Ishwa helper Reged: 03/03/02 Posts: 553

Re: Decimal system [Re: Ishwa] #16028 - 05/10/02 06:11 AM Edit Reply Quote

Here's something a found on internet (I'll look for the address): "Right from the Vedic times Dasa (ten) has formed the basis of enumeration in India though we find bases of 9 & 2 in later works. We find a list of numeral denominations in powers of 10 raised to 12 (i.e. 1 followed by 12 zeros) is called Parardha. [Yaj. Veda Samhita (Vajasaneyi. XVII.2)] and found extended to 10 raised to 19 (Loka) with some altered terminologies in the Maitrayani (II.8.14) and Kathaka Samhitas (XVII.10). But, in the Tandya Brahmana (VII.14.2) of Samaveda there is a mention of 32 numerical places! (Dvatrimsat Sankhyasthanah) i.e. 1,10,....1000 � 10 raised to 25, 10 raised to 31. The famous Valmiki Ramayana there is enumeration up to 10 raised to 60 (Mahougha) [Val. Ram. Yuddhakanda. 28,33-38]. Similarly in the Jaina and Buddhist works like Tatvarthadigama Sutra, Suryapragnapati, Anuyogadwarasutra (100 � 600 BC) we find numbers of astronomical dimensions. For example, we find micro and macro numbers known as Avasannasanna (X-x secs) X = YYY�(134 times) where Y=1010 10�134 whereas �Sirsaprahelika (a period) is equal to 8,400,000 raised to 36 years according to Jyotisakarandaka. Similarly in a famous and valuable Buddhist work called Lalitavistara (120 BC) one finds various series of counting and find numbers extended to a gigantic 10 raised to 421! and each unit has been given a specific name in all the above references. But, for the contemporary Greeks, the highest number was just 10,000 i.e. 10 raised to 4 which they called Myriad ! "