We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.
- Albert Einstein, 1879–1955 (German scientist and humanist)
Indian Number System
Numbers are Ancient Indian's greatest gift to the world, without no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made. The Indian numbers are the ten digits (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). They are descended from Indian numeral system by which a sequence of digits such as "401271" is read as a whole number was developed by Indian mathematicians. The Indian numerals were adopted by the Persian mathematicians in India, and passed on to the Arabs further west. The numerals were modified in shape as they were passed along, and developed their European shapes by the time they reached North Africa. From there they were transmitted to Europe in the Middle Ages. The use of Arabic numerals spread around the world through European trade, books and colonialism. Today they are the most common symbolic representation of numbers in the world.
"when the numbers 0 - 9 is join we can get large number like 1100201113 and also can get small like 00.2 which Roman numbers or other system cannot do"
As befitting their history, the digits (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9) are also known as Hindu or Hindu-Arabic numerals. The reason that they are more commonly known as "Arabic numerals" in Europe and the Americas is that they were introduced to Europe in the tenth century from Arabs of North Africa. There they were (and still are) the digits used by western Arabs from Libya to Morocco. Arabs, on the other hand, call the system "Hindu numerals", referring to their origin in India.
The decimal Hindu-Arabic numeral system was invented in India around 500 CE The system was revolutionary in that it included a zero and positional notation. It is considered an important milestone in the development of mathematics.
"Hindu Numerals 3888 become Roman Numerals as
MMMDCCCLXXXVIII
1000+1000+1000+500+100+100+100+50+10+10+10+5+3"
What Ancient Indian Did for Us :
1. India never invaded any country in her last 1000 years of history.
2. India invented the Number system 0 to 9.
3. The world's first University was established in Takshila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4 th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
4. Siddha Vaidya and Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans.
5. Although western media portray modern images of India as poverty striken and underdeveloped through political corruption, India was once the richest empire on earth.
6. The art of navigation was born in the river Sindh 5000 years ago. The very word "Navigation" is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH.
7. The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is now known as the Pythagorean Theorem. British scholars have last year (1999) officially published that Budhayana's works dates to the 6th Century which is long before the European mathematicians.
8. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India . Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11 th Century; the largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Indians used numbers as big as 1053.
9. According to the Gemmological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds to the world.
10. USA based IEEE has proved what has been a century-old suspicion amongst academics that the pioneer of wireless communication was Professor Jagdeesh Bose and not Marconi.
11. The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.
12. Chess was invented in India .
13. Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted surgeries like cesareans, cataract, fractures and urinary stones. Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancient India .
14. When many cultures in the world were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley ( Indus Valley Civilisation) .
15. The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC
Quotes about India
We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.
- Albert Einstein, 1879–1955 (German scientist and humanist))
India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grand mother of tradition.
- Mark Twain.
If there is one place on the face of earth where all dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India .
- French scholar Romain Rolland.
India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.
- Hu Shih (former Chinese ambassador to USA )
The Indian way of life provides the vision of the natural, real way of life. On the face of India are the tender expressions, which carry the Creator’s hand.
- George Bernard Shaw, 1856–1950 (Irish author and literary critic)
The history of India for many centuries had been happier, less fierce, and more dreamlike than any other history. In these favorable conditions, they built a character—meditative and peaceful and a nation of philosophers such as could nowhere have existed except in India.
- H. G. Wells, 1866–1946 (Sociologist, historian, and author)
When I read the Bhagavad Gita and reflect about how God created this universe, everything else appears superfluous.
- Albert Einstein, 1879–1955 (German scientist and humanist))
About a thousand of their [the Jews’] forefathers fled from Palestine to India after the destruction of the second temple in 135 CE, and were welcomed by the Hindu ruler of the time, who allowed them to settle wherever they pleased. The governing factor in politics was dharma (righteousness), rather than any panth (denomination).
- Geoffrey Moorhouse, 1931– (Travel author)
ALL OF THE ABOVE IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG, THE LIST COULD BE ENDLESS.
