A photo of a water body with ducks swimming and with vegetation nearby

Department of
Humanities and Social Sciences

Photo of Venketeswara R. Pai

Venketeswara R. Pai

Associate Professor

Humanities and Social Sciences

History and Development of Astronomy and Mathematics in India, History and Development of Vakya system of Astronomy, Kerala School of Astronomy, Manuscriptology, Scientific Literature in Sanskrit and Malayalam, Paninian Grammar

venkateswara@iiserpune.ac.in

Venketeswara Pai R.  joined IISER Pune in 2016 as an Assistant Professor. By training  he is a physicist and has a strong command on technical Sanskrit and Malayalam languages. He received a PhD in History of Astronomy (2011) from Department of HSS, IIT Bombay. 

Research

Dr. Venketeswara Pai R. is among a small and unique group of Indian scholars, researchers and educators who have expertise in Sanskrit, Mathematics, and Astronomy. His research focuses on discovering the work of Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics in particular and understanding the development of mathematical ideas and astronomical models in the Indian subcontinent in general. He uses source materials (in the form of palm leaf/paper manuscripts), documented in Sanskrit and Malayalam, in the area of Mathematical Astronomy. His research is multidisciplinary in nature and involves involving languages such as Sanskrit and Malayalam and fundamental areas of science areas such as Astronomy and Mathematics.

 

Selected Publications

Books

Venketeswara Pai R, K Ramasubramanian, M S Sriram and M D Srinivas “​Karaṇapaddhati of Putumana Somayājī", translation with detailed mathematical notes, Jointly published by Springer and Hindustan Book Agency, 2018.

Articles

Venketeswara Pai R and B S Shylaja, The southern stars catalogued in Indian astronomical texts, Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy​, Jointly published by Indian Academy of Sciences (IAS), Astronomical Society of India (ASI) and Springer, 41:20, 2020.

Venketeswara Pai R, Rationale for ​Śrīrguṇamitrādivākyas as described in Laghuprakāśikā​,​ Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage​, pp. 545–552, Vol. 22, No. 3, December 2019.

Venketeswara Pai R et al., The ​Candrārkī of Dinakara: A text related to solar and lunar tables, ​Journal for History of Astronomy​, pp. 306–344, Vol. 49, 2018.

Venketeswara Pai R and B S Shylaja, Measurement of coordinates of ​Nakṣatras in Indian Astronomy, Current Science, pp. 1551–1558, Vol. 111, No. 9, 10 November 2016.

Venketeswara Pai R et al., Candravākyas of Mādhava, ​Gaṇita Bhāratī​, pp. 111—139, Vol. 38, No. 2, December 2016.