How did Hindu-Arabic numerals originate in India?

The Hindu-Arabic numeral system originated in India, where its development occurred over several centuries through the evolution of Brahmi numerals. Early forms of these symbols, such as 1, 4, and 6, appear in Ashoka inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE, with further developments appearing in the Nana Ghat and Nasik cave inscriptions in the following centuries.123

While these early inscriptions show symbols resembling modern numerals, they initially lacked a formal place-value system or a symbol for zero. The concept of zero as a placeholder first appeared as a dot in the Bakhshali manuscript (3rd or 4th century CE). By the 5th century, mathematician Aryabhata described a positional system, and in the 7th century, Brahmagupta formally defined zero (shunya) as a number with its own arithmetic rules.34

This perfected positional decimal system was later introduced to the Islamic world by mathematicians like al-Khwarizmi and eventually reached Europe through the work of Fibonacci, fundamentally transforming global mathematics.546