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But as we all know now and as the great Jaina mathematics scholar Mahāvīrācārya (850 A. D.) had said even more than eleven hundred years ago, ganita is used in almost all branches-subjects of knowledge for their perfect and mature study. Looking to the importance of mathematics in ancient India, even the Jain literature was divided into four main classes : (i) Prathamānuyoga (STPTATEUTT) which includes purāņa, stories, descriptive books, biographies etc., (ii) Karaņānuyoga (*TUITUIT) which includes literature on astronomy, mathematics (the science of measurement and calculation), etc. (iii) Caraņānuyoga ( TITUT) which includes the rules, sub-rules to be followed by saints, sages, śrāvakas etc. and (iv) Dravyānuyoga (zaight) which includes the description of fluents-elements like jiva (019-living), ajiva ( ta-non-living) etc. Our knowledge of the history of Indian Mathematics prior to Aryābhata (498 A. D.) is very imperfect; whatever is available is through Jaina mathematics contained in their religious texts. But our knowledge of even these is at present very limited and it is felt that as more and more of Jaina works and other ancient Hindu and Budhist writings are discovered, more and more of fresh light on the contributions of ancient India to mathematics, as in other fields of knowledge, would be thrown. Even the Bhakhşāli manuscript found in Bakhşāli village near Peshāwar in 1881 and containing the description of a number of arithmetical and algebraic operations is said to belong to 12th century A. D., though according to some scholars, it may belong to 3rd or 4th century A. D. Further the work 'Aryāştasta' (Arya-Bhatiya) contains only one independent chapter consisting of 33 verses on Mathematics. Similarly the other great mathematician Brahmagupta (c. 628 A.D.) has added only one chapter on mathematics in his book “Brāhmasphuţa Siddhānta.' It appears that the text, 'Ganitasāra Samgraha' by the Jaina scholar Mahāvīrācārya (c.850 A. D.) is perhaps the first book wholly dealing with mathematics. However long before Mahāviracārya, the Indian mathematicians including the Jainas had developed mathematical sciences which in turn helped in the development of many other subjects of science, arts, humanities and social sciences-a fact which Mahā virācārya has himself acknowledged in the following words,* “With the help of the holy accomplished sages who are worthy to be worshipped by the lords of the world and of their disciples and disciples' disciples who constitute the well known jointed series of preceptors, I glean from the great ocean of the knowledge of numbers, a little of its essence, in the manner in which gems are picked up from the sea, gold from the strong rock and the pearl from the oyster shell and give out according to the power of intelligence, the Sāra-sangraha, a small work on arithmetic which is, however, not small
*See also the Text, Chapter 1.
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