Vedic Maths: Vyavkalanam Sutra (Basics of Subtraction)

Subtraction in Vedic Maths is called “Vyavkalanam”. It is considered to be the easiest method/sutra when compared to any other conventional method. Children between 7 to 10 years of age can easily learn this method/sutra. Before actually learning the method, let’s discuss two basics requirements for Vyavkalanam (Subtraction).

Firstly, Nikhilam Navatah Charamam Dasatah (All from 9 last from 10). Subtracting every digit from 9 but the rightmost digit from 10. Whenever there are 0s at the end of any number, we ignore them in the beginning and apply All from 9 last from 10 at the remaining digits. After computing them, we will add 0s as it is.

Now talking about Vinculum, let's consider an example. Let there be the number 81, such that there is a bar on number 1. This bar at the top of 1 is called a vinculum. It indicates that 1 is negative and 8 is positive. Hence, the number actually is 80 - 1 i.e. 79. Whenever 0s are coming in between two non-zero digits, the vinculum is applied to them as well. The applications of the above mentioned techniques will be discussed in the next video. Children from Grade 3 onwards can learn this method. Stay tuned!