Aryabhata, also known as Aryabhata I or Aryabhata the Elder, was a mathematician and astronomer. Author of the book Aryabhatiya, which summarizes the mathematics and astronomy of the time.

Aryabhata interplayed numbers with consonants of the Indian alphabet and their combination with vowels. It’s been suggested that due to his use of the numbers and the formulas presented in the book, he was likely to know the sign zero and its place-value system.

While many of Aryabhata’s works have been lost, he is considered one of the first and a major mathematician of the time.