०१२३४५६७८९
Devanagari numerals
A place-value system in base 10, with a zero.
StructurePositional — a digit's value depends on the column it sits in
Base10
ZeroYes — a true zero, holding an empty place
RegionNorth India and Nepal
DatesBrahmi numerals from c. 3rd c. BCE; positional with zero by c. 6th–7th c. CE
UnicodeU+0966–U+096F
Status living
Curatorial note
The line that the rest of the world calls Arabic. The decimal place-value system with a true zero was worked out in India and set down mathematically by Brahmagupta in 628 CE, where zero is treated as a number to be operated on rather than a gap to be marked. Everything in the positional column of this floor descends from it.
Specimen
The digits, at size 56 ०१२३४५६७८९
40 ०१२३४५६७८९
26 ०१२३४५६७८९
17 ०१२३४५६७८९