Dr. M. D. Srinivas traces the history of Indian mathematics for the past two millennia. He shows how mathematics in India evolved independently of European mathematics and how it is fundamentally different. When we observe the evolution of Indian math, we find that its fundamentals and its objectives are vastly different from what one might imagine.
Among the many contributions of ancient Indians to world thought, perhaps the most insightful is the realisation that ānanda (Bliss) is the ultimate goal of human existence. Since time immemorial, India has been a land steeped in contemplation about the nature of humans and the universe. The great ṛṣis (seers) and ṛṣikās (seeresses) embarked on critical analysis of subjective experience and...