12 COMPUTATION OF TRUE MOON Madhava, the Author Among the several astute astronomers of Kerala of the middle ages, Madhava of Sangamagrama holds a position of eminence. Till recently, he was unknown to the scholarly world, especially outside his native land. He hailed from the village of Sangamagrama, the modern Irinjalakkuda, near Cochin, in Central Kerala, the name of his house being IraHni ninna palli to be identified with one of the two still existing houses in the village, named Irinnanavalli and IrinnSrappalii. This information the author gives in his Venvdroha and is corroborated by his commentator Acyuta. 1 Madhava was the teacher of Paramesvara, (AD 1360-1455), the promulgator of the Drgganita school of Kerala astronomy and is frequently quoted in the mediaeval astronomical literature of Kerala with the appellation of Golavid ( 'Adept in Spherics' ). Thus Nilakantha Somayaji (I444.I545 A.D.), while referring to Paramesvara in his Aryabhapya- Bhusya says : Paramesvaras tu ... Madhavadibhyo 'Golavidbhyo' Ganita-gola-yuktir api bnlya eva samyag grhitxci ... . 2 Acyuta Pisarati uses the same appellation for Madhava in the introductory verse to his Sphutanirnaya : vande 'golavidaf ca Madhavamukhan etc Works of Madhava , The Venvaroha? depicting a facile method for the computation of the Moon and the Moon-sentences, 4 commencing with silam iT^TTJTfa hW Smfasramfr TW: U (verse 13) Com. in Malayalam . *Rto f^TT SffSlfafec^ ^ On this, see K.V. Sarma, Introduction to his edn. of Venvdroha., op. cit., pp.fc-7. 2. Edn., Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, No. 185, p. 154. For other similar statements, see tfe., p. 75 ; tac ca Sangamagramajena 'Golatattvavi da Madhavena pradartitam; p. 108 : ata eva 'Golavid? Madhavena kgepavatam sphufapakramana- yane ganitavidepah pradarhtah 3. Cr. ei. by K. V. Sarma, (Tripunithura. 1956), with the Malayalam commentary of Acyuta. 4. Ed. as Appendix I, below,
