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Vedic Mathematics

Previous: Addition And

Multiplication Next: Division
Subtraction

Introduction

Contents
1 Introduction
 2 Memory versus Calculation

3 Special Cases of Multiplication

o 3.1 Multiplying by 11

o 3.2 Multiplying by 15

4 Multiplying two single digit numbers

5 Multiplying two numbers close to 100

o 5.1 Combining techniques

o 5.2 Extending the Multiplication Technique

6 Multiplying Two Numbers that are 'Closely Related'

There are a wide range of multiplication techniques, the one perhaps most familiar to the
majority of people is the classic long multiplication algorithm, e.g.

23958233

5830

------------

00000000 (= 23,958,233 0)

71874699 (= 23,958,233 30)

191665864 (= 23,958,233 800)

119791165 (= 23,958,233 5,000)

------------

139676498390 (= 139,676,498,390)

While this algorithm works for any pair of numbers, it is long winded, requires many
intermediate stages, and requires you to record the results of each of the intermediate stages so
you can sum them at the end to produce the final answer. However, when the numbers to be
multiplied fall into certain categories, short-cuts can be used to avoid much of the work involved
in long multiplication. There are many of these 'special cases' some of them allow seemingly
difficult multiplications to be completed mentally, literally allowing you to just write down the
answer.

Memory versus Calculation

Special Cases of Multiplication

There are a number of simple techniques that can be used when multiplying by certain numbers.
They are very useful in their own right but can be even more useful when combined with other
techniques where they can facilitate the solution of more difficult problems.

Multiplying by 11

To multiply any number by 11 do the following:

Working from right to left

1. Write the rightmost digit of the starting number down.

2. Add each pair of digits and write the results down, (carrying digits where necessary right
to left).

3. Finally write down the left most digit (adding any final carry if necessary).

It's as simple as that, e.g.

Multiply 712x11

712x11=7832

The reason for working from right to left instead of the more usual left to right is so any carries
can be added in. e.g.

Multiply 8738x11
8738x11=96118

Multiplying by 15

Multiplying by 15 can be broken down into a multiplication by 10 plus a multiplication by 5.

Multiplying by 10 is just a matter of adding a 0 on the end of a number, multiplying by 5 is half
of a multiplication by 10 as above e.g.

15 x 33 = [10 x 33] + [5 x 33] = 330 + [(10 x 33) / 2] = 330 + [330 / 2] = 330

+ 165 = 495

This is easier to do in your head than it is to write down! e.g. to multiply 15 x 27 you first
multiply 27 x 10 giving 270, then 'add half again', i.e. half of 270 is 135, add this to 270 to get
405 and that's your answer.

Multiplying two single digit numbers

Although most people have memorised multiplication tables from 1x1 to 10x10, one of the Vedic
Sutras, (Vertically and Crosswise), allows you to multiply any pair of single digit numbers
without using anything higher than the 5x multiplication table. While this may not be particularly
useful, the algorithm is a good introduction to some of the ideas behind the Vedic techniques and
so is worth taking the time to learn and understand as the basic idea is expanded upon later.
Because of this I will go through the procedure in more detail than it probably deserves. The
technique is as follows:

1. If either of the numbers are below 6 then just recall the answer from memory (you need
to know your multiplication tables up to 5x, hopefully this shouldn't be too much of a
problem!). If instead both numbers are above 5 then continue.

2. Write, (or imagine), the two single digit numbers one above the other with an answer line
below.

3. Subtract each number from 10 and place the result to the right of the original number.

4. Vertically: Multiply the two numbers on the right (the answers to the subtractions in the
previous step) and place the answer underneath them on the answer line, (this is the first
part of the answer). Since the original numbers were above 5, these numbers will always
be below 5 (because the original numbers were subtracted from 10) so you won't need
anything above the 4x multiplication table. If the answer to the multiplication is 10 or
more, just place the right-most digit on the answer line and remember to carry the other
digit to the next step.

5. Crosswise: Select one of the original numbers, (it doesn't matter which one, the answer
will be the same), and subtract the number diagonally opposite it. If there was no carry
from the previous step just place the result on the answer line below the original numbers,
if there was a carry add this to the result before you place it on the answer line.
That's it, the number on the answer line is the final answer. The technique is very simple but
looks more complicated than it actually is when written down step by step. The following
examples should clarify the procedure.

Multiply 8 x 6

Following steps 1 to 3 above, write the numbers down one above the other, subtract each
from 10, and write the answer to the right of each number:

Now, following step 4 (Vertically) multiply the two numbers on the right and write down
the answer.

Finally, following step 5 (Crosswise) Subtract along any diagonal (the answer will be the
same either way) and write down the answer.

So 8 x 6 is 48 as expected, but as you can see from the above sequence, to work this out you only
needed to know know how to subtract small numbers and multiply 2 x 4.

Multiply 7 x 8

Giving an answer of 56 as expected.

The next example involves a carry between the last two stages.
 Multiply 7 x 6

As you can see the multiplication in the second (Vertically) stage (3x4) results in 12, the 2 is
written down and the 1 is carried. The subtraction in the Crosswise stage (6-3) results in 3, but
you have to add the carried 1 from the previous step resulting in 4. The final answer is 42.

This may all seem like a lot of work for doing simple multiplications that you can just recall
from memory, but the important thing here is to learn the technique as it is expanded upon later.
If you are interested in improving your mental arithmetic skills, learn to do this procedure in
your head by visualising the numbers laid out as above. Before going on to the next technique,
try it now; close your eyes and multiply 6x6 using the procedure above...
You should have imagined the following:

Multiply 6 x 6

Multiplying two numbers close to 100

The above technique actually works for any two numbers but it is only useful if it results in an
easier process than traditional long multiplication. The key thing to remember is that with this
technique you end up multiplying the subtracted numbers instead of the original numbers, i.e. it
is only easier than normal multiplication if these subtracted numbers are smaller than the original
numbers, hence the reason why we only used the above technique for numbers greater than 5,
(since the subtracted numbers will then be 4 or smaller).

When the technique is extended to double digit numbers, you subtract each from 100 during the
'Vertically' stage instead of subtracting them from 10 so the technique is only easier if the result
of this subtraction is small for one or both of the numbers, this is obviously the case when one or
both of the numbers are close to 100. Take a look at the following example:

Multiply 89 x 97
So 89x97=8633.
Now the power of the technique becomes clear. In the introduction I asked whether you wanted
to be able to multiply 89x97 quickly in your head, you should now be able to see that this is
actually quite easy. You first visualise both numbers one on top of the other, you then subtract
each from 100 giving 11 and 3, mentally placing each result to the right of the original numbers.
Next you multiply 11 and 3 together giving 33. (Note that since we are now dealing with double
digit numbers, we don't carry unless the answer to this multiplication is 100 or more). We now
have the last two digits of the answer (33), all we have to do now is subtract along either of the
diagonals to get the first digits. We can pick any diagonal as they will always give the same
answer but 89-3=86 is perhaps easier than 97-11=86. The final answer is the concatenation of the
two parts giving 8633
If you practice this technique you will find you can do two digit multiplications without writing
anything down. Try it now, multiply 95x93 in your head, try to visualise the procedure above.
You should have come up with the following:

Multiply 95 x 93

95x93=8835

Remember that the reason why this is easier than normal multiplication is because you only have
to multiply the results of the subtractions. This means that you can usually use it in situations
where only one of the numbers is close to 100 because the multiplication will still be easy in this
case. e.g.

Multiply 97 x 69

97x69=6693
 Multiply 96 x 88

96x88=8448

The same technique works for numbers slightly over 100 except you now have to add during the
Crosswise step. e.g.

Multiply 105 x 107

105x107=11235

There are a number of ways to remember the extension of the technique to numbers larger than
100. If you are familiar with the sign multiplication rules (i.e. -x-=+, -x+=-, etc.) then you don't
have to alter the technique at all as you will understand that 100-105 = -5 and 100-107=-7, then
(-7)x(-5)=35, and 107-(-5)=107+5=112.
If you are not comfortable with this then you can instead just reverse the initial subtractions
when the original numbers are greater than 100 (or just remember that you need the difference
between the original numbers and 100, i.e. 105-100 = 5 instead of 100-105 = -5), and then also
remember that you have to change the Crosswise subtraction to an addition if the number you
want to subtract came from an original number greater than 100.
Try to do the following examples in your head.

Multiply 109 x 108

109x108=11772

Multiply 115 x 106

115x106=12190

Multiply 123 x 103

123x103=12669

As before you need to carry the first digit of the Vertically multiplication if it is more than 2
digits long. e.g.

Multiply 133 x 120

133x120=15960

Combining techniques

One of the key ideas of the Vedic system is that you can combine techniques to solve problems.
You should look at problems in a flexible way and use the combination of techniques that best
suits a particular problem, (and the way your own brain works!). It is perhaps a little early to be
discussing this since we have only covered one major technique so far, but even at this stage it is
possible to combine the Vertically and Crosswise multiplication technique with the special case
multiplication techniques already described to handle the situation when both numbers are
further away from 100, 1000, etc.

For example, using the 'by 10 and half again' rule to multiply by 15 lets you easily deal with
numbers further away from 10, 100, 1000, etc., if one of the numbers is 15 away from your 'base'
number e.g.

Multiply 66 x 85
66x85=5610
You can see here that the Vertically multiplication results in 510 (34x15 = 340 'and half again' =
340 + 170 = 510). 510 has 3 digits so we write down the last two digits (10) and carry the
leading 5. We then do the Crosswise subtraction along the easiest diagonal (66-15 = 51) and add
the carry (5) before writing down the final answer (56).

Extending the Multiplication Technique

The same Vertically and Crosswise technique described above works for any numbers but it is
particularly useful for numbers near a power of 10, i.e. 10, 100, 1000, 10000, 100000, etc. As
long as the initial subtraction results in numbers that are 'easier' to multiply it is a useful
technique. e.g.

Multiply 1232 x 1003

1232x1003=1235696
Since we are dealing with numbers near 1000 here we find the initial differences from 1000
instead of 100 and we only carry if the Vertically multiplication is 1000 or greater.

Multiply 9960 x 9850

9960x9850=98106000
In this case the numbers are slightly below 10000 so we initially subtract from 10000, we also
subtract in the Crosswise stage, and we only carry if the Vertically multiplication is 10000 or
more. (In this particular case it would have perhaps been simpler to do 996x981 using the
Vertically and Crosswise technique and then add two zeroes to the end of the answer.)

Multiply 89684 x 99989

89684x99989=8967413476
Note the combination of techniques in the above example, i.e. the difference between 89684 and
100000 is easily derived using the special case technique for subtracting from a power of 10, (i.e.
using the sutra All from 9 and the last from 10). The special case technique for multiplication
by 11 is also used.

Multiply 98688 x 99997

98688x99997=9868503936
In this example the numbers are slightly less than 100000 so the initial subtraction is from
100000. The thing to watch out for here is that the result of the Vertically multiplication must be
padded out to 5 digits by adding an extra zero on the left (03936 instead of 3936). This is also
true generally, i.e. the number of digits in the result of the Vertically multiplication must always
be the same as the number of zeroes in the 'base' number (i.e. 100, 1000, 100000, etc.).

It is worth remembering how far we have come even at this early stage. Even if you are writing
the calculations down, it is still much more efficient to do the multiplication above the Vedic way
than using traditional long multiplication. e.g.

Multiply 98688 x 99997 using long multiplication

98688

99997

----------

690816 (= 98688 7)

8881920 (= 98688 90)

88819200 (= 98688 900)

888192000 (= 98688 9000)

8881920000 (= 98688 90000)

 ----------

9868503936

This multiplication technique can be extended further to cover cases where one number is
slightly above a power of 10 and one slightly below the same power of 10. In this case it is
advantageous to note whether the original numbers are greater or smaller than the 'base' power of
10 using + or - symbols accordingly. e.g.:

Multiply 111 x 88

Note that the result of the Vertically multiplication is now negative because the signs of the two
numbers you are multiplying are different. Additionally, since our 'base' is 100, we can only write
2 digits down in the answer section so the leading -1 of the -132 must be carried; thus:

Now we have -32 in the answer section. We must convert this negative number by replacing it
with it's 'compliment', i.e. that number which when added would result in 100. In this case
32+68=100 so we replace the -32 with 68. Whenever we do a replacement of this sort we must
also subtract one from the carry (i.e. in this case the carry changes from -1 to -2). Once this is
done we continue as before; thus:

111x88=9768
Note that in this example we have added the 11 to 88 during the Crosswise step because the 11
was written down as +11. It is important to note this sign. If we had instead used the other
diagonal the calculation would have been 111-12, (resulting in the same answer 99), because the
12 is written as -12. Now all of this may seem a bit convoluted, but you would not explicitly
write down each of the steps above, I have only done this to clearly illustrate what is going on. In
practice the 'compliment and carry' steps would be written down directly, e.g.
 Multiply 97 x 104

97x104=10088
In the above case, after the initial differences are found, (-3 and +4), they are multiplied to give
-12 but then you remember that a negative number cannot be written down so it is complemented
giving 88 (12+88=100) and the carry is reduced by one, (since there is no carry in this example,
the carry becomes -1). Finally the Crosswise step is performed, (in this case 97+4=101), and the
carry subtracted (101-1=100), restulting in 100. The final answer being the concatenation of the
two parts as usual, i.e. 10088.
Some further examples should make the process clear. Try doing them mentally before reading
through the working.

Multiply 103 x 87

103x87=8961

Multiply 998 x 1004

998x1004=1001992
In the above example the base is now 1000, the result of the vertically multiplication is -8
resulting in a compliment of 992.

Multiply 1234 x 989

1234x989=1220426
The above example deserves some explanation as it shows the use of multiple techniques. First
the initial residuals are written down, i.e. +234 and -11. We then use the special case technique to
multiply 234 by -11 which results in -2574. This gives a carry of -2 and a remainder of -574. The
remainder is complemented by subtracting it from 1000, this is done using the special case
method for subtracting from a power of 10, (i.e. using the sutra All from 9 and the last from
10), resulting in 426 and the carry is reduced by one changing it from -2 to -3. Finally the
Crosswise subtraction is performed taking account of the carry, (1234-11-3) resulting in 1220
giving a final answer of 1220426.

Multiplying Two Numbers that are 'Closely Related'

We are now ready to extend the multiplication technique described above to the most general
case, i.e. the multiplication of any two numbers that are 'closely related'. The precise definition of
'closely related' is:

"Numbers that are a small distance away from a 'proportional power of 10' such that the
differences between the original numbers and this proportional power of 10 are simple to
multiply".

This may sound very complicated, but it is actually quite simple. Firstly the 'proportional power
of 10' is just a simple multiple or division of a power of 10, powers of 10 being 10, 100, 1000,
10000, etc. So, proportional powers of 10 are 10, 20, 25, 30, 40,... 80, 90,100, 200, 250, 300,...
800, 900, etc. etc. (Note that 25, 250, etc. are proportional powers of 10 in this definition because
they are a simple division of a power of 10, e.g. 100/4=25).
So If both of the numbers you want to multiply are 'close' to one of these numbers (i.e. the
residuals are small enough so that you can multiply them easily), then the extended technique
can be used. This extended technique is simply the addition of the sub-sutra Anurupyena or
Proportionately to the technique already described above. The complete description of the
extended Vertically and Crosswise technique is:

1. Place the two numbers you wish to multiply one on top of the other, leave an answer line
below.

2. Choose a 'working base' that is close to both numbers, this must be a 'proportional
power of 10'. The 'theoretical base' is the actual power of 10 before you have multiplied
or divided it to get your 'working base'. e.g. If the 'working base' is 25 then the
'theoretical base' would be 100 (the 'theoretical base' of 100 would have been divided
by 4 in this case to get the 'working base' of 25). Remember the 'proportionality' of
what you have done, (e.g. if you have divided by 4 or multiplied by 3 etc.), you will use
this 'proportionality' correct the left hand side of the answer.

3. Subtract the 'working base' from each of the original numbers and place the results to the
right of each, (remember to include the sign of the result, e.g. 21-25=-4, 28-25=+3). We
will call these results the 'residuals'.
 4. Vertically multiply the 'residuals' obtained above noting the sign of the result, (i.e. if the
signs of the 'residuals' are different then the sign of the multiplication result will be
negative, if the signs of the 'residuals' are the same then the result will be positive. We
will call this the 'Vertically Result'.

5. Add or Subtract Crosswise following the sign present on the particular diagonal chosen,
(you will get the same answer no matter which diagonal is selected so pick the easiest
calculation to create the 'Crosswise Result'.

6. 'Correct' the 'Crosswise Result' by repeating the 'proportionality' used to create the
'working base', (e.g. if you divided by 4 to get your 'working base' then divide the
'Crosswise Result' by 4 also). Note that if the proportionality was a division, and if this
resulted in a result with a fractional part, then this fractional part must be transferred to
the right hand side of the answer by adding the same fractional proportion of the
theoretical base to the previously calculated 'Vertically result'.

7. If there are now too many digits in 'Vertically Result' (i.e. more than the number of
zeroes in the 'theoretical base'), then you have to carry the leading digit(s) to the next
stage remembering to preserve the signs. We will call the result of the Vertically
multiplication after any carry has been removed the 'remainder'.

8. If the 'remainder' is positive you can just place it on the answer line, if it is negative, it
must be replaced with it's compliment before placing it on the answer line, (remember the
compliment of a number is the result of subtracting the number from the 'theoretical
base' ). If you have to compliment the 'remainder' to make it positive then you must also
reduce the carry by 1, (if there is no carry yet then the carry becomes -1)

9. Add or Subtract any carry (according to it's sign) to the corrected Crosswise result above,
place this result in the answer line to the left of the 'remainder' part of the answer.

10. That's it, the digits on the answer line are the results of the original multiplication.

Now, that all sounds terribly complicated, but it really is much harder to write (and read) the
steps than to actually follow them! In fact you have already followed all the steps in the many
previous examples, the only additional steps are the 'proportionately calculations. Some
examples will clarify.

Multiply 489x512
As you can see above, first a 'working base' of 500 is chosen as it is close to both numbers, in
this case we use a 'theoretical base' of 100 and a 'proportionality' of x5, (we could also have
used 1000 and 2 as will be seen in the next example). The 'residuals' are then found i.e. -11 and
+12 and these are then multiplied giving -132 (the multiply by 11 rule is used here giving 132
but as the residual signs are different the answer is -132). We now subtract Crosswise 512-11
resulting in 501 (we could have chosen the other diagonal if we wanted i.e. 489+12=501, both
give the same answer). Then we 'correct' the Crosswise subtraction by repeating the original
proportionately step, i.e. 501x5=2505.

We can only have 2 digits in the 'remainder' result because our 'theoretical base' is 100 so we
must carry the -1 leaving -32 on the answer line, however we can't put a negative number on the
answer line either so we compliment -32 resulting in 68 (and then reduce the carry by 1 to -2).
Finally we subtract the carry giving 2503. Thus the final answer is the contactination of both
parts, i.e. 250368
This calculation is as complicated as it gets and every step has been split out into it's constituent
parts intentionally so you can more easily see and understand each step, but remember that you
would not write each step down like this, you would usually either do it all mentally or just write
down the part answers directly.
You can see below that choosing the alternative proportionality (i.e. 10002) results in the same
answer:

Multiply 489x512

You can see above that we are performing the same multiplication (489x512) and we are still
using a 'working base' of 500 but this time the 'theoretical base' is 1000 and the
'proportionality' is 2. The calculation proceeds as before, with the the diagonally subtraction
resulting in 501, but this time the 'proportionality' is 2 so we have to divide 501 by 2 resulting
in 250.
We can't write in the answer so we transfer it back to the remainder column as half of the
'theoretical base', i.e. 10002=500 added to the -132 already present giving 368.
The many varied ways you can tackle a numerical problem with the Vedic techniques is a key
advantage to the system. With practice you will become more confident when working with
numbers and achieve a deeper understanding of arithmetic. However, one essential point in the
above technique must be remembered, that is:

You must NOT process any carries until you have 'corrected' the Crosswise calculation
for any initial proportionality you applied at the beginning of the process.

It is a common mistake to try to deal with the carries before 'correcting' the left hand side of the
answer for proportionality. If you do this the answer will be wrong.

Vedic Mathematics

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Vedic Mathematics/Techniques/Addition And
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 Vedic Mathematics

Previous: Techniques Addition And Subtraction Next: Multiplication

Introduction

Contents
1 Introduction

2 Memory versus Calculation

3 Addition is Commutative

4 Addition is Associative

5 Partitioning and Reorganising

6 The First Technique: Extended Counting

7 Subtracting 9

8 Subtraction from a power of 10

Other than counting, addition is perhaps the most basic mathematical operation. As such there
are relatively few techniques to improve it's efficiency, those techniques that exist are basically
ways to organise the calculation to make it simpler to compute mentally. Subtraction is similar,
but in this case there are also some techniques to help with the carry/borrow process which
unlike addition can run across multiple digits. You will no doubt already use most of the addition
and subtraction techniques described here intuitively without thinking about them, many of the
techniques may seem to be so basic that they don't deserve explanation, but it is worth re-
iterating them even if just to make you aware that you are probably already using techniques that
can be expanded upon to improve your arithmetic ability.

Memory versus Calculation

It is a basic fact of arithmetic that the more you memorise the less you have to calculate. The first
thing you learn about numbers is how to count. You can think of this as the ability to add one to
any number, e.g. 0+1=1, 4+1=5, 7+1=8, 9+1=10, 10+1=11, 19+1=20, 56+1=57. You
instinctively know the answer to these sums, they have been memorised from an early age by
repeatedly counting from 1 to 100.

Once you have learnt to count, you learn to add by counting, that is, repeatedly adding one (at
first often using your fingers). Indeed addition is implicitly defined as the repeated addition of
one e.g.

Add 6 + 3

It's not long before you have memorised the results of adding smaller numbers so you no longer
have to count, (on your fingers or otherwise!), to find the answer to simple additions.

This pattern repeats itself again and again. When learning a new arithmetic operation, you
initially learn how to perform it, then after practising you tend to memorise the results of the
operation on the most common (often smaller) numbers so you don't actually have to perform the
operation to get to the answer. This is perhaps the first and most basic arithmetic technique, i.e.
memorise and you don't have to calculate.

Now it is obviously impossible to memorise the results of all possible calculations, but it is clear
that a certain amount of memorisation is essential, and that some additional memorisation above
the minimum requirement will vastly improve the efficiency of many calculations. Where to
draw the line is difficult to say, but the following would be good basic set of results to memorise,
(most of us will have already memorised these results long ago).

All sums up to 10.

All compositions of 10
Just memorising the above lets you calculate any sum of two single digit numbers by partitioning
and reorganising (see later), but it saves a lot of time to also memorise the sum of all pairs of
single digit numbers and not just those sums up to 10. e.g.

All single digit sums

Note that is is perhaps surprising how few people have memorised the above sums. You may
think you have them memorised, but consider carefully; are you actually recovering the results
from memory or are you working them out by partitioning and reorganisation. (e.g. Do you know
that 7+6=13, or do you think "it's one less than 7+7", or "it's one more than 6+6". Do you
actually know that 9+7=16, or are you thinking "9+7 is the same as 10+6".

Addition is Commutative
One of the fist things you learn about addition is that it is commutative. That is, it doesn't matter
whether you add 5 to 6 or add 6 to 5, the answer is the same no matter what order the terms are
in. e.g.:
This idea is implicitly understood by everyone, (e.g. if asked to do 3+54 you would almost
certainly think of 54+3 before coming up with 57), but it is important to explicitly state that
addition is commutative as this rule is important in many addition algorithms. (It should also be
noted that other mathematical operators are not commutative, e.g. 6-5 is not the same as 5-6.)

Addition is Associative
Another of the most basic addition laws is that addition is associative. That is, if you have a
number of additions to perform it doesn't matter which order you do them in. e.g.:

Partitioning and Reorganising

The First Technique: Extended Counting
Soon after you have memorised how to count you then quickly learn how to add one to any
number, e.g. you know that 7999+1=8000 even though you have almost certainly never counted
from 1 to 8000! Note that you do this calculation without formally adding the digits and carrying
the result. e.g. you don't do this:

You instead instinctively know that when adding one to any number there are only two possible
outcomes.

1. If the last digit is not a nine then the answer is just the same number with the last digit
increased by one

2. If the last digits are nines then you replace the nines with zeroes and add 1 to the first
digit (working from right to left) that isn't a nine.
Subtracting 9
Subtraction from a power of 10
You will see in the multiplication section the Vedic Mathematics Sutra Vertically and Crosswise
is used to multiply numbers near a power of 10, (e.g. 10, 100, 1000, etc.). The first step in this
technique is to subtract the numbers you are working with from the nearest power of 10. Luckily
another sutra can help with this initial subtraction.

All From 9 And The Last From 10 tells us how to subtract a number from the next highest
power of 10; we simply subtract each digit of the number in question from 9 apart from the last
one which we subtract from 10. It's as simple as that. For example:

Subtract 8675 from 10000

10000-8675=1325

The number you are subtracting must have the same number of digits as the number of zeroes in
the power of 10 you are subtracting from. If your number has less digits than this you must pad
the number with leading zeroes. e.g.

Subtract 875 from 100000

100000-875=99125
Vedic Mathematics/Why Does It Work?
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Introduction
Contents
1 Introduction

2 Addition and Subtraction Techniques

o 2.1 Subtracting from a power of 10

3 Multiplication Techniques

o 3.1 Multiplying by 11

o 3.2 Multiplying by 12

o 3.3 Multiplying numbers close to a power of 10

4 Division techniques

It should be understood that there is no magic in the the many techniques described in the other
chapters, indeed there is no magic in mathematics in general, it can be argued that mathematics is
the purest of all sciences as there is no opinion and mathematics needs no experiments or
interpretation of results; things are either true, (i.e. they are proven to be true), or they are not.
That being the case, there must be sound reasons why all the previously described techniques
work.
The reason some of the techniques work is simply that they perform a well understood algorithm
(e.g. long multiplication) in a more efficient way, (often due to particular problem properties, e.g.
the technique of multiplying any number by 11), even if it is difficult to see this at first. Other
techniques work by making use of less widely understood mathematical laws, (e.g. algebra,
quadratic equations, modular or 'clock' arithmetic, etc.). In either case, it is not necessary to
know why a technique works to be able to use it, (much like you don't need to know how a car
works to be able to drive one). It is for this reason, as well as to make the previous chapters more
immediately usable, that the description of why each technique works has been omitted.
However, for those that are curious and want to investigate further, this chapter describes why
many of the Vedic mathematics techniques work. Remember that some of the descriptions below
will require knowledge of areas of mathematics that you may not be familiar with. Hopefully this
will give you the impetus to investigate these areas and expand your mathematical knowledge,
(this is a very rewarding way to discover new aspects of a subject). However even if this is not
the case, you can (and should) still use the techniques and be happy in the knowledge that even if
you don't know how the techniques work, they will still improve your numerical and arithmetic
skills.
Think of this section as an appendix, useful for further study, but not essential to the
understanding of the main theme of the book.
Addition and Subtraction Techniques
Subtracting from a power of 10

Multiplication Techniques
Multiplying by 11

When multiplying by 11 using long multiplication a pattern to the working out can be discovered
e.g.

46 876 4386 432672

11x 11x 11x 11x

-- --- ---- -------

46 876 4386 432672

460+ 8760+ 43860+ 4326720+

--- ---- ----- --------

506 9636 48246 4759392

--- ---- ----- --------

You can see that in the addition section of each long multiplication above, each column apart
from the first and last is the sum of the original digit in the column and the next one (to the
right). Once you know this you can just write down the result of multiplying any number by 11.
Working from right to left:

1. Write the rightmost digit down.

2. Add each pair of digits and write the result down right to left (carrying digits where
necessary).

3. Finally write down the left most digit.

e.g.

Multiply 712x11
712x11=7832

The reason for working from right to left instead of the more usual left to right is so any carries
can be added in as you go along. e.g.

Multiply 8738x11

8738x11=96118

Multiplying by 12

Multiplying numbers close to a power of 10

In the techniques section it is shown that the Vertically and Crosswise sutra can be used to
easily multiply numbers that are close to 100. It is then shown that the same technique can be
used to multiply any numbers near a power of 10, and that in fact the general technique will
work for any numbers near any base, the key factor being that the technique is useful if the initial
subtractions result in numbers that are easier to multiply. To understand why this technique
works, you need a basic understanding of algebra, and quadratic equations.

Consider two numbers A and B that are to be multiplied together and a third number X that is
close to both numbers (we will call X the 'base' ). We assume that the numbers A and B are
difficult to multiply and so we are looking for an easier alternative that only involves addition,
subtraction and the multiplication of easier (e.g. smaller or simpler) numbers. The key is to
realise that since X is close to both numbers we can generate smaller numbers (that are hopefully
easier to work with) related to A and B by subtracting each from X (we will call these smaller
numbers a and b). i.e.
We can multiply A and B by substituting for them using equations (1) and (2) above, i.e.

Now we have something we can work with! You can see from the equation above that we can
replace the multiplication of A and B with some subtractions of small numbers (X-a-b) a
multiplication of the result of this subtraction by the 'base' number X and then the addition of a
small multiplication ab. (Remember a and b are small because X is close to A and B and a=X-A,
b=X-B). The only multiplication that might be difficult is the multiplication of X by the result of
the initial subtraction (X-a-b), however if we choose X carefully (e.g. by making X a power of
10) we can make sure that this multiplication is simple too. With this knowledge we can now
make sense of the Vertically and Crosswise multiplication technique. i.e.

Perhaps the cleverest bit is that if the base number X is an appropriate power of 10, both the
multiplication of (X-a-b) by X and the subsequent addition of ab is handled automatically by the
positional shift of the digits caused by appending the ab digits to the end of the (X-a-b) digits.
The only potential problem left is if the product ab is equal to or larger than the base X. In this
case the positional shift of the (X-a-b) digits will be one too many, so instead the leading digit of
the product ab must be 'carried' and then added to the (X-a-b) value.

Division techniques