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Gokulananda Das

Books & Popular Writings

Making mathematics accessible at every level of society

Beyond high-level academic research, Prof. Das authored standard textbooks, popular science series and reflective Odia literature — bridging abstract concepts with lay readers and young students.

From the family bookshelf

Selected covers

Fundamentals of Mathematical Analysis · with S. Pattanayak · Tata McGraw-Hill
Mysticism and Science — An Indian Context · with Niranjan Barik
ଟିକି ମାଆର ଟିକି ପୁଅଟି (Tiki Maa'ra Tiki Pua'ti)
ଅଭିମାନିନୀ (Abhimanini)

Academic textbooks & pedagogical works

For classrooms from Class I to the university

  • School curriculum. Official primary and middle-school mathematics textbooks for SCERT, Odisha (Classes I, III, VI and VIII).
  • Secondary & higher secondary. Two-volume textbooks Algebra and its Application and Geometry and its Application for Classes IX and X (Board of Secondary Education, Odisha), plus instructional materials for the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) and NCERT.
  • Higher education standards. Widely referenced university texts including Fundamentals of Mathematics (2 vols.) and Topics in Mathematics (Kalyani Publishers), and Fundamentals of Mathematical Analysis (Tata McGraw-Hill).

Publication of books

  1. Fundamentals of Mathematics (Vols. I & II)Kalyani Publishers · 1980
  2. Topics in Mathematics (Vols. I & II)Kalyani Publishers · 1985
  3. Mathematics Problem BookKalyani Publishers · 1985
  4. Elements of Mathematics (Vols. I & II)Council of Higher Secondary Education, Odisha · 1998
  5. Basic Mathematics (Vol. 4)Council of Higher Secondary Education, Odisha · 1988
  6. Algebra and its Application (Vols. I & II, Classes IX–X)Board of Secondary Education, Odisha
  7. Geometry and its Application (Vols. I & II, Classes IX–X)Board of Secondary Education, Odisha
  8. Algebra & Geometry, Class VIIIBoard of Secondary Education, Odisha
  9. Mathematics textbooks for Classes I, III and VISCERT, Odisha
  10. Instructional Material in MathematicsNCERT
  11. Zero (ଶୂନ୍ୟ)Orissa Mathematical Society · 2008

    The collected 35-part series from Ganita Bichitra.

  12. Ganitara Abhimukhya (ଗଣିତର ଅଭିମୁଖ୍ୟ)Vidyapuri · 1998

    On the spirit, discovery and philosophical value of mathematical thought.

Popular science

The epic of Zero

To demystify mathematics for the public, Dr. Das published over 150 popular essays, columns and articles in Odia periodicals and newspapers.

His most celebrated public series was a 35-part article on Zero (Shoonya) in Ganita Bichitra, the journal of the Orissa Mathematical Society dedicated to popularising mathematics. Running from 1986 to 1997, the series systematically explored how the concept of zero originated in ancient India, its philosophical roots, and its evolutionary role across modern mathematical branches. The Odia collection was published as a book in 2008; an English version was among his final projects.

In the leading Odia dailies — The Samaja, Sambad and Pragatibadi — he addressed questions like Aame Ganita Kanhiki Padhiba? (“Why should we study mathematics?”), mathematics in daily life, and early-childhood mathematics education. His book Ganitara Abhimukhya (1998, Vidyapuri) reflects on the spirit, discovery and broader human value of mathematical thought.

Categorised bibliography of non-research writing

  1. Zero (ଶୂନ୍ୟ) — 35-part series

    Ganita Bichitra, June 1986 – December 1997

    How and why zero originated and thrived in India, and how it unfolded across the branches of modern mathematics.

  2. Bhasha Eka Ganita? (Is Language a Mathematics?) — 12-part series

    Ganita Bichitra, 2002–2005

  3. Aame Ganita Kanhiki Padhiba? (Why should we study Mathematics?) — 3 parts

    Ganita Bichitra, 1985

  4. Ganita Sikhya: Prak-bidyalaya starare aalochana (Mathematics education at the pre-school stage)

    Ganita Bichitra, 1992 · with Dr. Udaya Nath Das and Madan Mohan Mohanty

  5. Bindu · Pramana · Bhul Keunthi? · Eka Ganita Bihina Pruthibira Parikalpana (Imagining a world without mathematics)

    Ganita Bichitra, 1984–87

  6. Bidyalaya Starare Ganita Pathyakrama (Mathematics curriculum at the school stage)

    The Samaja and Prajatantra, 1979

  7. Bisharna Biswabidyalaya · Biswabidyalaya Kanna Eka Abiswasara Sanstha

    The Sambad and Pragatibadi, 1985

  8. Kulapati Manonayana (Selecting a Vice-Chancellor)

    Pragatibadi, 1988

  9. University Autonomy and Vice-Chancellor

    University Autonomy Trampled — Proceedings of the Seminar on University Autonomy, Bhubaneswar, 1989

  10. Faulty Procedures for Selection of Teachers in Higher Education

    Structural Changes in the University System in Orissa — Utkal University Teachers' Association seminar, 1995

  11. Posterity Shall Not Excuse Us (I & II)

    Souvenirs, Orissa Mathematical Society conferences, 1973 and 1992

  12. Mathematics — A Discovery or an Invention?

    Souvenir, 8th OMS Conference, B.J.B. College, 1981

  13. Save Maths for Posterity

    Orissa Telegraph, 11 June 1997

  14. Indian National Mathematical Olympiad: A Report

    Souvenir, 18th OMS Conference, REC Rourkela, 1990

  15. Young Minds — A Tryst with Mathematics

    Mathematical Olympiad summer camp, G.M. College, 1998

  16. Kua Kanna Eka Computer Baigyanika (Is the crow a computer scientist?)

    Agnisikha, 1995; Ganita Bichitra, 2002

  17. Papa O Punya: Eka Ganitika Bishleshana (Sin and Virtue: A Mathematical Analysis)

    Ganita Bichitra, 2001

  18. Gurube Namaha

    The Samaja, 1998 — in memory of Prof. Ramanath Mohanty

  19. Poems — Draupadi Go Benni Bandhana · Mu Arjuna Kahuchi · Mu Kebe Warden Thili · Asanjata

    Sambad, Utkal Samaja, Bani Bandana and Sutradhara, 1989–2001

A selection from 137 catalogued articles, essays and poems (1972–2005).