Sankara Variar

Shankara Variyar (IAST: Śaṅkara Vāriyar; c. 1500 – c. 1560^[1]) was an astronomer-mathematician of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics. His family were employed as temple-assistants in the Shiva temple at Tṛkkuṭaveli near modern Ottapalam.^[2]

Mathematical lineage

He was taught mainly by Nilakantha Somayaji (1444–1544), the author of the Tantrasamgraha and Jyesthadeva (1500–1575), the author of Yuktibhāṣā. Other teachers of Shankara include Netranarayana, the patron of Nilakantha Somayaji and Chitrabhanu, the author of an astronomical treaties dated to 1530 and a small work with solutions and proofs for algebraic equations.^[2]

Works

The known works of Shankara Variyar are the following:^[2]

• Yukti-dipika - an extensive commentary in verse on Tantrasamgraha based on Yuktibhāṣā.
• Laghu-vivrti - a short commentary in prose on Tantrasamgraha.
• Kriya-kramakari - a lengthy prose commentary on Lilavati of Bhaskara II.
• An astronomical commentary dated 1529 CE.
• An astronomical handbook completed around 1554 CE.

References

1. Joseph, George Gheverghese (2009), A Passage to Infinity: Medieval Indian Mathematics from Kerala and Its Impact, SAGE Publications India, p. 21, ISBN 9788132104810.
2. Plofker, Kim (2009). Mathematics in India. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 220, 324.