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Vedic sources of the Vedic mathematics

Home Page Free Resources Books Book Sections Articles Miscellaneous Videos Sutras Web Sites Book Purchasing Guide Programs This article appeared in the Indian Journal Sambodhi Vol. XXIII, 2000 and is reproduced here with permission. Diacritical marks have not been copied. This article has been scanned into text and though we have done our best there may still be a few errors. For the full text please see the Journal version.

VEDIC SOURCES OF THE 'VEDIC MATHEMATICS

Dr. N. M. Kansara Director, Akshardham Centre for Applied Research in Social Harmony (AARSH), Akshardham, Gandhinagar - (382 020) Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Shri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji Maharaja of Govardhan Peeth Matha, Puri, wrote or dictated a book entitled Vedic Mathematics based on 29 Sutras, of which 16 deal with the general case, while the rest 13 treat the special cases. Looking to the Sutras themselves, they seem to differ from similar ones in other Sutra works in the point that they do not seem to constitute a single compact text of some such work, because they do not contain any reference as to the subject or any statement about the purpose, terminology, extent of the work and etc. They seem to be rather stray Sutras collected from a body of a text, and since they are divided by the Swamiji into two sets, viz., Principal ones and the subordinate ones, our conjecture as stated above is rather supported, because in the Sutra works the system is to start the work with the words Atha and end it with the repetition of the last word of the last sutra, with the concluding word Iti. Thus, it seems the Swamiji culled his Sutras from some Sulba work, and discovered his own mathematical significance and interpretation of them all, and presented his discovery in the form of the Sutras and their application to various mathematical problems, along with the proofs as expected from a veteran mathematician like him. The declaration of the Sutras as "Vedic" or as belonging to the Vedas, particularly to the Atharvaveda, and his claim that "the Sutras (aphorisms) apply to and cover each and every part of each and every

chapter of each and every branch of mathematics including arithmetic, algebra, geometry plane and solid, trigonometry - plane and spherical, conics - geometrical and analytical, astronomy, calculus - differential and integral etc., etc.", and that "there is no part of mathematics, pure or applied, which is beyond their jurisdiction" has raised a controversy amongst the mathematicians of India, some of whom have questioned the Vedicity of the Sutras on the ground of their language, and the level of mathematics it deals with. It is endeavoured here to deal with the problem in all possible aspects, and examine the validity or otherwise of the claim. In order to deal with this problem from all possible viewpoints, and in all possible aspects, we have approached the problem with the following objectives, viz., (i) to try to trace the handwritten manuscript (note-books) of Swami Shri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji Maharaja comprising sixteen volumes of the work, which is supposed to have devoted one volume each for each of the sixteen principal Sutras of Vedic Mathematics, as given by him; (ii) to try to trace the Vedic Mathematics Sutras from the extent Vedic texts; (iii) to trace the terminology of the Vedic Mathematics Sutras from the Vedic texts; (iv) to examine the validity of the term Vedic as applied to the Vedic Mathematics, Sutras; (v) to collate the mathematical data from the Vedic literature; (vi) to compare the VM terminology with that of the medieval mathematicians; (vii) and to compare the mathematical functions of the Sutras with those of the medieval mathematicians. Findings : I. About the Handwritten Manuscript Notebooks of BKTM on VM in sixteen volumes: In his "Authors Preface" to the "Vedic Mathematics or Sixteen Simple Mathematical Formulae from the Vedas (For One-line Answers to All Mathematical Prohlems"1, H. H. Shri Jagad-Guru Shankaracharya (the late) Swamy Shri Bharti Krishna Tirthaji Maharaja of the Govardhana Peetha Mutt, Puri, has declared, himself about "Vedic Sutras dealt with in the 16 volumes" on Vedic Mathematics.2 Smt. Manjulaben Trivedi, the Hon. General Secretary of Sri Vishva Punarnirmana Sangha, Nagpur, who has been a very close and favourite disciple along with her late husband Shri Chimanbhai M. Trivedi, of Shri Jagadguruji BKTM, has noted in the introductory article to the VM3 that the revered Guruji used to say that he had reconstructed the sixteen mathematical formula (given in the text) from the Atharvaveda after arduous research, and Tapas of about eight years in the forest of Sringeri. From the life-sketch given by Smt. Manjulaben,4 it seems that, as

Venkatraman, BKTM was born in March 1884, passed his M.A. Examination of the American College of Science, Rochester, New York, with Sanskrit, Philosophy, English, Mathematics, History and Science, securing the highest honours in all the seven subjects. As Professor Venkatraman Saraswati, he started his public life under the guidance of Late Honble Shri Gopal Krishna Gokhale, C.I.E. in 1905 in connection with the National Education Movement and the Sourth African issue. Due to his deepest attraction towards the study and practice of the science of sciences - the holy ancient Indian spiritual science or Adhyatma-Vidya, he proceeded, in 1908, to Sringeri Math in Mysore to lay himself at the feet of the renowned late Jagadguru Shankaracharya Maharaj Shri Satchidananda Shivabhinava Nrisimha Bharati Swami. In 1908 or so he had to assume the post of the first Principal of the newly started National College at Rajmahendri under a pressing and clamant call of duty from the nationalist leaders. But after three years, in 1911, he went back to Shri Satchidananda Shivabhainava Nrisimha Bharati Swami at Sringeri. The next eight years he spent in the profoundest study of the most advanced Vedanta Philosophy and practice of the Brahma-sadhana. In 1919 he was initiated into the holy order of Samnyasa at Varanasi by H. H. Jagadguru Shankaracharya Shri Trivikrama Tirthaji Maharaja of Sharadapeetha and was given the new name, Swami Bharati Krishna Tirtha. And in 1921, he was installed on the pontifical throne of Sharda Peetha Shankaracharya, and in 1925 he shifted to Puri when he was installed as Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Govardhan Math, while Shri Swarupanandaji was installed on the Shardapeetha Gadi. In 1953, he founded at Nagpur an institution named Shri Vishwa Punarnirmana Sangha (World Reconstruction Association), with Shri Chimanlal Trivedi as the General Secretary and the Administrative Board consisted of his disciples, devotees and admirers.5 Thus, it seems he discovered the VM Sutras during his stay at Shringeri, between 1911 and 1919, and at the age of his 34th or 35th year and for next few years he was busy working on these Sutras, and he seems to have definitely written, in school notebooks, all of his sixteenth volumes treating each of his sixteen Sutras in one independent volume, most probably well before 1953. From Shri P. M. Trivedi,6 who is related to both Shri Chimanlal Trivedi and Smt. Manjulaben Trivedi, informed me that originally he himself and the latter two belonged to Kapadwanj (District Kheda, Gujarat), and perhaps they turned into devotees of BKTM, when as the Jagadguru Shankaracharya he visited Kapadwanj for the monsoon months of the year 1937 or so. During his stay at Kapadwanj, BKTM is said to have borrowed some amount from Shri Manilal Desai, a

money-lender of Dakor and devotee of him, and as a security against the borrowed amount, he had pledged his manuscript notebooks safely stuffed and packed in a few tin trunk boxes. As a security containing the life-long research work of his highly revered Shankaracharya, the boxes were scrupulously guarded and preserved by Shri Manibhai who had spread his bed on the place under or beneath which the boxes were kept. It seems, BKTM somehow could not repay the amount to Shri Manilal Desai till the end of the latters lifetime, say till about the year 1955 or so. And then, the boxes came under the charge of Shri Laxminarayan, the son of Shri Manilal Desai. Shri Laxminarayan got them transported from Dakor to his residence at Asarva in Ahmedabad. Professor Vijaya M. Sane,7 who evinced a great interest in tracing the location of the boxes containing the manuscript note-books of the VM in sixteen volumes, took great pains in utilising his contacts with the higher up in the Gujarat Government and Gujarat Police Department, and finally located the residence of Shri Laxminarayan in Ahmedabad, got in touch with the then Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Shri Abhinava Sachidananda Tirthaji Maharaj of Sharada Peetha, Dwarka (Gujarat), got the boxes confiscated and searched. But the boxes were found to contain useless scraps and old shoes and such other trash. After that when Prof. Sane contacted Shri Laxminarayan personally and talked to him, he was told that some German scholar had came searching for him and had offered big amount for the VM manuscript material of the sixteen volumes; that he had sold the contents of the boxes to that German scholar for Rs. 80,000/-, and had stuffed the boxes with rubbish. Even after that Shri Sane tried his utmost to trace the whereabouts and identity of the German scholar, through the help of Honble Shri Hitendrabhai Desai, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, but his efforts donot seem to have met with any degree of success so far. This must have happened some time in the year 1955-56, since, "unfortunately, the said manuscripts were lost irretrievably from the place of their deposit and this colossal loss was finally confirmed in 1956".8 And as has been declared by Smt. Manjulaben Trivedi,9 her husband Shri Chimanlal Trivedi, found that Secretary of the Sri Vishva Punarnirmana Sangha, found that as a result of demonstrations before learned people and societies by BKTM about the Vedic Mathematics as discovered by him, some people who had grasped a smattering of the new Sutras had already started to dazzle audiences as prodigies claiming occult powers without acknowledging indebtedness to the Sutras of Jagadguruji, and he pleased earnestly with Gurudeva and persuaded him to arrange for the publication of the Sutras in his own name. It was finally in 1957, when he decided to undertake a tour of

the U.S.A., that he re-wrote from memory the present volume, viz., the VM (1965 Edn.), giving an introductory account of the sixteen formulae reconstructed by him; he wrote down the volume in his old age within one month and a half with his failing health and weak eyesight. The type-script of the VM was left over by BKTM in U.S.A. in 1958 for publication. It was through the good offices of Justice. N. H. Bhagavati, the then Vice Chancellor of the Banaras Hindu University, and Dr. Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, the veteran classical musician, that the Banaras Hindu University published the VM in the Nepal Endowment Hindu Vishvavidyalaya Sanskrit Granthamala (Vol. 10), in 1965, after about five years since the demise of BKTM in 1960. Thus, it seems to be a solid fact that BKTM did write down his sixteen volumes on the sixteen Sutras of the Vedic Mathematics, that he deposited his manuscript with his devotee Shri Manilal Desai of Dakor in Gujarat, that after the death of Shri Manilal, the material came in possession of his son Laxminarayan Desai, and the latter sold it to some German scholar for Rs. 80,000/-, and that, at least subconsciously, BKTM was under the impression that he was writing the book overall again, in a series of a number of volumes, although what he could write was a single volume published as the VM.10 On the Vedic Sources of the VM Sutras: In his talk and demonstration given to a small group of student mathematicians at the California Institute of Technology, Pasedena, California on l9th February, 1958, BKTM has been recorded to have said "that I also speak summarily about mathematics which I have been able to get from the Sutras of the Atharvaveda." 11 Giving some further details, he said: "one particular portion I am referring to, a particular portion of the Atharva-Veda is called the ganita sutras. The ganita sutras are also called the Sulba Sutras the easy mathematical formulae, thats the meaning of the expression. And there are sixteen sutras, sixteen aphorisms in all, and the general name ganita mathematics is given to the subject."12 In the same talk he said: "And, then fourthly, in the Atharvaveda we have what is called the Sthapatyaveda which is the Sanskrit term for a combination of sciences starting with mathematics and all its branches without a single exception going on to the application of mathematics in various other departments, including architecture, engineering, and so forth."13 According to him, there are four Upavedas, viz., Ayurveda, Dhanurveda, Gandharvaveda and Sthdpatyaveda, connected with the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda, respectively.14 Under the sub-topic "Ganita Sutras",15 BKTM has given the following details : "One particular portion of the Atharvaveda is called the

Ganitasutras. They are also called the Sulba-sutras, and there are sixteen, aphorisms in all. In this connection, he referred to Professor Colebrooke, and quoted him as having said to the effect that he was, unable to understand what the contents of those sutras are, and what connection those sutras have with mathematics, and that he did not understand those sutras; that it was unintelligible to him, it was beyond him: He has further informed us that coming to the same passage, the same portion of the Atharvaveda, Horace Hayman Wilson remarked "this is all nonsense", and that R. T. Griffith said it was "utter nonsense".16 We are further informed by BKTM that the above remarks of Colebrooke, Wilson and Griffith put him on the track, since, he thought that there , must be something in the subject which was being discussed with so much earnestness and which the commentators were trying to understand but could make nothing out of. So he went on with his simple idea that there was some meaning The meaning may be all absolutely wrong; but to dismiss something off hand as nonsense because it is not understandable, was not correct. 17 Sanskrit has a certain peculiarity about it, that the same passage very often deals with a different subject and is capable of yielding different. meanings relating to different subjects. For example, there is a hymn of praise addressed to Sri Krsna.18 This verse also gives the value of p/10 to thirty two decimal places. The literal meaning of the verse is that in the reign of King Kamsa unsanitary conditions prevailed, which has apparently nothing to do with mathematics. He further clarified that Mathematical formulae is the heading of the subject, and inside we are told that the tyrant king ruled over the people oppressively.19 And here too, the heading is Ganita Sutras, mathematics formulae. So he thought there must be something. And for long years of meditation in the forest, and intense study of the lexicographies, lexicons of earlier times,20 he devoted himself to the task of discovering the mathematical meaning of the ganita-sutras. He studied the old lexicons, including Visva, Amara, Arnava, Sabdakalpadruma, etc. With these he was able to find out the meanings; he got the key in that way in one instance, and one thing after another helped him in elucidation of the other sutras, the other formulae. And he found to his extreme astonishment and gratification that the sutras dealt with mathematics in all its branches; that only sixteen sutras cover all the branches of mathematics, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, physics, plain and spherical geometry, conics, calculus, both differential and integral, applied mathematics of various kinds dynamics, hydrostatics, statics,

kinematics, and all.21 In our endeavour to locate the portions of the Atharvaveda, that confronted Colebrooke, Wilson and Griffith and evoked the abovementioned remarks from them, we have scanned through all the writings of H. Th. Colebrooke, which being more than a century old, could be available only in the very old libraries at Pune and Bombay, for personal reference and verification. As regards Colebrooke, he is known to have remarked as follows: 22 ".. the Vedas ... are too voluminous for a complete translation of the whole; and what they contain would hardly reward the labour of the reader; much less that of a translator. The ancient dialect in which they are composed, and especially that of the first three Vedas, is extremely difficult and obscure; ... its difficulties must long continue to prevent such an examination of the whole Vedas, as would be requisite for extracting all that is remarkable and important in those voluminous works." During the course of his essays he has quoted generally from the Atharvaveda Samhita of the Saunakiya Sakha. Horace Hayman Wilson, too, has referred to Colebrookes opinion in his essays and lectures.23 The portion of the Atharvaveda generally referred to by him seems to be the last two books, i.e. the Kandas XIX and XX. R. T. Griffith, who has translated the whole of the Atharvaveda in English24 refers to "some attempts to bring sense out of utter nonsense which constitutes part of the last two books" of the Atharvaveda.25 Now, looking into the Griffiths translation and notes of the last two books of the Atharvaveda, we find him passing the following remarks, in the indicated places: AV. XIX, 6, Vol. II, p. 265, f.n. - "This hymn is generally called the Purusha Sukta or Purusa hymn, ... The Rgvedic hymn has been translated also by Colebrooke, Miscellaneous Essays, pp. 167-168 ... Wilsons Translation should be consulted for the views of Sayana and the Indian scholars of his own and earlier times. AV. XIX, 22, 6, Vol. II, p. 280, f.n. - "6 Small ones the Ksudras. Various portions and hymns of the Atharvaveda, which are not clearly identifiable, are designated by these and the remaining fantastic names." AV. XX, 5, 6, Vol. II, p. 323, f.n. - "6 Famed for thy radiance,

worshipped well . the words this rendered, Sacigo and Sacipgjana, have not been satisfactorily explained by the commentator, and their meaning is still uncertain." AV. XX, 5, 7, Vol. II, p. 324, f. n. 7 continued - "See Professor Wilsons note who observes that the construction is loose, and the explanation not very satisfactory." AV. XX, 16, 3, Vol. II, p. 332, f. n. 3 - "Prof. Wilson renders Sthivibhyah in this place by from the granacies." AV. XX, 16, 9, Vol. II, p. 333, f. n. 9 - "Prof. Wilson following Sayana, paraphrases the second line:-. AV. XX, 34, 12, Vol. p. 351, f. n. - "12 The stanza is not taken from the Rgveda; and the manuscripts on which the printed text is based are corrupt and unintelligible as they stand." AV. XX, 35, 7, Vol. II, p. 353, f. n. - "7 The verse is difficult. Sayana, Wilson, Benfey and Grassmann take Visnu to be an appellative or epithet of Indra." AV. XX, 58, 1, Vol. II, p. 374 f.n. 3 - ."1 This stanza is difficult and obscure ... See Prof. Cowells note in Wilsons Translation." AV. XX, 74, 3, Vol. II, p. 389, f. n. - "The text is very elliptical and obscure. ... ... - Wilson." AV. XX, 76, 1, Vol. II, p. 391, f. n. - "1 The meaning of the stanza is obscure; and the text of the first half line is unintelligible. I follow the reading which Sayana gives in his Commentary, Vayo instead of Va yo ... - Wilson." AV. XX. 133, Vol. II, p. 441, f. n. - "There are five more stanzas, all with the refrain : Maiden, it truly is not so as thou, O maiden, fanciest. A mere literal translation of these would be unintelligible, and the matter does not deserve expansion or explanation. These six stanzas are called Pravahlikas or Enigmatical Verses." Thus, BKTM seems to have referred to some portion of the Books XIX and XX of the Atharvaveda, while he passed his above comments. Now, when we search for the VM sutras of BKTM in both the Saunakiya and the Paippalada Samhitas, we find the passages like the following :

AV. XIX, 6, 1-3: AV. XIX, 8, 2: AV. XIX, 22: AV. XIX, 23: AV. XIX, 32, 1: AV. XIX, 33, 1: But nowhere in the Atharvaveda Samhita, of both the Saunakiya or the Paippalada Saakhas, nor in Sayanas Commentary, nor in the Gopatha Brahmana, nor in the Kausika Sutra, nor in the Vaitana Sutra, nor in any of the Atharvaveda-parisistas, nor in the Angiras-kalpa, nor in the Karmapanjika, Karma-samuccaya, nor in the Atharvana-rahasya

do we find any of the sutras as they are given by BKTM. In this connection, BKTM has referred to Sthapatyaveda which is said to be an Upaveda of the Atharvaveda. Monier-Williams26 notices the following under the word Upaveda: "upa-veda, as, m. secondary knowledge, N. of a class of writings subordinate or appended to the four Vedas (viz., the Ayurveda or science of medicine, to the Rgveda; the Dhanurveda or science of archery, to the Yajurveda; the Gandharvaveda or science of music, to the Samaveda; and the Sastraveda or science of arms, to the Atharvaveda; this is according to the Caranavyuha, but Susruta and Bhavaprakasa make the Ayur-veda belong to the Atharvaveda; according to others, the Sthapatyaveda or science of architecture, and Silpasastra or knowledge of arts, are reckoned as the fourth Upaveda." The portion of the Atharvaveda, called Ganita-Sutra, according to BKTM, is also known as Sulba-sutra and it is said to belong to the Atharvaveda, and deal with the art and science of the building of firealtars. Hence it would rightly be a part of the Sthapatyaveda. We should note here that the religious rites of the Paippaladins, dealt with in their Kalpa and Paddhati - the Angirasa-kalpa and the Karmapanjika that have come down to us, are all of a Grhya character. They are to be performed on a single fire (ekagni-sadhya), and not three, as is necessary for the Srauta rites. There was a Paippalada Srauta Stltra in seven chapters, written by Agastya, as is known from a statement to this effect appearing in the Prapanca-hrdaya.27 Like the Kalpasutras of Asvalayana, Bodhayana and Jaimini, the work of Agastya also contained treatment of distinctive Vedic rituals. The lost Srauta Sutra of the Paippalada Sakha may, however, be taken to have contained more sacrificial matters than what the Vaitana Sutra of the Saunaka Sakha does. The Paippalada Samhita itself has a large number of sacrificial hymns which are not found in the Saunaka Sarhhita. These hymns relate to the Srauta rites like the Darsa-paurnamasa, Agnyadheya and Gostoma.28 Perhaps, the portion of the Atharvaveda known to BKTM as Ganita-sutra might belong to the Kalpasittra part of this Srautasutra of Agastya. But, unfortunately, we have yet to come across a Sulba Sutra attached to the Atharvaveda; none else, except BKTM, has as yet noticed any such work. The question of the location and the veracity of the Ganita-sutra being a part of some Kalpasiitra of the Atharvaveda, should remain open till we discover it with the help of some of the oral reciters of the Paippalada Atharvaveda. The culture of the Paippalada Atharvaveda considered so long

associated with Kashmir, but totally extinct from our country at the present time, is still a living force in the Eastern region of India. Thousands of Paippaladins residing in Orissa and the adjacent parts of Bihar and West Bengal have survived to this day unnoticed by the scholarly world. They have kept themselves away from the public eye and so much so that even the Sanskrit Commission appointed by the Government of India in 1956, unaware of their existence in the state of Orissa, was unable of their existence in the state of Orissa, was unable to locate them during its tours in the State. These people still follow their traditional rites and customs. Valuable Paippalada works which could not, up to this time, be traced anywhere in the country, have been found carefully preserved in their safe custody.29 Now, as regards the Sulba Sutras. They are the manuals for the construction of altars which are necessary in connection with the sacrifices of the Vedic Hindus. The Sulba Sutras are sections of the Kalpasutras, more particularly of the Srautasutras, which are considered to form one of the six Vedangas or "The Members of the Veda", and deal specially with rituals or ceremonials. Each Srautasutra seems to have its own Sulba section. So there were, very likely, several such works in ancient times.30 Patanjali, the Great commentator of Paninis Grammar, states that there were as many as 1131 or 1137 different schools of the Veda; in particular, there were 21 different schools of the Rgveda, 101 schools of the Yajurveda, 1,000 of the Samaveda, and 9 Or 15 of the Atharvaveda.31 But most of them are now lost. At present we know, however, of only seven Sulba-stitras, those belonging to the Srauta-sutras of Baudhayana, Apastamba, Katyayana, Manava, Maitrayana, Varaha and Vadhula, while we find only the reference to two other works, viz., Masaka and Hiranyakesi, in the commentary of Karvindaswami on the Apastamba Sulba (xi. 11). As related to the different Vedas, the Sulba-sutras of Baudhayana, Apastamba, Manava, Maitrayana and Varaha belong to the Krsna Yajurveda; and the Katyayana Sulba-sutra to the Sukla Yajurveda.32 As regards their importance, the available Sulba-sutras can sharply be divided into two classes. The first class will include the manuals of Baudhayana, Apastamba md Katyayana. They give us an insight into the early state of Hindu geometry before the rise and advent of the Jaina sect (500-300 B.C.). The Sulba-sutras of Manava, Varaha, Maitrayana and Vadhula, comprising the second class, add particularly very little to our stock of information in this respect.33 It was perhaps primarily in connection with the construction of the sacrificial altars of proper size and shapes that the problems of

geometry and also of arithmetic and algebra presented themselves, and were studied in ancient India, just as the study of astronomy is known to have begun and developed out of the necessity for fixing the proper time for the sacrifices and agriculture. At any rate, from the Sulba-sutras we get a glimpse of the knowledge of geometry that the Vedic Hindus had. Incidentally they furnish us with a few other subjects of much mathematical interest.34 Vedic Sources of the VM-Sutra Terminology : The VM sutras contain some very common mathematical terminology, which has so far been hardly examined from this point of view. Dr. Satyakama Varma has concluded in his research paper35 that though the term employed in these sutras cannot be claimed to be of the Vedic origin, yet they are later synonyms of the equivalent original Vedic terms, that the Vedic texts include much of the scientific and mathematical statements, which can make a strong basis for such like sutras, and that when the Jagad Guru claims that he has adopted nothing but Vedic Mathematics, he is right in his own way. On closer examination, we find that most of the terms utilised in the VM sutras are found to be prevalent in the Srauta Sutras and the Sulba Sutras. We shall see here which terms are used in which Vedic texts : (1) ANTA - Bau. Sul. I. 23. (2) ANTYA - Tait. Sam. 1. 7. 9. 1.; Maitr. Sam. 1.11.3; "the last member of a mathematical series" - Monier-Williams, Ske.-Eng. Dict., p. 44, Col. 3 : Ap. Sul. 2.3; Ath. Anu. 20.9; 104; 118. (3) ADYA - Ath. Sam. 19.22.1. (4) ANURtiPYA / ANURtJPATVA - Ap. Sul. 13.8. (5) URDHVA / URDHVAPRAMANA - Ap. Sul. 9.15; Bau. Sul. 2.3; Vadh. Sul. 7.2; 11. 9.; Hir. Sul. 3.14; 4.20. (6) LTNIKRTYA / LlNIKAROTI - Nid. Su. 1.7.28. (7) EKANYilNA / EKONA - Kat. Sul. 6.7. (8) EKADHIKA - Kat. Sul. 6.7. (9) GUNAKA / GUNA / DVIGUNA - Bau. Sul. 1.30. (10) GUMTA - Madh. Si. 16.2.; Yajn. Si. 2.104-105. .

(11) CARAMA - Ksud. Su: 1.1.; Bau. Sr. 10.48.2. (12) TIRYAK / TIRYAG-DVIGUNA - Kat. Sul. 6.7; TIRYAG-BHEDA Bau. Sul. 17.8; 19.7; TIRYAN-MANA Kat. Sul. 7.32; Bau. Sul. 1.46. (13) DASAKA - Ath. Anu. 19.17. (14) DASATAH - Asv. Sr. 8.5.7; Ap. Sr. 20.14.2; 22.17.5; Hir. Sr. 17.6.42. (15) NAVATAH - Asv. Sr. 8.5.7; Bau. Sr. 15.23. (16) NIKHILA - Madhy. Sr. 1.7.8.10. (17) NYLlNA - Asv. Sr. 1.11.15. (18) PURANA - Kat. Sr. 24.7.18; Ap. Sr. 16.26.9; 16.27.6; PURAYET Bau. Sul. 8.12 (19) MADHYAMA - Sankh. Sr. 7.27.20; MADHYAMA-PURVA Bau. Sul. 7.17. (20) YAVAT... TAVAT - YAVAT-PRAMANA - Kat. Sul. 37.12; Ap. Sul. 3.11; Hir. Sul. 1.50; TAVAD-ANTARALA Bau. Sul. 8.11; Hir. Sul. 3.17. (21) YOJAYET / YUJYATE - Hir. Sul. 4.20.; Ap. Sul. 11.46; Bau. Sul. 21.7. (22) LOPANA / LOPA - Kat. Sr. 19.7.6. (23) VARGA - Kat. Sul. 3.7; Ap. Sul. 3.11; Hir. Sul. 1.50. (24) VESTANA - Sankh. Gr. 3.I.8. (25) VYASTI - Ap. Sr. I0.6; Saskh. Sr. 16.1.1. (26) SUNYA - Drahy. Sr. 4.4.22; Nid. Su. 9.11.21. (27) SESA - Kat. Sul. 3.2.3; Ap. Sul. 2.15; 13.2; Bau. Sul., 2.10.12.; Hir. Sul. 1.36; 4.34. (28) SAMASTI - .Bau. Sr. 17.13.7; Jaim. Sr. 21.10. (29) SAMYASAMUCCAYA - Kat. Sr. 1.8.7. 21,; 14. 3.5. (30) SOPANTYA / UPANTYA - Ap. Sul. 1.12; Hir. Sul. 1.22. This shows that most of the terms utilized. in the VM Sutras are not new but quite as old as the Srauta Sutras and the Sulba Sutras. In this

connection it should be noted that the VM Sutras cannot be branded as nonVedic simply because they do not incorporate the very ancient archaic linguistic usages mostly found in the Vedic Samhitas or Brahmanas. In fact the Upanishads, which form the integral parts of some of the Samhitas and Brahmanas, are found to have been composed in a language which is more or less very similar to the one which is known as Paninian or Classical. And the Sulba Sutras too utilize the same sort of Sanskrit, as for instance, Bau. Sul. 4.62-63: ibid., 7.6: Man. Sul. 10.3.5.11: Ap. Sul. 3.21: ibid., 5.18: ibid., 13.7-8: Kat. Sul. 3.6-10:

Thus, in point of the language, the VM Sutras too are similar and cannot be segregated as non-Vedic; they are as much Vedic as are the Srauta Sutras and the Sulba Sutras so far as the point of their language is concerned. And this is perhaps, because of their likelihood of being a part of the yet untraced Sulba-sutra of the Atharvaveda. And it is in view of these sutras being a part of the yet untraced Sulbasutra, and therefore belonging to the Sthapatyaveda an upaveda, of the Atharvaveda, that we may regard them as Vedic, which is general term denoting not merely the texts connected with some Vedic Sakha, but not necessarily the Samhita and Brahmana only. Any text connected with the Veda Vidya or Vedic ritualistic, spiritual or any other practical aspect pertaining to the auxiliary sciences connected with Vedic Hinduism, may without hesitation be termed Vedic. BKTMs Concept of the Veda and Vedic: ... "From time to time and from place to place during the last five decades and more, we have been repeatedly pointing out that the Vedas (the most ancient scriptures, nay, the oldest Religious scriptures of the whole world) claim to deal with all braches of learning

(spiritual and temporal) and to give the earnest seeker after knowledge all the requisite instructions and guidance in full detail and on scientifically - nay, mathematically, accurate lines in them all and so on." "The very world Veda has this derivational meaning, i.e., the fountainhead and illimitable storehouse of all knowledge. This derivation, in effect, means, connotes and implies that the Vedas should contain within themselves all the knowledge needed by mankind relating not only to the so-called spiritual (or non-worldly) matters but also to those usually described as purely secular, temporal or worldly, and also to the means required by humanity as such for the achievement of all-round, complete and perfect success in all conceivable directions and that there can be no adjectival or restrictive epithet calculated (or tending) to limit that knowledge down in any sphere, any direction or any respect whatsoever." "In other words, it connotes and implies that our ancient Indian Vedic lore should be all-round complete and perfect and able to throw the fullest necessary light on all the matters which any aspiring seeker after knowledge can possibly seek to be enlightened on." 36 As to the metaphysics, mathematics, physics and other subjects, BKTM has felt from a long time ago, that the Vedas which openly declare that these subjects are integral parts of the Vedic scriptures should be studied from the standpoint of the scholar, from the standpoint of a person who is absolutely impartial, has no prejudices, no presuppositions, a person who is a seeker after truth and welcomes the truth from whatever direction it may come. So we have to start with open minds, nothing a priory, nothing taken for granted. We have had long centuries of tradition over a long period of time, not merely various climes... So far as the Indian scriptures are concerned, we do not find any difficulty at all because each science is an integral part of a particular Veda, a particular scriptural portion of our literature.37 As has been aptly remarked by Swami Pratyagatmananda Saraswati,38 BKTM belonged to a race, now fast becoming extinct, of die-hard believers who think that the Vedas represent an inexhaustible mine of profoundest wisdom in matters both spiritual and temporal; and that this store of wisdom was not, as regards its assets of fundamental validity and value at least, gathered by laborious inductive and deductive methods of ordinary systematic inquiry, but was a direct gift of revelation to seers and sages who in their higher reaches of Yogic realisation were competent to receive it from a source, perfect, immaculate.

To carry conviction, BKTM has, by his comparative and critical study of the Vedic Mathematics, made abundantly clear the essential requirement of being prepared to go the whole length of testing and verification by accepted and accredited methods.39 That there is a consolidated metaphysical background in the Vedas of the objective sciences including mathematics as regards the basic conceptions is a point that may be granted by a thinker who has looked broadly and deeply into both the realms.... That metaphysical background includes mathematics also; because physics as ever pursued is the application of mathematics to given or specified spacetime-event situations. The late Shankaracharya has claimed, and rightly we may think, that the Vedic Sutras and their applications possess these virtues to a degree of eminence that cannot be challenged. The outstanding merit of this work lies in his actual proving of this contention.40 Whether or not the Vedas be believed as repositories of perfect wisdom, it is unquestionable that the Vedic race lived not merely as pastoral folk possessing half-or-quarter-developed culture and civilisation. The Vedic seers were, again, not mere navel-gazers or nose-tip-gazers. They proved themselves adepts in all levels and branches of knowledge, theoretical and practical. For example, they had their varied objective science, both pure and applied... The old seer scientist had both his own theory and art (technique) for producing the result, but different from those now prevailing. He had his science and technique, called Yajna, in which Mantra, Yantra and other factors must co-operate with mathematical determinateness and precision. For this purpose, he had developed the six auxiliaries of the Vedas in each of which mathematical skill and adroitness, occult or otherwise, play the decisive role. The sutras lay down the shortest and surest lines.41 In his Foreword of the General Editor, Dr. V. S. Agrawala has aptly pointed out41 that the question naturally arises whether the Sutras which form. the basis of this treatise, viz., the VM, exist any where in the Vedic literature as known to us. And we find that the Sutras in the form presented by BKTM, have not been found to form any part of the texts of the Atharvaveda Samhita, both Saunaka and Paippalada, nor the Gopatha Brahmana, nor the Kausika Sutra, nor the Vaitana Sutra, nor in any of the Upanisads traditionally belonging to the Atharvaveda, nor in any of the extent Sulba Sutras of both the Krsna and the Sukla Yajurveda Sakhas, nor in the Atharvaveda-parisistas.42 But, says Dr. V. S. Agrawala, this criticism loses all its force if we inform ourselves of the definition of Veda given by BKTM himself as

quoted of the definition of Veda given by BKTM himself as quoted above. It is the whole essence of his assessment of Vedic tradition that it is not to be approached from a factual standpoint but from the ideal standpoint, viz., that the Vedas as traditionally accepted in India are the repository of all knowledge, and hence they should be, and not what they are, in human possession. That approach entirely turns the tables on all the critics, for the authorship of Vedic mathematics then need not be laboriously searched in the texts as preserved from antiquity.43 Even then, with due deference to the statements of a kind-hearted impartial scholarly saint like BKTM, we have yet to endeavour to trace the text of the Ganita-sutra or the Sulba-sutra, traditionally attached to the Atharvaveda, a part of which is evidently referred to by him. Till then, the chapter of the Vedic source of these Sutras cannot be finally closed. Swami Pratyagatmananda Saraswati has referred to a consolidated metaphysical background in the Vedas of the objective sciences including mathematics as regards their basic conceptions.44 It will, therefore, be useful to briefly survey the mathematical data as already available in the extant Vedic texts. Mathematical Background in the Vedas : Dr. R. P. Kulkarni has referred to the following data in the Vedas45 with the remark that in fact the geometry of the Aryans is predominated by arithmetics, and that they have algebraised geometry. The following figures with their increasing values occur in the Rgveda : One year (1.110.4) Two lips, Two breasts (2.39.6) Three wheeled chariot (3.34.2,5) Four eyes (1.31.13) Five (1.164.12-13) Six horses (1.116.4) Seven Sindhus (7.35.8) Seven cities (1.6.7) Eight directions (1.35.8) Nine days (1.116.24) Ten nights (1.116.24) Eleven (1.139.11) Ninety four (1.155.6) Ninety nine (1.54.6; 1.84.13) Hundred roads (1.36.16; 1.53.8) Hundred and seven (10.97.1) 150 (1.133.4) 210 cows (8.19.37) 300 cows (5.36.6) 360 spokes (1.164.48) 440 horses (8.55.3) 720 (1.164.11) 1,000 (1.164.41) 3,380 gods (3.9.9)

Twelve (1.164.48) 4,000 (5.30.12) Fourteen (10.114.6) 9,000 (1.80.8) Twenty Kings (1.53.9) 10,000 (5.27.1; 8.1.5) Twenty one secret places (1.72.6) 30,000 (4.30.21) Forty horses (1.126.4) 60,000 cows (1.126.3) Forty nine Maruts (7.51.3) 60.099 (1.53.9) Fifty maid servants (8.19.36) 70,000 (8.46.22) Fifty three dice (10.34.8) One lakh (2.14.6) Sixty three Maruts (8.96.8) Five lakhs (4.30.15) Ninety (1.80.8; 1:121.13; 1.130.7.) Many lakhs (2.14.7) Series of two 2, 4, 6, 8 numbers of horses were used for chariot. Series of ten 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 (2.18.5-6). The series of 10 upto 1012 is given in the Yajurveda Samhita, with the successive terms as Eka (l), dasa (10), Sata (100), Sahasra (1,000), Ayuta (10,000), Niyuta (1,00,000), Prayuta (10,00,000), Arbuda (1,00,00,000), Nyarbuda (10,00,00,000), Samudra (1,00,00,00,000), Madhya (10,00,00,00,000), Anta (1,00,00,00,00,000) and Parardha (10,00,00,00,00,000). (Y.V.17.2) The series of odd figures 1,3,5,7,9... 31,33 (Y.V.18.24). The series of four 4,8,12,16... 48 (Y.V.18.25) 1 The series of 2 , 1 2 1 , 2, 2 2 1 , 3, 3 2 1 , and 4 (Y. V .18.26)

In the Taittiriya Samhita, too, the following series are mentioned (T.S. 8.2.11-20) : The arithmetic series of odd figures 1,3,5,... 19, 29, 39... 99. The series of two 2,4,6,8,... upto 20. The series of four 4,8,12,16,20. The series of five 5,10,15,20 ... upto 100. The series of ten 10,20,30,40 ... upto 100.

The series of twenty 20,40,60 and 80. The series of hundred 100,200,300 upto 1000. The series of Ten from 10,100,1000... upto 1012. The multiplications : 4 5 = 100 = 5 20 = 10 10 = 20 5. In the Atharvaveda large figures like Sata, Sahasra, Ayuta, and Nyarbuda are mentioned (Ath. V. 8.8.7). The decimal system in the Atharveda is 5 and 50, 7 and 70, 9 and 90, 1 and 10, 2 and 20, 3 and 30 (A.V.6.25.1-3; 7.4.1; 19.4?.3-5). The idea of infinity (ananta) is referred to in (Y.V.16.54), (Brh. Up. 3.2.12), and (Brh. Up. 2.5.19), (Brh. Up. 4.1.5).

There is a reference to the division of thousand by three in the Rgveda (6.69.8). That the division of thousand by three gives 333 3 + 1 is clearly mentioned in the Satapatha Brahmana (4.5.8.1). The fundamental operations given in this last work includes sums, multiplications, divisions and ratios. Thus, we have sums like 12 + 5 + 3 + 1 = 21 (1.3.5.11); 10 + 10 + 10 + l = 31 (3.1.4.23); 3 + 3 + 4 = 10 (3.9.4.19); 10 + 10 + 2 + 2 = 24 (6.2.1.23); 12 + 5 + 3 + 1 = 21 (6.2.2.3); 10 + 4 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 17 (6.2.2.9); 24 + 12 = 36, 36 + 11 + 11 = 58, 58 = 60, 21 + 12 = 33, 33 + 11 + 11 = 55, 55 + 3 = 58, 58 + 2 = 60, 17 + 12 = 29, 29 + 1I + 11 = 51, 51 + 3 = 54, 54 + 2 + 2 = 58, 58 + 2 = 60 (6.2.2.31-37); 21 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 3 = 32 (7.1.2.16-17); 60 + 24 + 13 + 3 + 1 = 101 (10.2.6.1). We have multiplications like 360 2 = 720, 720 80 = 57600 (2.3.4.19-20). 1 year = 360 nights = 720 days and nights = 10,800 Muhurtas; 1 Ksipra = 15 10, 800 Munurtas; 1 Etarha = 15 Ksipras; 1 Ida = 15 Etarhas; 1 Prana - 15 Ida; and also 1 Ana - 15 Nimesa, 1 Nimesa - 15 Lomagarta, 1 Lomagarta = 15 Svedayana, 1 Stoka = 15 Lomagarta (12:3.2.3-5). 10 We have divisions like 5 = 2, 2 720 10 = 5, 5 = 360, 720 100 = 20, 2 = 3 80, 720 = 180, 100 = 50, etc. (4.5.8.16),

divisions of 720 by 2 to 24, such as

2 720 = 144, 5 720 = 48, 15 16 6 720 = 45, 18 720 = 40, 20 720 = 120, 8 720 = 36, 24 720 = 90, 9 720 = 80,

3 720 = 72, 10 720 12 720

4 = 60,

= 30 (10.24.2.1-20).

Here the ratios

720 720 720 720 720 720 720 720 720 , , , , , , , and 7 11 13 14 17 19 21 22 23

are not given as they do not give complete divisions. The geometrical progression is mentioned in the Pancavimsa Brahmana as 12 , 24, 48, 96, 192, ... 3072, 6144, ... 49152, 98304, 196608, 393216 ( 18.3). Yajurveda mentions the following fractions, viz., Tryavi, Tryavi, Dityavat, Difyauhi, Pancavi, Pancavi, Trivatsa, Trivatsa, Turyavat and Turyauhi (Y.V. 18.26). The Satapatha Brahamana mentions the following operations of fractions, viz., 1 + 4 1 + 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 + + = 1 (1.2.4.1; 3.6.3.5); + = ; 4 4 4 2 4 4 2 = 1 (4.6.7.3). 1 + 4 4 3 = 1 (4, 1, 3.13-14);

Dr. S. N. Sen observes46 that the method of obtaining higher and higher numbers in multiples of ten is clearly indicated. It appears that the thinking out and naming of such large numbers were a favourite pastime of the ancient Indian mathematicians. The Vedic Hindus showed the same proficiency in developing a scientific vocabulary of number names, in which the principles of addition, subtraction and multiplication were conveniently used. The system required the naming of the first nine digits, multiplying each of them by ten. The additive and the multiplicative principles are simultaneous used when, in the number concerned, the members from one to nine participate with multiples of ten. Acquaintance with the fundamental arithmetical operations with elementary fractions, progressive series is clearly indicated in the

Vedic texts and their appendages.47 The Vedic hymns make several references to arithmetical principles, like the consecutivity of numbers from 1 to 10 (AV. 13.4), additions of numbers with multiple of 10 (A.V. 5.15), additions of 2 (YV. 18.24), Additions of 4 (YV. 18.25), mention of the digit 99 (RV. 1.84.3), multiple by 11 (AV. 19.47), numeral system (YV. 17.2), and fractions.49 The various Sulba-sutras that have been noted above have come down to us as parts of the Srauta-sutras and constitute Brahmanic geometrical manuals for the construction of sacrificial altars. In the various rules given, certain assumptions are taken for granted. Most of the postulates of the Sulba are concerning the division of figures, such as straight lines, rectangles, circles and triangles, and a few of them are about other matters of importance.49 Of greater importance are the rules given in the Sulbas for the combination and transformation of rectilinear figures, specially the squares and the rectangles. The socalled Pythagorean theorem of the square of the diagonal is more explicitly given in more or less the same language in all the Sulbasutras we know of. There is hardly any doubt that the Vedic Sulbavids at this distant date possessed a valid proof of the theorem, of which the texts themselves provide reliable indications, while, as Junge has pointed out, the Greek literature of the first five centuries after Pythagoras contained no mention of the discovery of this or any other important geometrical theorem by the great philosopher and furthermore emphasized uncertainties in the statements of Plutarch and Proclus.50 Regarding other areas of geometry, the area of a triangle, a parallelogram and a trapezium, as also the volume of a prism or cylinder and of the frustum of a pyramid are given.51 Another type of problem which interested the Sulba geometers was the circling of the square or its converse the squaring of the circle. Through these exercises, the Vedic Hindus were led to finding approximate values of.52 The altar geometry of the Sulba-sutras does not fail to give us a glimpse of the beginnings of algebraic notions among the Vedic Hindus. The Quadratic Equation is utilized for the enlargement or reduction of the altar in accordance with a number of plans. The Sulbas contain rules for the construction of a square n times a given square; the rule involves the application of indeterminate equation of the second degree and simultaneous indeterminate equation of the first degree. Elementary operations with surds (karani) are clearly indicated in various places of the text. The Vedic Hindus have been credited further with the notion of irrationality of the quantities the square root of 2 and of 3. The methods by which the values of these irrationals were obtained is not indicated in the texts; but more complete and clear statement and several indications of the

derivations of approximate values are embedded in the very texts themselves. Another favourite mathematical pursuit of the Vedic Hindus was in the field of permutations, combinations. This interest was undoubtedly activated by the considerations of the Vedic meters and their variations. There were several Vedic meters with 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 syllables. The Vedic meter specialists were concerned with the problem of producing different possible types of meters from those of varying syllables by changing the long and short sounds within each syllable group. In this effort, they were led invariably to laying the foundation of the mathematics of permutation and combinations. Special importance attaches to Pingalas Chandah-sutras (200 B.C.) which contains a method called meru prastara for finding the number of combinations of n syllables taken 1, 2, 3, ... n at a time. The meru prastara is the same as the triangular array known in Europe as Pascals triangle.53 VM Terminology vis-a-vis that of the Medieval Mathematicians : The medieval mathematicians like Aryabhata I (A.D. 476), Brahmagupta (A.D. 598), Bhaskara I (A.D. 600), Mahaviracarya (A.D. 850), Aryabhata II (A.D. 950), Sridharacarya (A.D. 991), Sripati (A.D. 1000), Bhaskara II (A.D. 1114), Narayana (A.D. 1350), and their commentators, have composed works like the Aryabhatiya, Brahmasphuta-siddhanta, Mahabhaskariya and Laghubhaskarlya, Ganita-sara-samgraha, Mahasiddhanta, Patiganita and Trisatika, Ganita-tilaka, Siddhantasiromani along with Lilavati and Bijaganita, and Ganitakaumudi, respectively. In these works they have utilized various technical terms for indicating various mathematical operations. Some of these terms they might have inherited traditionally, while some they might have newly coined. The most important of the Hindu numberal notations is the decimal place-value notation. In this system there are only ten symbols, those called anka (= mark) for the numbers one to nine, and the zero symbol, ordinarily called sunya (= empty).54 There is further a system called Katapayadi in which the consonants of the Sanskrit alphabet have been used in the place of the numbers 1 to 9 and zero to express numbers; the conjoint vowels used in the formation have no numerical significance. It gives brief chronograms, which are generally pleasant sounding words. Scholars and scientists have tried to bring out astonishing data of scientific value from the application of this system to various Vedic texts.55 BKTM has treated this topic in one full chapter in his VM.56 The Hindu name for addition is Samkalita, with other equivalent terms like Samkalana, Misrana, Sammelana, Praksepana, Ekikarana, Yukti,

Yoga and Abhyasa The word Samkalita has been used by some writers in the general sense of a series.56 The terms Vyutkalita, Vyutkalana, Sodhana, Patana, Viyoga, etc., have been used for subtraction, while Sesa, Antara denote the remainder. The minuend is called Sarvadhana of Viyojya and the subtrahend Viyojaka.57 The common Hindu name for multiplication is Gunana, which appears to be the oldest as it occurs in the Vedic literature. The terms Hanana, Vedha, Ksaya, etc. are also used for multiplication. The multiplicator is Gunya, multiplier is Gunaka or Gunakara, and product is Gunanaphala or Pratyutpanna.59 Division seems to have been regarded as the inverse of multiplication; and the common Hindu names for the operation are Bhagahara, Bhajana, Harana, chedana, etc. The dividend is termed Bhajya or Harya, ete., the divisor Bhajaka, Bhagahara as simply Hara, and the quotient Labdhi or Labhdha.60 The Sanskrit term for square is Varga or Krti61, while that for the cube is Ghana;62 and square-root is Varga-mula,63 while the cube-root is Ghanamula.64. The symbols for powers and roots are abbreviations of Sanskrit words of those imports and are placed after the number affected. Thus, the square is represented by Va (from Varga), cube by Gha (from Ghana) the fouth power by Va-Va (from Varga-Varga), the fifth power by Va-Gha-Gha (from Varga-Ghana-Ghata), the sixth power by Gha-Va (from Ghana-Varga), the seventh power by Va-VaGha-Gha (from Varga-Varga-Ghana-Ghata) and so on. The product of two or more unknown quantities is indicated by writing Bha (from Bhavita) after the unknowns with or without the interposed dots; e.g. Yava-kagha-bha or Yavakaghabha means (ya)3 (ka)3.65 Brahmagupta mentions Varna as the symbols of unknowns,65 generally represented by letters of the alphabet or by means of various colours such as Kalaka (Black), Nilaka (blue), Pitaka (yellow) and Haritaka (green). At one time the unknown quantity was called Yavat-Tavat (as many as, so much as) or its abbreviation Ya.66 The multiplication of unknowns of unlike species is the same as the mutual product of symbols; it is called Bhavita.68 The work of forming the equation is Samikarana, Samikriya or Samikara.69 Writing down an equation for further operations is called Nyasa.70 The operation to be performed on an equation next to is statement (nyasa) is technically known as Samassodhana, or simply Sodhana (= complete clearance), which varies according to the kind of the equation.71 Brahmagupta has classified equations as Eka-Varna-samikarana (equation with one unknown, anekavarna-samikarana (equations involving several unknowns), and Bhavita (equations involving products of unknowns); and the first class is again divided into two subclasses, viz., linear

equations and quardratic equations. The principal of elimination of the middle term is Madhyamaharana.72 Ista-kanna is operation with an optional unknown, a method described by Bhaskara II,73 One topic commonly discussed by almost all Hindu mathematicians goes by the special name of Samkramana (concurrence), Sankrama or Sankrama. Brahmagupta includes it in algebra while others consider it as falling within the scope of arithmetic; the subject of discussion here is the investigation of two quantities concurrent or grown together in the form of their sum and difference, in other words, the solution of the simultaneous equations x + y = a, x - y = b.74 The process of solving the following two particular cases of simultaneous quardratic equations was distinguished by most Hindu mathematicians by the special designation Visama-krama (dissimilar operation) :

x2 - y2 = m x-y=n

(i)

x2 - y2 = m x+y=p

(ii)

75

The subject of indeterminate analysis of the first degree is generally called by the Hindus Kuttaka, Kuttakara, Kuttikara or simply Kutta. 76 The equation by = ax + 1 is generally called by the name of Sthirakuttaka or Drdha-kuttaka; later on the word Drdha was employed by later writers as equivalent of Niccheds (having no divisor) or Nirapavartya irreducible.77 The indeterminate equations of the first degree put into the form by1 = a1x c1 by2 = a2x c2 by3 = a3x c3 has, on account of its important applications in mathematical astronomy, received special treatment at the hands of Hindu algebraists from Aryabhat onwards. It is technically called Samslistakuttaka.78 The indeterminate quardratic equation Nx2 c = y2 is called by the Hindus Varga-prakrti or Krtiprakrti (square-nature). and the absolute number or unity is Rupa, while the number which is associated with the square of the unknown is Prakrti. The number whose square, multiplied by an optional multiplier and then increased or decreased by another optional number, becomes capable of yielding a square-root, is designated by the term the lesser rootKanistha-pada or Adya pada (first root). The root which results, after those operations have been performed, is called by the name Jyestha pada (greater root) or Anyapada or Antya-pada (second root). If there. be a number multiplying both these roots, it is called the Udvartaka

(augmenter); and, on the contrary, if there be a number dividing the roots, it is called the Apavartaka (abridger). The interpolator is Ksepaka.79 Bhaskara II succeeded in evolving a very simple and elegant method by means of which one can derive an auxiliary equation having the required interpolator 1, 2 or 4, simultaneously with its two integral roots from another auxiliary equation empirically formed with any simple integral value of the interpolator, positive or negative; this method is called by the technical name Cakravala or the Cyclic Method.80 Bhaskara II distinguishes two kinds of indeterminate equations as Sakrtsamikarana (Single Equation) and Asakrtsamikarana (Multiple Equation).81 The indeterminate equation of the type bx + c = y2 is called Varga-kuttaka or Squarepulveriser,82 while that of the type bx + c = y3 is called the Ghana-kuttaka or Cubepulveriser.83 As compared to the above terminology of the medieval mathematicians, that of the VM is very simple and more akin to that of the Sulba-sutras, which are an integral part of the Kalpa Vedanga. As has been rightly observed by Professors R. C. Gupta84, the Sulbasutras, although codified later on, represent much older material which was further enriched. Indian geometry on the Sulba-Sutras level could not have been created overnight, since the names of the altars for which it is utilised are as old as the Taittiriya Samhita and even the Rgveda. The Sulba-sutras material is not only important for mental and intellectual history of ancient India, but is also valuable for the history of human mind in general. It is also significant for investigating the philosophy, methodology and originality of Indian exact sciences. The Methodology of the Medieval Mathematicians and that of BKTM in the VM According the medieval mathematicians like Brahmagupta and other there are twenty operations (parikarma) and eight determinations (vyavahara) in Patiganita, i.e. calculation. The commentators have given the list of these logistics and determinations as follows : 85 (1) Samkaliram or addition; (2) Vyavakalitam or subtraction; (3) Gunana or multiplication; (4) Bhagahara or division; (5) Varga or square; (6) Vargamula or square-root; (7) Ghana or cube; (8) Ghanamula of note-book; (9-13) Panca-jati or five standard forms of fraction; (14) Trairrasika or the rule of three; (15) Vyasta-rrairasika or the inverse rule of three; (16) Panca-rasika or the rule of five; (17) Saptarasika or the rule of seven; (18) Navarasika or the rule of nine; (19) Ekadasa-rasika or the rule of eleven; and (20) Bhanda-pratibhanda or barter and exchange; while the eight determinations are : (1) Misraka

or mixture; (2) Sredhi or progression or series; (3) Ksetra or plane figures; (4) Khata or excavation; (5) Citi or stock; (6) Krakacika or saw; (7) Rasi or mound; and (8) Chaya or shadow. That all mathematica1 operations are variations of two fundamental operations on addition and subtraction was recognised by the Hindu mathematicians, from early times.86 For addition there were two processes, viz., Direct and Inverse. For subtraction too there were both such processes. But BKTM has not touched these two operations, and he seems to have taken for granted the current prevalent methods in India, which includes mere mechanical application of a set of formulae committed to memory. BKTM has started with the multiplication for which he has utilized the Urdhvatiryak sutra. Medieval mathematicians use five methods, viz., Gomutrika, Khanda, Bheda and Ista, as also the Kapata-sandhi. Datta and Singh have noticed seven distinct modes of multiplication employed by the Hindus, viz., Door junction Method, Gelosia Method, Cross Multiplication Method, Multiplication by Separation of Places, Zigzag Method, Parts Multiplication Method and Algennair Method.87 Out of these the Cross Multiplication Method is algebraic and has been compared to Tiryak-gunana or Vajrabhyasa (cross multiplication) used in algebra.88 This method was known to the Hindu scholars of the eight century, or earlier. BKTMs method is a simplied version of this method. Division was not considered to be difficult, as the most satisfactory method of performing it had been evolved at a very early period. In fact no Hindu mathematician seems to have attached any great importance to this operation, as it was considered to be too elementary.89 A method of division by removing common factors seem to have been employed in India as mentioned in early Jain works (c. 160). The modern method of division is the Method of Long Division, invented in India about the 4th Century A.D., if not earlier.90 BKTM utilises the Nikhilam sutra, the Paravartya sutra, and some others for division. There is no comparable method to this in the medieval writers. As regards the problems of factorisation, equations, squaring or cubing, or square-roots or cube-roots, decimals and geometrical operations, I would leave the comparison to veteran mathematicians, rather than venture in the field not quite familiar to me as a Sanskritist. Concluding Remarks : In his recent article Dr. J. N. Kapur91 has observed that the word all in the sub-title Sixteen Simple Mathematical Formulae from the Vedas, the one-line answers to all mathematical problems has led to a great deal of confusion. The book, viz., the VM, deals with arithmetic and

computation, but mathematics should not be confused with computation. In the minds of a great many people the terms mathematics and computation are synonymous. To be a great mathematician is to be a rapid computer. However, in some branches of mathematics, calculations play a very minor, even negligible, role. If a mathematician has to answer a question which calls for a number, he may have to do some computation to obtain the required result. However, the essential part of the solution in the problem is not the computation, but the reasoning process which enables the solver to choose the appropriate computation. It is this intellectual effort of analysing the solution that constitutes the mathematical character of the problem. And Prof. Kapurs quotation from Court, can be supported by a remark from Bhaskara who states in his Bija-ganita that the intelligent mathematicians should devise by their own sagacity all such artifices as will make the case for the method of the Square-nature and then determine the values of the unknowns.92 As per the assessment of Prof. Kaput,93 this book, the VM, is not concerned with those aspects of mathematics which do not depend on computation. However, most of the applicable parts of mathematics do require computation, but even here the real mathematical part is noncomputational thinking and logical part, for which the present book does not provide any help. The book deals with only a small aspect of mathematics and its claim to give one-line answers to all mathematical problems is false, since most mathematical work in the VM consists of the following stages: doing experiments with numbers; recognising patterns and making conjectures; proving the conjectures; making these into theorems; , generalising the theorems; and abstracting the results to give them a larger degree of applicability; it deals with the first two aspects in the mathematical process, in fact mainly the second aspect only. Apparently Swamiji spent years in doing experiments with numbers and recognised patterns which could simplify the computation process, and then be followed the Vedic tradition by writing the formulae in very compact form. He also followed the Vedic tradition of not giving proofs. A formula may be given and verified a million times, yet it is not considered as a part of mathematics unless a rigorous proof is available. The Late Prof. P. L. Bhatnagar gave proofs of most of the formulae given by Swamiji94 and the rest of the formulae can easily be proved. The proofs require only intermediate level of mathematics at which Swamiji worked and to regard it as high-level research in mathematics will again be making a false claim. Thus, according to Prof. Kapur, VM has nothing to do with mathematics in the Vedas except that it was written by a person who knew both Vedas and mathematics.95 This remark is rather too much categorical, especially for a scholar like Prof. Kapur, who has been a

veteran mathematician alright, but he does not know the Vedas first hand. In my opinion, based on the first hand acquaintance with the contents of the Vedic texts referred to above, and with the VM as presented by BKTM, and in view of the scholarly, impartial, truth-loving and highly inquisitive nature and the versatile mind of the revered personality like him, and in view of the declarations he himself has made in his lecture in U.S.A., it seems to be beyond doubt that he did come across some Sulba-Sutra traditionally associated with the Atharvaveda, picked up some sixteen sutras initially, and later on some other thirteen or more sutras, worked on it for eight years from mathematical point of view, and in the light of his first hand knowledge of mathematics discovered the mathematical application of the sutras. In a way he may be called a mathematical interpreter of the Ganitasutras which he happened to come across, but the real significance of which was long forgotten and could not be caught even by the commentators. Similarly, the remarks of the Editorial Reviewer of International Dayananda Veda Peetha Research Journal,96 that the Jagadguru has done positively a disservice to those who are interested in the history of ancient Indian Mathematics, is quite beside the point, and of no consequence. In his opinion, these sutras are entirely Jagadgurus imagination or intuitional visualization, or revealed to him personally. I think it is the mathematical interpretation of them that was actually revealed to him intuitively. In one of his papers Shri Ganitanand97 has remarked about the VM that the objectionable things about the book or system are the name "Vedic Mathematics" given to it and the claim that the 16 Formulas are from the Vedas, that both are deceptive and false and are responsible for creating lot of confusion and misunderstanding; the book or the sutras have nothing to do with the Vedas. This is also too much categorical for the scholar, since it will preclude the possibility of the new and scientific interpretation of old texts. The scholar can easily dismiss the newly propounded interpretations of a few Vedic texts by M. M. Pandit Madhusudan Oza, Dr. V. S. Aggrawal or Anand Coomarswamy as but figments of imagination, or having no more worth than that of a fiction. At the same time, he seems to agree with A. P. Nicholas by granting the fact that BKTMs system is the most delightful chapters of the 20th century mathematical history, and that the book has its own mathematical excellence or intrinsic importance. Its novelty has inspired several scholars to delve into the new area of research created by it and found more significant results through its approach. Its popularity is increasing both in India and outside.

Finally, we may agree with Dr. T. M. Karade98 that you will never find a special and separate chapter on mathematics in the Vedas. It may be scattered here and there and to discover it is a difficult task indeed. However, one of the most successful attempts was made by BKTM in this direction. His work on mathematics is usually referred to as VM. But it does not mean that there cannot be VM other than that of BKTM. END-NOTES : l. Referred to as VM herein-after; published by Hindu Vishvavidyalaya, Sanskrit publications Board, Banaras Hindu Universiy, Varanasi, 1965; reprinted by Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi, several times. 2. Authors Preface to VM, p. xix. 3. VM, My Beloved Gurudeva, pp. ix-x. 4. ibid., pp: i-xi. 5. ibid., pp. ii-v. 6. The seniormost surviving Trustee of the Maharshi Agricultural Research Institute (Ahmedabad Centre) Trust, Ahmedabad. 7. A Professor in the Kalabhavan Polytechnic, Vadodara. 8. Trivedi, Smt, Manjulaben - VM, My Beloved Gurudeva, p. x. 9. ibid., p. x. 10. BKTM - VM, Authors Preface, pp. xix-xx. 11. BKTM - V. Meta., pp. 167-168. 12. ibid., p. 163. 13. ibid., p. 158. 14. ibid. 15. ibid., pp. 163-167. 16. ibid., pp. 163-164. 17. ibid., p. 164. 18. VM, p. 362; V. Meta., p. 165.

19. V. Meta., p. 164-165. 20. ibid., p. 166. 21. ibid., p. 167. 22. Colebrooke, H. T. - Essays On the Religion and Philosophy of the Hindus. London, 1856; p. 69. 23. Wilson, Hayman Horace - Essays and Lectures on the Religion of the Hindus, Delhi, 1976. 24. The Hymns of the Atharvaveda - Translated with a Popular Commentary, Vols. I-II, Benaras, 1916-17. 25. ibid., Vol. I. Preface, p. xiii. 26. Monier-Williams - Skt. - Eng. - Dict., p. 207, Col. 2. 27.

(Trivednum Edn., p. 33), quoted by Durgamohan Bhattacharyya, in Fun.Th. Ath., p. 24. 28. Battacharyya, Prof. Durgamohan, op. cit., pp. 23-24. 29. ibid., pp. 18-19. 30. Datta, Bibhutibusan, Sc. Sul., p. l. 31. Mah. Bhas. on the Varttika " 32. Datta, B., Sc. Sul., pp. 1-2. 33. ibid., pp. 6-7. 34. ibid., p.2. 35. VM., Authors Preface, p.xiii 36. Satyakama Verma - Technical Term of Vedic Mathematics. " in the on I. i.i :

37. V. Meta., pp. 162-163. 38. VM., Foreword, p. 11. 39. ibid. 40. ibid., pp. 13-14. 41. ibid., p. 14. 42. VM., General Editors Foreword, p. 5. 43. ibid., pp. 5-6. 44. VM., Foreword, p. 11. 45. Kulkami, Dr. R. P. - Geom. Sul., pp. 26-27. 46. Bose, Sen, Subbarayappa - Con. Hist. Sc. Ind., pp. 141-142. 47. ibid., p. 143. 48. Mehta, D. D. - Pos. Sc. Ved., p. 110. 49. Bose, Sen, Subbarayappa, p. 149. 50. ibid. 51. ibid. 52. ibid. 53. ibid., pp. 155-157. 54. Datta and Singh - Hist. Hin. Math., Pt. I, p. 38. 55. ibid., p. 69. 56. VM., Chap. XXV : The Vedic Numerical Code, pp. 194-195. 57. Datta and Singh - op. cit., Vol. I, p. 130. 58. ibid., p. 132. 59. ibid., p. 134.

60. ibid., p. 150. 61. ibid., p. 155. 62. ibid., p. 162. 63. ibid., p. 169. 64. ibid., p. 175. 65. ibid., Pt. II, p. 15. 66. ibid., p. 17, f.n. 2. 67. ibid., pp. 17-18. 68. ibid., p. 26. 69. ibid., p. 28. 70. ibid., p. 30. 71. ibid., p. 33. 72. ibid., p. 35. . 73. Bhaskara - Lilavati, p. 76. 74. Datta and Singh - Hist. Hin. Math., Pt. II, pp. 43-44. 75. ibid., pp. 84-85. 76. ibid., pp. 89-90. 77. ibid., pp. 117 ff. 78. ibid., p. 135. 79. ibid., pp. 140-141. 80: ibid., pp. 161-162. 81. ibid., p. 207. 82. ibid., p. 251.

83. ibid., p. 254. 84. Gupta, Prof. R. C. - Vedic Mathematics From the Sulva Sutras, Ind. Jour. Math. Edu., Vol. IX, March-July, 1989, pp. 2-3. 85. Datta and Singh - Hist Hin. Math., Pt.-I, p. 124. 86. ibid. pp. 129-130. 87. ibid., pp. 133-149. 88. Colebrooke, H. T. - Hindu Algebra, p. 171, f.n. 5. 89. Datta and Singh - Hist Hin. Math.; Pt. I, p. 146. 90. ibid., pp. 150-153. 91. Kapur, Prof. J. N. - The So-called Vedic Mathematics, Mathematical Education, April-June, 1989, pp. 201-202. 92. Datta and Singh - Hist. Hin. Math., Pt. II, p. 183. 93. Kapur, J.N., op. cit., p. 202. 94. Bhatnagar, Prof. P.L. - Mathematics Teacher, Vol. x (1976), pp. 83-lll: 95. Kapur, J.N. - op. cit., p. 203. 96. Jomnal of the International Dayananda Veda Peetha, Vol. I, No. 1 (March 1988), New Delhi, pp. 123-129. 97. Ganitananda - In the Name of Vedic Mathematics, Ganita Bharati, Bul. of Ind. Soc. for Hist. Math., Vol. 10, Nos. 1-4, 1988, p. 78. 98. Karade, Dr. T.M. - A Word About Vedic Mathematics, Vaidic Ganita, Vol. I, 1985, Nagpur. BIBLIOGRAPHY : 1. Ancient Indian Mathematics and Vedha by L. V. Gurjar, Poona, 1947. 2. Ancient Vedic Mathematics (Pushp - 3) by Dr. Narinder Puri: Publ. Spiritual Science Series, Roorkee, 1989.

3. Aryabhatiya of Aryabhata (with Commentary of Bhaskara I and Someshvara). Edt. K. S. Shukla & K. V. Sharma. Publ. Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, 1976. 4. Aryabhatlya of Aryabhaia (with Commentary of Bhaskara I and Someshvara). Edt. K. S. Shukla & K. V. Sharma. Publ. Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, 1976. 5. Aryabhatiya of Aryabhata (with Commentary of Suryadeva Yajvan). Edt. K. V. Sharma. Publ. Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, I 976. 6. Asiatic Researches, Vol. III and VII, by H. T. Colebrooke. 7. Atharva Veda of the Paippaladas. Edt. Prof. Dr. Raghu Vira, Vol. I : Books 1-13. Publ. The International Academy of Indian Culture, Lahore, 1936. 8. Atharvaveda Samhita (Saunakiya). AV. 9. Basic Mathematics, by L. C. Jain & G. C. Patni. Publ. Rajasthan Prakrit Bharati Sansthan, Jaipur, 1982. 10. A Concise History of Science in India, by D. M. Bose, S. N. Sen and B. V. Subbarayappa. Publ. Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, 1971. 11. Discover Vedic Mathematics, by Kenneth Williams, London, 1986. 12. Essays and lectures on the Religions of the Hindus, Vols. I-II, by H. H. Wilson. Publ. Asian Publication Service, New Delhi, 1976. 13. Essays on the Religion and Philosophy of the Hindus, by H. T. Colebrooke. Publ. Williams and Norgate, London, 1858. 14. The Fundamental Themes of the Atharvaveda, by Prof. Durgamohan Bhattacharyya. Publ. S. P. Mandali, Poona, 1968. 15. Ganita Bharati. Bulletin of the Indian Society for History of Mathematics, Tenth Anniversary Volume, Vo. 10, 1988, Nos. 1-4. 16. Geometry in Ancient India, by Svami Satya Prakash Sarasvati. Publ. Govindram Hasanand, Delhi, 1987. 17. Geometry According to Sulba Sutra, by Dr. R. P. Kulkarni. Publ. Vaidika Samshodhana Mandala, Pune, 1983.

18. A Glimpse into Vedic Mathematics (B.K.T. System), by Prin. V. G. Oke. Publ. Gokhale Education Society, Nashik. 19. Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Translated with a Popular Commentary, by Ralph T. H. Griffith, Vols. I and II. Publ. E. J. Lazarus & Co., Benares, 1916-17. 20. History of Hindu Mathematics, Parts I and II, by Bibhutibhushan Datta and Avdhesh Narayan Singh. Publ. Asia Publishing House, Bombay, 1962. 21. In the Name of Vedic Mathematics, by Ganitanand. Ganita Bharati, Bull. Ind. Soc. Hist. Math., Vol: 10, Nos. 1-4, 1988, pp. 75-78. 22. Kanva-Samhita, of Sukla Yajurveda, Edt. Pandit Shripad Damodar Satavalekar. Publ. Svadhyay Mandal, Pardi, 1983. 23. Katyayana Sulba Sutra. Edt. by S. D. Khadilkar. Publ. Vaidika Samsodhana Mandal, Pune, 1974. 24. Kathaka Samhita of Yajurveda. Edt. by Pt. Shripad Damodar Satavalekar, Publ. Svadhyay Mandal, Pardi, 1983. 25. Kausika Sutra of Atharvaveda. Edt. Maurice Bloomfield. Publ. Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1972. 26. Lectures on Vedic Mathematics, by A. P. Nicholas, J. Pickles and K. Williams, London, 1983. 27. Mathematics in Ancient India, by A. K. Bag: Publ. Chaukhamba. Orientalia, Varanasi, 1979. 28. Miscellaneous Essays, by H. T. Colebrooke, Second Edn., Vols. III. Publ. Higginobthem & Co. Madras, 1982. 29. Positive Sciences in the Vedas, by D. D. Mehta. Publ. Academy of Vedic Research, New Delhi, 1974. 30. Round Table Discussion on Vedic Mathematics, by Dr. Narinder Prui, 1989. 31. Rgveda Samhita. Edt. Pt. Shripad Damodar Satavalekar. Publ. Svadhyay Mandal, Pardi.

32. Siddhanta Siromani of Bhaskaracarya, by Dr. D. Arkasomayaji. Publ. Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Tirupati, 1980. 33. The Science of Sulba . A Study in Early Hindu Geometry, by Bibhutibhushan Datta. Publ. University of Calcutta, 1932. 34. The So-called Vedic Mathematics, by J. N. Kapur, Mathematical Education, April-June, 1989. 35. Samaveda Samhita. Edt. Pandit Shripad Damodar SatavaTekar. Publ. Svadhyay Mandal, Pardi. 36. Triples, by Kenneth Williams, London, 1984. 37. Taittiriya Samhita - Krsna yajurvediya, Edt. by Pt. Shripad Damodar Satavalekar. Publ Svadhyay Mandal, Pardi, 1983. 38. Vertically and Crosswise, by A. Nicholas, K. R. Williams and J. Pickles, London, 1984. 39. Vaidic Ganit. Publ. Einstein Foundation International, Vol. I, 1985, Vol. II, I 986. 40. Vaitana Sutra, Edt. by Richard Garbe. Publ. Mahalaxmi Publishing House, New Delhi, 1982. 41. Varaha Srauta Sutra, Edt. by Dr. W. Caland and Dr. Raghu Vira. Publ. Meharchand Lachhmandas, Delhi, 1971. 42. Vedic Metaphysics, by Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji Maharaja. Publ. Motilal Banarsidass, Deli, 1983: 43. Vedic Mathematics or Sixteen Simple Mathematical Formulae from the Vedas, by Jagadguru Swami Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji Maharaj, Publ. Hindu Vishvavidyalaya, Sanskrit Publication Board, Banaras Hindu University, 1965. 44. Workshop on Vedic Mathernatics (Ahmedabad), by Drs. Narinder Puri, P. S. Mishra, H. G. Sharma; G. S. Agarwal and Km. Pragati Goel, 1988. 45. Vedic Mathematics - A Review, by Editorial Reviewer. The Journal of the International Dayananda Veda Peetha. Vol. I, No. l, March, 1988, New Delhi, pp. 123-129.

46. Vedic Mathematics from the Sulba Sutras, by Prof. R. C. Gupta. Indian Journal of Mathematical Education, Vol. 9, No. 2, July, 1989. 47. Workshop on Vedic Mathematics (Jaipur), by Dr. Narinder Puri, 1988. 48. Yajurveda Sarhhita - Vajasaneyi Madhyandina Sukla, Edt. Pt. Shripad Damodar Satavalekar. Publ. Svadhyaya Mandal, Pardi, 1970. copyright to the ACADEMY OF VEDIC MATHEMATICS Home Page Site Map Contact us

This site has been revised and updated, with new information and new illustrations, and is being permanently moved to http://aloha.net/~hawmtn/pyramid.html

The Pyramid
Dedicated to the proposition that the Great Pyramid is a rational (in the mathematical sense) structure, designed and built by normal people.

This is a radical statement about the Pyramid, especially on the internet because all web pages that I have been able to find that deal with the Pyramid, maintain that it was built and/or inspired by either God or space aliens. Most don't even consider that it could be a rational structure designed and built by normal people.
Background In 1985 I retired from the Canada France Hawaii Telescope Corporation. I had worked at the Mauna Kea observatory doing troubleshooting, programming and instrument repair. I had worked on big science project.my whole career ( three telescope on Mauna Kea, secret Air Force radars, 100' satellite dishes and the BART tunnel in San Francisco). I became bored and restless in retirement. I needed a big project to be involved in. I happened on Peter Tompkins "Secrets Of The Great Pyramid" one day and I was hooked. I spent four frustrating years figuring away in Basic and Lotus 123 spread sheets on an IBM XT computer. I would fool myself that I was making progress in figuring out the mathematics behind the Pyramid but I never had any thing that I could prove. The break through finally came after I was able to spend some time at the Library of Congress in the History of.Mathematics section. This is where I began to learn about the ways the ancient Egyptian did mathematics. This knowledge and computer spread sheets finally gave me results that I could prove (to my satisfaction at least) and others could use my methods to verify my result. I was asked by a friendly professor in 1991 to deliver a paper on my work to his descriptive geometry class at College of the Redwoods in northern California. I wrote up my paper using Ventura Publishing and delivered it, and got an enthusiastic response from the students. At the urging of other I have finally translated the paper from Ventura to HTML. Some of the illustrations got a little fuzzy in the translation and I will correct that in the future. The main point I want to make is,in the five years since I wrote the paper I have been able to substantiate all the results, on much more powerful computers and software (especially Mathcad 4.0) You could read the paper and just accept my numbers or take a calculator and a blank spread sheet to verify as you go along.

CLICK HERE--> THE PYRAMID PAPER

If you don't like numbers and math, at least read my summary of insights below

Some people have demanded that I send them a complete drawing (with all the lengths and angles) of what I consider was the original dimensions of the Great Pyramid. There are many interesting things that I would prefer to leave off the web and save for my book. So the pictures below is the only summary of my work I will give, for now. (They are in the new .png format, for faster loading.)

To fully understand the above information you will also need the picture below. It shows some subtle details, typical to each side. Because of the equal angles many surfaces are mirror reflections .

and

Some insights since 1991 and plans for the future (If you came from the Pyramid paper, also check the above pictures) I am now searching for a publisher to get a book out on my research, so I will not give detailed explanation of any of the insights. But there is enough information here and in the paper for anybody into mathematics to fully reconstruct my work. Anyone with math questions e-mail me. I will answer promptly. Other questions will be answered slowly.

The millennium has come. It's about time we understood the Great Pyramid!

I now understand the unfinished pyramid with the eye on top on our one dollar bill. I think George Washington and other masons knew that it was a symbol for starting and maintaining a nation, but they did not know it's real mathematical meaning. The "key" for people who have read the above paper is that it is not 479 feet 11 and 15/16 inches but 479 and 191/192 feet (they are equal). Converting 191/192 to Egyptian fractions and then into hieroglyphic give the answer (Hint: 191/192 = 63/64 + 1/(128-32)). Plato seems to have understood the true meaning of all this, (see Plato, Laws 7, 819)

For a taste of how the Egyptians "used" the eye click on image. The story about the Tower of Babel seem to be about the pharaoh climbing up the unfinished pyramid and supervising some subtle moves on the stones of the king's chamber and thus making the chamber a steep sided truncated pyramid that if raised to its full height would raise miles into the air (he shot the arrow!). But since he didn't use Egyptian fractions in this maneuver when he tried to explain it to the priest, it sounded like babble. To see how steep sided it was, study a triangle with sides of 915, 682 and 610 which I found in the king's chamber. I'm amazed by this triangle, this would make Pythagoras turn over in his grave. If anyone knows of other triangles like this please Email me. I was perplexed by the fact that over 100,000 people worked on the Pyramid, yet the mathematics in the design remained a secret for so long. I now know that they did it with a tall pole mounted near the center of the unfinished Pyramid (see page 132 of Tompkin's book for an illustration). With ropes tied to this pole the regular workers could position stones accurately but have no idea of the math behind it. I believe this is where the May pole festival.started. You can find the size and position of this pole by using Cole's survey and finding the centers of 4 circles. The first drawn through the NW, NE and SE corners, the next through NE, SE and SW corners, the next through SE, SW and NW corners and finally the SW, NW and NE corners. The centers show about a 7 inch pole that the whole pyramid was based on. It is the intersection of four circles that define the corners. It also shows why the Pyramid could not be square. A mysterious line has just (3/97) been found.

The peace sign came from the pyramid (remember Bertrand Russel said it was an ancient symbol). It's a representation of the sun on the south face about 8 miles away.

And the final irony -- it's name betrays it's secret, pyro--middle --fire in the middle --- the sun reflecting off the highly polished south face (that it was polished is well documented and remember the faces were indented) thus: ----the world's first solar telescope!---

(This is my best attempt yet, at rendering just one posible view, using the Pyramid as a telescope.) Two suns are seen because, according to my model, the south indentation causes one face to reflects one half of a degree (actually 27' 50") differently than the other one. And 1/2 degree is about the same as the diameter of the sun (max 32' 30").

I believe Akanaten started the worship of the sun because of this.

Recent findings on the cubit Information on the Royal Cubit I found in my work (length 523.33mm) There is an interesting relationship between the Royal Cubit and the foot. I found that 7 Royal Cubits is essentialy equal to 12 feet. (it is actually 12 feet plus .2238 inches ) So here is what it comes down to. I put forth proof that: Four 'unit fraction expressions' match the surveyed lengths and angles better than the 14,400 others I have tied. I then use those 4 expressions to develop a mathematical model that has some very interesting features. This is my best guess at what the original design of the Great Pyramid was. What I expected when I put it all on the web was: 1. A debate would start 2. Others would come forward with other mathematical models. 3. Eventually every body would agree on what the true model of the Great Pyramid was. All I ever wanted was to be part of that debate. But what I have found, is that most of the people who even know what a mathematical model is, have an aversion to anything about the Great Pyramid.

So I am in the perplexing position of saying, I have the best model for the Great Pyramid in the world, just because nobody has come forward with another. (another that is, that matches Cole's survey)

NEW EXTRA STUFF

I completely revised this page about "An accidental discovery while looking at a star map".

;1986-2006,Terrance G. Nevin last time updated 1/23/2006

To Terrys Home Page

Introduction
Vedic Maths Tutorial
Home Page What is Vedic Maths

Vedic Maths is based on sixteen sutras or principles. These principles are gen nature and can be applied in many ways. In practice many applications of the be learned and combined to solve actual problems. These tutorials will give ex simple applications of the sutras, to give a feel for how the Vedic Maths system These tutorials do not attempt to teach the systematic use of the sutras.

Nine Features of Vedic Maths History Tutorial

advanced applications and a more complete coverage of the basic uses of the recommend you study one of the books avilable from our book store or a dvd

N.B. The following tutorials are based on examples and exercises given in the with figures' by Kenneth Williams, which is a fun introduction to some of the ap the sutras for children. If you are having problems using the tutorials then you could always read the Tutorial 1 Tutorial 2 Tutorial 3 Tutorial 4 Tutorial 5 Tutorial 6 Tutorial 7

Tutorial 1

Use the formula ALL FROM 9 AND THE LAST FROM 10 to perform instant su

For example 1000 - 357 = 643 We simply take each figure in 357 from 9 and the last figure from 10.

So the answer is 1000 - 357 = 643 And thats all there is to it!

This always works for subtractions from numbers consisting of a 1 followed by n 1000; 10,000 etc.

Similarly 10,000 - 1049 = 8951

For 1000 - 83, in which we have more zeros than figures in the numbers being su simply suppose 83 is 083.

So 1000 - 83 becomes 1000 - 083 = 917 Try some yourself: 1) 1000 - 777 2) 1000 - 283 3) 1000 - 505 4) 10,000 - 2345 5) 10000 - 9876 6) 10,000 - 1101 7) 100 - 57 8) 1000 - 57 9) 10,000 - 321 10) 10,000 - 38

= = = = = = = = = =
Reset Test

Total Correct = Return to Index

Tutorial 2

Using VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE you do not need to the multiplication tables b Suppose you need 8 x 7 8 is 2 below 10 and 7 is 3 below 10. Think of it like this:

The answer is 56. The diagram below shows how you get it.

You subtract crosswise 8-3 or 7 - 2 to get 5, the first figure of the answer. And you multiply vertically: 2 x 3 to get 6, the last figure of the answer. That's all you do: See how far the numbers are below 10, subtract one number's deficiency from the other number, and multiply the deficiencies together.

7 x 6 = 42

Here there is a carry: the 1 in the 12 goes over to make 3 into 4. Multply These: 1) 8 8x 2) 9 7x 3) 8 9x 4) 7 7x 5) 9 9x

6)

Total Correct =

Reset Test

Here's how to use VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE for multiplying numbers close to

Suppose you want to multiply 88 by 98. Not easy,you might think. But with VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE you can give the answer immediately, using the same method as above.

Both 88 and 98 are close to 100. 88 is 12 below 100 and 98 is 2 below 100. You can imagine the sum set out like this:

As before the 86 comes from subtracting crosswise: 88 - 2 = 86 (or 98 - 12 = 86: you can subtract either way, you will always get the same answer). And the 24 in the answer is just 12 x 2: you multiply vertically. So 88 x 98 = 8624 This is so easy it is just mental arithmetic. Try some: 1) 87 98 x 2) 88 97 x 3) 77 98 x 4) 93 96 x 5) 94 92 x 6) 64 99

Total Correct =

Reset Test

Multiplying numbers just over 100.

103 x 104 = 10712 The answer is in two parts: 107 and 12, 107 is just 103 + 4 (or 104 + 3), and 12 is just 3 x 4.

Similarly 107 x 106 = 11342 107 + 6 = 113 and 7 x 6 = 42

Again, just for mental arithmetic Try a few:

1) 102 x 107 = 1) 106 x 103 = 1) 104 x 104 = 4) 109 x 108 = 5) 101 x123 = 6) 103 x102 = Total Correct = Return to Index
Reset Test

Tutorial 3
The easy way to add and subtract fractions. Use VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE to write the answer straight down!

Multiply crosswise and add to get the top of the answer: 2 x 5 = 10 and 1 x 3 = 3. Then 10 + 3 = 13. The bottom of the fraction is just 3 x 5 = 15. You multiply the bottom number together. So:

Subtracting is just as easy: multiply crosswise as before, but the subtract:

Try a few:

Total Correct = Return to Index

Reset Test

Tutorial 4

A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 using the formula BY ONE MORE THAN BEFORE. 752 = 5625 752 means 75 x 75. The answer is in two parts: 56 and 25. The last part is always 25. The first part is the first number, 7, multiplied by the number "one more", which so 7 x 8 = 56

Similarly 852 = 7225 because 8 x 9 = 72.

Try these:

1) 452 = 2) 652 = 3) 952 = 4) 352 = 5) 152 = Total Correct =

Reset Test

Method for multiplying numbers where the first figures are the same and the last figures

32 x 38 = 1216 Both numbers here start with 3 and the last figures (2 and 8) add up to 10. So we just multiply 3 by 4 (the next number up) to get 12 for the first part of the answer. And we multiply the last figures: 2 x 8 = 16 to get the last part of the answer. Diagrammatically:

And 81 x 89 = 7209 We put 09 since we need two figures as in all the other examples.

Practise some:

1) 43 x 47 = 2) 24 x 26 = 3) 62 x 68 = 4) 17 x 13 = 5) 59 x 51 = 6) 77 x 73 = Total Correct = Return to Index

Reset Test

Tutorial 5
An elegant way of multiplying numbers using a simple pattern.

21 x 23 = 483 This is normally called long multiplication but actually the answer can be written straight down using the VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE formula. We first put, or imagine, 23 below 21:

There are 3 steps: a) Multiply vertically on the left: 2 x 2 = 4. This gives the first figure of the answer. b) Multiply crosswise and add: 2 x 3 + 1 x 2 = 8 This gives the middle figure.

c) Multiply vertically on the right: 1 x 3 = 3 This gives the last figure of the answer. And thats all there is to it.

Similarly 61 x 31 = 1891

6 x 3 = 18; 6 x 1 + 1 x 3 = 9; 1 x 1 = 1

Try these, just write down the answer: 1) 14 21 x 2) 22 31 x 3) 21 31 x 4) 21 22 x 5) 32 21 x

Total Correct =

Reset Test

Multiply any 2-figure numbers together by mere mental arithmetic! If you want 21 stamps at 26 pence each you can easily find the total price in your head. There were no carries in the method given above. However, there only involve one small extra step.

21 x 26 = 546

The method is the same as above except that we get a 2-figure number, 14, in the middle step, so the 1 is carried over to the left (4 becomes 5). So 21 stamps cost 5.46.

Practise a few: 1) 21 47 x 2) 23 43 x 3) 32 53 x 4) 42 32 x 5) 71 72 x

Total Correct =

Reset Test

33 x 44 = 1452 There may be more than one carry in a sum:

Vertically on the left we get 12. Crosswise gives us 24, so we carry 2 to the left and mentally get 144. Then vertically on the right we get 12 and the 1 here is carried over to the 144 to make 1452. 6) 32 56 x 7) 32 54 x 8) 31 72 x 9) 44 53 x 10) 54 64 x

Total Correct =

Reset Test

Any two numbers, no matter how big, can be multiplied in one line by this method. Return to Index

Tutorial 6
Multiplying a number by 11.

To multiply any 2-figure number by 11 we just put the total of the two figures between the 2 figures.

26 x 11 = 286 Notice that the outer figures in 286 are the 26 being multiplied. And the middle figure is just 2 and 6 added up.

So 72 x 11 = 792

Multiply by 11:

1) 43 = 2) 81 = 3) 15 = 4) 44 = 5) 11 = Total Correct =

Reset Test

77 x 11 = 847 This involves a carry figure because 7 + 7 = 14 we get 77 x 11 = 7147 = 847.

Multiply by 11:

1) 88 = 2) 84 = 3) 48 = 4) 73 =

5) 56 = Total Correct =

Reset Test

234 x 11 = 2574 We put the 2 and the 4 at the ends. We add the first pair 2 + 3 = 5. and we add the last pair: 3 + 4 = 7.

Multiply by 11:

1) 151 = 2) 527 = 3) 333 = 4) 714 = 5) 909 = Total Correct = Return to Index

Reset Test

Tutorial 7
Method for diving by 9.

23 / 9 = 2 remainder 5 The first figure of 23 is 2, and this is the answer. The remainder is just 2 and 3 added up!

43 / 9 = 4 remainder 7 The first figure 4 is the answer and 4 + 3 = 7 is the remainder - could it be easier?

Divide by 9:

1) 61 = 2) 33 = 3) 44 = 4) 53 = 5) 80 =

remainder remainder remainder remainder remainder

Reset Test

Total Correct =

134 / 9 = 14 remainder 8 The answer consists of 1,4 and 8. 1 is just the first figure of 134. 4 is the total of the first two figures 1+ 3 = 4, and 8 is the total of all three figures 1+ 3 + 4 = 8.

Divide by 9:

6) 232 = 7) 151 = 8) 303 = 9) 212 = 10) 2121 = Total Correct =

remainder remainder remainder remainder remainder

Reset Test

842 / 9 = 812 remainder 14 = 92 remainder 14 Actually a remainder of 9 or more is not usually permitted because we are trying to find how many 9's there are in 842.

Since the remainder, 14 has one more 9 with 5 left over the final answer will be 93 remainder 5 Divide these by 9:

1) 771 = 2) 942 = 3) 565 = 4) 555 = 5) 777 = 6) 2382 = 7) 7070 = Total Correct = Return to Index

remainder remainder remainder remainder remainder remainder remainder

Reset Test

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Instructions
for using the tutorials

Each tutorial has test sections comprising of several questions each. Next to each questio (field) into which you can enter the answer to the question. Select the first question in ea the mouse to start a test. Enter the answer for the question using the numeric keys on the move to the answer field of the next question in the test, press the 'TAB' key. Moving to question, will cause the answer you entered to be checked, the following will be displaye on how you answered the question :-

Correct

Wrong Answer has more than one part (such as fractions and those answers with remainde Answering remaining parts of the question, will determine whether you answered t correctly or not.

Some browsers will update the answer on 'RETURN' being pressed, others do not. Any stick to the 'TAB' key. Pressing 'SHIFT TAB' will move the cursor back to the answer f previous question. The button will clear all answers from the test and set the count of correct answers back

N.B. JavaScript is used to obtain the interactive nature of these tutorials. If you cannot g then try the text/picture based version of this tutorial. Return to Index

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THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN NUMBER SYSTEM BY CAROLINE SEAWRIGHT

In ancient Egypt mathematics was used for measuring time, straight lines, the level of the Nile floodings, calculating areas of land, counting money, working out taxes and cooking. Maths was even used in mythology - the Egyptians figured out the numbers of days in the year with their calendar. They were one of the ancient peoples who got it closest to the 'true year', though their mathematical skills. Maths was also used with fantastic results for building tombs, pyramids and other architectural marvels.

A part of the largest surviving mathematical scroll, the Rhind Papyrus (written in hieratic script), asks questions about the geometry of triangles. It is, in essence, a mathematical text book. The surviving parts of the papyrus show how the Egyptian engineers calculated the proportions of pyramids as well as other structures. Originally, this papyrus was five meters long and thirty three centimeters high.

It is again to the Nile Valley that we must look for evidence of the early influence on Greek mathematics. With respect to geometry, the commentators are unanimous: the mathematician-priests of the Nile Valley knew no peer. The geometry of Pythagoras, Eudoxus, Plato, and Euclid was learned in Nile Valley temples. Four mathematical papyri still survive, most importantly the Rhind mathematical papyrus dating to 1832 B.C. Not only do these papyri show that the priests had mastered all the processes of arithmetic, including a theory of number, but had developed formulas enabling them to find solutions of problems with one and two unknowns, along with "think of a number problems." With all of this plus the arithmetic and geometric progressions they discovered, it is evident that by 1832 B.C., algebra was in place in the Nile Valley.

Problem no. 56 in the Rhind Papyrus gives an equation to find the angle of the slope of a pyramid's face, which in fact is its cotangent. With a cotangent, one automatically has a tangent by taking the inverse of the cotangent. Moreover, the means were present with pyramidal models to obtain sine and cosine values. Thus, trigonometry was also developed earliest in the Nile Valley. The advanced state of this math is confirmed by an architectural drawing even older than the Rhind Papyrus that shows that Nilotic engineers had learned to find the area under a curve more than 5,000 years ago. Finally, as Flinders Petrie found, the architects had several times built into their structures right triangles that obeyed the theorem: a2 + b2 = c2, where a and b are the two sides and c is the hypotenuse. Since Pythagoras studied in the temples of the Nile Valley for 22 years it would not have surprised him to learn there was the source of the theorem that bears his name.

The Rhind Papyrus also asks questions like "From a certain amount of grain, how many loaves can be baked?" or "Given a ramp of length x and height y, how many bricks are needed?" These are typical examples of what Egyptian school students had to do in

their mathematics class.

The papyrus was found in Thebes in the ruins of a small building near the Ramesseum. It is a copy made by the scribe Ahmose during the 15th Dynasty reign of the Hyksos Pharaoh, Apepi I. Ahmose states that his writings are similar to those of the time of Amenemhet III (1842 - 1797 B.C.)

Egyptians knew addition, subtraction, some division and multiplication. They only multiplied and divided by two, so if they wanted to find e x 5, they would use e x 2 + e x 2 + e. 13 / 4 was done as 4 x 2 + 4 = 12, 13 - 12 = 1, and so the answer was 3 .

Being only able to multiply and divide by two, Egyptian math was unwieldy. To get whole numbers like 32, the Egyptians would have to write: 10 + 10 + 10 + 1 + 1. Although simple, the way the Egyptians wrote their maths made it long and repetitive.

The Egyptians were somewhat familiar with both roots and square roots. They could plot an arch by using offsets that were measured at regular intervals from a base line, and they could also find out areas. To find the area of a circle, the Egyptians used an area of a square on an 8/9 of the diameter, or (7/8) squared. They could also figure out the area of a triangle. They knew that the volume of a frustum of a square pyramid equalled (1/3) height (a squared + ab + b squared). They also knew that to make right angled triangles, they had to usethe ratio of 3:4:5.

1=

2=

3=

4=

10 =

100 =

1,000 =

10,000 =

100,000 =

1,000,000 =

As for fractions, 'r'

was used for the word 'part'. This means that r-10

is equivalent to our 1/10.

The Egyptian sign 'gs' 'part-4' or . 'rwy'

was used for the word 'side' or 'half' . The word 'hsb' meant 'two parts out of three' 2/3, and 'khmt rw'

meant 'fraction', but it came to mean

, though rare, was 'three parts out of four' 3/4.

Other fractions could be made from representing the different parts of the 'wdj3t', the Eye of Horus. It was split up into , , 1/8,

1/16, 1/32 and 1/64. The 'wdj3t' (udjat) is split into parts because of the myth where Set, Horus' uncle, tore his eye from his head and ripped it to pieces. Thoth, later on, completed the eye, joining the parts together, giving it the name 'the sound eye'. The parts add up to 63/64, and the missing 1/64 was presumably the part filled by Thoth.

The Egyptians, though, had no concept for zero. The zero was invented independently both by the Indians (thanks to Ranjeev Ravi for pointing this out) and the Maya. The Indians used a space for zero, and the Maya used a symbol for zero in their calendars in the 3rd century AD. Eventually, the Indians came to use a dot for zero, which was picked up by the Arabs. Through the Arabs, the number zero reached European civilisation after 800 AD. The ancient Egyptians, as with the ancient Greeks and Romans, had no use for zero.

In their daily lives, the Egyptians who used mathematics most likely were priests and priestesses in charge of workers, surveyors, masons and engineers, tax collectors, shop keepers and at least some of the buyers, and cooks. The higher form of maths, of course, was done by those with the building-related jobs and the priests. Shop keepers, cooks and the lower classes probably only used the simple types of mathematics that we, today, use in our every day lives.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu from the Fourth Dynasty was a mathematical wonder:

It was laid out with geometric precision - a near-perfect square base, with sides of 230 meters that differ from each other by less than twenty centimeters, and faces that sloped upwards at an angle of 51 to reach an apex nearly 150 meters above the desert floor.

There are about 2,300,000 giant, heavy stone blocks in the pyramid, which are placed so close together that a knife blade can not be inserted between them! The sides of the square base have an error of less than 1/14,000, while the right angles have an error of less than 1/27,000.

Some people have made certain discoveries about the Great Pyramid, using maths:

When using the Egyptian cubit the perimeter is 365.24 - the amount of days in the year

When doubling the perimeter, the answer is equal to one minute of one degree at the equator

The apex to base slant is equal to 600th of a degree of latitude

The height x 10 to the power of 9 gives approximately the distance from the earth to the sun

The perimeter divided by 2 x the height of the pyramid is equal to pi - 3.1416

The weight of the pyramid x 10 to the power of 15 is equal to the approximate weight of the earth

When the cross diagonals of the base are added together, the answer is equal to the amount of time (in years) that it takes for the earth's polar axis to go back to its original starting point - 25,286.6 years

The measurements of the King's Chamber gives 2-5-3 and 3-4-5 which are basic Pythagorean triangles

Statistics can prove anything, so all of this should be taken with a grain of salt. What the Egyptians did with their unwieldy

mathematics system was, actually, pretty fantastic. Not only did they just use it in their day-to-day lives, but they built one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Something that we, today, can not replicate despite our more complex mathematics and our modern technology!

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Tutorial 1
Use the formula ALL FROM 9 AND THE LAST FROM 10 to perform instant subtractions.

For example 1000 - 357 = 643 We simply take each figure in 357 from 9 and the last figure from 10.

So the answer is 1000 - 357 = 643 And thats all there is to it! This always works for subtractions from numbers consisting of a 1 followed by noughts: 100; 1000; 10,000 etc.

Similarly 10,000 - 1049 = 8951

For 1000 - 83, in which we have more zeros than figures in the numbers being subtracted, we simply suppose 83 is 083. So 1000 - 83 becomes 1000 - 083 = 917

Try some yourself: 1) 1000 - 777 2) 1000 - 283 3) 1000 - 505 4) 10,000 - 2345 5) 10000 - 9876 6) 10,000 - 1101 7) 100 - 57 8) 1000 - 57 9) 10,000 - 321 10) 10,000 - 38

= = = = = = = = = =
Reset Test

Total Correct = Return to Index

Tutorial 2
Using VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE you do not need to the multiplication tables beyond 5 X 5.

Suppose you need 8 x 7 8 is 2 below 10 and 7 is 3 below 10. Think of it like this:

The answer is 56. The diagram below shows how you get it.

You subtract crosswise 8-3 or 7 - 2 to get 5, the first figure of the answer. And you multiply vertically: 2 x 3 to get 6, the last figure of the answer. That's all you do: See how far the numbers are below 10, subtract one number's deficiency from the other number, and multiply the deficiencies together.

7 x 6 = 42

Here there is a carry: the 1 in the 12 goes over to make 3 into 4. Multply These: 1) 8 8x 2) 9 7x 3) 8 9x 4) 7 7x 5) 9 9x 6) 6 6x

Total Correct =

Reset Test

Here's how to use VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE for multiplying numbers close to 100.

Suppose you want to multiply 88 by 98.

Not easy,you might think. But with VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE you can give the answer immediately, using the same method as above. Both 88 and 98 are close to 100. 88 is 12 below 100 and 98 is 2 below 100. You can imagine the sum set out like this:

As before the 86 comes from subtracting crosswise: 88 - 2 = 86 (or 98 - 12 = 86: you can subtract either way, you will always get the same answer). And the 24 in the answer is just 12 x 2: you multiply vertically. So 88 x 98 = 8624 This is so easy it is just mental arithmetic. Try some: 1) 87 98 x 2) 88 97 x 3) 77 98 x 4) 93 96 x 5) 94 92 x 6) 64 99 7) 98 97 x

Total Correct =

Reset Test

Multiplying numbers just over 100.

103 x 104 = 10712 The answer is in two parts: 107 and 12, 107 is just 103 + 4 (or 104 + 3), and 12 is just 3 x 4.

Similarly 107 x 106 = 11342 107 + 6 = 113 and 7 x 6 = 42

Again, just for mental arithmetic Try a few:

1) 102 x 107 = 1) 106 x 103 = 1) 104 x 104 = 4) 109 x 108 = 5) 101 x123 = 6) 103 x102 = Total Correct = Return to Index
Reset Test

Tutorial 3
The easy way to add and subtract fractions. Use VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE to write the answer straight down!

Multiply crosswise and add to get the top of the answer: 2 x 5 = 10 and 1 x 3 = 3. Then 10 + 3 = 13. The bottom of the fraction is just 3 x 5 = 15. You multiply the bottom number together. So:

Subtracting is just as easy: multiply crosswise as before, but the subtract:

Try a few:

Total Correct = Return to Index

Reset Test

Tutorial 4
A quick way to square numbers that end in 5 using the formula BY ONE MORE THAN THE ONE BEFORE.

752 = 5625 752 means 75 x 75. The answer is in two parts: 56 and 25. The last part is always 25. The first part is the first number, 7, multiplied by the number "one more", which is 8: so 7 x 8 = 56

Similarly 852 = 7225 because 8 x 9 = 72.

Try these:

1) 452 = 2) 652 = 3) 952 = 4) 352 = 5) 152 = Total Correct =

Reset Test

Method for multiplying numbers where the first figures are the same and the last figures add up to 10.

32 x 38 = 1216 Both numbers here start with 3 and the last figures (2 and 8) add up to 10. So we just multiply 3 by 4 (the next number up) to get 12 for the first part of the answer. And we multiply the last figures: 2 x 8 = 16 to get the last part of the answer. Diagrammatically:

And 81 x 89 = 7209

We put 09 since we need two figures as in all the other examples. Practise some:

1) 43 x 47 = 2) 24 x 26 = 3) 62 x 68 = 4) 17 x 13 = 5) 59 x 51 = 6) 77 x 73 = Total Correct = Return to Index

Reset Test

Tutorial 5
An elegant way of multiplying numbers using a simple pattern.

21 x 23 = 483 This is normally called long multiplication but actually the answer can be written straight down using the VERTICALLY AND CROSSWISE formula. We first put, or imagine, 23 below 21:

There are 3 steps:

a) Multiply vertically on the left: 2 x 2 = 4. This gives the first figure of the answer. b) Multiply crosswise and add: 2 x 3 + 1 x 2 = 8 This gives the middle figure. c) Multiply vertically on the right: 1 x 3 = 3 This gives the last figure of the answer. And thats all there is to it.

Similarly 61 x 31 = 1891

6 x 3 = 18; 6 x 1 + 1 x 3 = 9; 1 x 1 = 1

Try these, just write down the answer: 1) 14 21 x 2) 22 31 x 3) 21 31 x 4) 21 22 x 5) 32 21 x

Total Correct =

Reset Test

Multiply any 2-figure numbers together by mere mental arithmetic! If you want 21 stamps at 26 pence each you can easily find the total price in your head. There were no carries in the method given above. However, there only involve one small extra step.

21 x 26 = 546

The method is the same as above except that we get a 2-figure number, 14, in the

middle step, so the 1 is carried over to the left (4 becomes 5). So 21 stamps cost 5.46. Practise a few: 1) 21 47 x 2) 23 43 x 3) 32 53 x 4) 42 32 x 5) 71 72 x

Total Correct =

Reset Test

33 x 44 = 1452 There may be more than one carry in a sum:

Vertically on the left we get 12. Crosswise gives us 24, so we carry 2 to the left and mentally get 144. Then vertically on the right we get 12 and the 1 here is carried over to the 144 to make 1452. 6) 32 56 x 7) 32 54 x 8) 31 72 x 9) 44 53 x 10) 54 64 x

Total Correct =

Reset Test

Any two numbers, no matter how big, can be multiplied in one line by this method. Return to Index

Tutorial 6
Multiplying a number by 11. To multiply any 2-figure number by 11 we just put the total of the two figures between the 2 figures.

26 x 11 = 286 Notice that the outer figures in 286 are the 26 being multiplied. And the middle figure is just 2 and 6 added up.

So 72 x 11 = 792

Multiply by 11:

1) 43 = 2) 81 = 3) 15 = 4) 44 = 5) 11 = Total Correct =

Reset Test

77 x 11 = 847 This involves a carry figure because 7 + 7 = 14 we get 77 x 11 = 7147 = 847.

Multiply by 11:

1) 88 = 2) 84 =

3) 48 = 4) 73 = 5) 56 = Total Correct =

Reset Test

234 x 11 = 2574 We put the 2 and the 4 at the ends. We add the first pair 2 + 3 = 5. and we add the last pair: 3 + 4 = 7.

Multiply by 11:

1) 151 = 2) 527 = 3) 333 = 4) 714 = 5) 909 = Total Correct = Return to Index

Reset Test

Tutorial 7
Method for diving by 9.

23 / 9 = 2 remainder 5 The first figure of 23 is 2, and this is the answer. The remainder is just 2 and 3 added up!

43 / 9 = 4 remainder 7 The first figure 4 is the answer and 4 + 3 = 7 is the remainder - could it be easier?

Divide by 9:

1) 61 = 2) 33 = 3) 44 = 4) 53 = 5) 80 =

remainder remainder remainder remainder remainder

Reset Test

Total Correct =

134 / 9 = 14 remainder 8 The answer consists of 1,4 and 8. 1 is just the first figure of 134. 4 is the total of the first two figures 1+ 3 = 4, and 8 is the total of all three figures 1+ 3 + 4 = 8.

Divide by 9:

6) 232 = 7) 151 = 8) 303 = 9) 212 = 10) 2121 = Total Correct =

remainder remainder remainder remainder remainder

Reset Test

842 / 9 = 812 remainder 14 = 92 remainder 14

Actually a remainder of 9 or more is not usually permitted because we are trying to find how many 9's there are in 842. Since the remainder, 14 has one more 9 with 5 left over the final answer will be 93 remainder 5 Divide these by 9:

1) 771 = 2) 942 = 3) 565 = 4) 555 = 5) 777 = 6) 2382 = 7) 7070 = Total Correct = Return to Index

remainder remainder remainder remainder remainder remainder remainder

Reset Test

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Pyramid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search This article is about pyramid-shaped structures. For the geometric term, see Pyramid (geometry). For other uses, see Pyramid (disambiguation).

The Egyptian pyramids of the Giza Necropolis, as seen from above

Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacan

Prasat Thom temple at Koh Ker

Pyramids of Gmar, Tenerife (Spain) A pyramid (from Greek: "" pyramis[1]) is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces (at least four faces including the base). The square pyramid, with square base and four triangular outer surfaces, is a common version. A pyramid's design, with the majority of the weight closer to the ground,[2] and with the pyramidion on top means that less material higher up on the pyramid will be pushing down from

above. This distribution of weight allowed early civilizations to create stable monumental structures. For thousands of years, the largest structures on Earth were pyramidsfirst the Red Pyramid in the Dashur Necropolis and then the Great Pyramid of Khufu, both of Egypt, the latter the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still remaining. Khufu's Pyramid is built entirely of limestone, and is considered an architectural masterpiece. It contains around 1,300,000 blocks ranging in weight from 2.5 tonnes (5,500 lb) to 15 tonnes (33,000 lb) and is built on a square base with sides measuring about 230 m (755 ft), covering 13 acres. Its four sides face the four cardinal points precisely and it has an angle of 52 degrees. The original height of the Pyramid was 146.5 m (488 ft), but today it is only 137 m (455 ft) high, the 9 m (33 ft) that is missing is due to the theft of the fine quality limestone covering, or casing stones to build houses and Mosques in Cairo. It is still the tallest pyramid. The largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla.

Contents

1 Ancient monuments o 1.1 Mesopotamia o 1.2 Egypt o 1.3 Sudan o 1.4 Nigeria o 1.5 Greece o 1.6 Spain o 1.7 China o 1.8 Mesoamerica o 1.9 North America o 1.10 Roman Empire o 1.11 Medieval Europe o 1.12 India o 1.13 Indonesia o 1.14 Peru 2 Modern pyramids 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References

[edit] Ancient monuments

See also: List of ancient pyramids by country (disambiguation)

[edit] Mesopotamia

Chogha Zanbil is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. The Mesopotamians built the earliest pyramidal structures, called ziggurats. In ancient times, these were brightly painted. Since they were constructed of sun-dried mud-brick, little remains of them. Ziggurats were built by the Sumerians, Babylonians, Elamites, Akkadians, and Assyrians for local religions. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex which included other buildings. The precursors of the ziggurat were raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period[3] during the fourth millennium BC. The earliest ziggurats began near the end of the Early Dynastic Period.[4] The latest Mesopotamian ziggurats date from the 6th century BC. Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure with a flat top. Sunbaked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside. The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance. Kings sometimes had their names engraved on these glazed bricks. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven. It is assumed that they had shrines at the top, but there is no archaeological evidence for this and the only textual evidence is from Herodotus.[5] Access to the shrine would have been by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit. The Mesopotamian ziggurats were not places for public worship or ceremonies. They were believed to be dwelling places for the gods and each city had its own patron god. Only priests were permitted on the ziggurat or in the rooms at its base, and it was their responsibility to care for the gods and attend to their needs. The priests were very powerful members of Sumerian society.

[edit] Egypt
Main article: Egyptian pyramids The most famous pyramids are the Egyptian pyramids huge structures built of brick or stone, some of which are among the world's largest constructions. The age of the pyramids reached its zenith at Giza in 2575-2150 B.C.[6] As of 2008, some 135 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt.[7][8] The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in the world. Until Lincoln Cathedral was finished in AD 1311, it was the tallest building in the world. The base is over 52,600 square meters in area. While pyramids are associated with Egypt, the nation of Sudan has 220 extant pyramids, the most numerous in the world.[9] The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is the only one to survive into modern times. The Ancient Egyptians covered the faces of pyramids with polished white limestone, containing great quantities of fossilized seashells.[10] Many of the facing stones have fallen or have been removed and used to build the mosques of Cairo.

The ancient pyramids of Egypt Most pyramids are located near Cairo, with only one royal pyramid being located south of Cairo, at the Abydos temple complex. The pyramid at Abydos, Egypt were commissioned by Ahmose I who founded the 18th Dynasty and the New Kingdom.[11] The building of pyramids began in the 3rd Dynasty with the reign of King Djoser. Early kings such as Snefru built several pyramids, with subsequent kings adding to the number of pyramids until the end of the Middle Kingdom. The last king to build royal pyramids was Ahmose, with later kings, afraid of looting, deciding to hide their tombs in the hills, like in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor's West Bank.[11] In Medinat Habu, or Deir el-Medina, smaller pyramids were built by individuals. Smaller pyramids were also built by the Nubians who ruled Egypt in the Late Period, though their pyramids had steeper sides.[11]

[edit] Sudan
Main article: Nubian pyramids

Nubian Pyramids at Meroe Nubian pyramids were constructed (roughly 220 of them) at three sites in Sudan to serve as tombs for the kings and queens of Napata and Mero. The pyramids of Kush, also known as Nubian Pyramids, have different characteristics than the pyramids of Egypt. The Nubian pyramids were constructed at a steeper angle than Egyptian ones. They were monuments to dead kings and queens.[12] Pyramids were still being built in Sudan as late as AD 300.

[edit] Nigeria

One of the unique structures of Igbo culture was the Nsude Pyramids, at the Nigerian town of Nsude, in Abaja, northern Igboland. Ten pyramidal structures were built of clay/mud. The first base section was 60 ft. in circumference and 3 ft. in height. The next stack was 45 ft. in circumference. Circular stacks continued, till it reached the top. The structures were temples for the god Ala/Uto, who was believed to reside at the top. A stick was placed at the top to represent the god's residence. The structures were laid in groups of five parallel to each other. Because it was built of clay/mud like the Deffufa of Nubia, time has taken its toll requiring periodic reconstruction.[13]

[edit] Greece
Main article: Greek pyramids Pausanias (2nd century AD) mentions two buildings resembling pyramids, one, twelve miles southwest of the still standing structure at Hellenikon,[14] a common tomb for soldiers who died in a legendary struggle for the throne of Argos and another which he was told was the tomb of Argives killed in a battle around 669/8 BC. Neither of these still survive and there is no evidence that they resembled Egyptian pyramids.

Pyramid of Hellinikon There are also at least two surviving pyramid-like structures still available to study, one at Hellenikon and the other at Ligourio/Ligurio, a village near the ancient theatre Epidaurus. These buildings were not constructed in the same manner as the pyramids in Egypt. They do have inwardly sloping walls but other than those there is no obvious resemblance to Egyptian pyramids. They had large central rooms (unlike Egyptian pyramids) and the Hellenikon structure is rectangular rather than square, 12.5 meters by 14 meters which means that the sides could not have met at a point.[15] The stone used to build the pyramids was limestone quarried locally and was cut to fit, not into freestanding blocks like the Great Pyramid of Giza. There are no remains or graves in or near the structures. Instead, the rooms that the walls housed were made to be locked from the inside. This coupled with the platform roof, means that one of the functions these structures could have served was as watchtowers. Another possibility for the buildings is that they are shrines to heroes and soldiers of ancient times, but the lock on the inside makes no sense for such a purpose. The dating of these pyramids has been made from the pot shards excavated from the floor and on the grounds. The latest dates available from scientific dating have been estimated around the

5th and 4th centuries. Normally this technique is used for dating pottery, but here researchers have used it to try to date stone flakes from the walls of the structures. This has created some debate about whether or not these pyramids are actually older than Egypt, which is part of the Black Athena controversy.[16] The basis for their use of thermoluminescence in order to date these structures is a new method of collecting samples for testing. Scientists from laboratories hired out by the recent excavators of the site, The Academy of Athens, say that they can use the electrons trapped on the inner surface of the stones to positively identify the date that the stones were quarried and put together. Mary Lefkowitz has criticised this research. She suggests that some of the research was done not to determine the reliability of the dating method, as was suggested, but to back up an assumption of age and to make certain points about pyramids and Greek civilization. She notes that not only are the results not very precise, but that other structures mentioned in the research are not in fact pyramids, e.g. a tomb alleged to be the tomb of Amphion and Zethus near Thebes, a structure at Stylidha (Thessaly) which is just a long wall, etc. She also notes the possibility that the stones that were dated might have been recycled from earlier constructions. She also notes that earlier research from the 1930s, confirmed in the 1980s by Fracchia was ignored. She argues that they undertook their research using a novel and previously untested methodology in order to confirm a predetermined theory about the age of these structures.[17] Liritzis responded in a journal article published in 2011, stating that Lefkowitz failed to understand and misinterpreted the methodology.[18]

[edit] Spain
The Pyramids of Gmar refer to six rectangular pyramid-shaped, terraced structures, built from lava stone without the use of mortar. They are located in the district of Chacona, part of the town of Gmar on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The structures have been dated to the 19th century and their original function explained as a byproduct of contemporary agricultural techniques. Local traditions as well as surviving images indicate that similar structures (also known as, "Morras", "Majanos", "Molleros", or "Paredones") could once have been found in many locations on the island. However, over time they have been dismantled and used as a cheap building material. In Gmar itself there were nine pyramids, only six of which survive.

[edit] China

Ancient Korean tomb in Ji'an, Northeastern China Main article: Chinese pyramids There are many square flat-topped mound tombs in China. The First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (circa 221 BC, who unified the 7 pre-Imperial Kingdoms) was buried under a large mound outside modern day Xi'an. In the following centuries about a dozen more Han Dynasty royals were also buried under flat-topped pyramidal earthworks.

[edit] Mesoamerica
Main article: Mesoamerican pyramids

Pyramid in the Mayan city of Chichen Itza, Mexico A number of Mesoamerican cultures also built pyramid-shaped structures. Mesoamerican pyramids were usually stepped, with temples on top, more similar to the Mesopotamian ziggurat than the Egyptian pyramid. The largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. This pyramid is considered the largest monument ever constructed anywhere in the world, and is still being excavated. The third largest pyramid in the world, the Pyramid of the Sun, at Teotihuacan is also located in Mexico. There is an unusual pyramid with a circular plan at the site of Cuicuilco, now inside Mexico City and mostly covered with lava from an eruption of the Xitle Volcano in the first century BC. There are several circular stepped pyramids called Guachimontones in Teuchitln, Jalisco as well. Pyramids in Mexico were often used as places of human sacrifice. For the re-consecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, the Aztecs reported that they sacrificed about 80,400 people over the course of four days.[19]

[edit] North America

Many mound-building societies of ancient North America built large pyramidal earth structures known as platform mounds. Among the largest and best-known of these structures is Monk's Mound at the site of Cahokia, which has a base larger than that of the Great Pyramid at Giza. While the North American mounds' precise function is not known, they are believed to have played a central role in the mound-building people's religious life.

[edit] Roman Empire

Pyramid of Cestius in Rome The 27-metre-high Pyramid of Cestius was built by the end of the first century BC and still exists today, close to the Porta San Paolo. Another one, named Meta Romuli, standing in the Ager Vaticanus (today's Borgo), was destroyed at the end of the 15th century. There is also a Roman era pyramid built in Falicon, France.[20] There were many more pyramids built in France in this period.

[edit] Medieval Europe

Pyramids have occasionally been used in Christian architecture of the feudal era, e.g. as the tower of Oviedo's Gothic Cathedral of San Salvador. In some cases this leads to speculations on masonic or other symbolical intentions.

[edit] India

The main gopura of the Thanjavur Temple pyramid. Many giant granite temple pyramids were made in South India during the Chola Empire, many of which are still in religious use today. Examples of such pyramid temples include Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur, the Temple of Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram. However the largest temple pyramid in the area is Sri Rangam in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu.The Thanjavur temple was built by Raja raja Chola in 11 century. The Brihadisvara Temple was declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987; the Temple of Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram were added as extensions to the site in 2004.[21]

[edit] Indonesia

Borobudur, Central Java. Next to menhir, stone table, and stone statue; Austronesian megalithic culture in Indonesia also featured earth and stone step pyramid structure called Punden Berundak as discovered in Pangguyangan, Cisolok and Gunung Padang, West Java. The construction of stone pyramid is based from the native beliefs that mountain and high places is the abode for the spirit of the ancestors. The step pyramid is the basic design of 8th century Borobudur Buddhist monument in Central Java. However the later temples built in Java were influenced by Indian Hindu architecture, as displayed by the towering spires of Prambanan temple. In the 15th century Java during late Majapahit period saw the revival of Austronesian indigenous elements as displayed by Sukuh temple that somewhat resemble Mesoamerican pyramid.

[edit] Peru

Caral

[edit] Modern pyramids

Karlsruhe Pyramid, Germany

The Ballandean Pyramid, at Ballandean in rural Queensland is a 15 meter folly pyramid made from blocks of local granite. The Louvre Pyramid in Paris, France, in the court of the Louvre Museum, is a 20.6 meter (about 70 foot) glass structure which acts as an entrance to the museum. It was designed by the American architect I. M. Pei and completed in 1989. The Ames Monument in southeastern Wyoming honoring the brothers who financed the Union Pacific Railroad. The Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, California, designed by William Pereira. The 32-story Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee (built in 1991) was the home court for the University of Memphis men's basketball program, and the National Basketball Association's Memphis Grizzlies until 2004. The Slovak radio building in Bratislava, Slovakia. This building is shaped like an inverted pyramid. The Walter Pyramid, home of the basketball and volleyball teams of the California State University, Long Beach, campus in California, United States, is an 18-story-tall blue pyramid. The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, United States, is a 30-story pyramid with light beaming from the top. The Summum Pyramid, a 3 story pyramid in Salt Lake City, Utah, used for instruction in the Summum philosophy and conducting rites associated with Modern Mummification. The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Pyramids at Osho Commune in Pune, India (for meditation purposes). The three pyramids of Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas. The Co-Op Bank Pyramid or Stockport Pyramid in Stockport, England is a large pyramidshaped office block in Stockport in England. (The surrounding part of the valley of the upper Mersey has sometimes been called the "Kings Valley" after the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.) The Karlsruhe Pyramid is a pyramid made of red sandstone, located in the centre of the market square of Karlsruhe, Germany. It was erected in the years 18231825 over the vault of the city's founder, Margrave Charles III William (16791738).

The GoJa Music Hall in Prague. The Muttart Conservatory greenhouses in Edmonton, Alberta. Small pyramids similar to those of the Louvre can be found outside the lobby of the Citicorp Building in Long Island City, Queens NY. The Pyramids of the City Stars Complex in Cairo, Egypt. Pyramid building belonging to The Digital Group (TDG), at Hinjwadi, Pune, India.[22] The Steelcase pyramid. Sunway Pyramid shopping mall in Selangor, Malaysia. Hanoi Museum with an overall design of a reversed Pyramid. The Pyramide des Ha! Ha! by artist Jean-Jules Soucy fr:Jean-Jules Soucy in La Baie, Quebec is made out of 3 000 give way signs.[23] The unfinished Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang. The Time pyramid in Wemding, Germany, a pyramid begun in 1993 and scheduled for completion in the year 3183.[24] Triangle, a proposed skyscraper in Paris. The Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid, a proposed project for construction of a massive pyramid over Tokyo Bay in Japan.

[edit] Gallery
Comparison of approximate profiles of some notable pyramidal or near-pyramidal buildings. Where the base is an oblong, the longer side is shown. Dotted lines indicate original heights, where data is available.

Pyramid of Khafra

Shaohao Tomb, Qufu, China

Stockport Pyramid in Stockport, United Kingdom

The Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California

The Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee

Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada

Hanoi Museum in Hanoi, Vietnam features an overall design of a reversed Pyramid.

Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans

The Summum Pyramid in Salt Lake City, Utah

Zafer Plaza shopping center in Bursa, Turkey

Kenton Bar estate (1966-early 1990s), Newcastle upon Tyne.

Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco, California.

[edit] See also

Bosnian pyramid List of megalithic sites Pyramid (disambiguation) for other uses of the word pyramid. Pyramid (geometry) for the pyramid as a 3-dimensional shape in geometry. Pyramidion Pyramids of Gmar Step pyramid Tomb Triadic pyramid Ziggurat

[edit] Notes
1. ^ , Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library 2. ^ Centre of volume is one quarter of the way up see Centre of mass 3. ^ Crawford, page 73 4. ^ Crawford, page 73-74 5. ^ Crawford, page 85

6. ^ "Egypt Pyramids-Time Line". National Geographic. 2002-10-17. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/timeline.html. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 7. ^ Slackman, Michael (2008-11-17). [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/world/middleeast/17cairo.html Some Egyptologists, notably Mark Lehner, state that the Ancient Egyptian word for pyramid was mer. "In the Shadow of a Long Past, Patiently Awaiting the Future"]. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/world/middleeast/17cairo.html Some Egyptologists, notably Mark Lehner, state that the Ancient Egyptian word for pyramid was mer.. Retrieved 2010-04-12. 8. ^ Lehner, Mark (2008-03-25). Mark Lehner (2008). The Complete Pyramids: Solving the Ancient Mysteries. p. 34.. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 9780500285473. http://books.google.com/?id=nNVsHwAACAAJ&dq=. 9. ^ Pollard, Lawrence (2004-09-09). "Sudan's past uncovered". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3641516.stm. Retrieved 2010-04-12. 10. ^ Viegas, J., Pyramids packed with fossil shells, ABC News in Science, <www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/04/28/2229383.htm> 11. ^ a b c Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know about Egyptian Pyramids, A Brief Intro to Egyptian Pyramids. 12. ^ Necia Desiree Harkless (2006). Nubian Pharaohs and Meroitic Kings: The Kingdom of Kush. AuthorHouse. ISBN 1425944965. http://books.google.com/?id=6PrmTAKiy0QC&pg=PA153&dq=nubian+pyramids+kings++tomb . 13. ^ Basden, G. S(1966). Among the Ibos of Nigeria, 1912. Psychology Press: p. 109, ISBN 0-71461633-8 14. ^ Mary Lefkowitz (2006). "Archaeology and the politics of origins". In Garrett G. Fagan. Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public. Routledge. p. 188. ISBN 978-0415305938. 15. ^ Mary Lefkowitz (2006). "Archaeology and the politics of origins". In Garrett G. Fagan. Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public. Routledge. pp. 189190. ISBN 978-0415305938. 16. ^ Mary Lefkowitz (2006). "Archaeology and the politics of origins". In Garrett G. Fagan. Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public. Routledge. pp. 185186. ISBN 978-0415305938. 17. ^ Mary Lefkowitz (2006). "Archaeology and the politics of origins". In Garrett G. Fagan. Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public. Routledge. pp. 195-195. ISBN 978-0415305938. 18. ^ Liritzis Ioannis, "Surface dating by luminescence: An Overview" GEOCHRONOMETRIA 38(3) 292-302, June issue, http://www.springer.com/alert/urltracking.do?id=L1a5692M7cfc5eSae2cd93 19. ^ "The Enigma of Aztec Sacrifice". Natural History, April 1977. Vol. 86, No. 4, pages 46-51. 20. ^ Henri Broch (1976), La mystrieuse pyramide de Falicon, ditions France-Empire, ISBN B0000E80JW 21. ^ http://whc.unesco.org/archive/2004/whc04-28com-inf14ae.pdf 22. ^ www.thedigitalgroup.com 23. ^ La pyramide de la baies des HaHa: 24. ^ Conception Official Zeitpyramide website, accessed: 14 December 2010

[edit] References
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Patricia Blackwell Gary and Richard Talcott, "Stargazing in Ancient Egypt," Astronomy, June 2006, pp. 6267. Fagan, Garrett. "Archaeological Fantasies." RoutledgeFalmer. 2006

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Pyramid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search This article is about pyramid-shaped structures. For the geometric term, see Pyramid (geometry). For other uses, see Pyramid (disambiguation).

The Egyptian pyramids of the Giza Necropolis, as seen from above

Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacan

Prasat Thom temple at Koh Ker

Pyramids of Gmar, Tenerife (Spain) A pyramid (from Greek: "" pyramis[1]) is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces (at least four faces including the base). The square pyramid, with square base and four triangular outer surfaces, is a common version. A pyramid's design, with the majority of the weight closer to the ground,[2] and with the pyramidion on top means that less material higher up on the pyramid will be pushing down from above. This distribution of weight allowed early civilizations to create stable monumental structures. For thousands of years, the largest structures on Earth were pyramidsfirst the Red Pyramid in the Dashur Necropolis and then the Great Pyramid of Khufu, both of Egypt, the latter the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still remaining. Khufu's Pyramid is built entirely of limestone, and is considered an architectural masterpiece. It contains around 1,300,000 blocks ranging in weight from 2.5 tonnes (5,500 lb) to 15 tonnes (33,000 lb) and is built on a square base with sides measuring about 230 m (755 ft), covering 13 acres. Its four sides face the four cardinal points precisely and it has an angle of 52 degrees. The original height of the Pyramid was 146.5 m (488 ft), but today it is only 137 m (455 ft) high, the 9 m (33 ft) that is missing is due to the theft of the fine quality limestone covering, or casing stones to build houses and Mosques in Cairo. It is still the tallest pyramid. The largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla.

Contents

1 Ancient monuments o 1.1 Mesopotamia o 1.2 Egypt o 1.3 Sudan o 1.4 Nigeria o 1.5 Greece o 1.6 Spain o 1.7 China o 1.8 Mesoamerica o 1.9 North America

1.10 Roman Empire 1.11 Medieval Europe 1.12 India 1.13 Indonesia 1.14 Peru 2 Modern pyramids 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References

o o o o o

[edit] Ancient monuments

See also: List of ancient pyramids by country (disambiguation)

[edit] Mesopotamia

Chogha Zanbil is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. The Mesopotamians built the earliest pyramidal structures, called ziggurats. In ancient times, these were brightly painted. Since they were constructed of sun-dried mud-brick, little remains of them. Ziggurats were built by the Sumerians, Babylonians, Elamites, Akkadians, and Assyrians for local religions. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex which included other buildings. The precursors of the ziggurat were raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period[3] during the fourth millennium BC. The earliest ziggurats began near the end of the Early Dynastic Period.[4] The latest Mesopotamian ziggurats date from the 6th century BC. Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure with a flat top. Sunbaked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside. The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance. Kings sometimes had their names engraved on these glazed bricks. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven. It is assumed that they had shrines at the top, but there is no archaeological evidence for this and the only textual evidence is from Herodotus.[5] Access to the shrine would have been by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit. The Mesopotamian ziggurats were not places for public worship or ceremonies. They were believed to be dwelling places for the gods and each city had its own patron god. Only priests were permitted on the ziggurat or in the rooms at its base, and it was their responsibility

to care for the gods and attend to their needs. The priests were very powerful members of Sumerian society.

[edit] Egypt
Main article: Egyptian pyramids The most famous pyramids are the Egyptian pyramids huge structures built of brick or stone, some of which are among the world's largest constructions. The age of the pyramids reached its zenith at Giza in 2575-2150 B.C.[6] As of 2008, some 135 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt.[7][8] The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in the world. Until Lincoln Cathedral was finished in AD 1311, it was the tallest building in the world. The base is over 52,600 square meters in area. While pyramids are associated with Egypt, the nation of Sudan has 220 extant pyramids, the most numerous in the world.[9] The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is the only one to survive into modern times. The Ancient Egyptians covered the faces of pyramids with polished white limestone, containing great quantities of fossilized seashells.[10] Many of the facing stones have fallen or have been removed and used to build the mosques of Cairo.

The ancient pyramids of Egypt Most pyramids are located near Cairo, with only one royal pyramid being located south of Cairo, at the Abydos temple complex. The pyramid at Abydos, Egypt were commissioned by Ahmose I who founded the 18th Dynasty and the New Kingdom.[11] The building of pyramids began in the 3rd Dynasty with the reign of King Djoser. Early kings such as Snefru built several pyramids, with subsequent kings adding to the number of pyramids until the end of the Middle Kingdom. The last king to build royal pyramids was Ahmose, with later kings, afraid of looting, deciding to hide their tombs in the hills, like in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor's West Bank.[11] In Medinat Habu, or Deir el-Medina, smaller pyramids were built by individuals. Smaller pyramids were also built by the Nubians who ruled Egypt in the Late Period, though their pyramids had steeper sides.[11]

[edit] Sudan

Main article: Nubian pyramids

Nubian Pyramids at Meroe Nubian pyramids were constructed (roughly 220 of them) at three sites in Sudan to serve as tombs for the kings and queens of Napata and Mero. The pyramids of Kush, also known as Nubian Pyramids, have different characteristics than the pyramids of Egypt. The Nubian pyramids were constructed at a steeper angle than Egyptian ones. They were monuments to dead kings and queens.[12] Pyramids were still being built in Sudan as late as AD 300.

[edit] Nigeria
One of the unique structures of Igbo culture was the Nsude Pyramids, at the Nigerian town of Nsude, in Abaja, northern Igboland. Ten pyramidal structures were built of clay/mud. The first base section was 60 ft. in circumference and 3 ft. in height. The next stack was 45 ft. in circumference. Circular stacks continued, till it reached the top. The structures were temples for the god Ala/Uto, who was believed to reside at the top. A stick was placed at the top to represent the god's residence. The structures were laid in groups of five parallel to each other. Because it was built of clay/mud like the Deffufa of Nubia, time has taken its toll requiring periodic reconstruction.[13]

[edit] Greece
Main article: Greek pyramids Pausanias (2nd century AD) mentions two buildings resembling pyramids, one, twelve miles southwest of the still standing structure at Hellenikon,[14] a common tomb for soldiers who died in a legendary struggle for the throne of Argos and another which he was told was the tomb of Argives killed in a battle around 669/8 BC. Neither of these still survive and there is no evidence that they resembled Egyptian pyramids.

Pyramid of Hellinikon There are also at least two surviving pyramid-like structures still available to study, one at Hellenikon and the other at Ligourio/Ligurio, a village near the ancient theatre Epidaurus. These buildings were not constructed in the same manner as the pyramids in Egypt. They do have inwardly sloping walls but other than those there is no obvious resemblance to Egyptian pyramids. They had large central rooms (unlike Egyptian pyramids) and the Hellenikon structure is rectangular rather than square, 12.5 meters by 14 meters which means that the sides could not have met at a point.[15] The stone used to build the pyramids was limestone quarried locally and was cut to fit, not into freestanding blocks like the Great Pyramid of Giza. There are no remains or graves in or near the structures. Instead, the rooms that the walls housed were made to be locked from the inside. This coupled with the platform roof, means that one of the functions these structures could have served was as watchtowers. Another possibility for the buildings is that they are shrines to heroes and soldiers of ancient times, but the lock on the inside makes no sense for such a purpose. The dating of these pyramids has been made from the pot shards excavated from the floor and on the grounds. The latest dates available from scientific dating have been estimated around the 5th and 4th centuries. Normally this technique is used for dating pottery, but here researchers have used it to try to date stone flakes from the walls of the structures. This has created some debate about whether or not these pyramids are actually older than Egypt, which is part of the Black Athena controversy.[16] The basis for their use of thermoluminescence in order to date these structures is a new method of collecting samples for testing. Scientists from laboratories hired out by the recent excavators of the site, The Academy of Athens, say that they can use the electrons trapped on the inner surface of the stones to positively identify the date that the stones were quarried and put together. Mary Lefkowitz has criticised this research. She suggests that some of the research was done not to determine the reliability of the dating method, as was suggested, but to back up an assumption of age and to make certain points about pyramids and Greek civilization. She notes that not only are the results not very precise, but that other structures mentioned in the research are not in fact pyramids, e.g. a tomb alleged to be the tomb of Amphion and Zethus near Thebes, a structure at Stylidha (Thessaly) which is just a long wall, etc. She also notes the possibility that the stones that were dated might have been recycled from earlier constructions. She also notes that earlier research from the 1930s, confirmed in the 1980s by Fracchia was ignored. She argues that they undertook their research using a novel and previously untested methodology in order to confirm a predetermined theory about the age of these structures.[17]

Liritzis responded in a journal article published in 2011, stating that Lefkowitz failed to understand and misinterpreted the methodology.[18]

[edit] Spain
The Pyramids of Gmar refer to six rectangular pyramid-shaped, terraced structures, built from lava stone without the use of mortar. They are located in the district of Chacona, part of the town of Gmar on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The structures have been dated to the 19th century and their original function explained as a byproduct of contemporary agricultural techniques. Local traditions as well as surviving images indicate that similar structures (also known as, "Morras", "Majanos", "Molleros", or "Paredones") could once have been found in many locations on the island. However, over time they have been dismantled and used as a cheap building material. In Gmar itself there were nine pyramids, only six of which survive.

[edit] China

Ancient Korean tomb in Ji'an, Northeastern China Main article: Chinese pyramids There are many square flat-topped mound tombs in China. The First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (circa 221 BC, who unified the 7 pre-Imperial Kingdoms) was buried under a large mound outside modern day Xi'an. In the following centuries about a dozen more Han Dynasty royals were also buried under flat-topped pyramidal earthworks.

[edit] Mesoamerica
Main article: Mesoamerican pyramids

Pyramid in the Mayan city of Chichen Itza, Mexico A number of Mesoamerican cultures also built pyramid-shaped structures. Mesoamerican pyramids were usually stepped, with temples on top, more similar to the Mesopotamian ziggurat than the Egyptian pyramid. The largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. This pyramid is considered the largest monument ever constructed anywhere in the world, and is still being excavated. The third largest pyramid in the world, the Pyramid of the Sun, at Teotihuacan is also located in Mexico. There is an unusual pyramid with a circular plan at the site of Cuicuilco, now inside Mexico City and mostly covered with lava from an eruption of the Xitle Volcano in the first century BC. There are several circular stepped pyramids called Guachimontones in Teuchitln, Jalisco as well. Pyramids in Mexico were often used as places of human sacrifice. For the re-consecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, the Aztecs reported that they sacrificed about 80,400 people over the course of four days.[19]

[edit] North America

Many mound-building societies of ancient North America built large pyramidal earth structures known as platform mounds. Among the largest and best-known of these structures is Monk's Mound at the site of Cahokia, which has a base larger than that of the Great Pyramid at Giza. While the North American mounds' precise function is not known, they are believed to have played a central role in the mound-building people's religious life.

[edit] Roman Empire

Pyramid of Cestius in Rome

The 27-metre-high Pyramid of Cestius was built by the end of the first century BC and still exists today, close to the Porta San Paolo. Another one, named Meta Romuli, standing in the Ager Vaticanus (today's Borgo), was destroyed at the end of the 15th century. There is also a Roman era pyramid built in Falicon, France.[20] There were many more pyramids built in France in this period.

[edit] Medieval Europe

Pyramids have occasionally been used in Christian architecture of the feudal era, e.g. as the tower of Oviedo's Gothic Cathedral of San Salvador. In some cases this leads to speculations on masonic or other symbolical intentions.

[edit] India

The main gopura of the Thanjavur Temple pyramid. Many giant granite temple pyramids were made in South India during the Chola Empire, many of which are still in religious use today. Examples of such pyramid temples include Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur, the Temple of Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram. However the largest temple pyramid in the area is Sri Rangam in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu.The Thanjavur temple was built by Raja raja Chola in 11 century. The Brihadisvara Temple was declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987; the Temple of Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram were added as extensions to the site in 2004.[21]

[edit] Indonesia

Borobudur, Central Java. Next to menhir, stone table, and stone statue; Austronesian megalithic culture in Indonesia also featured earth and stone step pyramid structure called Punden Berundak as discovered in Pangguyangan, Cisolok and Gunung Padang, West Java. The construction of stone pyramid is based from the native beliefs that mountain and high places is the abode for the spirit of the ancestors. The step pyramid is the basic design of 8th century Borobudur Buddhist monument in Central Java. However the later temples built in Java were influenced by Indian Hindu architecture, as displayed by the towering spires of Prambanan temple. In the 15th century Java during late Majapahit period saw the revival of Austronesian indigenous elements as displayed by Sukuh temple that somewhat resemble Mesoamerican pyramid.

[edit] Peru

Caral

[edit] Modern pyramids

Karlsruhe Pyramid, Germany

The Ballandean Pyramid, at Ballandean in rural Queensland is a 15 meter folly pyramid made from blocks of local granite. The Louvre Pyramid in Paris, France, in the court of the Louvre Museum, is a 20.6 meter (about 70 foot) glass structure which acts as an entrance to the museum. It was designed by the American architect I. M. Pei and completed in 1989. The Ames Monument in southeastern Wyoming honoring the brothers who financed the Union Pacific Railroad. The Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, California, designed by William Pereira. The 32-story Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee (built in 1991) was the home court for the University of Memphis men's basketball program, and the National Basketball Association's Memphis Grizzlies until 2004.

The Slovak radio building in Bratislava, Slovakia. This building is shaped like an inverted pyramid. The Walter Pyramid, home of the basketball and volleyball teams of the California State University, Long Beach, campus in California, United States, is an 18-story-tall blue pyramid. The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, United States, is a 30-story pyramid with light beaming from the top. The Summum Pyramid, a 3 story pyramid in Salt Lake City, Utah, used for instruction in the Summum philosophy and conducting rites associated with Modern Mummification. The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Pyramids at Osho Commune in Pune, India (for meditation purposes). The three pyramids of Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas. The Co-Op Bank Pyramid or Stockport Pyramid in Stockport, England is a large pyramidshaped office block in Stockport in England. (The surrounding part of the valley of the upper Mersey has sometimes been called the "Kings Valley" after the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.) The Karlsruhe Pyramid is a pyramid made of red sandstone, located in the centre of the market square of Karlsruhe, Germany. It was erected in the years 18231825 over the vault of the city's founder, Margrave Charles III William (16791738). The GoJa Music Hall in Prague. The Muttart Conservatory greenhouses in Edmonton, Alberta. Small pyramids similar to those of the Louvre can be found outside the lobby of the Citicorp Building in Long Island City, Queens NY. The Pyramids of the City Stars Complex in Cairo, Egypt. Pyramid building belonging to The Digital Group (TDG), at Hinjwadi, Pune, India.[22] The Steelcase pyramid. Sunway Pyramid shopping mall in Selangor, Malaysia. Hanoi Museum with an overall design of a reversed Pyramid. The Pyramide des Ha! Ha! by artist Jean-Jules Soucy fr:Jean-Jules Soucy in La Baie, Quebec is made out of 3 000 give way signs.[23] The unfinished Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang. The Time pyramid in Wemding, Germany, a pyramid begun in 1993 and scheduled for completion in the year 3183.[24] Triangle, a proposed skyscraper in Paris. The Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid, a proposed project for construction of a massive pyramid over Tokyo Bay in Japan.

[edit] Gallery
Comparison of approximate profiles of some notable pyramidal or near-pyramidal buildings. Where the base is an oblong, the longer side is shown. Dotted lines indicate original heights, where data is available.

Pyramid of Khafra

Shaohao Tomb, Qufu, China

Stockport Pyramid in Stockport, United Kingdom

The Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California

The Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee

Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada

Hanoi Museum in Hanoi, Vietnam features an overall design of a reversed Pyramid.

Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans

The Summum Pyramid in Salt Lake City, Utah

Zafer Plaza shopping center in Bursa, Turkey

Kenton Bar estate (1966-early 1990s), Newcastle upon Tyne.

Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco, California.

[edit] See also

Bosnian pyramid List of megalithic sites Pyramid (disambiguation) for other uses of the word pyramid. Pyramid (geometry) for the pyramid as a 3-dimensional shape in geometry. Pyramidion Pyramids of Gmar Step pyramid Tomb Triadic pyramid Ziggurat

[edit] Notes
1. ^ , Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library 2. ^ Centre of volume is one quarter of the way up see Centre of mass 3. ^ Crawford, page 73 4. ^ Crawford, page 73-74 5. ^ Crawford, page 85 6. ^ "Egypt Pyramids-Time Line". National Geographic. 2002-10-17. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/timeline.html. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 7. ^ Slackman, Michael (2008-11-17). [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/world/middleeast/17cairo.html Some Egyptologists, notably Mark Lehner, state that the Ancient Egyptian word for pyramid was mer. "In the Shadow of a Long Past, Patiently Awaiting the Future"]. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/world/middleeast/17cairo.html Some Egyptologists, notably Mark Lehner, state that the Ancient Egyptian word for pyramid was mer.. Retrieved 2010-04-12. 8. ^ Lehner, Mark (2008-03-25). Mark Lehner (2008). The Complete Pyramids: Solving the Ancient Mysteries. p. 34.. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 9780500285473. http://books.google.com/?id=nNVsHwAACAAJ&dq=. 9. ^ Pollard, Lawrence (2004-09-09). "Sudan's past uncovered". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3641516.stm. Retrieved 2010-04-12. 10. ^ Viegas, J., Pyramids packed with fossil shells, ABC News in Science, <www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/04/28/2229383.htm> 11. ^ a b c Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know about Egyptian Pyramids, A Brief Intro to Egyptian Pyramids. 12. ^ Necia Desiree Harkless (2006). Nubian Pharaohs and Meroitic Kings: The Kingdom of Kush. AuthorHouse. ISBN 1425944965. http://books.google.com/?id=6PrmTAKiy0QC&pg=PA153&dq=nubian+pyramids+kings++tomb . 13. ^ Basden, G. S(1966). Among the Ibos of Nigeria, 1912. Psychology Press: p. 109, ISBN 0-71461633-8

14. ^ Mary Lefkowitz (2006). "Archaeology and the politics of origins". In Garrett G. Fagan. Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public. Routledge. p. 188. ISBN 978-0415305938. 15. ^ Mary Lefkowitz (2006). "Archaeology and the politics of origins". In Garrett G. Fagan. Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public. Routledge. pp. 189190. ISBN 978-0415305938. 16. ^ Mary Lefkowitz (2006). "Archaeology and the politics of origins". In Garrett G. Fagan. Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public. Routledge. pp. 185186. ISBN 978-0415305938. 17. ^ Mary Lefkowitz (2006). "Archaeology and the politics of origins". In Garrett G. Fagan. Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public. Routledge. pp. 195-195. ISBN 978-0415305938. 18. ^ Liritzis Ioannis, "Surface dating by luminescence: An Overview" GEOCHRONOMETRIA 38(3) 292-302, June issue, http://www.springer.com/alert/urltracking.do?id=L1a5692M7cfc5eSae2cd93 19. ^ "The Enigma of Aztec Sacrifice". Natural History, April 1977. Vol. 86, No. 4, pages 46-51. 20. ^ Henri Broch (1976), La mystrieuse pyramide de Falicon, ditions France-Empire, ISBN B0000E80JW 21. ^ http://whc.unesco.org/archive/2004/whc04-28com-inf14ae.pdf 22. ^ www.thedigitalgroup.com 23. ^ La pyramide de la baies des HaHa: 24. ^ Conception Official Zeitpyramide website, accessed: 14 December 2010

[edit] References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pyramids

Patricia Blackwell Gary and Richard Talcott, "Stargazing in Ancient Egypt," Astronomy, June 2006, pp. 6267. Fagan, Garrett. "Archaeological Fantasies." RoutledgeFalmer. 2006

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i For my first Instructable , I posted my first Instructable about a fun trick I had learned back in junior high for taking the cube roots of large numbers (6 or more digits) mentally. It was a well liked and well received 'ible, getting featured and making the popularity section in spite of being of being about math, so thank you very much for the warm welcome everyone! The Instructable brought about many requests for additional mental math skills, if I happened to know any, and concerns about the practicality of mental cube root extraction. Of the comments, however, one in particular intrigued me. A lone user suggested I apply the concepts of Vedic Mathematics to my mental math repertoire. Having never heard of vedic mathematics, I went and found what I could off the internet. What I found was fascinating, and I will share with you a trick from Vedic Math today. So today, I will teach you how to square 2 digit numbers mentally, enjoy! For more information on Vedic mathematics, including the background and history of Vedic Math, check this out.

Step 1A Note on Practice This instructable will hopefully teach you a few strategies to quickly determine the squares of numbers. However, to get the best results, you will have to practice a fair bit, and be pretty

good at multiplying numbers in your head. So, if you find you can't solve mental squares as quickly as you'd like, one of the best ways to improve is to write out a whole bunch of multiplication problems on a sheet of paper, things like 25x46, 17x64, 7x920, and so on. Then, mentally solve them (don't write anything down, no calculators!) and finally, check your answers with a calculator. The more mental math problems you do, the better you'll be at it. It should be noted that 2-digit integers will be used for the most part in this Instructable. However, the techniques presented here can be applied to decimals and numbers of arbitrary length . With practice, it is possible to mentally calculate squares of decimals and 3 or more digit numbers. The only limit is your ability to remember numbers and multiply numbers mentally quickly. Previous Download PDF View All Steps Step

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Mar 13, 2010. 4:02 PMabhishek727 says: Handy method. Here is something you'd find useful. whenever you have a number which ends in 5 you can use this. multiply the number preceding 5 with its successor. say you have 75 then multiply the preceding number 7 with it's successor 8 ( for 85 it would be 8*9), Write down the result and just write 25 to the end of this result. So 75*75 = 7*8 = 56 now write 25 to the end of this digit = 56 25 this is the ans 5625. The idea is to treat the number as 2 distinct numbers 1st part is the number preceding 5 and the second part is the digit 5. so for 125 * 125 we get 12 & 5 12*13 = 156 and write 25 to the end = 156 25 ---> 15625 Reply

Dec 8, 2008. 3:48 PMlinkmaster03 says: Very cool instructable. Good job dude, I'd love to see more of these. From what I see, you have a couple more in your profile which I am heading to check out right now. Reply

3 Aug 11, 2008. 11:05 AMmahi16 says: Method for checking. 1. we get the digit sum of a no. by "adding across" the no. For instance, the digit sum 0f 13022 is 8. 2. we always reduce the digit sum to a single figure if it is not already a single fig. 3.In "adding across" a no. we may drop out 9's. Thus if we happen to notice two digits that add up to 9, such as 2 and 9, if we ignore both of them; so the digit sum of 99019 = 1 at a glance.(If we add up 9,s we get the same result) 4. because :nine don't count" in the process, as we saw in3 step, a digit sun of 9 is the same as a digit sum of zero. The digit sum of 441,e.g = 0. You may use this for Multiplication, Cubes , Squares etc. you may also check weather your squared no, is correct or not. I will explain it:take an example for 207. square(207)= 42849 now add digits of LHS and RHS separately. we get Sq(2+7) = 18 Sq(0) = 18 0=2+7 0=9 0=0 thus your calculation is correct. take another example. Sq(897) = 804609 sq(6) = 18 36 = 180 0=0. Reply

13 Oct 23, 2008. 9:59 AMpurduecer (author) says: Right you are, sir. After many a school-related delay, I posted an instructable on the digital root topic, which I encourage you to check out if you find the time. http://www.instructables.com/id/Mental_Math_Digital_Root_Extraction/ Thanks, Purduecer Reply

3 Aug 9, 2008. 9:21 PMmahi16 says: Great work . Reply

Aug 6, 2008. 5:21 PMtelittleone says: Very nice. At first it does seem a bit complicated, but its much easier than multiplying the numbers mentally in your head. Reply

17 Aug 4, 2008. 4:52 AM PKM says: For the people wondering how/why this works (and what on earth you are adding the square of the deficiency for)... Ever wondered why, for instance, 9*11 is one less than 10*10? 4*6 is one less than 5*5? 164*166 is one less than 165*165? (It is, trust me). This is a specific instance of the identity (x+a)(x-a) == x2 - a2, called completing the square, and the Vedic squares method is another application of this. If you add a2 to each side you get x2 == (x+a) * (x-a) + a2.

For example, if x=67 and a=3, x * x = 67 * 67 (x+a)*(x-a) + a*a = (70 * 64) + 3*3 = 4480 + 9 = 4489 = 672 Reply

13 Aug 4, 2008. 9:21 AMpurduecer (author) says: yes, thank you very much for clarifying this point (I appreciate it) Reply Add Comment

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