Attempt this previous-year question. The correct option stays hidden until you choose.
Consider the following statements relating to the use of the place-value system in India:
1. The earliest epigraphic use of the place-value system in India is found in the Mankani plates from Gujarat (AD 595 - 596).
2. In the ninth century, place-values become general in inscriptions all over India.
3. The place-values have been found in Sanskrit inscriptions in South-east Asia as early as the seventh century.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Pick an option to check yourself.
Approach: *Analyze the epigraphical records of ancient India and Southeast Asia to trace the timeline, adoption, and spread of the decimal place-value system.*
- **Correct Answer:** (d) 1, 2 and 3
- **Statement 1 is correct:** The **Mankani copper plates from Gujarat** (dated to 595–596 CE) are widely recognized in the history of mathematics as containing the earliest known epigraphic (inscriptional) usage of the decimal place-value system in India, where the date 346 is expressed using place-value notation.
- **Statement 2 is correct:** Although the system appeared earlier, it was during the **ninth century CE** (highlighted by landmarks like the Gwalior inscription of 876 CE) that the decimal place-value system and the notation for zero became universally adopted in inscriptions across India.
- **Statement 3 is correct:** Driven by trade and cultural transmission, the Indian decimal place-value system traveled to Southeast Asia very early; it is recorded in **Sanskrit and localized inscriptions** in Cambodia (Sambor) and Indonesia (Sumatra) dating back to the **seventh century CE** (specifically 683 CE).
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