Translating Indian Algebra in the Seventeenth Century: ʿAtāʾollāh Roshdi’s Persian Version of Bhāskara II’s Bījagaṇita

Abstract One of the most important works in the field of medieval Indian mathematics corresponding to algebra is Bījagaṇita (Seed Calculation), a Sanskrit treatise by the famous mathematician and astronomer Bhāskara II (or Bhāskarācārya, c . 1114–aft. 1183). This paper is a general overview of the Tarjoma-ye Bij ganet (The Translation of the Bījagaṇita , 1634), a Persian text composed by the mathematician ʿAtāʾollāh Roshdi (or Rashidi), who served at the court of the Mughal emperor Shāh Jahān ( r . 1628–58). The translation is divided into an introduction, subdivided in six chapters ( bāb ), and five books ( maqāla ). After discussing both Bhāskara II and Roshdi, I compare the latter’s translation with the original Sanskrit text on the basis of available English translations. I will also demonstrate how an intermediate language, which played an important role in the connection of South Asian scientific sources, facilitated this translation.