It was introduced in the early 6th century in India by Āryabhaṭa, in the first chapter titled Gītika Padam of his Aryabhatiya.
It attributes a numerical value to each syllable of the form consonant+vowel possible in Sanskrit phonology, from ka = 1 up to hau = 1018.
[further explanation needed] The traditional Indian digit order is reversed compared to the modern way.
[2] makhi bhakhi phakhi dhakhi ṇakhi ñakhi ṅakhi hasjha skaki kiṣga śghakhi kighva ghlaki kigra hakya dhaki kica sga jhaśa ṅva kla pta pha cha kala-ardha-jyāḥ In citing the values of Āryabhaṭa numbers, the short vowels अ, इ, उ, ऋ, ऌ, ए, and ओ are invariably used.
This table only cites the full slate of क-derived (1 x 10x) values, but these are valid throughout the list of numeric syllables.