Did Bhaskaracharya Discover Gravity First?

Did Bhaskaracharya Discover Gravity First?

"What if Isaac Newton wasn’t the first to discover gravity?"
This eye-opening question resurfaced in 2020 when Nepal’s Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli made a bold claim. During a public speech, Oli said that ancient Indian mathematician and astronomer Bhaskaracharya (also known as Bhaskara II) discovered the theory of gravitation nearly 500 years before Newton, around the year 1150. He added that Bhaskaracharya wrote about it in his famous book Siddhanta Shiromani, which was later printed in 1210 and is still preserved in the Patna Museum in India.

The statement quickly went viral across social media and news platforms. It sparked a wave of interest, criticism, and curiosity. Was this just another nationalistic claim, or is there any real science and history behind it?

Who Was Bhaskaracharya?

Bhaskaracharya, born in 1114 AD in present-day Karnataka, India, was a brilliant scholar of mathematics and astronomy. His full name was Bhaskara II, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest mathematicians of medieval India. He wrote several treatises, but his most well-known work is Siddhanta Shiromani (meaning “Crown of Treatises”).

Siddhanta Shiromani is divided into four parts:

1. Lilavati (arithmetic)
2. Bijaganita (algebra)
3. Grahaganita (mathematics of planets)
4. Goladhyaya (sphere and astronomy)

In this book, Bhaskara discusses planetary motions, eclipses, time measurement, and other astronomical phenomena with remarkable depth.

What Did PM Oli Say?

Prime Minister Oli said, “Bhaskaracharya discovered the law of gravity in 1150 AD, 500 years before Newton. This is written in Siddhanta Shiromani, which was printed in 1210 and is kept in the Patna Museum."

His claim reignited a debate that has been discussed by historians and science enthusiasts for decades: Did India know about gravity before Newton?

What Does Siddhanta Shiromani Say?

The critical part of this discussion lies in Bhaskaracharya’s own writings. Scholars who have translated and studied Siddhanta Shiromani say that in it, Bhaskara writes about "gurutvaakarshan"—a Sanskrit term that can be interpreted as gravitational attraction.

One verse is often cited:
"Objects fall on earth due to a force of attraction. This force allows planets, stars, and celestial bodies to stay in orbit."

At a glance, this sounds a lot like Newton’s law of gravity. However, there are key differences. Newton formulated the universal law of gravitation with mathematical precision in 1687, describing how every object attracts every other object with a force proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Bhaskaracharya, on the other hand, seems to have acknowledged that there is a force that pulls things toward Earth, but he didn’t offer a quantifiable law or equation.

Ancient Indian Science and Observation

Ancient Indian scholars were highly advanced in astronomy and mathematics. Texts like the Surya Siddhanta (even older than Bhaskara’s work) describe complex astronomical movements. The idea that Earth rotates on its axis and planets move in elliptical orbits was known long before European scientists claimed these discoveries.

In that context, Bhaskaracharya’s insights were extremely advanced for his time. He not only described gravity-like phenomena but also worked on calculus-like concepts centuries before Leibniz and Newton.

What Makes Newton’s Work Unique?

While Bhaskara may have described the idea of attraction, Isaac Newton's major contribution was in converting this idea into a universal law using mathematics. His work in Principia Mathematica laid down the foundation for modern physics.

Newton didn’t just say objects fall—he gave the formula to calculate the force of gravitational attraction between any two masses. This formula can be used to predict the orbits of planets and the fall of an apple alike.

In science, observing a phenomenon and formulating a universal law are very different steps.

Why the Controversy Matters

PM Oli’s comment reflects a broader trend in many countries: the desire to reclaim lost scientific heritage. It’s true that colonial history often overlooked or ignored non-Western contributions to science.

India and Nepal have rich histories in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and metallurgy. Highlighting Bhaskaracharya’s brilliance is important, but comparing it directly to Newton’s achievement can lead to misunderstandings.

Science is built over centuries, with many cultures contributing to its growth. While Newton developed the formal law of gravity, Bhaskaracharya’s work reflects deep thought and remarkable observation from medieval India.

The Patna Museum Claim

PM Oli also mentioned that the book is preserved in the Patna Museum. The museum in Bihar, India, indeed holds many ancient manuscripts and historical artifacts. Copies of Siddhanta Shiromani exist in several locations across India, including libraries, museums, and academic institutions.

However, there's no public record of an original 1210-printed version of the book in Patna Museum’s digital catalog. The book’s content has been preserved and passed down through handwritten manuscripts, rather than "printed" versions in the modern sense.

Public Reaction

The response to Oli’s statement was mixed.

• Supporters felt proud of the recognition of ancient knowledge.
• Critics said it was an attempt to rewrite science history without enough evidence.

Scientific communities generally agree that while Bhaskaracharya was ahead of his time, Newton’s law of gravity remains the cornerstone of gravitational science due to its measurable and testable nature.