Does no one remember the Hindu contribution to Mathematics?
Re-posting this for the benefit of all the *new* readers of this blog..From the archives, a post on the Hindu contribution to development of Mathematics..Read on and share…
Whenever I read about the great “Arabic” contribution to Mathematics and Science (often in an apologetic tone of “how could these great people come to such a pass?”) the thing that really upsets me is the complete omission of any reference to the Hindu contribution to mathematics and numbers.
Slightly more than a year ago (Aug ’04), in an article in the Sunday Times, Michael Portillo, eminent Conservative party leader in the UK and a one-time aspirant to the leadership of the Tory Party, wrote that, “Islam brought back to the West knowledge of architecture, mathematics and astronomy that had been lost during the Dark Ages”.
In response, I wrote,
“The phrase “brought back” is at best, condescending and at worse, historically inaccurate.
For this knowledge, which Arab traders brought to Europe (typified in the Arabic numeral system – itself a misnomer, since the Arabs did not invent it but merely acted as the purveyors of this knowledge) was not Islamic or Arabic. In fact much of this knowledge was originally derived from ancient Vedic literature from India and passed through Arab traders and conquests to Middle East and eventually reaching Europe.
To quote from Carl B. Boyer in his “History of Mathematics”, “…Mohammed ibn-Musa al-Khwarizmi, …, who died sometime before 850, wrote more than a half dozen astronomical and mathematical works, of which the earliest were probably based on the Sindhind derived from India. Besides … [he] wrote two books on arithmetic and algebra which played very important roles in the history of mathematics. … In this work, based presumably on an Arabic translation of Brahmagupta, al-Khwarizmi gave so full an account of the Hindu numerals that he probably is responsible for the widespread but false impression that our system of numeration is Arabic in origin. … [pages 227-228]…”.
In a translation of Alberuni ‘s “Indica”, a seminal work of this period (c.1030 AD), Edward Sachau, writes this in his introduction, ”Many Arab authors took up the subjects communicated to them by the Hindus and worked them out in original compositions , commentaries and extracts. A favourite subject of theirs was Indian mathematics…” etc.
Needless to say, the letter never got published.
Then, more recently, while reading the “The World is Flat“, by Thomas L. Friedman , I came across this text in Chapter 11, “The Unflat World” (Pg 405), “As Nayan Chanda, the editor of YaleGlobal Online pointed out to me, it was the Arab-Muslim world that gave birth to algebra and algorithms, terms both derived form Arabic words. In other words, noted Chanda, “The entire modern information revolution, which is built to a large degree on algorithms, can trace its roots all the way back to Arab-Muslim civilization and the great learning centres of Baghdad and Alexandria,” which first introduced these concepts, then transferred them to Europe through Muslim Spain.
Dismayed, I wrote the following email to Nayan:
“May I respectfully point out that is not historically accurate and continuing research is providing evidence that the roots of the so-called Arab contribution to Mathematics and Science were further east in the lands of India and in the works of Indian mathematicians and scholars from several centuries ago.”
I then gave a couple of examples and concluded by saying:
“I hope that you will re-consider your views in the light of these excerpts and a significant body of research that is now publicly available on this subject. I would be more than happy to provide more details if you wish.”
No acknowledgement was expected and none was received. I wanted to copy Thomas Friedman on it but could not find his contact details on his website – the only email address was that of his literary agent and PR agency.
This apparently widespread misunderstanding and ignorance – about the Hindu contribution to the number system and sciences – prompted me to dig deeper. Here is what I found:
From an online research piece on Al-Khwarizmi and his work (by Shawn Overbay, Jimmy Schorer, and Heather Conger)
“Al-Khwarizmi wrote numerous books that played important roles in arithematic and algebra. In his work, De numero indorum (Concerning the Hindu Art of Reckoning), it was based presumably on an Arabic translation of Brahmagupta where he gave a full account of the Hindu numerals which was the first to expound the system with its digits 0,1,2,3,….,9 and decimal place value which was a fairly recent arrival from India. Because of this book with the Latin translations made a false inquiry that our system of numeration is arabic in origin. The new notation came to be known as that of al-Khwarizmi, or more carelessly, algorismi; ultimately the scheme of numeration making use of the Hindu numerals came to be called simply algorism or algorithm, a word that, originally derived from the name al-Khwarizmi, now means, more generally, any peculiar rule of procedure or operation.
Interestingly, as the article notes, “The Hindu numerals like much new mathematics were not welcomed by all. In 1299 there was a law in the commercial center of Florence forbidding their use; to this day this law is respected when we write the amount on a check in longhand (ernie.bgsu.edu).” From a very well-researched online article, “Numbers: Their History and Meaning”
“It is now universally accepted that our decimal numbers derive from forms, which were invented in India and transmitted via Arab culture to Europe, undergoing a number of changes on the way. We also know that several different ways of writing numbers evolved in India before it became possible for existing decimal numerals to be marred with the place-value principle of the Babylonians to give birth to the system which eventually became the one which we use today.
Because of lack of authentic records, very little is known of the development of ancient Hindu mathematics. The earliest history is preserved in the 5000-year-old ruins of a city at Mohenjo Daro, located Northeast of present-day Karachi in Pakistan. Evidence of wide streets, brick dwellings an apartment houses with tiled bathrooms, covered city drains, and community swimming pools indicates a civilisation as advanced as that found anywhere else in the ancient Orient.
These early peoples had systems of writing, counting, weighing, and measuring, and they dug canals for irrigation. All this required basic mathematics and engineering.
And later in the article, “The special interest of the Indian system is that it is the earliest form of the one, which we use today. Two and three were represented by repetitions of the horizontal stroke for one. There were distinct symbols for four to nine and also for ten and multiples of ten up to ninety, and for hundred and thousand.”
and further ..”Knowledge of the Hindu system spread through the Arab world, reaching the Arabs of the West in Spain before the end of the tenth century. The earliest European manuscript, which came from the Hindu numerals were modified in north-Spain from the year 976.” And finally an important point for those who maintain that the concept of zero was also evident in some other civilisations: “Only the Hindus within the context of Indo-European civilisations have consistently used zero.”
Fortunately, online encyclopaedias came across as less biased and more open in acknowledging the true source of the “Arabic” number system. For example, from MSN Encarta
“The system of numbers that we use today, with each number having an absolute value and a place value (units, tens, hundreds, and so forth) originated in India. Mathematicians in India also were the first to recognize zero as both an integer and a placeholder. When the Indian numeration system was developed is not known, but digits similar to the Arabic numerals used today have been found in a Hindu temple built about 250 bc.
In the 5th century Hindu mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata studied many of the same problems as Diophantus but went beyond the Greek mathematician in his use of fractions as opposed to whole numbers to solve indeterminate equations (equations that have no unique solutions). Aryabhata also figured the value of “P” (pi) accurately to eight places, thus coming closer to its value than any other mathematician of ancient times. In astronomy, he proposed that Earth orbited the sun and correctly explained eclipses of the Sun and Moon.
The earliest known use of negative numbers in mathematics was by Hindu mathematician Brahmagupta about ad 630. He presented rules for them in terms of fortunes (positive numbers) and debts (negative numbers).
“The best-known Indian mathematician of the early period was Bhaskara, who lived in the 12th century. Bhaskara supplied the correct answer for division by zero as well as rules for operating with irrational numbers. Bhaskara wrote six books on mathematics, including Lilavati (The Beautiful), which summarized mathematical knowledge in India up to his time, and Karanakutuhala, translated as “Calculation of Astronomical Wonders.”
The reality is that the so-called “Arab” contribution to mathematics was substantially built on prior knowledge of the Hindus and the Greeks and while the Greek influence and origins are frequently acknowledged, the Hindu contribution is very rarely mentioned.
We need to spread awareness about this and try and establish the facts whenever an opportunity arises – unless we do that, this “history” will be lost and become so little-known and distant as to become a myth.
Talking of forgotten Indian contribution to sciences and arts, here is another example of a glaring error in a recent news story in TIME Magazine and an email I sent in response
“May I point out two inaccuracies in your recent news story on an exhibition on Arab Science in Paris titled, “Ahead of Their Time” (Time Magazine, Nov 21, ’05; Pp48-49) by Ann Morrison?
In a paragraph about the Arab’s interest in astronomy, Ann writes, “Though the Arabs built many observatories during the Golden Age, not many survived. But viewers can see current images of two of these amazing outdoor structures in the Indian cities of Delhi and Jaipur”
The observatories that Ann refers to in this paragraph were not built by Arabs but by the Hindu ruler Sawai Raja Jai Singh between 1724-1730 and were amongst the five that he built in Northern India (the other three were at Varanasi, Ujjain and Mathura) and are called Jantar Mantar (actually “Yantra Mantra”, yantra for instrument and mantra for formula).
The observatory in Delhi has also been depicted in a postage stamp and was the logo of the 1982 Asian Games, held in New Delhi, India.
To call them examples of Arab interest in the sciences is inaccurate and misleading.
In a later paragraph which details the interest of Arab scholars in astrology, Ann writes, “Another manuscript illustration from 17th century India, Astrologers working on a Nativity”, shows a procession of music makers and gift bearers wending their way through palace walls toward a newborn who would grow up to be the 14th century warrior Tamerlane…”
Again, this is an example of Indian art (and Indian interest in astrology) rather than having anything to do with Arabs or Arab art. Tamerlane himself was not an Arab king but from Central Asia (as were the Mughals).
As usual, I received neither an acknowledgement nor a response.
For those of you who would like to read more:
Here’s Alberuni on Pre-Islamic India’s Science, Math, and Architecture
And an interesting article on the origin of the decimal system.
Vande Mataram!
Keep up the good work. We need individuals like yourself.
Jai Hind!
Some pretty amazing stuff on Mathematics in Kerala (Thank you Anand).
*********
Another important issue which needs to be much better understood is about the issue of kerala mathematician’s invention of some fundamental concepts of calculas and analysis and its plausible transmission to europe via jesuit missionaries who were in kerala just before the time when clavius was going to change the calendar system in europe and the subsequent fundamental advancements in calculus in europe. Some links for your reference…
http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/t_es/t_es_agraw_kerala.htm
http://atributetohinduism.com/Yuktibhasa.pdf
http://indiancalculus.info/
http://rac.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/45/4/45
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Projects/Pearce/index.html
http://www.canisius.edu/topos/rajeev.asp
Dear Sir
You can not blame the Europeans. I am from Sri Lanka and neither India nor Sri Lanka teach the children about Brahmagupta or Aryabhatta. I have not found one single Indian who has heard of Brahmagupta. I am writing a book about this great mathematician and I like to see how many South Asians will be buying it.
Thanks
Ruwan
Hi,
Thanks for the article. Could I use it to post on my blog, with a proper credit to you? I wish to publicize your views. Tell me how you would like to be credited for the article.
Pranesh Bhargava
Dear Sir,
There is nothing surprising about this matter. Let us understand that the elders have not inbibed that in the thought process of their progenys.
How many of our parents have ever said, be an honest and upright individual, keep to your calling and see that you maintain our tradittions and culture to be carried forward for the future?!!! RATHER than become a Doctor, study hard SO THAT YOU CAN GO ABROAD and make a living.
How many of the parents have been willing to put their children to learn Sanskrit, rather than French German, Italian, or even LATIN for that matter. LATIN the language in which none of our scriptures are written, but only one type of scripture is written!!!
Unless we learn to appreciate and respect ourselves, no amount of shouting is going to make somebody to recogonise us as the true forefathers of science and technology.
Even today if not for the efforts of people like who have spent their energies in developing this blog and giving this opportunity to persons like me to convey their thoughts even this amount of effort by Shri. Rajapakse or Shri. Pranesh would have taken place.
It is not too late even now as people have started waking up and books are appearing very regulary, about the greatness of OLD BHARAT THOUGHT!Indian youth do not feel ashamed to call their father “APPA” and Mothers “AMMA” in public!!! which in my opinion is a great change.
Going on pilgrimages and acceptance of going to temples are accepted and that change is for the better.
I am sure in the years to come with concerted efforts the tide can be made to change and the basis of “TODAY”S EDUCATION” will change to accept that the current system of colonial education is only a legacy and needs to be formulated to fit in also the TRUE PLACE for Bharat’s Greatness.
Regards,
vck
Sir:
Very nice article….
My niece is writing a report about Indian Mathematicians. I am helping her in the research work. But much to my dismay; I haven’t found any written biography of SANJEEV SHAH. (Did I correctly spell the name?) The name was given by her teacher as one of the Indian mathematicians to be included on her research work. Anyways, thanks in advance. Hoping you could send some info on my email…
great job…
My only complaint directed towards you is to your use of word Hindu in your subject line.
I think that it should read as “DOES NO ONE REMEMBER THE INDIAN CONTRIBUTION TO MATHEMATICS”.
In todays age and time do not sow seeds that are divisive in nature but try to carry every Indian as one whole nation.
Hi Charles,
By using the term Hindu, we are not sowing seeds that are divisive in nature ! Why, for God’s sake you guys are so afraid this word :HINDU ?
I find this word great !
Dear Charles,
History has belittled and belied the hopes of a quarter of the world’s popoulation.
The history of the world has to be retold to be confirming to “TRUE HISTORY” not the fudged and suited to what the colinial masters wanted, that is the reason for the word “HINDU”.
NO APOLOGIES FOR THE SAME!!
You must also understand that true credit has not been given to the ancient seers of India like Aryabhatta, Charaka and so many others for the vivid descriptions of what the world has! supposed to be discovered by later scientists!
SO NO APOLOGIES FOR THE WORD HINDU!
Regards,
vck
Charles McKenzie said: “…your use of word Hindu in your subject line. I think that it should read as DOES NO ONE REMEMBER THE INDIAN CONTRIBUTION TO MATHEMATICS. In todays age and time do not sow seeds that are divisive in nature but try to carry every Indian as one whole nation.”
So all in the name of pseudo-secularism/minorityism we should pretend the ridiculous: that christianity and islam had anything to do with the Hindu and Jaina mathematicians of ancient Bharat? Because that is effectively what is being proposed here by neutralising the accomplishments of the followers of Dharma under the now very non-distinct term of “Indian”.
It’s all very moving to tell Hindus/Jainas to avoid stating simple facts and lecture them to “In todays age and time do not sow seeds that are divisive in nature”.
All while christians/muslims will insist that
- their religion is the true religion,
- their god is the true god,
- that their jesus/whoever saves, and that without him – well, it’s down to you know where – flaming pit and all,
- that their book is the true book,
- that they have the right to destroy temples of Buddhists, Hindus and others in the past as well as today. (See for instance:
* “Flight of the Deities: Hindu Resistance in Portuguese Goa, by Paul Axelrod and Michelle Fuerch, in Modern Asian Studies, 30:387-420, 1995″
* http://www.buddhapia.com/eng/tedesco/pic1/list.html -pics of christian terrorism against Buddhism in Korea in the 80s to late 90s
* http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=4938&SKIN=K – photos of christian desecration of Hindu temples Nov 2007 )
- that they have a RIGHT to convert others. Or at least, the right to try to, and if that fails, they often feel they have the right to kill the non-converting populace. Past and present.
The links follow shortly, but first I leave the explanation to the jesus-and-one-god-inspired words of the great pious “intellectual” christian Saint and Doctor of the Church Thomas Aquinas:
“Unbelievers deserve not only to be separated from the Church, but also… to be exterminated from the World by death.
– Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, 1271″
That answers all doubts. He is Doctor of the Church! A revered, much-cited Saint!
And now, for instances of this very christian belief in action present and past:
* http://www.eco-action.org/dod/no8/tribal.html About “The Batak of Palawan”
“All Batak are forced to be CONCENTRATED IN CAMPS, to go to church and to send their children to religious or state schools. …Only a core group of traditional Batak still resists this TERROR. Since last year, all the Batak have been under heavy TERROR from several aggressive missionaries. …The Batak are on the edge of extinction. They are completely dominated by aggressive Christian missionaries. The NGOs who should be assisting them in their struggle are either doing nothing or assisting the GENOCIDE.”
* http://www.ysee.gr/index-eng.php?type=english&f=lovestories “Christian persecution against the Hellenes” – Greek site on what happened to the ancient Greeks
* Similarly, in Nagaland and much of the NE of India (See for instance, “Church backing Tripura rebels – BBC News, 18 April, 2000″). Just as it happened during the christian inquisitions in Gomantak “goa” at the hands of the faithful christians of Portuguese nationality.
Above links and stuff taken from freetruth.50webs.org/Overview4.htm
In short, maybe we have all the reason for celebrating our life and history, and for trying to forget the misery christianity/islam has caused and is still causing daily.
And just to give an image to contrast, here’s a famous historian on what happened to literacy in the Roman Empire:
freetruth.50webs.org/A2b.htm
“Practically every Roman worker could read and write by the year 380 A.D., when Christianity began to have real power. By 480 nearly every school in the Empire was destroyed. By 580, and until 1780 at least, from ninety to ninety-five percent of the people of Europe were illiterate and densely ignorant. That is the undisputed historical record of Christianity as regards education.
– The Story Of Religious Controversy, by Joseph McCabe”
So really. Why should we pretend that the religion which made Europe illiterate and insisted on inane theology over science had anything to do with Hindu and Jaina mathematicians? More importantly: why should the religions which murdered, persecuted and terrorised us (and still do) be extended a token share – in spite of their non-contribution in ancient mathematics – merely for the sake of appeasing them? (Do they deserve to be appeased?)
Indian mathematicians in the past were of the Dharma-based traditions. And it is right that this is made clear today, lest there be any confusion (along the lines of the recently-invented oxymoron/blatant lie “christian yoga”). They had nothing at all to do with christianity/islam.
@ Charles: Thanks for your comment but I believe your complaint is mis-placed.
I am slightly amused that you find the word “Hindu” divisive but consider “Indian” to be OK. I hope you are aware that the words “Hindu” and “Indian” share a common origin…
In fact, all Indians are “Hindus” (in that sense) although they may not be followers of “Sanatan Dharma” – which is the more appropriate term for the set of beliefs and faith that most Indians adhere to.
***
Jagmohan, vck, It is Hindu: Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Hats off to “it is Hindu contribution”.
We are discussing all about Hindus, so word Hindus will be seen in the discussion so often. Our contribution had been sideline and we are taking care of it without being harmful to anyone here.
Jai Hind!
please check out this link….
http://www.slideshare.net/captaink99/india-truth-alone-triumphs
i hope you enjoy..
Long ago I was reading a newspaper column about Dr. Hedgewar. The writer of the column was not pleased with him. Why ? – because Hedgewar gave a slogan : Say proudly that you are a Hindu ! The columnist, Khushwant Singh, did not like this slogan ! It should, according to him, be: say proudly that you are an Indian. I was surprised. By that time I was old enough to know that what hindu means but still then I became doubtful and opened my dictionary to look at them meaning of this word, for I thought for a while that this word could also have some other, perhaps bad, meaning !
To a simpleton this may look like a superficial debate about changeability of two words, but it is a far serious matter ! What I see here is a blatant resistance against the hindu who is justly claiming his rightful place in history ! How effective this psychological beating-stick is, that, too, has just been demonstrated : one can see how the hindu ( Mr. Shantanu ) immediately goes on defensive and starts seeking alibis.
Dear Suresh,
Thanks for the link. it was great for passing on to others.
Regards,
vck
Just a note to congratulate you on your assiduous research into demonstrating India’s historical contribution to the world of mathematics, and in particular, numbers.
Your observations and references have been personally useful, as I am writing a book on J C Bose, one of India’s greatest scientists, and am at the moment looking at the history of science in India so that I can place his life’s work in context. Of course there have been biographies of J C Bose before, but I will be concentrating on the kinds of explanation that have been used to account for his findings.
I, too, become annoyed when people here in UK talk about ‘Arabic Numerals’, and will follow your example – writing to help people understand the truth!
Brian Champness (born in old Calcutta many years ago).
Brian Champness
May be of interest.
Excerpts:
Indic civilization has enriched every art and science known to man. Thanks to India, we reckon from zero to ten with misnamed “Arabic” numerals (Hindsaa – in Arabic means from India), and use a decimal system without which our modern computer age would hardly have been possible.
“The first nation to have cultivated science is India. … India is known for the wisdom of its people. Over many centuries, all the kings of the past have recognized the ability of the Indians in all the branches of knowledge…” by medieval Arab scholar Sa’id Ibn Ahmad al-Andalusi (1029-1070)
Visit the site for more.
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Hindu_Culture1.htm
@ Brian: Thank you for your kind words. I am glad you found the research useful.
***
@ Bharat: Thanks for the extract and the link. I shall definitely have a look.
Dear Mr.Shantanu,
I greatly appreciated your article. You are absolutely correct. Many of the so-called “Islamic mathematics” has substantial Indian background.
There is a good source on Indian mathematics at Wikipedia and our accomplishments.
Here is a good source on our ancient Science and Technology. Please purchase and read it.
-Encyclopedia of Classical Indian Science, by Helaine Selin and Roddham Narasimha.
-Science and Technology in Vedas and Sastras, by Dr. R.V.S.S. Avadhanulu.
Please e-mail me back. I am also interested in our scientific heritage.
I need to know!!
Dear Shantanu,
I am really impressed with your article – not only for the content and the information it contains, but for the attitude and spirit you possess. People like you can really make a difference in reviving the authenticity of knowledge which our Great grand fathers once possessed and contributed to the world of kowledge. Today, when you look for an origin of a word in the disctionary which we are sure about its sanskrit route, you will find “old english” instead of sanskrit. For eg. Mother and Father, it indeed came from Mathr and Pithr or Mata, Pita respectively. ( No need to tell you about Geometry). Now in the latest editions of english disctionary there are words like Dosa and Idly, I am sure to tell you there will be a day when these names will have a foreign origin.
Besides having a great possession of Mathematical knowledge, our great Rishi, Veda Vyasa possessed the knowledge of seven great planets and gave their positions accurately in the Mahabharata. (Ref. Scientific dating of the Mahabhart war – By Prof.Vatrak). More interestingly, what the modern science teach us that Herschel discovered the Planets – Uranus, Neptune & Pluto in the later half of the 17th Century and before their discovery only five planets were known to the mankind. But that is not true, besides Ved Vyasa, Mathemaicians like Neela Kantha and Bhaskara Knew about these planets and wrote about them in their works, ofcoure many hundred years before Herschel.
According to the written hisory, the world’s oldest University – Nalanda – was the store house of all those great works of our sages, which was set on fire by the Muslim invaders only for the reason – Islam was not taught there.
Today, we have many Indians in influential positions and easily can change the misconceptions like ” Arab scientific contributions” . But many of them, who can really make things corrected, lack the essential spirit.
Thank you and God Bless You.
K.P.Nair
Dear sir,
I am a university student,as my assignment is about great mathematician,i choose do write about the best-Brahmagupta.With your permission may i use some of your views for my assignment? thank you.
Tamilarasan,
Yes, of course you may…Can you please attribute and provide a link back to this article though?
Thanks.
I am an Indian Christian and I acknowledge that the Hindu contribution to science, mathematics, and philosophy far exceed the Arabs or Islam ever contributed. You noted the lack of acknowledgment on the part of Westerns you wrote to.
I suggest you keep publishing your own research and views on the matter to various publications online or otherwise here in the west as well as in India and other places. Indeed truth will be lost, especially in part to the misrepresentation of Islam and the Arabs.
More Germans know Sanskrit (the indian ancient language) more than we in india. Sanskrit is the language in which all the science is embedded and in which all our ancient mathematical and scientific manuscripts were written.
details of history of numbers is on
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Projects/Pearce/index.html
Sanskrit is the most scientif language of the world also most of the discoveries were from germany. The jews used our knowledge. many mathematical formulae attributed to french and other scientists were already developed years ago. our hindu “tipdi”annual hindu booklet that covers yar
s important dates, eclipses (solar, lunar) are to the precision of seconds. all the planets have already indian names long ago the grp called as navagraha. it is good that somebody has been able to use our knowldge for the welfare of humnaity. but the sad part is we have lost our roots.
Shantanu, the new PBS/BBC series “The Story of India” seems to get it right about Indian contributions to mathematics and astronomy. It’s a fascinating series so far.
http://www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia/
It’s also available on youtube.
Thanks Kaffir.
***
A brief excerpt from
Obama Flunks History at Cairo U:
***
In Carl Benjamin Boyer’s “The Arabic Hegemony”. pp. 226. “By C.E 766 we learn that an astronomical-mathematical work, known to the Arabs as the Sindhind, was brought to Baghdad from India..”
Regarding Brahmagupta’s Theorem on Cyclic Quadrilaterals, see –
Weisstein, Eric W. “Brahmagupta’s Theorem.” From MathWorld–A Wolfram Web Resource. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/BrahmaguptasTheorem.html
See also Brahmagupta’s influence on Arabia:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Projects/Pearce/Chapters/Ch8_3.html
Not to forget that “Jesuits (Christian missionaries) in Kerala were ‘encouraged’ to acquire mathematical knowledge while there”… and Kerala mathematics certainly found its way not only to China, Arabia etc… but also to Europe directly.
Reference: http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Projects/Pearce/Chapters/Ch9_4.html
Thanks for the links, IdleHead. I will have a look…
The binary number system was also developed by an Indian (Pingala) way back in c.200 BC.
I find interesting your article but would be more interesting if added details of other important contributions, such as chess to also be is India and especulativamente say that chemistry has bases there.
You are so right about this article. It is really upsetting to minimize India in the world history. The only credit the western media gives to India is the invention of “Zero”. India was also sought after by the Europeans for the spices and not the gold/treasures, which was also learned from the muslim traders in Europe. It is really upsetting to see it this light. The worst part is the TV generation is growing up with whatever is show to them. I was glad to read your article and see some standing up for the credit that is due to us. God Bless you.
Your views about the indian mathematicians and India make me proud of India.
I think Sanskrit and Vedic mathematics should be institutionalised in India. It should be learned from primary age at school. Efforts should be made to revive Sanskrit. But it seems an impossible event. Hatred and indifference for what is “Hindu” has been sown so firmly in our hearts that we do not find pride in our own roots. Those who claim to be “Hindu” have no inclination to revive this ancient knowledge and those who are “Indian” but not “Hindu” by religion feel that this ancient knowledge should not be forced on them. Eg: Mahabharata is a “Hindu” tale. It has nothing do with Christianity or Islam. But if we study planets based on what Veda Vyaasa wrote in it, we will no longer be secular. This is what is our tragedy. Our generations have been denied our advanced, ancient and ethical knowledge because of such misplaced foreign ideals. How are we to turn back this tide ? Our leaders are incapable and unwilling. We people do not care any more. The consequence – our roots, heritage, knowledge, pride, culture lost. Probably this is what is “Kalyug” .
We invite your and your readers’s attention to the following article:
SCIENCE IN ANCIENT INDIA
[...] and informative article, do read it at : http://satyameva-jayate.org/2005/11/25/does-no-one-remember-the-hindu-contribution-to-mathematics/ VN:F [1.8.7_1070]Rating: 0 (from 0 [...]
sir, thanks. you presented a decent and authentic version of the hindu mind which so aggressively dealt with mathematics and other sciences in ancient times while the west groped in pitch dark and the arabs in the dusk. i once again congratulate you on ur.sffort and i look forward to see many more.
dear shantanu,
i hope by this time you’d have come across this book “Mathematics in India” by Kim Plofker. Its a good book. Please do read it
regards,
raghavendra
“Mathematics in India” by Kim Plofker. Its a good book”
She is just another ‘eurocentric’ author.
Read Prof. C.K.raju’s books on the same subject
HELLO SIR,
Thank you so much for providing good article. So many Indians don’t know about the Contribution of Indians to world not only in Maths In so many things like Sciences,Astrology… so on. Now i am able to know clearly about the Contribution of Indians To Maths.
The reason for Indians not knowing about this is due to lack of information about this. No one are teaching about Indians and their great achievements. I thank you once again for educating so many people through your article. good work. keep going and educating.
I wish those who read this article will tell this to others and make so many people know about this.
Hi Shantanu, I stumbled upon you article while looking for Satyameva-Jayate TV program which has started this month on vision asia. You have done a commendable job.I am very impressed and delighted to learn the truth about maths and India. However, I feel that some of the comments in no. 11 “It Is HINDU Contribution” are exaggerated. Foreigners do what they do because we let them do. Who is to say that as HINDUS we did not do these deeds to the original inhabitants of India when we “migrated” to India. Did Dravidian follow Sanatan Dharam before they came to India or was it forced upon them by Hindus/Aryans? Wasn’t the vedic knowledge kept to themselves by the brahmins? Before criticizing others we should look at ourselves. Nobody has the right to force religious conversion or to stop it forcibly. Female infanticide, which was the topic of first episode of Satyameva-Jayate, happens in Hindu India. Dowry deaths happen Hindu India (two recent deaths in Delhi). As far as true GOD is concerned, who is to say the theories of Ancient Aliens put forth by David Childress (Technology of the Gods) or Erich von Daniken (Chariots of the Gods) are wrong. As for me, either it is one or none, i.e. only one GOD or no GOD.
Thanks.
@Vinod
Dravidian theory is proved wrong. This theory came from out side, there are numbers of aricle out there. Also when Hindus start questioning other faith it all becomes exaggerations. Right?
I come from the family who escaped invaders atrocities. My Grand pa had six daughters and a farmer by profession in a place where britishers and then moguls rules were existed numbers of years ago. My Grand pa home had set hiding place inbuilt in their home for first 2 daughters who were in their teens*. At that time no lelectricity, was very easy to hide girls in day time also behind the big wooden patara or on the attics built with the woods which was very dark place.
I also come from the family were boys use to give dowry (actually dowry is nt the right word to use here) to reserve the girls as girls numbers were more than boys.
And they were staunch HINDU. They saved their daughters not killed.
Because of numbers of stories I heard from my ancestors, I strongly believe, female killing and honor killings are more seen in the part where moguls rule were harsh, border near the Islamic countries or those who moved from that part before or after partition.
In Story Of India series, by BBC, During partition muslims of pakistan side captured Sikh men and women, and was threatend to convert and rape. What Sikhs men did, killed their sister, wife and daughters, because cannot see their wife or daughters being raped, tortured or taken away forcibly.
And crimes rates are high in numbers out side India if one compare the population. Outside too females are being killed.
This doesnot justify crime in India, but blaming everything on Hindus and Hindu India is not acceptable.
* Sorry I forgot to mention why they use to hide their girls, because to stop girls being taken away from invaders, when they are on their doorstep to inquire crop production or collecting crops or just taking a tour in to their home as they were the boss of the country, Can do anything they want.
@Vinod: Re. “Who is to say that as HINDUS we did not do these deeds to the original inhabitants of India”, I think you may want to clarify the terminology you are using…
“Hindus” were the original inhabitants of the land and the “invasion” theory now stands thoroughly discredited (pl read this post e.g. http://satyameva-jayate.org/2005/10/08/revising-the-aryan-invasion-of-india-theory/) as does the fictional “Aryan – Dravidian” divide.
As for “Wasn’t the vedic knowledge kept to themselves by the brahmins?“, I can see that the NCERT brain-washing has had its effect! I was in the same boat as you – until I started reading more widely…and then started the blog..Pl read a few posts on History here..You would be surprised.
As for “Female infanticide”, and “Dowry deaths” (for that matter, caste discrimination) – neither of these are “Hindu” problems (in the sense of being limited to Hindus or sanctioned by scriptures); they cut across regions and religion(s)..They are “social ills” – not “religious problems” – and certainly not exclusively “Hindu problems”.
One more link for you to read: http://satyameva-jayate.org/2006/05/27/hindu-india-and-bharat-word-origins/
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