| Devanagari Numeral |
Arabic/Western Numeral |
Sanskrit word for the numeral |
|---|---|---|
| ० | [[0 (number)|0]] | shuunyaha |
| १ | [[1 (number)|1]] | ekaha |
| २ | [[2 (number)|2]] | dwitiyaha |
| ३ | [[3 (number)|3]] | tritityaha |
| ४ | [[4 (number)|4]] | chaturaha |
| ५ | [[5 (number)|5]] | panchaha |
| ६ | [[6 (number)|6]] | shashtihi |
| ७ | [[7 (number)|7]] | sapthami |
| ८ | [[8 (number)|8]] | ashtaha |
| ९ | [[9 (number)|9]] | navaha |
The Indian place-system numerals spread to neighboring Persia, where they were picked up by the conquering Arabs. In 662, a Nestorian bishop living in what is now called Iraq said :
I will omit all discussion of the science of the Indians ... of their subtle discoveries in astronomy - discoveries that are more ingenious than those of the Greeks and the Babylonians - and of their valuable methods of calculation which surpass description. I wish only to say that this computation is done by means of nine signs. If those who believe that because they speak Greek they have arrived at the limits of science would read the Indian texts they would be convinced even if a little late in the day that there are others who know something of value.
The addition of zero as a tenth positional digit is documented from the 7th century by Brahmagupta, though the earlier Bakhshali Manuscript, written sometime before the 5th century, also included zero.
As it was from the Arabs that the Europeans learnt this system, the Europeans called them Arabic numerals; ironically, to this day the Arabs refer to their numerals as Indian numerals. In academic circles they are called the Hindu-Arabic or Indo-Arabic numerals.
Gee, you can quote from the internet.
Try reading here:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Zero.html
And here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Hindu-Arabic_numeral_system