________________
[Note: The verse depicting place value, from right to left.]
gayaṇṭṭha-naya-kaṣayā causatthi-miyanka-vasu-kharā-davvā/ chāyalā-vasa-ṇabhacda-poyattha-camdo ridū kamaso//71//
Translation: The number is given by taking in order eight zeros, naya (two), kaṣayā (sixteen), sixty-four, mrganka (one), eight, khara (six), dravya (six) forty-six, eight, zero, acala (seven), padartha (nine), moon (one) and ṛtu (six). This number is 61970846668164162(10)8. The verse projected is ancient and earlier to DVL, collected as such..
There is one more verse next, projected in DVL, showing the area of Jambu Island in the place value system, but left to right, in which the word sunna (zero) occurs explicitly two times:
satta nava sunna panca-chattha nava caduekkam ca pańca sunnam cal
jambudivassedam ganitaphalam hodi nadavvā//72//
Translation: The area of the Jambu Island should be known (given by writing numbers as) seven, nine, zero, five, six, nine, four, one, five, zero (in square yojanas). The number is 7905694150.]
It may be noted that zero has not only been used in place value notation, but also defined set theoretically to give the concept of a set having no element or number, by exhausting a set with elements one by one. This is not only for instant-sets (samaya rāšis) but also for pointsets (pradeśa rāśis). For example, "khetteņa veindiya-tiindiyacauvindiya tasseva pajjatta apajjattehi podaramavahirdi angulassa asaṁkhejjadi bhāga vaggapoḍithāena". Translation: Relating to region, two-sensed, three-sensed, four-sensed bios set-cardinals exhaust the universe square (jagapratara) as divided by the square of the innumerate part of linear finger-width (in terms of point-sets).
Word
Sunna
Meaning
zero
Jain Education International
Value
zero
Remarks
JDL, 1, p. 33, p. 81, vol. 1
[Note: The verse carries zero here in a placevalue, while giving the number of letters in scriptural (śruta) knowledge (right to left)]
paṁcekka chakka ekka ya du-paṁca ṇava sunna sattatiya satta/ sunna du-caukka satacchacadu cadu aṭṭhekka suda vannāl/33//
For Private & Personal Use Only
48
www.jainelibrary.org
