History of Hindu Mathematics: A Source Book v1.c7.s7.57

v1.c7.s7.57

Thus leaving aside the symbols for 1, 2 and 3, we find that out of the 16 symbols, no resemblance to letter-forms can be satisfactorily shown in the case of two (*i.e.*, 6 and 10),² and that in the case of three others (*i.e.*, 7, 9 and 70) there are too many variations in the phonetical values, whilst in the case of the remaining 11 symbols, the phonetical values are more or less determinate. These facts led Pandit Bhagavanlal Indraji to put forward the hypothesis that the Brâhmî numerals are derived from the letters or syllables of the Brâhmî script. The Pandit, however, admitted his inability ascribes the invention of the Brâhmî script and the numeral notation to Brahmâ, the Creator, and thereby claims it as a national invention of the remotest antiquity.¹