Who is the author of the Surya Siddhanta?
The Surya Siddhanta is attributed to Lāta Deva, a student of Aryabhatta I. Scholars date the text to somewhere between the end of the 4th and 9th centuries.
Questions about Surya Siddhanta
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When was the surviving version of the Surya Siddhanta composed?
A new version of the Surya Siddhanta was likely revised and probably composed around 800 CE from an earlier version also called the Surya Siddhanta. Most scholars place the surviving version variously from the 4th century to the 5th century CE.
What trigonometric methods does the Surya Siddhanta use for calculations?
The Surya Siddhanta provides methods of calculating sine values in chapter 2 by dividing the quadrant of a circle with radius 3438 into 24 equal segments. The text uses sexagesimal fractions and includes references to trigonometric functions such as versine.
How accurate are the planetary motion predictions in the Surya Siddhanta compared to modern data?
These numbers give reasonably accurate sidereal periods when compared to modern era western calculations. The moon's revolution is right within a second while that of Saturn is within six days and half.
Who translated the Surya Siddhanta into Arabic and when did this occur?
The Surya Siddhanta was one of two books in Sanskrit translated into Arabic during the later half of the eighth century. This occurred during the reign of Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur.