Mathematics & Computer Science
Katapayadi and bhutasankhya numeral encoding
by ~7th c. CESouth Indian / astronomical traditionAstronomical & musical textsPan-Indian / unspecified
601 CE
Schemes for encoding numbers as consonants or as words, enabling memorisation of long numerical tables.
- Dated
- 601–700 CE
- As scholars put it
- by ~7th c. CE
- Originator
- South Indian / astronomical tradition
- Source text
- Astronomical & musical texts
- Region
- Pan-Indian / unspecified
- Discipline
- Mathematics & Computer Science
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- Medium
- Verification
- Reference-cited
Meanwhile in the West
Comparable to mnemonic and hashing ideas.
Fair to say
A cultural mnemonic device, not a computing system.
Path to modern innovation
Conceptually akin to encoding/hashing in computer science.
Transmission
Indigenous system, little transmission.
References
- 1Plofker (2009)
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-015 on GitHub.