Includes bibliographical references and index.

The history of any country is nothing but a chronicle of its culture and civilization. Culture mainly comprises human thoughts and civilization concerns itself with human thoughts and civilization concerns itself with human action. Two inventions are said to be the turning point in the History of Mankind – fire and wheel and we are very well aware of the changes these inventions brought about.

The symbolic similarity of the wheel and the zero should not surprise us. Zero did to human thought what the wheel did to human action. Acceleration. And soon from a simple thought the zero blossomed into a multifarious concept. No discipline remained untouched by some or the other shade of zero and that is why zero encompasses all sciences, arts, philosophy and almost, all the disciplines. The present volume Concept of Sunya is an outcome of a seminar jointly held by the IGNCA and (Indian National Science Academy) in February 1997 to celebrate the concept of ‘sunya’ (zero).
The volume contains 24 excellent academic papers of 23 scholars of different disciplines, whose thought process was stirred by the multiple connotations of Sunya. The volume is divided into three broad categories – 1) Sunya in Speculative Thought 2) Sunya in Mathematical System and 3) Ramification of Sunya in other fields. All the three categories are briefly discussed here, sequentially.

1) Sunya in Speculative Thought : This section contains eight papers. Swami Jitatmananda has explored the meaning of sunyata in philosophy and science. R.C. Gupta discusses the ‘Technology of using sunya in India;’ K.V. Sarma sheds light on ‘word and Alphabetic numerical system in India;’ B.N. Mukherjee reflects upon ‘Kharoshti Numerals and the Early use of Decimal Notation in Indian Epigraphy’ and S.R. Sarma discusses Sunya in Pingala’s Chandahsutra.

2) Sunya in Mathematical System : This section comprises nine papers. David Pingree discusses ‘Zero and the symbol for zero in Early Sexagesimal and Decimal Place – Value Systems.’ Wang Yusheng throws light on Chinese ‘Ling’ and Indian sunya spread to China. R.C. Gupta expalins the ‘Zero in the Mathematical System of India.’ A.K. Bag explores the ‘Need for zero in the Numerical System of India.’ M.R. Adhikari discusses the ‘Concept of sunya and its ramifications in Mathematics and Computer Science.’

3) Ramification of Sunya in other Fields: This section has seven articles. H.N. Chakravarti writes about the ‘Concept of sunya in Tantra and Agama’; M.C. Joshi explains the ‘Concept of Sunya in Sakta Tantras’; Devangana Desai Discusses ‘Sunya in Context of Temple Art; Prem Lata Sharma describes ‘Sunya in Indian Tala System’; P. Manansala writes about ‘Number Mysticisms in other regions and the impact of Sunya;’ S.C. Malik states the ‘Now – Dimenssionless (no-mind-Sunya) state and R. Sathyanarayana presents ‘Sunya: A Holistic View’.

These papers are preceeded by a short but intense Introduction by the editors which provides the necessary background for understanding the development of the concept as well as the basis of the classification of the papers.

All the papers are well supplemented with copious references. The papers of K.V. Sarma, B.N. Mukherjee, A.K. Bag, S.R. Sarma and R. Sathyanarayana are also fortified with extensive tables and figures.

‘The Concept of Sunya’ is a volume which is a ‘must have’ for anyone interested in knowing the very basic yet so fundamental a concept i.e. the zero; an embodiment of poorna (full); lopa (absence); aakasa(universe); bindu (dot); sunya (circle) and so much more.