Mathematics in Ancient and Medieval India c7.8

c7.8

This primitive method of solving simple linear equations of the type ax + b = 0 by subtituting guess values g₁, g₂ etc.¹ was in extensive use among the Arab and European mathematicians of the middle ages. The problem of this type dealt with in the *Sthānāṅgasūtra* using the term *yāvat-tāvat* for the unknown quantities has been discussed thoroughly by Datta². A solution to this problem also occurs in the *Bakhshālī Ms* ( 4th century A. D. ).