Līlāvatī3 - Gyan Bhandaar
Gyan Bhandaar
This ancient Sanskrit manuscript page presents metrological definitions from the Lilavati, a treatise on mathematics. It systematically defines units of weight including varataka, dramma, nishka, gunja, valla, dharana, gadyanaka, masaka, karsha, pala, and suvarna. It also details units of length such as angula, hasta, danda, krosha, and yojana, along with units of volume like khari, drona, adhaka, prastha, and kudava. The text establishes conversion ratios between these traditional Indian measurement units used for trade, grain, and land measurement.
Sanskrit

Līlāvatī3

This Sanskrit manuscript presents a section of Bhāskara II's *Līlāvatī*, a foundational 12th-century treatise on Indian mathematics. The text covers metrological units (weights and measures), arithmetic operations including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, as well as methods for squaring numbers and extracting square roots. Notable features include the use of versified sūtras (rules) followed by worked examples (uddeśakas), tabular numerical layouts, and multiple algorithmic approaches to solving problems—such as decomposition methods for multiplication and iterative techniques for root extraction. The manuscript exemplifies the sophisticated pedagogical structure of classical Indian mathematical literature, blending technical precision with poetic elegance.

Page of the Līlāvatī listing the names of number-places
GanitaJuly 29, 2026

One to a Parārdha: The Names of Numbers in Līlāvatī

A Līlāvatī copy lists the names of number-places from one to parārdha — a lakh, a kharva, a mahāpadma — the ancient ladder of tens that made big numbers speakable.

From: Līlāvatī3Read moreeast