The Discovery of Zero in India - A revolution

Long ago, in ancient India, a young mathematician named Aryabhata was curious about numbers. He noticed that while numbers helped in trade, astronomy, and building temples, something was missing. How could one show 'nothing' in mathematics? People used dots, spaces, or left blanks, but this often caused confusion.

Around the 5th century, Aryabhata and later Brahmagupta developed the concept of 'Shunya', meaning emptiness or nothingness, to represent zero. But Brahmagupta went further in the 7th century and explained how zero works with addition, subtraction, and multiplication. Division by zero was still a mystery, but the foundation had been laid.

This invention was revolutionary! Traders began to calculate more easily, astronomers could map stars with precision, and architects could design grand temples with perfect measurements. The concept of zero later traveled to Arabia through scholars and then to Europe, where it transformed mathematics and science forever.

Even today, every time we use a computer, a calculator, or even a smartphone, we are using binary code—just zeros and ones. The world owes a huge part of modern technology to that little circle, born in ancient India.

What you learn from Aryabhata:

Even the smallest idea can change the world.