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Q17 (IAS/2026) History & Culture › Ancient India Official Key

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 ?

Result
Your answer:  ·  Correct: D

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: The Mankani plates of Taralasvamin from Gujarat, dated to the Kalachuri year 346 (approximately 595–596 CE), are widely cited as the earliest epigraphic evidence of the decimal place-value system in India. Although some historians have debated their authenticity, they remain the standard reference for the earliest epigraphic use of this system in the subcontinent.

Statement 2 is correct: While early examples of the place-value system exist, its use in expressing dates and numbers did not become a regular and general feature in inscriptions across all parts of India until the ninth century CE. A prominent example is the Gwalior inscription of 876 CE, which clearly uses zero in a decimal place-value context.

Statement 3 is correct: The earliest indisputable epigraphic records of the decimal place-value system with zero are actually found in Sanskrit and vernacular inscriptions from Southeast Asia, dating back to the seventh century CE. Examples include the Sambor inscription in Cambodia (683 CE) and Srivijaya inscriptions in Sumatra (e.g., Kota Kapur in 686 CE). This reflects the deep transmission of Indian mathematical concepts to Southeast Asia.

Therefore, all three statements are correct.

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