>Nauduri Murty at 14:14, 4 February 2021

2021-02-04T14:14:36Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{infobox person
| name = Haridatta
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| birth_date = ca.650 CE
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| nationality = [[India]]n
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| known_for = Promulgation of the ''Parahita'' system of astronomical computations
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| notable works = Grahacaranibandhana
| occupation = Astronomer-astrologer
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| footnotes =Promulgated the ''Parahita'' system of astronomical computations in 683 CE at [[Thirunnavaya]].
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'''Haridatta''' (c. 683 CE) was an [[astronomer]]-[[mathematician]] of [[Kerala]], [[India]], who is believed to be the promulgator of the Parahita system of astronomical computations. This system of computations is widely popular in [[Kerala]] and [[Tamil Nadu]]. According to legends, Haridatta promulgated the [[Parahita]] system on the occasion of the ''[[Mamankam]]'' held in the year 683 CE.<ref name=EHSTM>[[K. V. Sarma]] (1997), "Haridatta", [[Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures]], edited by [[Helaine Selin]], Springer, {{ISBN|978-1-4020-4559-2}}.
</ref> Mamankam was a 12-yearly festival held in [[Thirunnavaya]] on the banks of the [[Bharathapuzha]] river.

The distinctive contribution of Haridatta, apart from his resolving the [[Aryabhatiya]] calculations and using the [[Katapayadi system]] of [[numeral system|numerals]] is the corrections he introduced to the values of the mean and true positions, the velocity, etc., of the moon and other planets as obtained from [[Aryabhata]]'s constants. This correction is called the ''[[Saka era|Sakabda]]-samskara'' since it applied from the date of [[Aryabhata]] in the [[Saka era]] 444, at which date his constants gave accurate results.<ref>{{cite journal|last=K. Chandra Hari|date=2002|title=Date of Haridatta, promulgator of the Parahita system of astronomy in Kerala|journal=Indian Journal of History of Science|volume=37|issue=3|pages=223–236}}</ref>

==Parahita system==

The Parahita system of computations introduced by Haridatta was a simplification of the system propounded in [[Aryabhatiya]] by [[Aryabhata]]. Haridatta introduced the following simplifications.<ref name=EHSTM/><ref>{{cite book|last=K.V. Sarma|title=[[A History of the Kerala School of Hindu Astronomy]]|publisher=Vishveshwaranand Institute|location=Hoshiarpur|date=1972|pages=7–9|chapter=Parahita system of astronomy}}</ref>
The system was called Parahita meaning ''suitable for the common man'' because it simplified astronomical computations and made it accessible for practice even for ordinary persons.

*Haridatta dispensed with the numerical symbolism used by Aryabhata and replaced it with the more flexible [[Katapayadi system]]. In this system, letters are used to represent digits and these letters are then used to invent meaningful words and sentences to denote specific numbers. These words and sentences could be remembered with much less effort.
*Computations in Indian astronomy involved long numbers representing various parameters associated with the several celestial objects which are applicable for a ''[[Mahayuga]]'', a period of 4,320,000 years. To avoid computations with these large numbers, Haridatta introduced a smaller [[Yuga]], called a ''Dhijagannupura-yuga'', of 576 years or 210,389 days (which 1/7500 th part of a Mahyuga) and accurately determined the zero corrections for this sub-Yuga for the mean motion of the several planets. These corrections were then used to compute the mean planets for any given date.

==Works of Haridatta==
Scholars have been able to identify only two works as authored by Haridatta. One of them, titled ''Grahacaranibandhana'', is the basic manual of computations of the Parahita system of astronomy. This was unearthed by [[K.V. Sarma]] and was published in 1954.<ref>{{cite book|last=K.V. Sarma|title=Grahacaranibandhana: A Parahita manual by Haridatta|publisher=Kuppuswamy Research Foundation|location=Madras|date=1954}}</ref> The other work titled ''Mahamarganibandhana'' is no longer extant.

==See also==
*[[Indian astronomy]]
*[[Indian mathematics]]
*[[Indian mathematicians]]
*[[History of mathematics]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Indian mathematics}}
{{Scientific Research in Kerala |state=collapsed}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Hindu astronomy]]
[[Category:History of mathematics]]
[[Category:Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics]]
[[Category:People from Malappuram district]]
[[Category:Scientists from Kerala]]
[[Category:7th-century Indian mathematicians]]
[[Category:7th-century Indian astronomers]]
[[Category:Scholars from Kerala]]

Haridatta - Revision history

>Nauduri Murty at 14:14, 4 February 2021