Aryabhata was one of the greatest mathematicians and astronomers of ancient India, whose contributions laid the foundation for modern mathematics and astronomy. Born in 476 CE, he is believed to have hailed from Kusumapura—widely identified as modern-day Patna, Bihar. He studied and taught at the ancient university of Nalanda, and his work marked a turning point in Indian scientific history. Aryabhata's most renowned work, the Āryabhaṭīya, written when he was just 23 years old, covers a wide range of topics: arithmetic, algebra, plane and spherical trigonometry, calendar calculations, and astronomy. He was the first to use the concept of zero as a placeholder in the place-value system (though he did not use the symbol “0” as we know it today). In astronomy, Aryabhata calculated the sidereal rotation, the length of the solar year, and correctly explained eclipses as being caused by the Earth's and Moon's shadows, rejecting superstitions and myths.