Consider the following statements relating to the use of the place-value system in India : 1. The earliest epigraphic use of the place-value system in India is found in the Mankani plates from Gujarat (AD 595 – 596). 2. In the ninth century, place-values become general in inscriptions all over India. 3. 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 ?

QUESTION

Hard

Ancient History

Prelims 2026

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 ?

Select an option to attempt

Explanation

Statement 1 is Correct: The earliest known epigraphic evidence of the decimal place-value system in India is found in the Mankani copper-plate charter of Taralasvamin from Gujarat, which is dated to the Kalachuri year 346 (approximately 594–596 CE).

Statement 2 is Correct: Although the conceptual origins of the place-value system and zero date back much earlier in literary and mathematical texts (such as those by Aryabhata), their use in everyday epigraphy was not immediate. The decimal place-value notation became a general, widespread feature in inscriptions all over India only by the ninth century CE (e.g., the 876 CE Chaturbhuj Temple inscription in Gwalior).

Statement 3 is Correct: The Indian decimal place-value system spread rapidly to Southeast Asia. Epigraphists have found clear evidence of place-value numerals and the zero placeholder in Sanskrit and Sanskrit-influenced inscriptions in regions like Cambodia, Sumatra (Srivijaya), and Java dating as early as the seventh century CE (e.g., inscriptions dated to Saka years 605 and 606, corresponding to 683 and 684 CE).

Therefore, all three statements are correct.

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