Zero and Pi

Amalkumar Mukhopadhyay is an active researcher in Indian astronomy and mathematics. He acted as the resource person in geometry in workshops arranged by the State Council of Education, Research and Training and the National Council for Educational Research and Training. He has a Master’s degree in pure mathematics from the University of Calcutta with a uniformly brilliant academic career and Ph.D. in history of mathematics, and he finds interest in studying law, statistics, Sanskrit grammar, and Siddhanta Jyotisa (Indian astronomy). He is a recipient of the Nirodsasi Devi Gold Medal for work on ancient Indian astronomy and mathematics, and he has published a good number of research articles on the history of mathematics, presented papers in several international seminars on different topics of the history of mathematics, and delivered lectures on the subject at several universities.Siddheshwar Rameshwar Bhatt is Chairman of the Indian Philosophy Congress, Chairman of the Asian–African Philosophy Congress, and a national fellow of the Indian Council of Social Science Research, Government of India. With over 44 years of teaching experience, he has guided 44 Ph.D. and M.Phil. students. A recipient of 12 awards, Prof Bhatt, has authored 22 books on several topics in philosophy and social sciences.

• Introduction.- Evolution of the Concept and Symbol of Śunya.- The Symbol O of Monism to Atheists, A Dot for Zero.- Gupta Period: A Turn in the History of Śūnya.- Śūnya: Brahmagupta and Bhāskarācārya’s Thought.- Ramification of the Indian Concept of Void/Sūnya.- Introduction.- The Descriptive Geometrical stages.- Identification of π Analytically.- Contextual Topics on Mathematics (A looking back to the old days).- Historical Retrospect.