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Aryabhata
आर्यभट
The astronomer who declared that the earth moves
Years
c. 476 – 550 CE
Known as
The first great astronomer and mathematician of Bhārat
Birthplace
Pataliputra (modern Patna), Bihar
Field
Scientists & Thinkers
“The earth is a sphere that spins on its own axis — and the stars are fixed.”
— Aryabhata, the Aryabhatiya
The Story
Born in 476 CE, Aryabhata worked at Pataliputra, the great city of the Gupta age, and there he wrote the Aryabhatiya, a masterwork that gathered astronomy and mathematics into one brilliant book. He was barely twenty-three when he composed it, and the book set the standard for science for centuries of Bhārat.
His astronomy was breathtakingly ahead of its time: he declared that the earth rotates on its axis daily, that the moon shines by reflected sunlight, and that eclipses are caused by the shadow of the earth falling on the moon — and vice versa — not by demons swallowing the luminaries, as the popular belief held. He calculated the length of the year with stunning precision and explained that the apparent motion of the stars was due to the earth's own motion.
In mathematics he gave the value of pi as 3.1416, worked with the place-value system and its zeros, and wrote on the solution of equations — the sine table he produced is among the earliest in the world. His methods were carried to the Arab world and Europe, and his name travelled with them. Modern Bhārat honours him with the Aryabhata satellite and the nation's highest award in mathematics.
Core Ideas
The Moving Earth
He declared the earth rotates on its axis, 1,000 years before Copernicus.
The True Eclipse
He explained eclipses by shadows, not demons.
The Value of Pi
His 3.1416 was astonishingly accurate.
The Aryabhatiya
His masterwork shaped science for centuries of Bhārat.
The Satellite
Bhārat's first satellite, Aryabhata, honours him.
Why it matters today
Aryabhata is honoured as the father of astronomy and mathematics of Bhārat, and his work is taught in every school of the nation. His insight that the earth moves — a millennium before Europe — is the proof of Bhārat's ancient scientific genius.