Mathematics in Ancient and Medieval India c5.s8.8

c5.s8.8

The method of division in India was given by Mahāvīra (850 A. D.), Śrīdhara (900 A. D.), Āryabhaṭa II (950 A. D.), Bhāskara II (1150 A. D.), Nārāyaṇa (1356 A. D.) and others.⁴ The partial divisions were done and partial quotients were written in a separate line on the dust board and the figures of these operations were obliterated. If the figures were not obliterated and the successive steps were written one below the other, this ancient process of division would become the modern method of long division. Āryabhaṭa I (499 A. D.) gave the method of extracting square root and cube root which depend on the method of division. This seems to suggest that the method originated in India about the 4th century A. D. It reappeared in the Arabian works¹ from 9th century onwards. From Arabia, the method travelled to Europe where it came to be known as the galley (*galea*, *batello*) method. Fundamental operations for square and cube as developed by ancient and medieval Indian workers have been discussed fully by Datta and Singh.²