Counting large numbers using the traditional Vedic system

The crore (koti) has probably outlived its usefulness. Being a crorepati in India is no longer difficult. There was a time maybe twenty years ago, when this was not so. Half a century earlier, even being a lakhpati was beyond most people's dreams.


However, times have changed. Inflation has changed the way we use money. Nothing less than a rupee coin is useful any longer. Shouldn't we change the way we count it too? Every other newspaper article relating to tons of money always speaks of thousands of crores. Its time to make use of larger units of measure for such huge numbers. We need not change our system to the Western way of counting in multiples of thousand. Our very own Vedic system may have the answer.


Imagine how much space and ink can be saved while printing, not to mention the confusion with the number of zeroes. 1.8 Vrunda or 180 Abja certainly sounds better than 18000 Crores. Take a look at the table below. I've skipped the even powers for simplicity. And the names may vary a little depending on the source.