Abstract
Besides using several mathematical formulas regarding permutations, combinations, geometric progression, and binomial coefficients, Ācārya Piṅgala applied binary codes to discuss the listing of even meters. Piṅgala’s Chandas Śāstram, the science of meters is the oldest authoritative work on Vedic and Sanskrit prosody. According to recent research, Piṅgala lived in the twenty-ninth century b.c.e. The purpose of this article is to discuss his binary system, the conversion of a binary number into its decimal equivalent and vice versa. A superfast method, due to Piṅgala, regarding the conversion of a binary number into its decimal equivalent is not available in modern textbooks of computer science.
Shyam Lal Singh has been a professor of mathematics and principal of the College of Sciences and Engineering in Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Hardwar, India. His areas of interest include fixed point theory and Vedic mathematics.
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Singh, S.L. (2009). Piṅgala Binary Numbers. In: Yadav, B., Mohan, M. (eds) Ancient Indian Leaps into Mathematics. Birkhäuser, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-8176-4695-0_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-8176-4695-0_8
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