Descriptions of Excavations (khāta) in the Triśatībhāṣya : Surveying Method and Two Terms, laṃba and kaḍī (Study of the History of Mathematics 2022)

概要

The Triśatībhāṣya is an anonymous commentary on the Sanskrit arithmetic text Triśatī by Śrīdhara (ca. 800 CE). “Excavations” (khāta) is one of the topics in the Triśatī, and Śrīdhara offers rules and examples for calculating the dimensions of a pit with irregular sides (i.e., arithmetical means) and the capacity of a pit with uniform sides. The present paper attempts to restore the surveying method of excavations described in the Triśatībhāṣya, and to clarify the meanings of two terms, laṃba and kaḍī, employed in the commentary.