History of Hindu Mathematics: A Source Book v1.c7.s6.8

v1.c7.s6.8

The old symbols of the inscriptions of Aśoka, however, seem to have undergone modification in India, especially the numbers from 4 to 19. The symbols for four and ten seem to have been coined in India, in order to introduce simplification and also to bring the Kharoṣṭhî numeral system in line with the Brâhmî notation already in extensive use. The symbol [Figure:] seems to have been derived by turning the Brâhmî symbol [Figure:] which represents 4 in the inscriptions of Aśoka. The inclined cross to represent 4 is found in the Nabatean numerals in use in the earlier centuries of the Christian Era.² The Nabatean numerals resemble the Kharoṣṭhî also in the use of the scale of twenty and in the method of formation of the hundreds. It is possible that the Semites might have borrowed the Kharoṣṭhî symbol for 4, although it is not unlikely, as Bühler thinks, that the symbol might have been invented independently by both nations.