Balachandra Rao: The pillar of Indian astronomy who devoted his life to decoding India’s wealthy mental heritage

Balachandra Rao. File
| Photograph Credit score: Particular association

The world of classical Indian astronomy and arithmetic has misplaced one among its most distinguished voices. Balachandra Rao, a mathematician, astronomer and historian of science, was a scholar who devoted his life to decoding India’s wealthy mental heritage whereas fearlessly difficult pseudoscience and advocating a scientific mood.

Skilled in arithmetic and Sanskrit, Rao had the uncommon potential to decode India’s wealthy astronomical heritage. His books Indian Astronomy: Ideas and Procedures and Historical Indian Astronomy: Planetary Positions and Eclipses, turned commonplace references for anybody eager to grasp the ideas and procedures of classical Indian astronomy.

Rao taught arithmetic at Nationwide Faculty, Bangalore, for 35 years. After retiring, he directed Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Gandhi Centre, lectured on the Nationwide Institute of Superior Research, suggested the Nationwide Fee for Historical past of Science and served the Indian Journal of Historical past of Science for INSA. He has authored greater than 30 books in English/Kannada and ground-breaking papers in IJHS, JAHH, and Ganita Bharati, illuminating India’s astronomical heritage for all.

Rao’s experience lay in unravelling the advanced astronomical algorithms of historical Indian texts. He has touched upon: A photo voltaic eclipse happens when the Moon blocks the Solar; a lunar eclipse happens when Earth’s shadow engulfs the Moon. Equally, Mercury/Venus crossing the Solar’s face is a ‘transit’ (asta). These are occultations when planets or stars get occulted by the Moon (samāgama) or one another (yuddha). Rao and Padmaja Venugopal decoded these phenomena in Sanskrit/Tamil texts, publishing landmark works ‘Eclipses in Indian Astronomy’ and ‘Transits in Indian Astronomy’, shining new gentle on Indian astronomy.

But, whereas celebrating these achievements, Rao was deeply involved in regards to the misuse of India’s mental legacy. He lamented how obscure or exaggerated claims about “Vedic science” have been being propagated with out proof. Decided to separate truth from fiction, he authored vedic arithmetic and Science in Vedas (additionally accessible in Kannada as Vedic Arithmetic Mattu Vedagalalli Vijnaana). On this essential work, he examined populist assertions, resembling superior vedic physics or interplanetary spacecraft, methodically distinguishing real data from unfounded hypothesis.

Rao was a staunch advocate for a scientific mood. Two of his most influential works, “Custom Science and Society” and “Astrology – Imagine It or Not?”, have been translated into Kannada. These Kannada Sahitya Parishat are important studying for these in search of a rational perspective on custom and modernity. Rao‘s legacy endures via his diligent scholarship, which by no means sacrificed rigour for reputation.

In occasions when historical data is commonly politicised and fictionalised, Rao stood as a steward of purpose. His work stays a information star, demonstrating critically recognize the custom via truthful understanding moderately than uncritical glorification. His passing marks the tip of an period. Nonetheless, his meticulous strategy to India’s astronomical heritage will proceed to encourage future researchers. He’s survived by his partner, Anasuya Shiraly and two sons Kedar and Karthik.