CatharineJorgens at 09:51, 17 March 2026

2026-03-17T09:51:18Z

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{{short description|10th-century Indian mathematician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox scholar
| name = Halāyudha
| fullname =
| birth_date = c. 10th century AD
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| main_interests = [[Sanskrit]] [[mathematician]]
| notable_ideas =
| major_works = ''Mṛtasañjīvanī'' and "Halāyudha trikoņa"
| influences =
| influenced =
}}

'''Halāyudha''' ([[Sanskrit]]: हलायुध) wrote the '''''{{IAST|Mṛtasañjīvanī}}''''', a [[close reading|commentary]] on [[Pingala]]'s ''Chandaḥśāstra'', was an Indian Mathematician and poet who lived and worked in the 10th century.<ref>Maurice Winternitz, ''History of Indian Literature'', Vol. III</ref> The ''[[Chandaḥśāstra]]'' by the Indian lyricist [[Piṅgala]] (3rd or 2nd century BC) somewhat cryptically describes a method of arranging two types of syllables to form [[metre (poetry)|metre]]s of various lengths and counting them; as interpreted and elaborated by Halāyudha his "method of pyramidal expansion" (''meru-prastāra'') for counting metres is equivalent to [[Pascal's triangle]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Gaṇitānanda: Selected Works of Radha Charan Gupta on History of Mathematics |last=Ramasubramanian |first=K |date=2019-11-08 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9789811312298}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=A Primer for Mathematics Competitions |last=Gavin Hitchcock |first=Alexander Zawaira |date=2008-10-31 |publisher=Oxford University |isbn=9780191561702}}</ref>

== Biography ==

Halayudha originally resided at the [[Rashtrakuta]] capital [[Manyakheta]], now located in [[Karnataka]], where he wrote under the patronage of emperor [[Krishna III]]. His ''Kavi-Rahasya'' eulogizes Krishna III. Later, he migrated to [[Ujjain]] in the [[Paramara dynasty|Paramara]] kingdom. There, he composed ''Mṛta-Sañjīvanī'' in honour of the Paramara king [[Vakpati Munja|Munja]].{{sfn|Ganga Prasad Yadava|1982|p=228}}

== Works ==

Halayudha composed the following works:{{sfn|Ganga Prasad Yadava|1982|p=228}}

* ''Kavi-Rahasya'', a book on poetics
* ''Mṛta-Sañjīvanī'', a commentary on Pingala's ''Chandaḥ-śāstra''
* ''Abhidhana-ratna-mala'', a lexicon
* ''Halāyudha Kośa'', a dictionary

==See also==
*[[Indian mathematicians]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
History of Rashtrakutas

* {{cite book |author=Ganga Prasad Yadava |title=Dhanapāla and His Times: A Socio-cultural Study Based Upon His Works |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aY_I3zgxfpsC&pg=PA32 |publisher=Concept |year=1982 |oclc=9760817 }}

{{Indian mathematics}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:10th-century Indian mathematicians]]
[[Category:Indian Sanskrit scholars]]

{{asia-mathematician-stub}}

Halayudha - Revision history

CatharineJorgens at 09:51, 17 March 2026