Govindasvāmi (or Govindasvāmin, Govindaswami) (c. 800 – c. 860) was an Indian

mathematical Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either o ...

most famous for his ''Bhashya'', a commentary on the ''Mahābhāskarīya'' of Bhāskara I, written around 830. The commentary contains many examples illustrating the use of a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

place-value system Positional notation (or place-value notation, or positional numeral system) usually denotes the extension to any base of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system (or decimal system). More generally, a positional system is a numeral system in which th ...

and the construction of a

sine In mathematics, sine and cosine are trigonometric functions of an angle. The sine and cosine of an acute angle are defined in the context of a right triangle: for the specified angle, its sine is the ratio of the length of the side that is opp ...

table. His works have been quoted extensively by Sankaranarayana (fl. 869), Udayadivakara (fl. 1073) and

Nilakantha Somayaji Keļallur Nilakantha Somayaji (14 June 1444 – 1544), also referred to as Keļallur Comatiri, was a major mathematician and astronomer of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics. One of his most influential works was the comprehensi ...

(c. 1444-1544). Sankaranarayana was the director of the observatory founded in

Mahodayapuram Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...

, the capital of the Chera kingdom, and is believed to be the student of Govindasvami. In his book, Sankaranarayana gives explanations to the insightful questions of the king Ravi Varma, then ruler of Mahodayapuram and from these references the period of Sankaranarayana is known. His work ''Govindakriti'' was a sequel to

Āryabhaṭīya ''Aryabhatiya'' ( IAST: ') or ''Aryabhatiyam'' ('), a Sanskrit astronomical treatise, is the ''magnum opus'' and only known surviving work of the 5th century Indian mathematician Aryabhata. Philosopher of astronomy Roger Billard estimates that ...

and is lost. Other works attributed to Govindasvami include''Govinda-paddhati'' (on astrology) and ''Ganita-mukha'' (on mathematics). Like ''Govinda-kriti'', these are lost, and known only from mentions and quotations by later writers such as Sankaranarayana and Udayadivakara.

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A Chronology of Interpolation
800s births 860 deaths 9th-century Indian mathematicians {{Asia-mathematician-stub

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