> The general consensus as to where the Hindu mathematician and astronomner
> Bhaskara II lived is in favour of the town of Chalisgaon, a medium-sized
> town on NH 211 in Dist. Jalgaon in Maharashtra.  The district-town of Beed,
> also in Maharashtra, or of Bijapur and Bidar in Karnataka are also named in
> some studies.

> Bhaskara II said the following about himself in the गोलाध्याय of his
> famous work, the सिद्धान्तशिरोमणि :

> आसीत्सह्यकुलाचलाश्रितपुरे त्रैविद्यविद्वज्जने
> नानासज्जनधाम्नि विज्जडविडे शाण्डिल्यगोत्रो द्विज:।
> श्रौतस्मार्तविचारसारचतुरो नि:शेषविद्यानिधि:
> साधूनामवधिर्महेश्वरकृती दैवज्ञचूडामणि:॥
> तज्जस्तच्चरणारविन्दयुगलप्राप्तप्रसाद: सुधी-
> र्मुग्धोद्बोधकरं विदग्धगणकप्रीतिप्रदं प्रस्फुटम्।
> एतद्व्यक्तसदुक्तियुक्तिबहुलं हेलावगम्यं विदां
> सिद्धान्तग्रथनं कुबुद्धिमथनं चक्रे कविर्भास्कर:॥

> In brief, Bhaskara II says that his father, महेश्वर, was a Brahmin of the
> शाण्डिल्यगोत्र and that he lived in the place called विज्जडविड that was
> close to the Sahya Mountain (सह्यकुलाचलाश्रित.)  Because of the closeness
> of pronunciation this leads to the immediate surmise that the place of his
> birth is बीड, बिदर, or विजापूर.  The difficulty in accepting any of these
> surmises is that none of them can really be said to be सह्यकुलाचलाश्रित.

> The case in support of Chalisgaon is somewhat stronger.  As one nears
> Chaligaon from Aurangabad on NH 211, a small road branches towards the
> left.  It leads to the small village called Patan पाटण, at the foot of the
> Satmala सातमाळा Range, a part of the Sahyadri chain.  Patan has a
> dilapilated temple of Bhavani, called Patandevi पाटणदेवी.  A long
> inscription in Sanskrit, found in the ruins of the temple, records the
> facts that Changadeva, a grandson of Bhaskara, ran a Math in that place
> where works of Bhaskara like सिद्धान्तशिरोमणि and other works of members of
> the same family were taught.  The inscription also records the lineage of
> Bhaskara and Changadeva and the grant of charities given to the Math by
> Soideva and Hemadri of the Nikumbha family, two feudatories of the Yadavas
> who ruled in Deogiri.  The inscription was first noticed by Dr Bhau Daji,
> who wrote about it in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, New Series,
> Vol. I.  Dr. Keilhorn further edited it in Epigraphia Indica, Vol. I, p.
> 338.  (This book is available in DLI.)  A portion of the inscription is as
> under:

> शाण्डिल्यवंशे कविचक्रवर्ती त्रिविक्रमोऽभूत्तनयोऽस्य जात:।
> यो भोजराजेन कृताभिधानो विद्यापतिर्भास्करभट्टनामा॥ १७.
> तस्माद्गोविन्दसर्वज्ञो जातो गोविन्दसन्निभः।
> प्रभाकरः सुतस्तस्मात्प्रभाकर इवापरः॥ १८.
> तस्मात्मनोरथो जातः सतां पूर्णमनोरथः।
> श्रीमान्महेश्वराचार्यस्ततोऽजनि कवीश्वरः॥ १९.
> तत्सूनुः कविवृन्दवन्दितपदः सद्वेदविद्यालता-
> कन्दः कंसरिपुप्रसादितपदः सर्वज्ञविद्यासदः।
> यच्छिष्यैः सह कोऽपि नो विवदितुं दक्षो विवादी क्वचि-
> च्छ्रीमान् भास्करकोविदः समभवत्सत्कीर्तिपुण्यान्वितः॥ २०.
> लक्ष्मीधराख्योऽखिलसूरिमुख्यो वेदार्थवित्तार्किकचक्रवर्ती।
> क्रतुक्रियाकाण्डविचारसारविशारदो भास्करनन्दनोऽभूत्॥ २१.
> सर्वशास्त्रार्थदक्षोऽयमिति मत्वा पुरादतः।
> जैत्रपालेन यो नीतः कृतश्च विबुधाग्रणीः॥ २२.
> तस्मात्सुतः सिङ्घणचक्रवर्तिर्दैवज्ञवर्योऽजनि चङ्गदेव:।
> श्रीभास्कराचार्यनिबद्धशास्त्रविस्तारहेतोः कुरुते मठं यः॥ २३.
> भास्कररचितग्रन्थाः सिद्धान्तशिरोमणिप्रमुखाः।
> तद्वंश्यकृताश्चान्ये व्याख्येया मन्मठे नियमात्॥ २४.

> The genealogy is thus: कविचक्रवर्ती त्रिविक्रम - विद्यापति भास्करभट्ट -
> गोविन्द - प्रभाकर - मनोरथ - महेश्वराचार्य कवीश्वर -  भास्कर - लक्ष्मीधर -
> चङ्गदेव.  The last two flourished in the courts of the Yadava kings of
> Deogiri, जैत्रपाल and सिंघण.

> (Towards the end of the inscription is a narration in the old Marathi then
> prevalent of the grants received by the Math for its upkeep.)

> The fact that a grandson of Bhaskara II ran a Math or a Pathashalaa so
> close to Chalisgaon to teach Bhaskara's works has led to the stong belief
> that Bhaskara II lived in or close to Chalisgaon.

> I believe it is possible to narrow this further and say that the village
> of Patan itself must be the place where Bhaskara II flourished.  Its
> original name could have been विज्जडविड or विज्जडविडपत्तन.  Eventually
> विज्जडविड got dropped out of this long name and only पत्तन or पाटण
> survived.  My evidence for saying so is both literary and physical.

> The literary evidence is as under:

> a) The Changadeva inscription was discovered in a temple in that village.
> The village of Patan today appears to be situated in a remote corner but
> the numerous ruins in it tell us that the place that has seen much better
> days.  I have visited the place and seen several ruins of old temples and
> other buildings and sevaral ruined मूर्तिs lying in the open.  The temple
> of Bhavani itself (see photo below), though in partial ruins, is quite
> large.  Apparently the inscription of Changadeva was still in the temple
> when I visited it, though, according to the Pujari of the temple, it was
> hidden inside a large collection of other stone fragments by the workers of
> the ASI to protect it from vandalism and theft.  I append below two photos
> of the temple.

> b) Patan पाटण is obviously a corruption of पत्तन, a large town.  The very
> name suggests that in the past it was much bigger than a mere village that
> it looks now and merited the diecription of a पत्तन.  It is obvious that
> the description of सह्यकुलाचलाश्रित fits it very well, as the cliffs of the
> Sahyadri-Satamala Range are seen just behind it.

> c) The Changadeva inscription refers to it as a पुर, which would be much
> bigger than a mere village. लक्ष्मीधर, a son of Bhaskara II, lived there
> and was invited by the King जैत्रपाल यादव from that place.
> (सर्वशास्त्रार्थदक्षोऽयमिति मत्वा पुरादतः। जैत्रपालेन यो नीतः कृतश्च
> विबुधाग्रणीः॥ २२.)  His son, चंगदेव, lived there as the head of the Math.
>  The whole family of Bhaskara II thus appears to have close ties to this
> place.

> d) Another branch of the family lived not far from this place.  About 10
> miles north of Chalisgaon is a village called Bahal बहाळ.  It has a temple
> dedicated to Goddess Saraja सारजा.  The temple contains an inscription that
> says that it was built by one Anantadeva, the Chief Astrologer in the court
> of SighaNa Yadava.  The genealogy of Anatadeva is given therein as
>  शाण्डिल्यगोत्री मनोहर - महेश्वर - श्रीपति - गणपति - अनंतदेव.  मनोहर and
> महेश्वर and the gotra शाण्डिल्य being common, it is obvious that श्रीपति
> here is a brother of Bhaskara II.  This inscription, edited by Dr Keilhorn,
> may be seen at  Epigraphia