History of Hindu Mathematics: A Source Book v1.c7.s12.38

v1.c7.s12.38

It should be noted that the term *apavartana* means what is known in modern arithmetic as the reduction of a fraction to its lowest terms by removing the common factors from the numerator and the denominator. Hence the zero of Jinabhadra Gaṇi is certainly not a mere concept of nothingness but is a specific numerical symbol used in arithmetical calculation.