Mathematics is passion?

Been a while since I have posted a poem. Today’s special is really a special poem. It is quaint, surprisingly charming and somewhat familiar. Some of you may know the story of the famous Indian mathematician, Bhaskaracharya. He was the head of the mathematical observatory at Ujjain, the leading mathematical center in India at that time. He is crediting with authoring Lilavati, one of the earliest treatises on mathematics. Several stories abound about Lilavati and her relation with Bhaskaracharya. Some claim that she was his daughter and some say that she was married to him. My favourite story is as follows:

Lilavati was Bhaskaracharya’s daughter. When she was born, Bhaskaracharya cast her horoscope and learned that she would become a widow early in life. He became very anxious and started wondering how her fate could be altered. He came to know that if her marriage be performed at a specific time, her impending widowhood could be averted. That day onwards, he started maintaining a small and highly precise clock so that he would always have the correct time at hand. Lilavati, a young girl, was completely taken with this clock. She couldn’t contain her curiosity any longer and one day, she peered into the small contraption. A pearl from her nose-stud fell into the clock and Lilavati, scared of her father’s anger, made good her escape. Bhaskaracharya remained unaware of this incident since Lilavati was too scared to tell him about it. Soon her marriage was fixed. In spite of Bhaskaracharya’s best efforts, the timing of the muhurth wasn’t accurate enough. Lilavati’s marriage was successfully performed that day and she became a widow soon after.

Ooh.. the poem.

Mathematical problem

— Bhaskaracharya

Lovely, huh?