis on semisimple Lie groups.

Satyendra Nath Bose

Satyendra Nath Bose, who is renowned for working with Albert Einstein, helped India adopt contemporary theoretical physics. Bose made important contributions to statistical mechanics, quantum statistics, x-ray diffraction, and the interaction of electromagnetic waves with the ionosphere, as well as the single field theory's explanation of all forces.

Collaboration with Albert Einstein, Modern Theoretical Physics in India.

Bhaskara

Bhaskara was a renowned astronomer and mathematician from ancient India who made important contributions to both astronomy and mathematics. He studied the number system in depth and came up with simple formulas for multiplying and squaring integers, and his significant contributions set the groundwork for mathematics in India.

Declared that any number divided by zero is infinity and that the sum of any number and infinity is also infinity.

Narendra Karmarkar

The Karmarkar's algorithm was developed by Narendra Karmarkar in 1984 to address issues with linear programming. Additionally, he is a highly cited researcher according to ISI.

Karmarkar's algorithm

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Father of Indian Mathematics

Due to his extensive contributions to mathematics and his greatest mathematical discoveries, Aryabhatta is regarded as the father of Indian mathematicians. He introduced the most widely used quadratic formula, (a + b)² = a² + b² + 2ab. He made significant contributions to astronomy and the calculation of the right number of days in a year. He firmly held to the spherical Earth theory. He played a key role in demonstrating pi's irrationality and made a significant addition to trigonometry by calculating the triangle's surface area. In ancient India, Aryabhata was a superb educator who possessed a wealth of knowledge. He was extremely knowledgeable in science, mathematics, and astronomy. The "Aryabhatiya," a comprehensive treatise he created, addressed a variety of integral topics in mathematics, including trigonometry and algebra.

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List of Great Female Mathematicians of India

The following is a list of some great female mathematicians of India-

1. Shakuntala Devi: The most prominent female Indian mathematician of all time, Shakuntala Devi, was also referred to as the "human computer." She was given this moniker because she had a remarkable aptitude for maths and could solve problems without a calculator.

2. Sujhata Ramdorai: With Coates, Fukaya, Kato, and Venjakob, she constructed a non-commutative version of the central conjecture of Iwasawa theory, which forms the foundation of most of the field.

3. Neena Gupta: Neena Gupta has been given the DST-ICTP-IMU Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians from Developing Countries. This prize honours her contributions to commutative algebra and affine algebraic geometry.

Conclusion

As much as we value other facets of Indian culture, such as religion and theatre, we should also remember to pay tribute to the kinds of geniuses who excel in all areas of education and a variety of disciplines. More information about their work is needed in order to give them the credit they merit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the "Prince of Indian Mathematics"?

Ans. Srinivasa Ramanujan

Who is renowned as the father of Indian mathematics?

Ans. Aryabhatta

Who was the first mathematician in India?

Ans. Aryabhatta was the first mathematician in India.

By what name is Shakuntla Deis also called?

Ans. Human Calculator

Which famous Indian mathematician gave Kaprekar’s constant?

Ans. 6174 is referred to as Kaprekar’s constant and given this name after the great mathematician Kaprekar.

Who is the greatest mathematician in India?

India has produced many great mathematicians throughout history, but the most widely recognized as the greatest mathematician is Srinivasa Ramanujan. He is known for his contributions to number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions.

What are the contributions of Aryabhata to mathematics?

Aryabhata was an ancient Indian mathematician who made significant contributions to mathematics. He is credited with introducing the concept of zero, developing the decimal number system, and proposing the heliocentric theory of the solar system.

Who is Shakuntala Devi and what was her contribution to mathematics?

Shakuntala Devi was an Indian mathematician known as the "human computer" for her extraordinary mental calculation abilities. She was able to perform complex calculations in her head quickly, and her achievements include correctly multiplying two 13-digit numbers in under a minute.

What is the Ramanujan-Hardy number and why is it significant?

The Ramanujan-Hardy number, also known as 1729, is a taxicab number that is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two positive cubes in two different ways. This number is significant because it played a role in the collaboration between Srinivasa Ramanujan and G.H. Hardy, which led to many important contributions to number theory.

Who is the first woman mathematician in India?

The first woman mathematician in India was Rajeshwari Chatterjee, who made significant contributions to microwave engineering and electromagnetic theory. She was also the first woman to be appointed as a faculty member in the Department of Electrical Communication Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

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