VEDIC MATHEMATICS – A BRIEFING

II. VEDIC MATHEMATICS – A BRIEFING

In the previous chapters we have gone through the Vedic Mathematics Sutras and upa - Sutras: their application in solving problems. In this approach we have missed to note some points and merits of one method over the other methods at some instances.

Now we take a few steps in this direction. You may question why this book first gives examples and methods and then once again try to proceed as if an introduction to the Vedic Mathematics has been just started. This is because in this approach the reader first feels that it is easy to solve problems using Vedic Mathematics. This is clear from the examples given. But the reader may get doubt why we are doing this way or that way some times very close and almost akin to the conventional textual way; and some times very different from these procedures? why new representations and different meanings for the same Sutra (!) in different contexts? But observe that it is not uncommon to Mathematics.

Question some body showing the symbol Π.

Majority may say it is 22 / 7 (is it right?) some may say it is a radian measure. Very few may state it is a function or so.

What does the representation A X B mean?

A boy thinking about numbers may answer that is A multi plied by B and gives the product provided A and B are known. A girl thinking of set notation simply says that it is Cartesian product of the sets A and B. No sort of multiplication at all.

Another may conclude that it is a product of two matrices A and B . No doubt a multiplication but altogether different from above.

Some other may go deep in to elementary number theory and may take ' X ' to be the symbol ' X ' (does not divide) and conclude 'A does not divide B'

Now the question arises does a student fail to understand and apply contextual meaning and representation of symbols and such forms in mathematical writings? certainly not. In the same way the contextual meanings of the Sutras also can not bring any problem to the practitioners of Vedic Mathematics.

Again a careful observation brings all of us to a conclusion that even though the Sutras are not like mathematical formulae so as to fit in any context under consideration but they are intended to recognize the pattern in the problems and suggest procedures to solve. Now recall the terms, rules and methods once again to fill in some gaps that occur in the previous attempt.