Bhaskara II wrote Karana-kutuhala (literally, "Calculation of Astronomical Wonders") in 1183 CE.[1]
Alternative titles for Karana-kutuhala include Karaṇakutūhalam, Khetakarma, Graha-gama-kutuhala, Brahma-tulya, and Vidagdha-buddhi-vallabha.[2] As the name suggests, the book is a karana text, that is, a concise exposition of astronomy. Bhaskara's Karana-kutuhala was followed by Indian astronomers for several centuries, during which no other karana text was produced, until Ganesha composed Graha-laghavaorSiddhanta-rahasya in the early 16th century.[3]
The text was popular in west and north-west India,[3] and survives in form of over 150 manuscripts.[2]
Karana-kutuhala condenses and approximates many computational formulae from Bhaskara's earlier work, the Siddhanta Shiromani, in accordance with the Brahma-paksha sunrise-epoch astronomical school. It uses the epoch of sunrise on 23-24 February 1183 of the Julian calendar (1 Chaitra Shaka 1105).[4]
Several later writers composed commentaries on the Karana-kutuhala. These include:[3]
Brahma-tulya-bhashya (c. 1370) by Ekanatha, at Mahandanagara, probably in west India
Narmadi (c. 1400) by Padmanabha, probably in west India
Karana-kutuhala-tika (before 1462) by Sodhala
Brahma-tulyodaharana (1612) by Vishvanatha, at Varanasi
Ganaka-kumuda-kaumudi (1621) by Sumati-harsha Gani, near Vindhyadri
Karana-kutuhala-tika (before 1658) by Chandi-dasa
Brahmatulya-sarani (literally "Tables of/for the Brahmatulya"), an anonymous Sanskrit text from the 16th or the 17th century, contains astronomical tables and versified instructions based primarily on the Karana-kutuhala.[4]
A critical edition of the text by Madhava Shastri Purohita, with Sumati-harsha's commentary, was published in 1901.[2]
Karaṇa-kutūhala (1991), Sanskrit text with two Sanskrit commentaries (Sumatiharsa's Ganaka-kumuda-kaumudi and Sudhakar Dwivedi's Vasanavi-bhushana) and a Hindi translation by Satyendra Mishra
