Parameśvara of Vāṭaśśeri [Parmeśvara I]
Narahari Achar
Born Ālattūr,
(Kerala, India), circa 1360
Died circa 1455
Parameśvara,
one of the foremost astronomers of Kerala, hailed from the village of Ālattūr
(Aśvatthagrāma in Sanskrit), and his house, Vāṭaśśeri, was situated on the confluence of the
river Nīla with the Arabian Sea. He was a Ṛgvedin, of the Aśvalāyana
Sūtra, and belonged to the Bhṛgugotra. He was a pupil of Rudra I. He carried out astronomical
observations near his house for some 45 years. He also observed a large
number of eclipses between 1393 and 1432, which are recorded in his work
Siddhāntadīpikā. Nothing else is known about the life
of Parameśvara.
Parameśvara
was a prolific writer and authored some 30 works. These include original
treatises and commentaries on other works of astronomy and astrology. Among
his original works on astronomy might be mentioned the following: Dṛggaṇita (1430); a work on spherics,
Goladīpikā (1443); and three works on the computation and
rationale of eclipses, Grahaṇāṣṭaka, Grahaṇamaṇḍana, and Grahaṇanyāyadīpikā.
He also commented on a large number of astronomical works including the
Āryabhaṭīya,
Sūryasiddhānta, Laghumānasa, and Līlāvatī.
Many of his works are yet to be published.
Selected References
Parameśvara
(1916). Goladīpikā, edited by Ganapati Sāstrī.
Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, no. 49. Trivandrum.
——— (1957). Goladīpikā,
edited by K. V. Sarma. Adyar Library Pamphlet Series, no. 32, Adyar, India:
Adyar Library and Research Centre.
——— (1963). Drgganita,
edited by K. V. Sarma. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshvarananda Institute.
Pingree, David Census of the Exact Sciences in Sanskrit.
Series A. Vol. 4 (1981): 187b–192b; Vol. 5 (1994): 211b–212a. Philadelphia:
American Philosophical Society.
Sarma, K. V. (1972). A History of the Kerala School of Hindu
Astronomy. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshvarananda Institute.
