Kuttaka: solving linear Diophantine equations
Kuttaka: solución de ecuaciones diofánticas lineales
- Date
- 499 · confidence high
- Place
- Kusumapura (Pataliputra, today Patna), Bihar, India
- Credited to
- Aryabhata
- People
- 👤 Aryabhata476–550
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
What was discovered
'Pulveriser' method that solves equations of the type ax + by = c in integers by successive divisions, equivalent to the extended Euclidean algorithm. It was used to calculate common astronomical cycles.
It solves problems similar to the Chinese remainder theorem (Sunzi); in Europe the general method arrives with Bachet (1621).
What it led to
- Indian number theory (Brahmagupta, Bhaskara II)
- calculation of astronomical periods