Maths With Smile, the Vedic Style

By R.P.Jain

              Does your mind wobble when confronted by a mathematical challenge more forbidding than 2 + 2 ?  Do you dream of  rattling off answers to the most complicated sums in a fraction of a second?  If the answer is “yes”, you need Vedic Mathematics.  It is the doughty giant killer before whom numbers grovel and give up the ghost and predatory equations change into tabby cats. This beautiful system was locked, unrecognized, in Vedic texts until Sri Jagadguru Shankaracharya from Govardhan Math reconstructed it. He wrote a book entitled “Vedic Mathematics” in 1958 & published in 1965 from BHU. Vedic Maths is the easy and natural way to do maths.  It helps increase speed, accuracy and analytical power and answers appear in one line.  Try this for identifying the speed at which it work:

What’s the square of 85?
Multiply the first digit 8 by its successor 9, The answer is 72.
Find the square of the second digit, 5,
which is 25.
Now bring the two together.  Bingo, the
answer is 7225.
Dont’t believe it.  Try it out with any
2-figure number ending in 5.

                     An introduction to Vedic Maths is like entering Alice’s wonderland, where logic is turned upside down.  Division can be a process of multiplication and addition, and multiplication is by either cross subtraction or cross addition.  The simplicity of approach exposes the top-heavy processes of our logic-driven world.  All the Vedic methods can be properly explained and they are more inter-related than the current methods: division for example is just multiplication reversed. Another advantage of Vedic Maths is that it offers choices.  The same calculation can be done by different methods.  This way, Vedic Maths actually helps in holistic development of the brain and children become more creative, inventing their own methods and understanding what they are doing.  There is also often a choice about whether to calculate from left to right or from right to left. Vedic Maths is a unique system of calculations based on simple rules & principles, with which any mathematical problem – be it arithmetic, algebra, geometry or trigonometry – can be solved orally. Let us try the example given at the end. 

                  In conventional maths there is no way to multiply 88 by 98, for example, except by ‘long multiplication’, but the Vedic method, seeing the numbers are close to 100 uses the deficiencies,

-12           -2
88 x 98 = 86 / 24
                    98

88 – 2 = 86,or 98 – 12 = 86 for
the left-hand part of the answer,
and 12 x 2 = 24 for the
right-hand part.

                    Since 1965 the subject has been besieged in controversies with some Indian mathematicians & scientists calling it a fraud, but all without basis. The Supreme Court in September 2002   finally dismissed all controversy levelled against Vedic Maths, made a crucial announcement by giving its directives, “ Vedic Maths could be taught as an optional subject (teaching aid) to develop the computational skills of students.” Ironically enough, though it originated in India, it is taught in many other countries except India; in London and Singapore there are special centres like School of Economic Science & Centre for Vedic Maths respectively. ,More than 100-year old Motilal Banarsidass, the premier publishing house in the country has been staunch supporters of Vedic Maths for a very long time now having organised more than 125 workshops & public courses in a span of 5-6 years alongwith the support of many other institutions like Vishwa Punarniram Sangh, Nagpur & School of Ancient Wisdom, Bangalore. In December 2002 , James Glover from U.K was specially invited by the Foundation / Academy to conduct courses in India. In all likelihood, the Academy will be  inviting Kenneth Williams from U.K to conduct courses in India in the near future.   The reason they are supporting Vedic Maths is because it has the potential to bring about a revolution in the world of mathematics.  A very successful school course has been published by Motilal Banarsidass & developed in U.K (covering their National Curriculum) “The Cosmic Calculator” by Kenneth Williams & Mark Gaskell (3 books + Teacher’s Guide & Answer-book)  & Vedic Maths for Schools, Book 1, 2 &3 made available at reasonable cost.  The subject has also been promoted  through regular workshops at Schools & national level.  Further publications are expected shortly. The  World Academy for Vedic Mathematics, Nagpur headed by Dr. L.M. Singhvi,  is an integral part of the main foundation, International Research and  Resource Foundation for Indian Heritage.

TRY THIS OUT

You want to multiply 42 by 13. This can easily be done by the Urdhva Tirayaghiyam sutra,                               

which means vertically and crosswise.            

1.    Multiply the two digits on the extreme left, vertically, that is 4x1 = 4 and set the answer                             

     down as 4 in the extreme left part of the answer slot.                   

2.  Now Multiply 4 by 3 and 2 by 1, crosswise, and add these two answers together                                         

     Set down the 4 as the next answer digit and carry the 1 to the left.                                                                          

     Multiply 2 by 3, vertically, and set down the answer, 6, in the extreme right digit in the answer slot

3.  Add in the carry digit (4+1 = 5) to get the answer 546.