The Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute was established as a tribute to one of the greatest Sanskritists that our country has produced Mahāmahopadhyaya, Vidyā Vācaspati, Darśana Kalanidhi, Kulapati Prof. S. Kuppuswami Sastri (1891-1944); he was also conferred with the most coveted 'I.E. S' by the then British Government during the pre-independence era of this great land.
Prof. Kuppuswami Sastri stood as a colossus of Sanskrit and Sastraic studies when they were neglected in this part of the country. Single handedly, he brought a revolution in higher learning in Sanskrit. The Madras Sanskrit College, Chennai established in 1906, of which he was made the first Principal, stands as a testimony to his greatness even today. He attracted hundreds of students and scholars from different parts of India who benefitted from his training both in traditional and modern methods of learning and teaching in Sanskrit and different Sastras. The Presidency College (Madras), Annamalai University (Chidambaram) and Rajah's College, (Thiruvaiyaru) were some of the prestigious institutions where he nurtured Sanskrit studies and Comparative Philology. He was widely respected in India and abroad for his traditional knowledge and modern research acumen.
After the sad demise of the great savant in 1944, great men of wisdom, his students and admirers joined together to establish a research Institute as a fitting memorial to him and aptly chose the premises of the Madras Sanskrit College, Mylapore for carrying out the great work done by Prof Sastri.
Thus from 1945 till date the Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute (KSRI) has been functioning in this premises, holding one of the best collections of rare and old books on various branches of Sanskritic and Indological studies. It has carved a niche for itself in the international arena of Sanskrit and Indology. Hundreds of scholars from many foreign universities across the globe and different parts of India have benefitted by associating themselves with the KSRI. Dr. V. Raghavan, followed by Dr. S.S. Janaki, with their depth of knowledge and intellectual prowess led this Institute with great dedication and were ably supported by many statesmen, scholars, lovers of Sanskrit and philanthropists. Even after their demise, the Institute has been marching ahead in the same path and has completed 75 years of glorious service to the cause of Sanskritic and Indological research.
The KSRI has been holding periodical seminars /conferences and lectures in which eminent scholars from different parts of India and abroad have actively participated. It is associated with University of Madras for M.Phil and Ph.D in Sanskrit from 1983 and has produced about hundred scholars who submitted their dissertation and were awarded their degrees by the University of Madras.
Algebra which deals with operations with unknown quantities, including solutions of equations involving them is known as 'avyakta-ganita' (computations with unmanifest or unknown quantities), or Bijaganita' (computations with seeds). This is in contrast with 'vyakta-ganita' (computations with manifest or known quantities). In India, algebraic ideas can be traced to Sulvasutras (most of them composed before 4th century BCE). In the Ganitapada of Aryabhatiya (499 CE) problems in algebra like the solution of a quadratic equation in the context of an arithmetic series, and the solution of linear indeterminate equations by the 'kuttaka' method are described. Representation of unknown quantities by symbols are discussed in the commentary on Aryabhatiya by Bhaskara-I (7th century). His contemporary Brahmagupta gave a detailed exposition of algebra in his Brahmasphutasiddhanta, where he describes operations with negative quantities for the first time. He also gave a detailed account of quadratic indeterminate equations known as Vargaprakrti, including his famous composition law called 'Bhavana'. Composition laws of various kinds are vital in the solutions of problems in mathematics even in the present times, and it is very remarkable that Brahmagupta could conceive of such a concept even in the seventh century. The tradition of algebra was carried forward by Sridhara, Padmanabha (as recounted by later authors), Mahavira, Sripati, and others. It was Bhaskaracarya who systematised the algebraic knowledge prevalent in India in his times, and wrote a detailed treatise on Bijaganita in 1150 CE. He also wrote his own commentary, Vasana on the work, which give details of solutions of the various examples in the text. Suryaprakasa of Suryadasa (1540 CE) and Bijapallava of KrsnaDaivajna (1600 CE) are two important commentaries on Bhaskara's Bijaganita which provide detailed proofs of various results in it. Ganitakaumudi of Narayana Pandita (14th century) was a very important treatise following Bhaskara's Lilavati and Bijaganita, and makes further advances in the subject.
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