Hindu numerals and zero

[Johannes.Bronkhorst at orient.unil.ch]

>I am looking for detailed information on the invention of zero.  Did a
>Jain King in 300 BC ask his court mathematician to count the population in
>his kingdom, and the mathematician say that the numbers 1 thru 9 used at
>that time would not be convenient to add up a large number and invented
>zero.
>
>Also, does anyone have an E-Mail address for the Head, Department of Vedic
>Studies at Banaras Hindu University in India?
>
>                        Thanks
>                        Arun Vohra
>                        ARUN.VOHRA at HQ.DOE.GOV
>
I have written a small article called "A note on zero and the numerical
place-value system in ancient India", that has come out in Asiatische
Studien / Etudes Asiatiques 48(4), 1994, pp. 1039-1042.

Johannes Bronkhorst