Balachandra Rao. File | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The world of classical Indian astronomy and mathematics has lost one of its most important voices. Balachandra Rao, a mathematician, astronomer and science historian, was a scholarship who dedicated his life to decoding a rich Indian intellectual heritage, while fearlessly demanding pseudo -scientific and advocating a scientific temperament.
Rao was trained in mathematics and Sanskrit and had a rare ability to decode rich astronomical heritage in India. His books Indian astronomy: Concepts and procedures and ancient Indian astronomy: Planetary positions and eclipses have become standard references to anyone who would like to understand the concepts and procedures of classical Indian astronomy.
Rao taught mathematics at National College in Bangalore for 35 years. After retirement, the Gandhi Center Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan directed, lectured at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, advised the National Commission for Science History, and served the Indian Journal of History of Science for InsSU. He is the author of more than 30 books in English/Kannada and breakthrough paper in IJHS, Yahh and Ganita Bharati and illuminates the Indian astronomical heritage for all.
The expertise of RAO consisted of disappointing the complex astronomical algorithms of ancient Indian texts. Touched: The solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks the sun; The lunar eclipse occurs when the shadow of the earth absorbs the moon. Similarly, Mercury/Venus exceeds the solar face of “transit” (ASTA). It is an occultization where planets or stars occult the moon (samāgama) or each other (yuddha). Rao and Padmaja Venugopal decoded these phenomena in Sanskrit/Tamil’s texts, published the “eclipse in Indian astronomy” and “transit in Indian astronomy” and shone new light on Indian astronomy.
Yet, while celebrating these achievements, Rao was deeply concerned about the abuse of the Indian intellectual legacy. He lamented how vague or exaggerated claims of “Vedic science” spread without evidence. Determined to separate reality from fiction, authorized Vedic mathematics and science in the veders (also available in Cannada as Vedic mathematics Matt Vedagalli Vijnaan). In this critical work, he examined populist claims such as advanced Vedic physics or interplanetary spacecraft, methodically distinguishing real knowledge from unfounded speculation.
Rao was a firm advocate of scientific mood. Two of his most influential works “The tradition of Science and Society” and “Astrologers – believe it or not?” These Parishat of Kannada Sahitya are an essential reading for those looking for a rational view of tradition and modernity. Ra’s inheritance will withstand its careful scholarship, which has never faced strictness for popularity.
At a time when ancient knowledge is often politicized and fictitious, Rao stood as a manager of reason. His work remains a guide star and shows how to critically appreciate tradition through true understanding rather than uncritical celebration. Its passage is the end of the era. Yet his careful approach to the Indian astronomical heritage will continue to inspire future scientists. His husband, Anasuya Shialy and two sons Kedar and Karthik survived.
Published – 16 May 2025 10:33
