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Did you know that counting using fingers has idiosyncratic variations with the culture?
In Bhārata, for instance, we always count starting with the little finger (कनिष्ठिका) ending the fifth count with the thumb (अङ्गुष्ठ).
This is very well demonstrated with this famous verse:
In Bhārata, for instance, we always count starting with the little finger (कनिष्ठिका) ending the fifth count with the thumb (अङ्गुष्ठ).
This is very well demonstrated with this famous verse:
पुरा कवीनां गणना-प्रसङ्गे
कनिष्ठिकाधिष्ठित-कालिदासा।
अद्यापि तत्तुल्य-कवेर् अभावाद्
अनामिका सार्थवती बभूव ।।
#SanskritThruQuotes
Long ago (पुरा) while counting (गणना-प्रसङ्गे) the poets (कवीनां),Kālidāsa (-कालिदासा) was counted [first] as the little finger (कनिष्ठिक-अधिष्ठित-).
कनिष्ठिकाधिष्ठित-कालिदासा।
अद्यापि तत्तुल्य-कवेर् अभावाद्
अनामिका सार्थवती बभूव ।।
#SanskritThruQuotes
Long ago (पुरा) while counting (गणना-प्रसङ्गे) the poets (कवीनां),Kālidāsa (-कालिदासा) was counted [first] as the little finger (कनिष्ठिक-अधिष्ठित-).
Due to paucity (अभावात्) of poets कवेः) comparable to him (तत्-तुल्य-), even to this day (अद्यापि), the name Anāmikā (अनामिका) (lit: nameless) became (बभूव) very meaningful (स-अर्थवती).
This works only when one starts counting with the little finger.
This works only when one starts counting with the little finger.
There is also a variant used for japa where one counts the joints on one's fingers, again starting from the mid-joint of the anāmikā, reaching 10 on one hand. Details can be seen here:
Note here that the Decimal system is used (though counting up to 15 is technically possible).
On the other hand, American way of counting is actually with the index finger.
Whereas in Europe, the counting starts with the thumb.
There are other cultures which have their unique variants too. You can visit the wiki page on this, though you won't find even a single detail about the Indian, or rather, the Hindu way of counting. (*Cough* *cough* it IS, after all, wiki).
Interestingly, this has been used in espionage stories when a spy was caught for using the wrong convention of finger counting.
https://ytcropper.com/cropped/mU5f098bd13d86c
https://ytcropper.com/cropped/mU5f098bd13d86c
I didn't write about the Chinese method specifically because https://twitter.com/inc09nita/status/1281947896477171717?s=19
