How did Bhaskara II use letters for unknown quantities in algebra?

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Indian mathematics The evolution of Hindu-Arabic numerals from Brahmi through Devanagari and Arabic to European scripts.

In the context of Indian mathematics, Bhaskara II utilized letters to represent unknown quantities in a manner similar to modern algebra.1

In the broader tradition of Indian mathematical texts, which were typically written in verse, the formalization of equations involved designating each unknown by a distinct syllabic abbreviation. These abbreviations were typically derived from the name of a color, a word meaning "unknown," or, in the case of word problems, the name of the specific commodity or object that the unknown represented. This practice allowed mathematicians like Bhaskara II to solve indeterminate equations of the first and second degrees and to reduce quadratic equations to a single type for systematic resolution.21