552 Ancient Indian Numerals. [No. 7. 



investigated by the learned.* Up to the 9th or 10th century of 

 our era, the Nagari numerals extant on numerous monuments do 

 not differ materially from those now in use."f 



Jas. Prinsep then goes on to narrate the circumstances under 

 which he came to detect the values of certain numerical symbols, 

 which were repeated after the written date on three several inscribed 

 copper-plates from Giizerat. The various totals were supplied as 

 follows 394—380^—15—385. 



He imagined therefore, that he had obtained the figures represent- 

 ing the numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, 8 and, 9, and pursuing his enquiry, he was 

 able to collect no less than fifteen or sixteen separate forms. This in 

 itself suggested a difficulty, for if these numerals were ciphers, capable 

 of acquiring local value, the five or six extra figures were clearly su- 

 perfluous. Prinsep evidently felt this, and though he suggested that 

 the surplus numbers might be merely varieties of the normal types, 

 yet with his accustomed candour, he admitted, " It is further to be 

 remarked that in many of the ancient systems, separate symbols 

 were used to denote ten, twenty, &c. in combination with the nine 

 units severally. The curious compound figure seemingly used for 

 the 1 of 15, in the two cases quoted above, ^ may be of this sort : 



— indeed it somewhat resembles the Ceylonese ten." J 



Following out this latter view of the question, in 1848, I suc- 

 ceeded in demonstrating that these signs were uniformly indepen- 

 dent symbolical numerals, each denoting in itself a given number, 

 irrespective of any relative collocation ;§ and therefore, that the crc 



was equivalent to 300, wherever it might be found, and likewise 

 that the rr\ and cq stood for 80 and 90 respectively, whatever posi- 

 tion they might chance to occupy. I then proceeded to distinguish 

 those symbols of the Sah coin dates, that declared themselves severally 

 units, tens or hundreds by their fixed place in the order of which, 



* Dr. Stevenson considers that " our decimal notation" is " a comparatively 

 modern invention of the Scindian merchants of the middle ages." J. R. As. Soc. 

 Bombay, iv. 



f J. A. S. B. VII. 348. 



t J. A. S. B. VII. 353. 



§ J. R. A. S. XII. 33. 



