20 Most Famous Indian Mathematicians

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Famous Indian Mathematicians

India is the land of some of the greatest minds. From Literature and Science stream to Art and Theatre, India has been a pioneer in all fields because of the exceptionally talented individuals who made the country proud. Mathematics, as a discipline, continues to be of utmost importance in the world and this blog explores some of the famous Indian mathematicians and their contribution to the world of mathematics. These mathematicians challenged the understanding of the world and left behind a legacy of breakthrough discovery and research. Let us explore the famous Indian Mathematicians who are still revered worldwide for their significant contributions!

List of Famous Indian Mathematicians

India has a rich history of mathematical exploration and discovery. From ancient times, Indian mathematicians have made significant contributions that shaped modern-day Mathematics, influencing fields as diverse as algebra, geometry, number theory, and calculus. Their work continues to impact the global scientific community and remains relevant today.

Here is a list of top famous Indian Mathematicians:

Name Famous Indian MathematiciansBirth-Death
Srinivasa Ramanujan1887–1920
Aryabhata476 AD–550 AD
Brahmagupta–668 AD
C. R. Rao1920–2023
Bhāskara II
Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis1893–1972
D. R. Kaprekar1905–1986
Harish-Chandra1923–1983
Satyendra Nath Bose1894–1974
Narendra Karmarkar
Bhāskara I
Mahāvīra817 AD–875 AD
Madhava of Sangamagrama1340–1425
Ganesh Prasad1876–1935
Nilakantha Somayaji1444–1544
C. S. Seshadri1932–2020
S. Ramanan
Neena Gupta
S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan
Radhanath Sikdar1813–1870
Anil Kumar Gain1919–1978
Sharadchandra Shankar Shrikhande1917–2020
K. R. Parthasarathy1936–2023
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar1910–1995
Chandrashekhar Khare
S. B. Rao
Navin M. Singhi
Raj Chandra Bose1901–1987
Manindra Agrawal
Vasistha Narayan Singh1942–2019
Veeravalli S. Varadarajan1937–2019
Pavuluri Mallana
Varāhamihira
Vasanti N. Bhat-Nayak1938–2009
K. S. S. Nambooripad1935–2020
Subbayya Sivasankaranarayana Pillai1901–1950
Raman Parimala
Subhash Khot
C. P. Ramanujam1938–1974
Anand Kumar
Kannan Soundararajan
Karamat Ali Karamat1936–2022
Rajendra Bhatia
Tirukkannapuram Vijayaraghavan1902–1955
Gopal Prasad
Mahan Mj
S. G. Dani
Sucharit Sarkar
V. Kumar Murty
Amit Garg
Phoolan Prasad

Also Read: Maths Tricks to Ace the GMAT Quant Section!

Now, let’s explore the lives and remarkable contributions of the top famous Indian mathematicians one by one, each of whom has left an indelible mark on the world of mathematics

Brahmagupta

Brahmagupta is world-renowned for his ingenious contribution to the fields of geometry and number system. He was among the famous mathematicians of india, his biggest contribution was his consideration of zero as a number which was the pathbreaking concept for the ancient world of mathematics.

20-most-famous-indian-mathematicians
Credits: TFP

He established all the rules and norms of using zero which resulted in the development of the present form of the number system in mathematics. He worked out Brahmagupta’s theorem for cyclic quadrilaterals which was a major finding of his time.

Aryabhatta

Aryabhata was an excellent teacher with immense knowledge of ancient India which makes him the famous mathematicians of india. His extraordinary knowledge covered areas of Mathematics, Astronomy, and Science stream. He wrote a comprehensive treatise titled the “Aryabhatiya” which in its range covered various integral topics of mathematics like trigonometry and algebra.

20-most-famous-indian-mathematicians
Credits: The Wonder That Was India

Aryabhata was the first to give an approximation of the value of pi and also the founder of the Number system. In his work, Aryabhatiya, he introduced several important concepts:

  • Place Value System: Aryabhata’s number system laid the foundation for the modern numeral system used worldwide.
  • Sine Function: Aryabhata introduced the sine function (known as “jya” in Sanskrit), which was later developed into the sine law in trigonometry.

Bhaskara

Bhaskara is a famous Indian mathematician from ancient times who is also a revered astronomer who made significant discoveries in both fields. He went deep into the number system and conceived easy formulas related to squaring and multiplication of numbers.

20-most-famous-indian-mathematicians
Credits: hinduscriptures.com

Bhaskara laid the foundation of mathematics in India through his consequential work which makes him the famous mathematicians of india.

Also Read: Commerce with Maths Stream

Srinivasa Ramanujan

Ramanujan is one of the greatest mathematical of India who worked with elliptic functions and the analytical theory of numbers. Ramanujan was the geniuses and first Indian to be elected as a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge University.

Srinivasa Ramanujan - Most Famous Indian Mathematicians
Credits: The Hindu

The mysteries solved by the man who knew infinity are still used to work for the development of the field of Mathematics.

P.C. Mahalanobis

Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis is the Father of Indian Statistics. His contribution to statistics involves the introduction of the concept of the pilot and large-scale surveys have led him into the group of the greatest mathematicians in India.

greatest mathematician of india
Credits: The Print

P.C Mahalanobis founded the Indian Institute of Statistical Science. For his unmatched contributions to Statistics as a major branch of Mathematics, 29th June is celebrated as National Statistics Day in his honour!

C.R. Rao

Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao is the greatest indian mathematician who contributed to the fields of estimation theory, biometry, statistical inference, and functional equations. He aimed to put India on the global map in the field of Statistics.

20-most-famous-indian-mathematicians
Credits: The Hindu

He helped bright students pursue their careers in the field of Statistics and continues to motivate them to discover the unexplored.

Ashutosh Mukherjee

Ashutosh Mukherjee is the greatest indian mathematician who changed the horizon of mathematics in India. He discovered the talents of other individuals like C.V. Raman and S. Radhakrishan. He has many published scholarly papers on mathematics and physics.

20-most-famous-indian-mathematicians
Credits: Wikipedia

He was a member of the important mathematical societies of different countries and supported research in mathematics.

Did you know? Most mathematical symbols weren’t invented until the 16th century. Before that, equations were written in words.

Raj Chandra Bose

Raj Chandra Bose fought relentlessly for his passion in the face of obstructions. He pursued his bachelor’s and master’s degree despite severe financial constraints following which he was invited by Mahalanobis to ISI to conduct research in the field of statistics and take a part-time post.

20-most-famous-indian-mathematicians
Credits: Wikipedia

The contributions made by R.C. Bose in the field of statistics have been and are still valued by the entire world. Raj Chandra Bose was a famous Indian mathematician, and his contributions to the field were incredible.

K.R. Parthsarthy

K. R. Parthsarthy is a statistician, probabilist and mathematician who made it big in the field of mathematics and physics. He was the pioneer of quantum stochastic calculus and famous mathematicians of india.

K.R. Parthsarthy- greatest mathematician of india
Credits: Wikipedia

He worked in the field for many years and devoted his life to conducting multiple kinds of research in the field of mathematics. As is rightly said, this man was indeed a ‘different kind of mind’.

Phoolan Prasad

Awarded multiple accolades, this man is renowned in every part of the country and worldwide for his revolutionary contribution to the concepts of differential equations, and fluid mechanics. He has authored multiple books that have an account of all his research which is a unique and futuristic blend of mathematics and physics.

Phoolan Prasad - Famous Indian Mathematicians
Credits: The Hindu

Phoolan Prasad was a great mathematician of India who also successfully assessed the properties of equations related to various physical phenomena and used them to establish new principles of physics.

Also Read: Number System Aptitude Tricks

Famous Indian Female Mathematicians List

India has been home to many brilliant female mathematicians who have made significant contributions to the field, breaking barriers and paving the way for future generations. These famous Indian female Mathematicians have left an indelible mark on mathematics with their outstanding achievements. Here is a list of famous Indian female mathematicians you should know:

  1. Raman Parimala
  2. Neena Gupta
  3. Shakuntala Devi
  4. Sujatha Ramdorai
  5. Mangala Narlikar
  6. Vanaja Iyengar
  7. Renuka Ravindra
  8. Ajit Iqbal Singh
  9. T. A. Sarasvati Amma
  10. Bhama Srinivasan

Famous Indian Mathematicians and their Inventions

Here are some of the greatest mathematicians of India and their inventions:

MathematiciansRenowned Works and Inventions
AryabhataFormula: (a + b)2 = a2 + b2 + 2ab
BrahmaguptaIntroduction of zero (0)
Srinivasa RamanujanProperties of the partition function.
P.C. MahalanobisMahalanobis Distance
C.R. RaoTheory of Estimation
D.R. KaprekarKaprekar numbers, Devlali numbers, the Harshad numbers and Demlo numbers.
Harish ChandraRepresentation theory, Harmonic analysis on semisimple Lie groups.
Satyendra Nath BoseCollaboration with Albert Einstein, Modern theoretical physics in India.
BhaskaraDeclared that any number divided by zero is infinity and that the sum of any number and infinity is also infinity.
Narendra Karmarkar Karmarkar’s algorithm
Credits: Arihant Publications

List of Famous Mathematicians in the World

Apart from the famous mathematicians of india there are other Mathematicians from all over the world who have made immense contributions to the field of Mathematics. Here is a list of great mathematicians in the World:

  • Euclid
  • Pythagoras
  • Archimedes
  • Thales of Miletus
  • Aristotle
  • Diophantus
  • Eratosthenes
  • Hipparchus
  • Hero of Alexandria
  • Ptolemy
  • Xenocrates
  • Anaxagoras
  • Hypatia
  • Antiphon
  • Diocles

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FAQs on the Greatest Mathematicians of India!

Ques: Who is the father of Indian mathematics?

Ans: Aryabhata is the father of Indian mathematics and he has worked on spherical trigonometry, quadratic equations, algebra, plane trigonometry, sums of power series, and arithmetic.

Ques: Who is the king of maths in India?

Ans: Srinivasa Ramanujan is known as the king of maths in India due to his contribution by working on the Analytical Theory of Numbers, Elliptical Function, and Infinite Series.

Ques: Who invented zero Indian mathematicians?

Ans: The first modern equivalent of the numeral zero comes from a Hindu astronomer and mathematician Brahmagupta in 628

Ques: Who are some of the famous Indian mathematicians?

Ans: Some of the famous Indian mathematicians are:
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Aryabhata
Brahmagupta
C. R. Rao
Bhāskara II
Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis
D. R. Kaprekar
Harish-Chandra
Satyendra Nath Bose
Narendra Karmarkar
Bhāskara I
Mahāvīra
Madhava of Sangamagrama
Ganesh Prasad
Nilakantha Somayaji
C. S. Seshadri
S. Ramanan
Neena Gupta
S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan
Radhanath Sikdar
Anil Kumar Gain
Sharadchandra Shankar Shrikhande
K. R. Parthasarathy
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Chandrashekhar Khare
S. B. Rao
Navin M. Singhi
Raj Chandra Bose
Manindra Agrawal
Vasistha Narayan Singh
Veeravalli S. Varadarajan
Pavuluri Mallana
Varāhamihira
Vasanti N. Bhat-Nayak
K. S. S. Nambooripad
Subbayya Sivasankaranarayana Pillai
Raman Parimala
Subhash Khot
C. P. Ramanujam
Anand Kumar
Kannan Soundararajan
Karamat Ali Karamat
Rajendra Bhatia
Tirukkannapuram Vijayaraghavan
Gopal Prasad
Mahan Mj
S. G. Dani
Sucharit Sarkar
V. Kumar Murty
Amit Garg
Phoolan Prasad

Ques: What are the contributions of Indian mathematicians?

Ans: Indian mathematicians have contributed to numerous mathematical areas, including:
Algebra and number theory: Ramanujan’s work is legendary in these fields.
Calculus and trigonometry: Aryabhata and Bhāskara made significant advancements.
Geometry and astronomy: Brahmagupta and Madhava of Sangamagrama contributed to both.
Statistics: P.C. Mahalanobis and C.R. Rao’s work helped shape modern statistics.

Ques: What is the list 5 Indian mathematicians and their contributions?

Ans: Certainly! Here are five Indian mathematicians and their contributions:
Srinivasa Ramanujan – Developed theories on number theory and infinite series.
Aryabhata – Introduced the concept of zero and developed methods in trigonometry.
Brahmagupta – First to work with negative numbers and zero in algebra.
Harish-Chandra – Advanced representation theory and algebraic groups.
Madhava of Sangamagrama – Pioneered early ideas in calculus and infinite series.

Ques: What is the significance of Indian mathematicians?

Ans: Indian mathematicians have played a crucial role in shaping mathematics globally, particularly with their discoveries in algebra, number theory, trigonometry, and astronomy. Their contributions have influenced modern-day mathematical theories and applications.

Ques: What is the role of Indian mathematicians in ancient mathematics?

Ans: Indian mathematicians have been pivotal in developing and advancing mathematical concepts in ancient times. They played a major role in creating the concept of zero, the decimal system, and advanced algebraic methods, all of which laid the foundation for modern mathematics.

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Maths forms an imperative part of everyone’s education. These famous Indian mathematicians inspire us with their exceptional work to realize the potential of the field and try to uncover some of its innumerable mysteries. If you exploring Maths courses abroad, then the experts at Leverage Edu will help you with the application procedure and make your dream more achievable! Register today for a free counselling session!

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10 comments
  1. Very useful information. Of late, present day students can explore lots of information about history of Mathematics.

    1. Hey! Yes, nowadays information is just a tap away which has made students more knowledgable. Thank you for your feedback.