PI in Indian Mathematics

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Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-

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Western Cultures
pp 1826-1828
PI in Indian Mathematics
R. C. Gupta
Undoubtedly pi or is the most interesting number in mathematics, and its

history will remain a neverending story. It occurs in several formulas of
mensuration and is variously involved in many branches of mathematics,
including geometry, trigonometry, and analysis.
The earliest association of is found in connection with the mensuration of a

circle. The fact that the perimeter or circumference of any circle increases in
proportion to its diameter was noted quite early. In other words, in every circle,
perimeter/diameter = constant, or p/d = 1, where 1 is the same for all circles.
After knowing the perimeter, the area of the circle was often found by using the
sophisticated relation
But the earliest rules for determining area were of the form ,
where k is a constant prescribed variously. Both these methods imply that the
area of a circle is proportional to the square of its diameter (or radius r), or
.
We know that 2 is the same as 1, but this was not always known. Similarly,
3 may be defined from the volume of a sphere. In this article, the symbol is
used to denote all the above three values, as well as for their common value,
which is now known to be not only an irrational, but also a transcendental
number.
Since the Indus Valley script has not been deciphered successfully, we cannot
say any final thing about the scientific knowledge of India of that time (about the
third millennium BCE). Some conjectures about the value of used in the
gveda (about the second millennium BCE) have been made. Definite literary
evidence is available from texts related to Vedgas, especially the ulbastras
which contain much older traditional material. In the Baudhyana ulbastra,
the oldest of them, the perimeter of a pit is mentioned to be three times its
diameter, thereby implying 1 = 3. This simplest approximation is found in
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almost all ancient cultures of the world. In India, it is found also in classical
religious works such as Mahbhrata (Bhmaparva, XII: 44), and certain
Puras, as well as in some Buddhist and Jain canonical works.
Different approximations to 2 are implied in the various Vedic rules for

converting a square into a circle of equal area and vice versa. If r is the radius of
the circle equivalent to a square of side s, the usual ulba rule is to take
, which implies the approximation
. Recently, a new interpretation of the
Mnava ulba Stra has yielded the relation , thereby

implying , which is the best ulba approximation
found so far.
The ancient Jain School preferred the approximation , which they

considered accurate and from which they derived the value
. This value continued

to be used in India not only by the Jains but also by others, such as
Varhamihira, Brahmagupta, and rdhara, even when better values were
known.
With ryabhaa I (born AD 476), a new era of science began in India. In the
ryabhaya, he gave a fine approximation of 1, surpassing all older values. It
contains the rule that the perimeter of a circle of diameter 20,000 is close to
62,832, so that nearly, which is
correct to four decimal places, and he still calls it close and not exact.
This value had a respectful place in Indian mathematics and exerted greater
influence. How ryabhaa obtained it is not known. It was known in China, but
evidence of borrowing lacks documentary support. On the other hand, the two
typically Indian values and 62,832/20,000 appear in many subsequent
Arabic works.
In India, the Archimedean value 22/7 for first appeared in the lost part of
rdhara's P (ca. AD 750). A Jain writer, Vrasena, quotes a peculiar rule in
his commentary Dhaval (AD 816). It is equivalent to
. If we leave out the redundant
dimensionless number +16 in the brackets, this rule will imply a knowledge of
the value which was known in China to Zu Chongzhi (AD
429500). In explicit form, this value is found in India much later, e.g., in the
works of Naryaa II, Nlakaha, and others. The simplified or reduced form
3,927/1,250 of ryabhaa's value of occurs in the works of Paulia, Lalla,
Bhaotpala, and the great Bhskara II.
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Most significant contributions on the computations of were made by the

mathematicians of the late ryabhaa School of South India. Mdhava of
Sagamagrma (ca. AD 13401425), the first great scholar and founder of the
School, gave the value

as known to the learned men. This value yields an approximation correct to 11
decimals. Mdhava also knew the series
which was rediscovered in
Europe in 1673 by Leibniz.
In discovering various series for and in evolving techniques for improving

their convergence, a great theoretical breakthrough was attained in sixteenth
century India.
See also: ulbastras , Varhamihira, Brahmagupta, rdhara, ryabhaa,

Nlakaha, Paulia, Bhskara, Mdhava
Copyright information
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York 2008
References
Gupta, R. C. Aryabhata I's Value of . Mathematics Education 7.1 (1973): 1720 (Sec. B).
. Some Ancient Values of Pi and Their Use in India. Mathematics Education 9.1 (1975): 15
(Sec. B).
. On the Values of from the Bible. Gaita Bhrat 10 (1988a): 518.
. New Indian Values of from the Mnava ulba Stra. Centaurus 31 (1988b): 11425.
. The Value of in the Mahbhrata. Gaita Bhrat 12 (1990): 457.
. Sundararja's Improvements of Vedic CircleSquare Conversions. Indian Journal of
History and Science 28.2 (1993): 81101.
Hayashi, Takao, T. Kusuba, and M. Yano. Indian Values for Derived from ryabhaa's Value.
Historia Scientiarum 37 (1989): 116.
Kak, Subhash C. Three Old Indian Values of Pi. Indian Journal of History of Science 32
(1997): 30714.
Marar, K. Mukunda and C. T. Rajagopal. On the Hindu Quadrature of the Circle. Journal of
the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society ( NS) 20 (1944): 6582.
Mukhopadhyay, A. and M. R. Adhikari. A Step Towards Incommensurability of Pi and
Bhaskara (I): An Episode of the 6th Century AD. Indian Journal of History of Science 33.2
(1998): 11929.
Rajagopal, C. T. and M. S. Rangachari. On Medieval Kerala Mathematics. Archive for History
of Exact Sciences 35.2 (1986): 919.
Smeur, A. J. E. M. On the Value Equivalent to in Ancient Mathematical Texts: A New
Interpretation. Archive for History of Exact Science 6.4 (1970): 24970.
About this Reference Work Entry
Title
PI in Indian Mathematics
Reference Work Title
Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in
Non-Western Cultures
Pages
pp 1826-1828
Copyright
2008
DOI
10.1007/978-1-4020-4425-0_9282
Print ISBN
978-1-4020-4559-2
Online ISBN
978-1-4020-4425-0
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Copyright Holder
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York
Additional Links
About this Reference Work
Topics
Philosophy of Science
Mathematics, general
Physics, general
Medicine/Public Health, general
eBook Packages
Humanities, Social Sciences and Law

Editors
Helaine Selin (1)
Editor Affiliations
1. Hampshire College
Authors
R. C. Gupta
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We're working on a new format for reference work entries, and would like your

Reference Work Entry

Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-

Undoubtedly pi or is the most interesting number in mathematics, and its

The earliest association of is found in connection with the mensuration of a

Different approximations to 2 are implied in the various Vedic rules for

, which implies the approximation

. Recently, a new interpretation of the

Mnava ulba Stra has yielded the relation , thereby

The ancient Jain School preferred the approximation , which they

. This value continued

Most significant contributions on the computations of were made by the

School, gave the value

In discovering various series for and in evolving techniques for improving

See also: ulbastras , Varhamihira, Brahmagupta, rdhara, ryabhaa,

About this Reference Work Entry

About this Reference Work

Humanities, Social Sciences and Law

Helaine Selin (1)

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