Kamalakara

Kamalakara (* 1610 in Benares, † unknown) was an Indian astronomer and mathematician.

He came from a Brahmin family of astronomers that has its origins in Golagrama at Pathri on the banks of Godavari in Maharashtra. His great-grandfather was a pupil of the astronomer Divakara Ganesa from Nandod and moved to Benares. Whose sons were also astronomers, who commented on the work of Ganesa. The father of Kamalakara ( Nrsimha, born 1586) had next to Kamalakara the sons Divakara ( born 1606 ) and Ranganatha, who were also known astronomers in Benares. He learned from his older brother Divakara.

Kamalakara was next Munishvara ( Munisvara Visvarupa ), with whom he was in bitter feud, the leading astronomer of his time in Benares. He combined traditional Indian astronomy, including Western, about Islamic astronomers (especially Ulugh Beg ) mediated influence, especially the physics of Aristotle and the astronomy of Ptolemy.

Kamalakara posted a comment Manorama to Grahalaghava of Ganesa and the comment Vasanabhasya to Surya Siddhanta ( one of the oldest Indian astronomical works ). He is known primarily for his astronomical work Siddhantatattvaviveka ( in 15 chapters) of 1658 and a later addition to it Sesavasana.

He gave addition theorems for sine and cosine to for the exact calculation of sines.