Bhaskara (C.E.1114-1185) or Bhaskaracharya was a mathematician and astronomer. There was another mathematician by the same name so to differentiate he was named as Bhaskara 2 in the present day books. Bhaskara was born in Vijjalavida in Maratha country. Bhaskara is said to have been the head of an astronomical observatory at Ujjain, the leading Astronomical center of his time. He was also a poet. The philosopher Bhaskaracharya who wrote a commentary on Brahmasutra is a different person.

His main work Siddhanta Shiromani, is divided into four parts called Lilavati, Bijaganita, Grahaganita and Goladhyaya, which are also sometimes considered four independent works. These four sections deal with arithmetic, algebra, mathematics of the planets, and spheres respectively. He also wrote another treatise named Karana Kautuhala.

Bhaskara's work on calculus predates Newton and Leibniz by over half a millennium. He is particularly known for the discovery of the principles of differential calculus and their application to astronomical problems and computations.

The first section of Siddhanta Shiromani, the Lailavati consists of 277 verses. It covers calculations, progressions, measurements, permutations, and other topics. The second section, the Bijagaṇita has 213 verses and is about numerical analysis. It also discusses zero, infinity, positive and negative numbers, and indeterminate equations. In the third section Grahaganita, is regarding the motion of planets.

Using an astronomical model developed by Brahmagupta in the 7th century, Bhaskara accurately defined many astronomical quantities, including, for example, the length of the sidereal year, the time that is required for the earth to orbit the sun, as 365.2588 days which is the same as in Suryasiddhanta. The modern accepted measurement is 365.2563 days, a difference of just 3.5 minutes.