Shulba Sutras or most commonly known as Vedic Mathematics, is the name given to the mathematics formulae which were rediscovered from the Vedas between 1911 and 1918 by Shri Bharati Krsna Tirthaji (1884 – 1960). According to his research all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras.

These 16 one-line formulae, which can be easily memorised, enable one to solve long mathematical problems quickly. These principles are general in nature and can be applied in many ways. In practice many applications of the Sutras may be learned and combined to solve actual problems.

Let’s have a look at the first Sutra.

एकाधिकेन पूर्वेण।

Ekadhikena Purvena

Meaning: By one more than the one before.

This Sutra has several applications. The most common is to find the square of any number whose units digit is 5.

Example: Finding the square of number 35.

For this let’s find the parts of this number as described in the Sutra. Digit 3 appears before digit 5, so 3 is the digit referred as ‘the one before’.

So, 1 more than the one before is 3 + 1 = 4.

Now, square the number 5 to get 25.

Multiply 3 by 4 and place it in left hand side of 25.

So, the square of 35 is 1225.

You could try calculating the squares of 45, 55, 65 and so on mentally.