Aryabhata and the Construction of the First Trigonometric Table

Singh, Vijay A. and Kumar, Aneesh (2024) Aryabhata and the Construction of the First Trigonometric Table. At Right Angles. pp. 1-10. ISSN 2582-1873

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Abstract

We routinely use our calculator to obtain the sine of a given angle. (In earlier times we used published tables!) Little do we realize that a debt of gratitude is owed to the fifth century Indian savant Aryabhata who was the first to tell us about the sine function and create the first table of sines — in his seminal work, the Aryabhatiya (499 CE). In this article, we describe the trigonometric identities used by Aryabhata to obtain the table of sines.

Item Type:	Articles in APF Magazines
Authors:	Singh, Vijay A. and Kumar, Aneesh
Document Language:	Language English
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Aryabhata, Trigonometric Table, Aryabhatiya
Subjects:	Natural Sciences > Mathematics
Divisions:	Azim Premji University > University Publications > At Right Angles
Full Text Status:	Public
URI:	http://publications.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/id/eprint/5677
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