Essay name: Glories of India (Culture and Civilization)
Author: Prasanna Kumar Acharya
This book, “Glories of India on Indian Culture and Civilization”, emphasizes the importance of recognizing distinct cultural traits across different societies. The historical narrative of Indian civilization highlights advancements in agriculture, medicine, science, and arts, tracing back to ancient times. The author argues for the need to understand the past to meaningfully engage with the present and future.
Page 298 of: Glories of India (Culture and Civilization)
298 (of 510)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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¹ PRACTICAL SCIENCES 265 In regard to Geometry both the Indian and
Grecian mathematics shows from 300 A.D. 'an absence of
definitions, and does not deal with angles, nor mentions
parallels, nor gives a theory of proportion, while the
traditional inaccuracies are common'. The independ- nce
and originality of Indian mathematics have been
defended on the score that the love of dealing with large
numbers and making calculations is recorded early
for India'. The abacus inverted in India and the
nun bers of the west were borrowed from India, words
for numbers are used in the unique system of Aryabhatta.
The figures of the Brahm or Kharoshthi notation in
Asoka Inscriptions have not place value which is
actually found in Inscriptions from the ninth century
onwards. But the Indian figures were
figures were
known in
Syria in 662 A. D. "The probability still remains that
India did render a great service in this regard and in
any case excelled Greece" concludes Professor Keith.
India has also inspired the Arabic mathematics.
The Algebra of Md.ibl Musa (782) bears the Indian
influence. Arabian science from 771 "borrowed freely
from Indian astronomy, translating and adapting both
Aryabhatta and Brahmagupta”.
Coincidences with the Chinese mathematics are
numerous and interesting. The so-colled Chinese
invention of the system of Nakshatras found in early
Indian Astronomy is undeniable. Indian influence
on China is "proved sufficiently by the history of
Chinese Buddhism and the discoveries in Central
Asia".
The original contributions of the Hindus in the
practice of arithmetic, algebra and geometry may
be briefly illustrated. They discovered the cardinal
numbers 1 to 9, and also the zero (bindu). They knew
the eight-fold system of aldition (yoga), substraction
(viyoga), multiplication (purana), square (varga),
cube ghana),.square-root (vargamūla), ard cube-root
(ghana-mula). They discovered the modern method
of division and the rule of three. They knew the
fraction and its addition and substraction by the method
1 While the western system of counting does not go beyona
some six figures (billion), the Indian system counts up to
eighteen or nineteen figures ending sigara.
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