Base Method of

Multiplication
The Base Method of multiplication is a wonderful contribution of Vedic
Mathematics. The name Base
Method is given by practitioners of Vedic Mathematics in western countries.
However, the actual
Sanskrit sutra as given by Swamiji to define this system is:
‘Nikhilam Navatascaramam Dasatah.’ It means ‘all from 9 and the last from
10.’
For all practical purposes, we shall be calling the system elaborated in this
chapter as the Nikhilam
method or simply the ‘Base Method.’
This method is used to multiply numbers. It is of immense help in certain cases
where traditional
multiplication takes a long time to calculate the answer. Let us take the case of
multiplying the
number 9999999 by 9999998. If you go by the traditional method it will take a
long time to multiply
the numbers and calculate the product. However with the technique described in
the Base Method one
can find the answer in less than 5 seconds.
The study of the Base Method is crucial to understand the other formulae of
Vedic Mathematics.
There is a corollary of the Base Method which is called the Yavadunam Rule.
This sutra is used in
squaring numbers and is discussed in the next chapter.
OVERVIEW
This system is called the Base Method because in this system we use a certain
number as a base. This
base can be any number, but generally we use powers of 10. The powers of 10
include numbers like
10, 100, 1000, 10000, etc. We select a particular base depending upon the
numbers given in the
question. Suppose we are asked to multiply 97 by 99; in this case the
appropriate base would be 100 as
both these numbers are closer to 100. If we are asked to multiply 1005 by 1020
then the appropriate
base would be 1000 as both the numbers are closer to 1000.
Secondly, we will find the answer in two parts — the left hand side and the right
hand side. The
left hand side will be denoted by the acronym LHS and the right hand side will
be denoted by the
acronym RHS.
Let us have a look at the procedure involved in this technique of multiplication.
I have outlined
below the four steps required in this technique.
STEPS
(a) Find the Base and the Difference
(b) Number of digits on the RHS = Number of zeros in the base
(c) Multiply the differences on the RHS
(d) Put the Cross Answer on the LHS
These are the four primary steps that we will