Book Title: Arhat Vachan 1999 07
Author(s): Anupam Jain
Publisher: Kundkund Gyanpith Indore

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Page 63
________________ left a few records of their knowledge out of which the Satkhandagam and Mahābandha texts composed, probably during the first two centuries of the Christian era. These are a great tresure of mathematical knowledge. The Dhavala (816 A.D.) series of texts, a life work of Virasena, professedly, a commentary on the Satkhandāgama, has been regarded a work of first rate importance for the historians of Indian mathematics. It was this source from which Nemicandra prepared 'Gommatsāra'. He composed 'TLS' as well which appears to have been based on an earlier work, the Tiloyapannatti (5c.A.D.)." Hence our inference is that the most of the methods used by Nemicandra to express numbers would be under practice in the earlier times of the Jaina school. According to Singh (A.N.) if we examine a religious or philosophical work written in the period 400 A.D. to 800 A.D., its mathematical content will belong to O A.D. to 400 A.D.13 Of course, Nemicandra's works are of the ending decades of the tenth century but an episode of the Jaina school and of religious importance as well as philosophical importance. Therefore our deduction is that these tracing of the methods, used by him to express numbers, will appear important to the historians of Indian mathematics. Datta has remarked that the way of expressing numbers by contrary moves without clearly indicating which move should be adopted in a particular instance introduces a good deal of uncertainty in the arithmetical notation. [4] In this regard we unbiasedly think when one is well versed to use some devices which are under practice from centuries, one does not need to indicate before their use. The object of the almost all methods except the first two is the terseness. This terseness has been used as device in composing gāthās. It is true to some extent that sometimes the terseness makes difference to take interpretation from gāthās. The keen observation of the whole of the Hindu as well as the Jaina Mathematics features that the terseness was the fashion of time and it was a methodological device to write texts. It was used in order to faciliate the recording of devices, derivations, conclusions etc. In the eyes of learned the more compact and brief compositions were of the great values. Especially in scientific matters, conciseness of composition was highly prized in India. The method which is used by Nemicandra to express large numbers is also used for small numbers. This observation is of great notice. The position of represenatation of large numbers in his works is much better than that in the European works which are of his later period. Smith (David Eugene) notes very well about writing large numbers in the European Arhat Vacana, July 99 61

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