The Ga?itatilaka and its Commentary: Two Medieval Sanskrit Mathematical Texts

The Gaṇitatilaka and its Commentary: Two Medieval Sanskrit Mathematical Texts presents the first English annotated translation and analysis of the Gaṇitatilaka by Śrīpati and its Sanskrit commentary by the Jaina monk Siṃhatilakasūri (13th century CE). Siṃhatilakasūri’s commentary upon the Gaṇitatilaka is a key text for the study of Sanskrit mathematical jargon and a precious source of information on mathematical practices of medieval India; this is, in fact, the first known Sanskrit mathematical commentary written by a Jaina monk, about whom we have substantial information, to survive to the present day. In presenting the first annotated translation of these two Sanskrit mathematical texts, this volume focusses on language in mathematics and puts forward a novel, fresh approach to Sanskrit mathematical literature which favours linguistic, literary features and textual data. This key resource makes these important texts available in English for the first time for students of Sanskrit, ancient and medieval mathematics, South Asian history, and philology.

About the Author

Alessandra Petrocchi completed a PhD in Sanskrit and Classical Indian Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK, and is currently a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics at the University of Oxford, UK, undertaking research into the early vernaculars of Italy and the history of numerals in the Renaissance. She has published several papers on Sanskrit sources on mathematics, comparative and historical Indo- European linguistics, and Italian Renaissance literature. Her research interests include textual criticism, manuscript studies, textual traditions and networks of knowledge across the Mediterranean, and the language-culture-literature interface.