Karana-kutuhala (IAST: Karaṇakutūhala) is a 1183 CE Sanskrit-language book on jyotisha (astrology and astronomy) by Bhaskara II, a mathematician-astronomer from present-day India.
| Author | Bhaskara II |
|---|---|
| Original title | करणकुतूहल |
| Country | ancient India |
| Language | Sanskrit |
| Subject | jyotisha (astrology and astronomy) |
| Genre | karana (concise exposition of astronomy) |
| Published | 1183 CE |
| Preceded by | Siddhanta Shiromani |
Date and authorship edit
Bhaskara II wrote Karana-kutuhala (literally, "Calculation of Astronomical Wonders") in 1183 CE.[1]
Alternative titles for Karana-kutuhala include Karaṇakutūhalam, Khetakarma, Graha-gama-kutuhala, Brahma-tulya, and Vidagdha-buddhi-vallabha.[2] As the name suggests, the book is a karana text, that is, a concise exposition of astronomy. Bhaskara's Karana-kutuhala was followed by Indian astronomers for several centuries, during which no other karana text was produced, until Ganesha composed Graha-laghava or Siddhanta-rahasya in the early 16th century.[3]
The text was popular in west and north-west India,[3] and survives in form of over 150 manuscripts.[2]
Contents edit
Karana-kutuhala condenses and approximates many computational formulae from Bhaskara's earlier work, the Siddhanta Shiromani, in accordance with the Brahma-paksha sunrise-epoch astronomical school. It uses the epoch of sunrise on 23-24 February 1183 of the Julian calendar (1 Chaitra Shaka 1105).[4]
The text contains following chapters:[2]
- Nabhoga-madhya-sadhana
- Sphuta-kriya
- Tri-prashna
- Sashanka-parva-sadhana
- Ravi-graha-sadhana
- Grahodayashta-sadhana
- Shrngonnatipra-sadhana
- Grahottha-yoga-sadhana
- Pata-sadhana
- Ravindu-parva-sambhava
- Niradarka-vichara
Commentaries and derivative texts edit
Several later writers composed commentaries on the Karana-kutuhala. These include:[3]
- Brahma-tulya-bhashya (c. 1370) by Ekanatha, at Mahandanagara, probably in west India
- Narmadi (c. 1400) by Padmanabha, probably in west India
- Karana-kutuhala-tika (before 1462) by Sodhala
- Brahma-tulyodaharana (1612) by Vishvanatha, at Varanasi
- Ganaka-kumuda-kaumudi (1621) by Sumati-harsha Gani, near Vindhyadri
- Karana-kutuhala-tika (before 1658) by Chandi-dasa
Brahmatulya-sarani (literally "Tables of/for the Brahmatulya"), an anonymous Sanskrit text from the 16th or the 17th century, contains astronomical tables and versified instructions based primarily on the Karana-kutuhala.[4]
A critical edition of the text by Madhava Shastri Purohita, with Sumati-harsha's commentary, was published in 1901.[2]
References edit
- ^ Ronald Calinger, ed. (1999). Classics of Mathematics. Prentice Hall. p. 222. ISBN 9780023183423.
- ^ a b c d David Pingree, ed. (1981). Census of the Exact Sciences in Sanskrit Series A. Vol. 4. American Philosophical Society. pp. 322–326.
- ^ a b c David Pingree (1981). Jyotiḥśāstra: Astral and Mathematical Literature. A History of Indian Literature. Otto Harrassowitz. pp. 35–36. ISBN 3-447-02165-9.
- ^ a b Anuj Misra; Clemency Montelle; Kim Plofker, eds. (2020). The Sanskrit Astronomical Table Text Brahmatulyasāraṇī: Numerical Tables in Textual Scholarship. Brill. p. 9. ISBN 9789004432222.
External links edit
- Karaṇa-kutūhala (1991), Sanskrit text with two Sanskrit commentaries (Sumatiharsa's Ganaka-kumuda-kaumudi and Sudhakar Dwivedi's Vasanavi-bhushana) and a Hindi translation by Satyendra Mishra