History of Hindu Mathematics: A Source Book v1.c7.s3.1

v1.c7.s3.1

*Gaṇita* literally means "the science of calculation" and is the Hindu name for mathematics. The term is a very ancient one and occurs copiously in Vedic literature. The *Vedâṅga Jyotiṣa* (*c.* 1,200 B.C.) gives it the highest place of honour among the sciences which form the *Vedâṅga*: "As the crests on the heads of peacocks, as the gems on the hoods of snakes, so is *gaṇita* at the top of the sciences known as the *Vedâṅga*."¹ In ancient Buddhist literature we find mention of three classes of *gaṇita*: (1) *mudrâ* ("finger arithmetic"), (2) *gaṇanâ* ("mental arithmetic") and (3) *saṁkhyâna* ("higher arithmetic in general"). One of the earliest enumerations of these three classes occurs in the *Dîgha Nikâya*,² and it is also found in the *Vinaya Piṭaka*,³ *Divyâvadâna*⁴ and *Milindapañho*.⁵ The word *saṁkhyâna* has been used for *gaṇita* in several old works.⁶ At this remote period *gaṇita* included astronomy, but geometry (*kṣetra-gaṇita*) belonged to a different group of sciences known as *Kalpasûtra*.