---
type: Concept
bundle: jyotisha-kala
bundle_version: 0.12.0
id: ganita
title: Gaṇita
iast: Gaṇita
devanagari: गणित
description: 'The computational branch of Jyotiṣa: arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, and spherical astronomy developed to compute the calendar and the sky, one of the three skandhas; NOT Vedic-maths tricks, NOT numerology, NOT a sideline.'
darshana:
- Jyotiṣa
text_source: Āryabhaṭīya Gaṇitapāda; Siddhānta Śiromaṇi
tags:
- ganita
- mathematics
- astronomy
- skandha
- jyotisha
not:
- term: 'Vedic-maths tricks'
  why: 'The marketed “Vedic Mathematics” of speed-arithmetic sūtras is a twentieth-century compilation with no siddhāntic pedigree. The gaṇita of Jyotiṣa is Āryabhaṭa’s sine table, Brahmagupta’s algebra, Bhāskara’s spherical astronomy: the working mathematics of a computational astronomy.'
  instead: 'Render gaṇita as the computational branch, name its actual monuments, and keep the Sanskrit term.'
- term: 'numerology'
  why: 'Gaṇita computes positions from parameters and geometry. Number-mysticism assigns meanings to digits. The two share nothing but numerals.'
- term: 'a sideline'
  why: 'Without gaṇita no pañcāṅga can be produced and no eclipse predicted: the branch is the tradition’s engine room, and the tradition’s own taxonomy (siddhānta-gaṇita, horā, saṃhitā) gives it first place.'
related:
- /concepts/siddhanta.md
- /concepts/kala-jyotisha.md
timestamp: '2026-07-09'
okf_version: '0.2'
license: CC BY-SA 4.0
---

# Gaṇita -- गणित

**Not:** Vedic-maths tricks, numerology, a sideline

## What It Actually Means

Gaṇita, computation, names the mathematical branch of Jyotiṣa in the tradition’s own three-skandha taxonomy: siddhānta-gaṇita (computational astronomy), horā (charts), saṃhitā (the world-reading compendia). Under this heading Indian mathematicians built sine tables (Āryabhaṭa’s, in 499 CE), place-value arithmetic, algebra to solve astronomical equations, and the spherical trigonometry that turns ecliptic positions into local risings. The motivation was calendrical and astronomical throughout: the mathematics exists so the pañcāṅga can be printed and the eclipse called to the ghaṭikā. Jyotiṣa’s gaṇita is thus a chapter of the history of mathematics, not of divination.

## Audience Metaphor

The engine room of the tradition: sine tables, epoch constants, spherical triangles. Strip it out and no almanac can be printed and no eclipse called. The storefront “Vedic maths” speed-trick books are a twentieth-century pamphlet wearing the engine room’s name.

## Citations

1. Āryabhaṭīya Gaṇitapāda on the mathematical toolkit -- see [references/aryabhatiya.md](../references/aryabhatiya.md)
2. Siddhānta Śiromaṇi (Līlāvatī and Gaṇitādhyāya) as the mature gaṇita corpus -- see [references/siddhanta-shiromani.md](../references/siddhanta-shiromani.md)
