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Manjula – 10th Century AD Astronomer And Mathematician

Manjula is a 10th Century AD Astronomer And Mathematician associated with Hindu astrology. He is also referred to as Munjala or Munjalaka by later writers. In Hindu astronomy, the precise astronomical constants in relation to the precision of equinoxes, as well as instantaneous changes, are important for Hinduism calendar computations. In these fields, Manjula Acharya was important and innovative; he composed his famous astronomical text, Laghumanasam, in 932 AD.


Manjula belonged to the Bharadwaja gotra of Brahmin sect. He was an erudite preceptor of astronomy.

He is said to have come from Prakashapattana in North India, believed to be located near modern Patna (Bihar).

Though Manjula does not belong to any particular school of Indian astronomy, he is generally a follower of Aryabhata I (476 AD). The epoch adopted by Manjula in his Laghumanasam for astronomical computations is Saturday at noon, March 10, 932 AD.
Laghumanasam is a handbook of astronomical calculations. The object of composing this handy text was to give simple rules involving fewer calculations and at the same time to introduce new and innovative techniques.

Manjula is the earliest known Indian astronomer to have given a special lunar correction that is now called ‘evection.’ Although he is said to have borrowed this from Vateshwara, it is not found in the available text of Vateshwara, called Vateshwar Siddhanta.

Bibliography
Encyclopedia of Hinduism Volume VII page 19 – IHRF
Miscellaneous Essays (1837) Henry Thomas Colebrooke – Published by William. H. Allen London