CHAPTER 8

Digit-Sum Method

All the techniques that we have discussed till now have

emphasized various methods of quick calculation. They have
helped us in reducing our time and labour and in some cases
provided the final answer without any actual calculation.
In this chapter, we will study the digit-sum method. This
method is not used for quick calculation but for quick checking
of answers. It will help us verify the answer that we have
obtained to a particular question. This technique has wonderful
different applications for students giving competitive exams as
they are already provided with four alternatives to every
answer.
Although the digit-sum method is discussed by Jagadguru
Bharati Krishna Maharaj in his study, mathematicians in other
parts of the world were aware of this principle even before the
thesis of Swamiji was published. Prof. Jackaw Trachtenberg
and other mathematicians have dealt with this principle in their
research work.

METHOD

The digit-sum method (also known as the add-up method) can

THE DIGIT-SUM METHOD 111

be used to check answers involving multiplication, division,

addition, subtraction, squares, square roots, cube roots, etc. The
procedure involved is very simple. We have to convert any
given number into a single digit by repetitively adding up all the
digits of that number.
Example: Find the digit-sum of 2467539
Ans: The number is 2467539.
We add all the digits of that number.
2 + 4 + 6 + 7 + 5 + 3 + 9 = 36
Now, we take the number 36 and add its digits 3 + 6 to get
the answer 9.
Thus, we have converted the number 2467539 into its digit-
sum 9.
Example 2: Find the digit-sum of 56768439
Ans: 5 + 6 + 7 + 6 + 8 + 4 + 3 + 9 = 48
4+8 = 12
1+2 = 3
Hence, the digit-sum of 56768439 is 3.
(Note: the digit-sum will always be a single digit. You have to
keep on adding the numbers until you get a single-digit answer.)
A few more examples are given below:

NUMBER PROCESS DIGIT-SUM

34 3+4=7 7

4444 4+4+4+4 = 16 & 1+6 = 7 7

915372468 9+1+5+3+7+2+4+6+8 = 45 & 4+5 = 9 9

47368 4+7+3+6+8 = 28 & 2+8 = 10 & 1+0 = 1 1

We have discussed how to calculate the digit-sum of a number.

We shall now solve a variety of illustrated examples involving
different arithmetical operations.
112 VEDIC MATHEMATICS MADE EASY

Example 1 (Multiplication)
(Q) Verify whether 467532 multiplied by 107777 equals
50389196364.
Ans: First we will calculate the digit-sum of the multiplicand.
Then we will calculate the digit-sum of the multiplier.
We will multiply the two digit-sums thus obtained. If the
final answer equals to the digit-sum of the product
then our answer can be concluded to be correct.
The digit-sum of 467532 is 9.
The digit-sum of 107777 is 2.
When we multiply 9 by 2 we get the answer 18. Again
the digit-sum of 18 is 9.
Thus, the digit-sum of the completed multiplication
procedure is 9.
Now, we will check the digit-sum of the product.
The digit sum of 50389196364 is also 9. The digit-sum
of the question equals to the digit-sum of the answer
and hence we can assume that the product is correct.

Example 2 (Division)
(Q) Verify whether 2308682040 divided by 36524 equals
63210.
Ans: We can use the formula that we had learnt in school.
Dividend = Divisor x Quotient + Remainder.
In this case we will be using the same formula but
instead of the actual answers we will be using their digit-
sums.
The digit-sum of dividend is 6.
The digit-sum of divisor, quotient and remainder is 2,
3, and 0 respectively.
Since 6 = 2 × 3 + 0, we can assume our answer to be
correct.
In this manner, we can solve sums involving other
THE DIGIT-SUM METHOD 113

operations too. However, before continuing ahead I will

introduce a further short-cut to this method. The rule
says:
While calculating the digit-sum of a number, you can
eliminate all the nines and all the digits that add up to
nine.
When you eliminate all the nines and all the digits that
add up to nine you will be able to calculate the digit-sum
of any number much faster. The elimination will have no
effect on the final result.
Let us take an example:

(Q). Find the digit-sum of 637281995.

Ans: The digit-sum of 6372819923 is:
6+3+7+2+8+1+9+9+2+3 = 50 and again 5+0 is 5.
Now, we will eliminate the numbers that add up to 9 (6 and
3, 7 and 2, 8 and 1 and also eliminate the two 9’s).
We are left with the digits 2 and 3 which also add up to 5.
Hence, it is proved that we can use the short-cut method for
calculating the digit-sum. The answer will be the same in either
case.
A few more examples:
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Number Normal Digit- Numbers Left Digit-Sum After
Sum After Elimination Elimination
of 9’s and Digits
Adding Up to 9
199999 1 1 1
63727 7 7 7
45231 6 231 6
8001573 6 573 6
56789 8 5678 8
114 VEDIC MATHEMATICS MADE EASY

From the above table we can see that the values in column
(b) and the values in column (d) are similar.
Note: If the digit-sum of a number is 9, then we can
eliminate the 9 straight away and the digit-sum becomes 0.

Example 3 (Multiplication)

(Q). Verify whether 999816 multiplied by 727235 is

727101188760.
Ans: The digit-sum of 999816 can be instantly found out by
eliminating the three 9’s and the combination of 8 plus 1.
The remaining digit is 6 (which becomes our digit-sum).
The digit-sum of 727235 can be instantly calculated
by eliminating the numbers that add up to nine. The digit-
sum of the remaining digits is 8.
When 8 is multiplied by 6 the answer is 48 and the digit-
sum of 48 is 3.
But, the digit-sum of 727101188750 is 2. The digit-sum
of the question does not match with the digit-sum of
the answer and hence the answer is certainly wrong.

Example 4 (Addition)

(Q). Verify whether 18273645 plus 9988888 plus 6300852 plus

11111111 is 45674496.

Ans: The digit-sum of the numbers is 0, 4, 6 and 8 respectively.

The total of these four digit-sum is 18 and the digit-sum
of 18 is 9.
The digit-sum of 45674496 is also 9 and hence the sum
is correct.
I think four examples will suffice. In a similar manner, we
can check the answer obtained by other mathematical
operations too. I have given below a list of the mathematical
procedures involved in a particular problem and the technique
for calculating the digit-sum.
THE DIGIT-SUM METHOD 115

MATHEMATICAL PROCEDURE FOR CHECKING

OPERATION ANSWER

Multiplication The digit-sum of the multiplicand

when multiplied with the digit-sum of
the multiplier should equal to the digit-
sum of the product.
Division Use the formula dividend = divisor
multiplied by quotient + remainder.
(use digit-sums instead of actual
numbers).
Addition The digit-sum of the final sum should
be equal to the digit-sum of all the
numbers used in the addition process.
Subtraction The digit-sum of the smaller number
as subtracted from the digit-sum of
the bigger number should equal the
digit-sum of the difference.
Squaring/Square The digit-sum of the square-root as
Rooting multiplied by itself should equal to the
digit-sum of the square.
E.g.: To verify whether 23 is the
square root of 529.
Method: The digit-sum of 23 is 5 and
when 5 is multiplied by itself the
answer is 25. The digit-sum of 25 is
7 and the digit-sum of 529 is also 7.
Cubing/Cube Rooting The digit-sum of cube root when
multiplied by itself and once again by
itself should equal to the digit-sum of
the cube.
116 VEDIC MATHEMATICS MADE EASY

MATHEMATICAL PROCEDURE FOR CHECKING

OPERATION ANSWER

E.g.: Verify whether 2197 is the cube

of 13.
Ans: The digit-sum of 13 is 4. 4
multiplied by itself and again by itself
is 64. The digit-sum of 64 is 1 and
the digit-sum of 2197 is also 1.

APPLICATIONS

The digit-sum method has immense utility for practitioners of

Numerology and other occult sciences. The knowledge that
they can eliminate the 9’s and numbers that add up to 9 makes
their task simpler.
For students giving competitive and other exams, this
technique has a lot of utility. Many times they can check the
digit-sum of each of the alternatives with the digit-sum of the
question and try to arrive at the correct answer. This will
eliminate the need for going through the whole calculation.
However, there is one drawback to this technique. The
drawback is that the digit-sum method can tell us only whether
an answer is wrong or not. It cannot tell us with complete
accuracy whether an answer is correct or not.
This sentence is so important that I would like to repeat it
again.
The digit-sum method can only tell us whether an answer
is wrong or not. It cannot tell us with complete accuracy
whether an answer is correct or not.
Let me illustrate this with an example.

(Q) What is the product of 9993 and 9997.

Method: Assume that you have read the question and

THE DIGIT-SUM METHOD 117

calculated the answer as 99900021. The digit-sum of the

question is 3 and the digit-sum of the answer is 3 and hence we
can assume that the answer is correct.
However, instead of 99900021 had your answer been
99900012 then too the digit-sum would have matched even
though the answer is not correct. Or for that matter if your
answer would have been 99990021 then too the digit-sum would
have matched although this answer is incorrect too. Or in an
extreme case, even if your answer would have been 888111021
then still the digit-sum would have matched although it is highly
deviated from the correct answer!
Thus, even though the digit-sum of the answer matches with
that of the question, you cannot be 100% sure of its accuracy.
You can be reasonably sure of its accuracy but cannot swear
by it.
However, if the digit-sum of the answer does not match
with the digit-sum of the question then you can be 100%
sure that the answer is wrong.
In a nutshell,

If the digit-sums Then the answer is

Match Most likely correct
Do not match Wrong

For practitioners of Numerology and other occult sciences,

there is no question of checking answers and hence this
technique can per se come to their aid.
118 VEDIC MATHEMATICS MADE EASY

EXERCISE

(Note: Before attempting to solve the questions, remember that

9 is synonymous with 0 and can be used interchangeably.)

PART A
Q. (1) Instantly calculate the digit-sum of the following
numbers:
(1) 23456789
(2) 27690815
(3) 7543742
(4) 918273645

PART B
Q. (1) Verify whether the following answers are correct or
incorrect without actual calculation.
(1) 95123 × 66666 = 6341469918
(2) 838102050 divided by 12345 = 67890
(3) 882 = 7444
(4) 883 = 681472
(5) 475210 + 936111 + 315270 = 726591
(6) 9999999 - 6582170 = 3417829
(7) 6582170 - 9999999 = -3417829
(8) 900 gives quotient 7 and remainder 60
120
(9) 0.45632 × 0.65432 = 0.2985793024

PART C
Q. (1) Select the correct answer from among the alternatives
without doing actual calculation (calculate the digit-sum
of each alternative and match it with the question).
THE DIGIT-SUM METHOD 119

(1) 3569 × 7129 = ________

(1) 25443701
(2) 25443421
(3) 25443401
(4) 25445401
(2) 6524 + 3091 + 8254 + 6324 + 7243 + 5111 + 9902
+ 3507 = _______
(a) 49952
(b) 49852
(c) 59956
(d) 49956