Astronomical tradition of Kerala has been the biggest contribution of the small land of Kerala which is located in the form of a narrow strip of land between Western Ghats and Arabian Sea in the southern part of India. Kerala has been popularly known for the growth of the disciplines like mathematics, astronomy as well as astrology on which a number of scholars have contributed. Astronomical traditions of Kerala has been the most important school of astronomical studies in India which not only discovered the teaching related to stars which was available in the Upanishads and Vedanga theories but also reformed it with more accurate mathematical calculations which makes it relevant even today. Astronomical traditions of Kerala had been the first school to develop the quest of inventions and experiments regarding the planets, their movement and their relationship with the sun, moon and its impact on the Earth.
Astronomical tradition of Kerala mainly centres on the innovations made by Aryabhata I and his book Aryabhata which has invited a number of interpretations from a number of scholars. While centring itself with the quest of innovations and quest for experiments, this school mainly intends to recheck and reassess the accuracy of the discoveries made Aryabhata which was considered to the most accurate formula of the time. Along with the teachings of Aryabhatiya it further includes the interpretation of Bhaskara I and his three volumes of Mahabhaskariya Bhashya, Laghubhaskariya bhashya and commentary on Aryabhatiya. Based on traditions of the land, astronomical tradition of Kerala largely focuses on three sections of Hindu astronomy in which it includes the Aryabhatan school of Astonomy, Katapayaddi notation of Haridatta and the basic principles of Hindu Astronomy.
Astronomical tradition of Kerala largely centers on the discoveries of the ancient astronomer Ayabhata I. While it accepts the inevitable role of Mathematics in calculating the movement of all the celestial objects around the Earth along with other discoveries of Aryabhata which is included in the four volumes of Aryabhatiya, it at the same time criticises the work to be over complicating and difficult to be interpreted. Thus along with the teachings of Aryabhatiya, astronomical tradition of Kerala includes the Katapayaddi notation of Haridatta which is considered to be more readable and simple way of understanding the theories of Hindu astronomy. It is a better way of interpreting the work of Aryabhata I in much simple form. As such in its effort to continue with the traditional notions of Hindu astronomy astronomical school of Kerala then concentrates on the Katapayaddi notation of Haridatta which is based on extremely convenient method of expressing numbers through letters as introduced by Haridatta .The basic intention was to make the original text of Aryabhata more accessible to the common man. The third section on which Astronomical Traditions of Kerala concentrates is the basic principles of Indian astronomy. This includes the discovery of new methods of arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry and geometry which was introduced by Aryabhata and then followed by all the astronomers who followed him. These mathematical methods have turned out to be most vital methods to calculate the movement of earth, its longitudinal position etc more accurately than before.
Astronomical traditions of Kerala further include the modern day discovery of Pramesvara and Nilkantha Soyamji in rechecking and re evaluating the discoveries which are mentioned in Aryabhatiya and Mahabhaskariya bhashya. As the modern day astronomers they introduced the method to recheck the earlier computations so that it remains confirms the accuracy of the astronomical calculations made by earlier astronomers. This began the new trend of astronomical verifications which can make the age old astronomical innovations relevant and accurate in the present day. This sets the goal of Astronomical traditions of Kerala insetting the outlook of research which is included by Paramesvara in his earlier work called Grahanamandana.
Thus, astronomical traditions of Kerala not only highlight the old traditions of Hindu astronomy and its implication on Indian society but also it includes the growth of modern mathematical discoveries of Indian astronomy which is substantially influenced by the astronomical variations of abroad. These when compared with the innovations of Brahmagupta or Varahamihira set new discoveries.
