The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

EAST INDIAN LEGEND: BHASKARA AND LILAVATI

LONG AGO, A BRILLIANT MAN NAMED BHASKARA LIVED IN INDIA. HE HAD
BUT ONE DAUGHTER AND HER NAME WAS LILAVATI. THE MAN WAS AN
ASTROLOGER AND KNEW THAT ALL THINGS ARE CONTROLLED BY THE STARS.
BY THE PROPER CALCULATIONS, HE DECIDED THAT THERE WAS ONLY ONE
MOMENT IN HIS DAUGHTER'S LIFE IN WHICH SHE COULD BE MARRIED THAT
WOULD INSURE HER HAPPINESS. THUS BHASKARA CONSTRUCTED A BARREL
FROM WHICH WATER WOULD FLOW FROM A HOLE IN THE BOTTOM. WHEN THE
BARREL WAS EMPTY, THE WEDDING HAD TO COMMENCE.
HOWEVER, LILAVATI WAS OVERCOME WITH CURIOSITY AT THIS CONTRAPTION
THAT HER FATHER HAD CONSTRUCTED. WHILE SHE WS PEERING OVER THE
EDGE OF THE BARREL, A TINY PEARL FELL FROM HER NECKLACE AND BLOCKED
THE APERTURE.
OF COURSE, AS A RESULT, THE SCHEDULED WEDDING WAS POSTPONED BY
BHASKARA UNTIL THE BARREL WAS EMPTY. THE PEARL WAS DISCOVERED,
BUT ONLY AFTER THE EXACT MOMENT HAD ALREADY PASSED.
BHASKARA WAS DEEPLY SADDENED AND VOWED TO USE HIS MIND TO DO
SOMETHING THAT WOULD FOREVER REMIND THE WORLD OF HIS DAUGHTER.
HE DEVELOPED THE BEGINNINGS OF WHAT LATER DEVELOPED INTO
MATHEMATICS. HE NAMED HIS SYSTEM LILAVATI, AFTER HIS DAUGHTER,
AND THIS IS THE NAME APPLIED TO MATHEMATICS IN INDIA TO THIS DAY.

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT