Karana-kutuhala


Karana-kutuhala is a 1183 CE Sanskrit-language book on jyotisha by Bhaskara II, a mathematician-astronomer from present-day India.

Date and authorship

Bhaskara II wrote Karana-kutuhala in 1183 CE.
Alternative titles for Karana-kutuhala include Karaṇakutūhalam, Khetakarma, Graha-gama-kutuhala, Brahma-tulya, and Vidagdha-buddhi-vallabha. As the name suggests, the book is a karana text, that is, a concise exposition of astronomy. Bhaskara's Karana-kutuhala was followed by Indian astronomers for several centuries, during which no other karana text was produced, until Ganesha composed Graha-laghava or Siddhanta-rahasya in the early 16th century.
The text was popular in west and north-west India, and survives in form of over 150 manuscripts.

Contents

Karana-kutuhala condenses and approximates many computational formulae from Bhaskara's earlier work, the Siddhanta Shiromani, in accordance with the Brahma-paksha sunrise-epoch astronomical school. It uses the epoch of sunrise on 23-24 February 1183 of the Julian calendar.
The text contains following chapters:Nabhoga-madhya-sadhanaSphuta-kriyaTri-prashnaSashanka-parva-sadhanaRavi-graha-sadhanaGrahodayashta-sadhanaShrngonnatipra-sadhanaGrahottha-yoga-sadhanaPata-sadhanaRavindu-parva-sambhava
  • ''Niradarka-vichara''

Commentaries and derivative texts

Several later writers composed commentaries on the Karana-kutuhala. These include:Brahma-tulya-bhashya by Ekanatha, at Mahandanagara, probably in west IndiaNarmadi by Padmanabha, probably in west IndiaKarana-kutuhala-tika by SodhalaBrahma-tulyodaharana by Vishvanatha, at VaranasiGanaka-kumuda-kaumudi by Sumati-harsha Gani, near VindhyadriKarana-kutuhala-tika by Chandi-dasa
Brahmatulya-sarani, an anonymous Sanskrit text from the 16th or the 17th century, contains astronomical tables and versified instructions based primarily on the Karana-kutuhala.
A critical edition of the text by Madhava Shastri Purohita, with Sumati-harsha's commentary, was published in 1901.