History of Hindu Mathematics: A Source Book v2.c17.s8.53

v2.c17.s8.53

**Mahâvîra.** The only work of Mahâvîra (850) which is available now is the *Gaṇita-sâra-saṃgraha*. As it is admittedly devoted to arithmetic we cannot expect to find in it a rule for solving the quadratic. But there are in it several problems whose solutions presuppose a knowledge of the roots of the quadratic. One problem is as follows: