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National Workshop on Indian Mathematics – A Brief Report

A three-day national workshop on भारतीयगणितम् (Indian Mathematics) was jointly organised by the department of Vedanga Jyotish, Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University Ramtek, Department of Mathematics of Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Nagpur And Indic Academy, Hyderabad. The workshop was conducted in the Department of Mathematics, VNIT, Nagpur from 9th to 11th September, 2019. This workshop was dedicated to the late Prof. Anant Vyavahare,  who spent his whole life in the research and establishment of ancient Indian Mathematics and it’s relevance in present-day society.

The workshop begin at 10.00 Am with an invocation to the Goddess Sarasvati and lighting the lamp. The program was inaugurated by Prof. Pramod M. Padole, Director, VNIT, Nagpur. The chief guests for the event were Dr. M. Devakar, HOD of the department of Mathematics VNIT, Nagpur and Prof. Kavita Holey, department of Sahithya, KKSU, Ramtek. The conveners were Prof. Krishna Kumar Pandey, Dean, Ancient Indian Science & Humanites, KKSU and Prof. G. P. Singh, Dean of Planning and Development, VNIT, Nagpur. The person of recourse was the renowned mathematician and Sanskrit scholar Shri. Venugopal D. Heroor from Gulbarga, Karnataka. The co-ordinators were Dr. Dinakar Marathe, Head, Dept. of Vedang Jyotish, KKSU. Dr. Prasad Gokhale, Asst. Prof. Dept. of Vedang Jyotish, KKSU. And Dr. V. P. Singh, Asst. Prof. Dept. of Mathematics, VNIT.

83 participants from various parts of the country such as Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand etc. participated in this workshop. People from various disciplines participated with enthusiasm, especially teachers, students from the IITs and graduate students of mathematics from various universities.

In the inaugural address, Prof. Pramod M. Padole highlighted that the workshop would be on the relationship between modern modern mathematics, ancient Indian mathematics and astronomy and create new opportunities for research. He assured all possible help to KKSU for such workshops. Shri. Venugopal D. Heroor laid out the aims of the workshop to facilitate understanding new mathematical concepts and related ancient ones, in an entertaining manner. Prof. Kavita Hole emphasised the need for interpretation of ancient knowledge in modern context.

After inauguration, Shri. Venugopal D. Heroor begin the first session– Introduction to Bharatiya Ganitam and he continued the second Session- Aryabhatiya Parampara. He continued his lecture post-lunch on Aryabhatiya Ganita Pada. The last session of the day was an open discussion where Dr. Heroor and Prof. K. K. Pandey held a Q&A session with the participants.

On the second day, Dr. Heroor gave lecture on Brahmagupta’s Geometry. A special lecture was delivered by Chandrahas Halai from Indic Academy, Mumbai Chapter, on the topic – Indian Temple Architecture and its mathematical significance. In afternoon session Heroor continued his lecture on Brahmagupta’s Geometry, followed by another Q&A session.

On the final day of the workshop, Heroor delivered his lecture on Narayana Pandita and his works, filled with various anecdotes.

In the valedictory, Narayana Acharya’s Bijaganitam with the english commentary of Shri. Venugopal Herror was released by Prof. Madhusudana Penna,  Dean, dept. of Bharatiya Darshan. KKSU, Ramtek. Prof. Penna was the chairperson of the program. The conveners of the workshop Prof. Krishna Kumar Pandey, And Prof. G. P. Singh were also present on the dais. Dr. Dinakar Marathe conducted the proceedings.

The feedback from the participants for the entire program was highly positive. There was a lot of praise for Dr. Heroor’s teaching and energy. The participants thanked the organising team for conducting the program and also requested for more programs like this in the future.

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