The abacus (plural abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool that was in use in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, centuries before the adoption of the written Hindu–Arabic numeral system.[1] The exact origin of the abacus is still unknown. Today, abacuses are often constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires, but originally they were beans or stones moved in grooves of sand or on tablets of wood, stone, or metal.
Vedic Mathematics is the name given to a supposedly ancient system of calculation which was “rediscovered” from the Vedas between 1911 and 1918 by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji Maharaj (1884-1960). According to Tirthaji, all of Vedic mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras, or word-formulae. For example, “Vertically and Crosswise” is one of these Sutras. These formulae are intended to describe the way the mind naturally works, and are therefore supposed to be a great help in directing the student to the appropriate method of solution. None of these sutras has ever been found in Vedic literature, nor are its methods consistent with known mathematical knowledge from the Vedic era.