History of Hindu Mathematics

by Bibhutibhushan Datta

This book at present to historians of mathematics regarding achievements of the early Hindu mathematicians and our indebtedness to them. Our object in writing the present book has been to make up for this deficiency by giving a comprehensive account of the growth and development of the science of mathematics in India from the earliest known times down to the seventeenth century of the Christian era.It has been decided to publish the book in two vols. The first vol. deals with the history of the numeral notations and of arithmetic. The second vol. is devoted to algebra, a science in which the ancient Hindus made remarkable progress.Vol. I contains two chapters. Chapter 1 gives account of various devices employed by the Hindus for denoting numbers. Chapter 2 deals with arithmetic in general.Vol. II of this work devoted to the history of Algebra in India. The use of symbols-letters of the alphabet to denote unknowns-and equations are the fou

Genres: History

613 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Christopher Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inexpensive but comprehensive two-volume set. Covers the history of Hindu mathematics far more comprehensively than any other source I've found. Well written, doesn't suffer from the language and printing errors ocasionally seen in older Indian mathematics publications. The Chakravala algorithm and its relationship to continued fractions is presented particularly well with excellent detail. Recommended.

[Pankaj Gautam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contents: Vol. I: I. Numeral notation: 1. A glimpse of ancient India. 2. Hindus and mathematics. 3. Scope and development of Hindu mathematics. 4. Numeral terminology. 5. The development of numerical symbolism. 6. Kharosthi numerals. 7. Brahmi numerals. 8. The decimal place-value system. 9. Persistence of the old system. 10. World numerals. 11. Alphabetic notations. 12. The zero symbol. 13. The place-value notation in Hindu literature. 14. Date of invention of the place-value notation. 15. Hindu numerals in Arabia. 16. Hindu numerals in Europe. 17. Miscellaneous references to the Hindu numerals. 18. Tables. II. Arithmetic: 1. General survey. 2. Addition. 3. Subtraction. 4. Multiplication. 5. Division. 6. Square. 7. Cube. 8. Square-root. 9. Cube-root. 10. Checks on operations. 11. Fractions. 12. The rule of three. 13. Commercial problems. 14. Miscellaneous problems. 15. The mathematics of zero. Bibliography. Index.Vol. II: III. Algebra: 1. General features. 2. Technical terms. 3. Symbols. 4. Laws and signs. 5. Fundamental operations. 6. Equations. 7. Linear equations in one unknown. 8. Linear equations with two unknowns. 9. Linear equations with several unknowns. 10. Quadratic equations. 11. Equations of higher degrees. 12. Simultaneous quadratic equations. 13. Indeterminate equations of the first degree. 14. One linear equation in more than two unknowns. 15. Simultaneous indeterminate equations of the first degree. 16. Solution of Nx+1=y. 17. Cyclic method. 18. Solution of Nxc=y. 19. General indeterminate equations of the second degree: single equations. 20. Rational triangles. 21. Rational quadrilaterals. 22. Single indeterminate equations of higher degrees. 23. Linear functions made squares or cubes. 24. Double equations of the first degree. 25. Double equations of the second degree. 26. Double equations of higher degrees. 27. Multiple equations. 28. Solutions of axy=bx+cy+d. Index. "This book at present to historians of mathematics regarding achievements of the early Hindu mathematicians and our indebtedness to them. Our object in writing the present book has been to make up for this deficiency by giving a comprehensive account of the growth and development of the science of mathematics in India from the earliest known times down to the seventeenth century of the Christian era. It has been decided to publish the book in two vols. The first vol. deals with the history of the numeral notations and of arithmetic. The second vol. is devoted to algebra, a science in which the ancient Hindus made remarkable progress.