Chronologically,the four ancient Indian letter numeral systems are the decimal numeral first appeared in the earliest Indian canon Vedas;the alphabetical numeral of Āryabha(t)a used in his Āryabha(t)īya,which is based on the grammatical classification of vowels and consonants and centesimal system,and can express large astronomical constants;the being-numeral which is based on the concept like the set theory,and uses the natural or ideal beings for expressing numbers;and the alphabetical numeral of Ka-(T)a-Pa-Ya,which,regarding consonants as quantities 1 to 9 and 0,and depending on choice of proper vowels,can express numbers by meaningful words.From the using and the characteristic of the four kinds of numerals,it is known that the ancient Indian mathematical texts are not only the description of the mathematical knowledge but also the literary composition full of flowery rhetoric made for the purpose of recitation,the root of which lies in the close relationship between the development of mathematics and the Indian distinctive culture such as Panini's grammar,mythology and philosophy.
关键词
印度数词/《阿耶波多历算书》/具象数词/印度神话/梵语修辞
Key words
Indian numerals/Āryabha(t)īya/being-numeral/Indian myth/Sanskrit literature
维普
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