History of Hindu Mathematics: A Source Book v1.c7.s8.41

v1.c7.s8.41

**Inventor Unknown.** It is not known who the inventor of the new system was, and whether it was invented by some great scholar, or by a conference of sages or by gradual development due to the use of some form of the abacus. Likewise, it is not known to which place, city, district or seat of learning belongs the honour of the invention and its first use. Epigraphic evidence cannot help us in this direction. For the system was used in inscriptions, a very long time after its invention, in fact, when it had become quite popular all over Northern India.