Question

Which one of the following scholars of Akbar’s court translated Bhaskaracharya’s Lilavati into Persian?
1. Abul Fazl
2. Faizi
3. Fathullah Shirazi
4. Ataullah Rashidi

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 2 : Faizi

The correct answer is Faizi.

• At the court of Akbar, several Sanskrit texts were rendered into Persian.
• A Sanskrit mathematical text, the Lilavatiof Bhaskaracarya was also translated into Persian by Akbar’s Poet Laureate Faizi.
• In1816, John Taylor, in the preface to his translation of the Lilavati from the Sanskrit, opined that Faizi’s Persian version omits certain sections of the Lilavati.

• The navaratnas in Akbar’s court are- Abul Fazl, Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, Birbal, Mulla Do-Piyaza, Faizi, Raja Man Singh, Raja Todar Mal, Fakir Aziao-Din and Tansen.
• Akbar appointed Tansen of Gwalior, in his court for music.
• The Akbarnama which means 'Book of Akbar', is an official biographical account of Akbar.
  • The work was commissioned by Akbar, and written by Abul Fazl, one of the Nine Jewels.
• The word 'Taunhid-i-Ilahi' was used by Abul Fazl and Badayuni for the so-called new religion of Akbar.
• Fethullah Shirazi, also known as Amir Fathullah Shirazi, was a Persian-Indian polymath—a scholar, Islamic jurist, finance minister, mechanical engineer, inventor, mathematician, astronomer, physician, philosopher, and artist.
  • He worked for Akbar, he invented the Gaj-I-Illahi system.
  • Shirazi was given the title of Azuddudaulah, translated as “the arm of the empire”.
• Attaullah Rashidi, one of the architects of the mausoleum, was the son of Ustad Ahmed Lahori who built the Taj Mahal.
  • He also the architect of Bibi Ka Maqbara, Aurangabad.