Brahmagupta

Brahmagupta was born in 598 in a place called Bhinmal, in what is now Rajasthan, India. We do not know much about his childhood. But we know he grew up during a time of great learning in India. 

Brahmagupta likely had an early interest in numbers and the skies. This passion would lead him to make some of the most important discoveries in ancient mathematics.

Brahmagupta was the head of the famous astronomical observatory at Ujjain. This was one of the leading centres for maths and science in India at the time. 

In 628, when he was just 30, he wrote his most famous book, the Brahmasphutasiddhanta. It had 25 chapters and covered topics like the movement of planets, and more. But what really made this book special was its mathematics. 

Brahmagupta was the first known person to give clear rules for using zero as a number. He also explained how to work with negative numbers. He even tried to figure out what happens when you divide by zero, something we still talk about today! 

He explained how to multiply using the place-value system, like we do today. He gave a method for finding square roots and solved hard algebra problems. His rules for solving quadratic equations were way ahead of their time. His ideas helped make progress in areas of algebra that would be studied for centuries. 

In 665, near the end of his life, he wrote another book called Khandakhadyaka. It focused more on astronomy but still included maths ideas, like a method to find sine values using a kind of early version of Newton's formula! He worked out ways to measure the size and shape of the Earth. He even gave rules to predict eclipses. 

Brahmagupta was not just solving puzzles but wanted to help other people understand the skies and keep track of time. His work helped others to make calendars, and understand the world better through maths and science..  

Brahmagupta’s ideas spread far beyond India. His works were later translated into Arabic and used by Islamic scholars. From there, they reached Europe and helped shape modern mathematics.

His rules about zero and negative numbers became the foundation of the number systems we use today. Because of him, maths became more powerful and more precise. 

Brahmagupta showed how powerful maths could be when solving real-world problems and studying the Universe. Brahmagupta is remembered as one of the greatest mathematicians and astronomers of ancient India.

Brahmagupta also wrote about philosophy and religion. He believed the Universe followed natural laws that people could understand through study.  

He also enjoyed poetry. He wrote most of his scientific ideas in verse, using the Sanskrit language. Writing in verse was common in India at the time, but it also shows that he cared about the beauty of words, not just numbers. His love of poetry made his work easier to remember and helped others pass it on through the centuries.