Namaste,
While reading a few old books on Sanskrit Grammar, I ran across an interesting bit of information that I had never read before. So, I wanted to share it with you all.
As you probably know, the numbers we use today arrived in the West through the Arabs, and thus were termed 'Arabic Numbers'. The Arabs, however, got the figures from the Indians, and accordingly called them 'Indian Figures'.
What you might not know, however, is that the actual shape of the figures are derived from their names in Devanagari/Sanskrit, i.e.:
१ (1) is derived from the initial ए in ekah, 'one'.
२ (2) is derived from the initial द्व in dvau, 'two'.
३ (3) is derived from the initial त्र in trayah, 'three'.
४ (4) is derived from the initial च in chatvaarah, 'four'.
५ (5) is derived from the initial प in pańcha, 'five'.
I found that in a book by Max Müller. Interesting, no? 
_________________
Namaste,
Shishya
ॐ
ॐ सह नावतु । सह तौ भुनक्तु । सह वीर्यं करवावहै । तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ॥
"Together may we be protected. Together may we be profited. Together may we do a hero's work. May we learn intelligently. May we never hate one another."
-Brihadaranyaka & Taittiriya Upanishads
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