via Looking For Nothing In Gwalior

Kevin Standage

Gwalior is rightly famous for its majestic cliff-top fort, the awe-inspiring Jain monuments that have been hewn from the hillside, and for the ancient temples of Sas Mabu and Teli Ka. Tourists flock to Gwalior in their thousands to see these monuments, probably unaware that it is also the home to a simple carving that is the oldest of its type in India, and is arguably the greatest conceptual leap in the history of mathematics…the zero.

Recently installed signposts now help tourists find this historic location. Halfway up the cobbled pathway on the eastern approach to the fort is the small and unassuming Chaturbhuj Temple.

The temple has been completely carved out of the rock face, and thanks to an inscription in the sanctum we know that it was constructed in the year 876 AD. It is this inscription that also contains one of the earliest known uses of the…

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