Mathematics in India has a rich history. Indian mathematicians Madhava and Aryabhata made very significant contributions in finding the exact value of π (pi).

Professor K Ramasubramanian, who teaches at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay, has wonderfully explained the history of calculation of pi in India in a recent video.

Of the various infinite series representation of pi, one of the oldest is today ascribed to is Gregory and Leibniz.

“But almost three hundred years before Gregory and Leibniz's formula came to the fore, there was a series which was codified in the form of a verse by an Indian mathematician Madhava,” he says.

“If the series were to be given a name which honours the founder, then it should be called Madhava series instead of Gregory-Leibniz series,” he said.

So what was the context in which people wanted to know the value of Pi in the Indian tradition?