Mathematician biography

Our knowledge of Varahamihira is very limited indeed. According to one of his works, he was educated in Kapitthaka. However, far from settling the question this only gives rise to discussions of possible interpretations of where this place was.

Dhavale in [3] discusses this problem.

Brahmagupta contribution to mathematics

We do not know whether he was born in Kapitthaka, wherever that may be, although we have given this as the most likely guess. We do know, however, that he worked at Ujjain which had been an important centre for mathematics since around 400 AD.

The school of mathematics at Ujjain was increased in importance due to Varahamihira working there and it continued for a long period to be one of the two leading mathematical centres in India, in particular having Brahmagupta as its next major figure.

The most famous work by Varahamihira is the Pancasiddhantika(The Five Astronomical Canons) dated 575 AD. This work is important in itself and also in giving us information about older Indian texts