History of Indian Mathematics









India has rich mathematical tradition.

 Decimal place value system(1 to 9) was in use in middle of 3rd century in India. Ancient Indians discovered the nine numerals (1 to 9) which is used all across the world now days. Arab traders learnt it from Indians and passed knowledge  to the west.

 But still one digit was missing and ancient Indians introduced it to the world. The earliest known recording of this new number dates to 9th century ACE but it was discovered in 4th century by Indian mathematician Aryabhatta. This small number is engraved on a wall of a temple at Fort of Gwalior, in Central India. There is an inscription and this number is also written. I am talking about ZERO.


Inscription at Gwalior fort

 Babylonian were using Zero as place holder and an empty space to show zero inside the number. The Indians transformed the zero mere place holder into a number that make sense.
Why Indians were able to discover digit Zero ?

 There is a cultural reason for the invention of Zero. In religion Hinduism, it is a philosophy that the universe is born out of nothing (Shun-ya = Zero) and nothingness is ultimate goal of life. You are born with nothing in this world and you will die with nothing. You came into this world with empty hands.


Further reading -

  How Pythagoras learnt his theorems

 Comparison with Chinese and Babylonian 


Notes & References -

 BBC documentary -    




India Tour Escort
Agra Tour Guide

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

HINDUISM -The art of living

Image
HINDUISM - The art of living  AUM Hinduism is a monotheistic religion The original name of Hinduism is "Sanatan Dharm". Sanatan means eternal and Dharm means those actions,thoughts and practices that promote physical and mental happiness. Hindu religion says that there are three external existences -   Soul                                                                                                 Maya                                                                                                 Ishwar Note -   Ishwar means supreme personality of Godhead which has no form, no shape, it is an energy which runs this world. Maya(material world) is lifeless power of formless God which also has three qualities -                                                                                                                    Rajas (Selfish)                                                                                                        
Read more

Delhi's Introduction

Image
the delhi map New Delhi is the capital of India, the third largest city in the country. The sprawling city is divided into two parts - Old Delhi and New Delhi. If you will stay here for few days, you will experience that India's capital is filled with glittering gems like historical monuments, majestic museums, bazaars, modern skysscrapers, bustling commercial complexes and some of the sub-continent's yummiest places to eat. The city, a major gateway hub, is als notorious for its maddening traffic and huge crowds. The tout menance is also quite annoying. If you are a "take it easy" visitor, you will never be disappointed for having come to delhi, a truly multidimensional metropolis. Geography  Delhi lies just in the central part of the Indian sub-continent, 300 meters above sea level, in between the Aravallis and the Himalayas. Topographically the city consists of three separate regions, the yamuna flood plain, the plains and the Ridge. History  Wh
Read more

Journey of Khajuraho.

Image
I visited Temples of Khajuraho with my three friends recently. We left Agra at 7:00 am on 11 July 2015. Khajuraho is 412 kms away and it is around 7 hrs drive. If you do not take brake. But we reached Khajuraho at 5:30 pm. We took few breaks on the way for photography, bathing in rain and lunch. 30 minutes break for photography. 1 hrs break for bathing in rain. 1 hrs break for lunch at Yadav restaurant at Orcha cut after Jhansi, MP. My friend Kishan has I 20 car. No doubt it is a fabulous car. This long ride was in itself was very interesting. I never wanted to end this journey. First time I realized the importance of the lines "Life is not about reaching destination, its about enjoying the journey". I really enjoyed the journey of Khajuraho. Journey of Khajuraho.   On the way after leaving Agra, I saw only green agriculture lands on left and right. Lots of greenery everywhere. Temperature  was about 23 only. These green fields brought calm feeling in me
Read more