Consider the following statements relating to the use of the place-value system in India:
- The earliest epigraphic use of the place-value system in India is found in the Mankani plates from Gujarat (AD 595 – 596).
- In the ninth century, place-values become general in inscriptions all over India.
- 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?
Correct answer: D
Explanation
All three statements are historically established. The Mankani copper plates of Taralasvamin (Gujarat, AD 595–596) contain the earliest unambiguous epigraphic use of the decimal place-value system in India. By the 9th century, place-value notation had become general across Indian inscriptions. Independently, Sanskrit inscriptions in South-East Asia (notably the Sambor inscription of Cambodia, 683 CE, and the Old Malay inscriptions of Sumatra) show place-value numerals in the 7th century — even slightly earlier than its generalisation in India. Source: Bibhutibhushan Datta and A.N. Singh, History of Hindu Mathematics. Read more: Place-Value System in India: From the Mankani Plates to the Decimal World.