History of Hindu Mathematics: A Source Book v1.c7.s10.42

v1.c7.s10.42

At this early stage, however, the word symbols were nothing more than curiosities; their use to denote numbers was rare. Moreover, we find evidences of a certain indefiniteness in the numerical significance attached to certain words. For instance, in the same work, the *Aitareya Brâhmaṇa*, the word *virâṭ* has been used to denote 10 at one place and 30 at another. The principle of place-value being unknown, the word symbols could not be used to denote large numbers, which were usually denoted in terms of the numerical denominations or by breaking the number into parts.⁴ The use of the word symbols without place-value is found in the *Piṅgala Chandaḥ-sûtra* composed before 200 B.C. The principle of place-value seems to have been applied to the word numerals between 200 B.C. and 300 A.D.