The Hindus gifted Mathematics to the world
Mathematics is one of Hindus’ gifts to the world. In this regard, the Greeks and the Arabs benefited much from the Hindus.
One is amazed by the spirit of scientific temperament that pervades the Vedas. Scholars are slowly realizing the importance of the Vedas, not only for their esoteric content, but also for the insights they provide with regard to many contemporary subjects, like Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Astronomy, Medicine, etc.
The uniqueness of the Indian numeral system has been appreciated by world renowned polymath Alberuni (973 – 1050) when he wrote: “I have studied the names of the orders of the numbers in various languages with all kinds of people and have found that no nation goes beyond the thousand. The Arabs, too, stop with the thousand. Those, however, who go beyond the thousand in their numeral system are the Hindus.” Laplace, the great scientist, pays a rich tribute to the Indian genius: “How grateful we should be to the Hindus who discovered this great decimal system that did not occur to the minds of such mighty mathematicians as Archimedes and Apollonius.”
Scholars now admit that Pythagoras theorem was known to the Indians at least two centuries before Pythagoras was born. It is found in the Shulba Sutras, which is dated from at least 8th century B.C. Rg Veda contains the concept of TT (pi), the ratio between the circumference and the diameter of a circle which is 22/7.
In Sanskrit, Algebra is known as ‘Bija Ganita’. The use of symbols – letters of the alphabet to denote unknowns and equations are the foundations of this science. This branch of Mathematics is traced to the Hindu text ‘Shatapatha Brahmana’.
Most of the discoveries and inventions would have been impossible without a developed system of mathematics, and this in turn would have been impossible if the world had been shackled by the unwieldy system of Roman numerals. In this respect, the debt of the world to the Hindus cannot be overestimated.
(Pandit Ramdial Balbadar is a prominent Aachaarya (Teacher) of Hinduism in Guyana. He is the compiler and author of many titles and has over 30 years experience in Pandits’ Training across Guyana. He is currently the President of the Sanatan Vaidic Dharma Pandits’ Sabha, Region 3).
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