Promotional Information

Mathematics in India presents an accessible, readable, and well-informed treatment of the history of India's mathematical traditions. It includes topics discussed little to date: the social setting of the mathematicians, the textual practices learned in Sanskrit, and the realm of observational and timekeeping practices. The survey of the Kerala school and the later life of Indian mathematics are detailed, unique, and valuable. -- Christopher Minkowski, University of Oxford No reliable book of this kind has been available, and Plofker's work makes an underdeveloped area accessible to all who are interested. -- Johannes Bronkhorst, University of Lausanne, Switzerland

Table of Contents

*FrontMatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. v*Preface, pg. vii*List Of Abbreviations, pg. xiii*Chapter 1. Introduction, pg. 1*Chapter 2. Mathematical Thought in Vedic India, pg. 13*Chapter 3. Mathematical Traces in the Early Classical Period, pg. 43*Chapter 4. The Mathematical Universe, pg. 61*Chapter 5. The Genre of Medieval Mathematics, pg. 121*Chapter 6. The Development of "Canonical" Mathematics, pg. 173*Chapter 7. The School of Madhava in Kerala, pg. 217*Chapter 8. Exchanges with the Islamic World, pg. 255*Chapter 9. Continuity and Changes in the Modern Period, pg. 279*Appendix A. Some Basic Features of Sanskrit Language and Literature, pg. 299*Appendix B. Biographical Data on Indian Mathematicians, pg. 317*Bibliography, pg. 327*Index, pg. 353

About the Author

Kim Plofker is visiting assistant professor of mathematics at Union College.

Reviews

"This is a much needed and splendidly executed book, a history of mathematics in the Indian subcontinent that embraces the full breadth of its rich subject... For anyone acquainted with the scholarly literature on these disputes, it is refreshing to read a discussion of them that keeps to the evidence, is frank about the evidence's limitations, and eschews charges of personal incompetence or bias."--Alexander Jones, Journal for the History of Astronomy "This carefully researched chronicle of the principal contributions made by a great civilization covers the earliest days of Indian history through to the beginning of the modern period... Kim Plofker's book fulfils an important need in a world where mathematical historiography has been shaped by the dominance of the Greco-Christian view and the Enlightenment period."--Pervez Hoodbhoy, Nature "[T]he author does a remarkable job presenting the mathematics of India. Anyone delving into this book, general reader or historian, will find straightforward explanations of the mathematics involved, learn of the culture that surrounded the subject, and come away with a clearer understanding of the Indian civilization and its mathematics."--Jim Tattersall, MAA Reviews "[T]his book is reliable, authentic and helps to rectify the wrong notions on either side, regarding Indian mathematics. It is a great contribution to the history of mathematics in general."--T. Thrivikraman, Mathematical Reviews "The book is well written and easy to read. There is a good balance of commentary and technical detail... Plofker's book finally offers us, at least in outline, an up-to-date and coherent narrative for the history of mathematics in India."--John Hannah, Aestimatio "[M]eticulously researched and engagingly written... Plofker's attempt to situate Indian mathematics in the proper context [leads] to a very detailed treatment of mathematical astronomy (at times far more detailed than mathematics itself), but that is no drawback, for the book serves as an excellent introduction to mathematical astronomy as well."--S. R. Sarma, Journal of the American Oriental Society