Krishnamurthi Ramasubramanian: The History and Historiography of the Discovery of Calculus in India

Couched in rich poetic verses in the Sanskrit language, the history of mathematics in India provides a fertile field for researching the evolution of mathematical thinking. During the talk, starting with snippets from the work of Āryabhaṭa (c. 499 CE) we shall try to present how certain important breakthroughs lead to the pioneering contribution of Mādhava (c. 1340) of the Kerala School, which has a more direct bearing on calculus. Towards the end, we would also like to highlight some of interesting facets in the historiography pertaining to development of calculus in India.