VEDIC MATHEMATICS

INTRODUCTION
Vedic Mathematics is a book written by the high-ranking Hindu cleric Bharati Krishna
Tirthaji and first published in 1965. It contains a list of mental calculation techniques claimed to
be based on the Vedas. The mental calculation system mentioned in the book is also known by
the same name or as "Vedic Maths". Its characterization as "Vedic" mathematics has been
criticized by academics, who have also opposed its inclusion in the Indian school curriculum.
PUBLICATION HISTORY
Although the book was first published in 1965, Tirthaji had been propagating the
techniques since much earlier, through lectures and classes. He wrote the book in 1957 during his
tour of the United States.The typescripts was returned to India in 1960 after his death. It was
published in 1965, five years after his death as 367 pages in 40 chapters. Reprints were made in
1975 and 1978 with fewer typographical errors. Several reprints have been made since the 1990s.
Tirthaji claimed that he found the sutras after years of studying the Vedas, a set of
sacred ancient Hindu texts. However, Vedas do not contain any of the "Vedic mathematics"
sutras. First, Tirthajis description of the mathematics as Vedic is most commonly criticised on
the basis that, thus far, none of the stras can be found in any extant Vedic literature (Williams,
2000). When challenged by Professor K.S. Shukla to point out the sutras in question in
the Parishishta of the Atharvaveda, Shukla reported that the Tirthaji said that the sixteen sutras
were not in the standard editions of the Parishishta, and that they occurred in his own Parishishta
and not any other.
CONTENTS
The book contains 16 sutras, each of which lists a mental calculation technique.
Prof. S. G. Dani of IIT Bombay points out that the contents of the book have "practically nothing
in common" with the mathematics of the Vedic period or even the subsequent Indian
mathematics. Tirthaji has liberally interpreted three-word Sanskrit phrases to associate them with
arithmetic.

The sutras are as follows:

NAME

MEANING

Ekadhikena Purvena

By one more than the previous one

Paraavartya Yojayet

Transpose and adjust

Puranapuranabyham

By the completion or non-completion

Yaavadunam

Whatever the extent of its deficiency

Chalana

Differences and Similarities

The first edition of the book edited by Prof. Vasudeva Saran Agrawala, who indicates
that there is no evidence that the sutras are "Vedic" in their origin.The techniques mentioned in
the book do not date back to the Vedic period either. For example, multiple techniques in the
book involve the use of decimal fractions, which were not known during the Vedic times: even
the works of later mathematicians such as Aryabhata, Brahmagupta and Bhaskara do not contain
any decimal fractions.
Tirthaji's claimed that the sutras are relevant to advanced mathematical techniques
such as successive differentiation or analytical conics have also been dismissed by the
academics. S. G. Dani calls "ludicrous" the Tirthaji's claim that "there is no part of mathematics,
pure or applied, which is beyond their jurisdiction".S. G. Dani also points out that Tirthaji's
methods were not unique, although they may have been invented by him independently (he held
an MA in mathematics). Similar systems include the Trachtenberg system or the techniques
mentioned in Lester Meyers's 1947 book High-speed Mathematics.Alex Bellos points out that
several of the calculation tricks can also be found inearly Modern European treatises on
calculation.

USE IN SCHOOLS

The book was previously included in the school syllabus of Madhya

Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh Some schools and organizations run by Hindu nationalist groups,
including those outside India, have also included Tirthaji's techniques in their curriculum. The
Hindu nationalists have also made several attempts to have Tirthaji's "Vedic mathematics"
system included in the Indian school curriculum via the NCERT books.
A number of academics and mathematicians have opposed these attempts on the
basis that the techniques mentioned in the book are simply arithmetic tricks, and not
mathematics. They also pointed out that the term "Vedic" mathematics is incorrect, and there are
other texts that can be used to teach a correct account of the Indian mathematics during the Vedic
period.

They

also

criticized

the

move

as

a saffronization attempt

to

promote

religious majoritarianism.
Dani points out that while Tirthaji's system could be used as a teaching aid, there
was a need to prevent the use of "public money and energy on its propagation, beyond the
limited extent". He pointed out that the authentic Vedic studies had been neglected in India even
as Tirthaji's system received support from several Government and private agencies.

CONCLUSION
Vedic mathematics is now taught by several schools and organisations in India as well as
other parts of the world. The Chinmaya International Foundation, a foundation of the Chinmaya
Mission, is among the proponents of the Vedic Mathematics system.