Haridatta

For the 17th century astronomer, see Haridatta II.

Haridatta
Bornca.650 CE
NationalityIndian
OccupationAstronomer-astrologer
Known forPromulgation of the Parahita system of astronomical computations
Notable workGrahacaranibandhana
Notes
Promulgated the Parahita system of astronomical computations in 683 CE at Thirunnavaya.

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.[1] 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 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 Sakabda-samskara since it applied from the date of Aryabhata in the Saka era 444, at which date his constants gave accurate results.[2]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ K. Chandra Hari (2002). "Date of Haridatta, promulgator of the Parahita system of astronomy in Kerala". Indian Journal of History of Science. 37 (3): 223–236.