Bakhshālī Manuscript

The Bakhshali manuscript is an ancient Indian mathematical text written on birch bark that was found in 1881 in the village of Bakhshali, Mardan (near Peshawar in present-day Pakistan).

Contents
The manuscript is a summary of rules and illustrative examples. In the form of problems examples are provided and the solution is described and it is verified that the problem has been solved. The sample problems are in verse and commentary is in prose related with calculations. The problems contains arithmetic, algebra and geometry including mensuration. The details covered include fractions, square roots, arithmetic and geometric progressions, solutions of simple equations, simultaneous linear equations, quadratic equations and indeterminate equations of the second degree.

Numerals and Zero
The Bakhshali manuscript uses numerals with a place-value system, using a dot as a place holder for zero. The dot symbol came to be called the shunya-bindu