Puzzles
A fifth of a swarm lands on one flower, a third on another — how many bees in all?
A fifth part of a swarm of bees settles on a blossom of kadamba, and a third part on a flower of silinda. Three times the difference between these two numbers flies off to a flower of ketaki. One last bee remains, hovering, drawn back and forth between the scent of a jasmine and a lotus. Tell me: how many bees were in the swarm?
Reveal the answer
15 bees. A fifth of 15 is 3, a third is 5, three times their difference (5−3=2) is 6, and 3+5+6+1 = 15. This verse puzzle appears in the Lilavati, the mathematical treatise written around 1150 CE by the great Indian mathematician-astronomer Bhaskara II — traditionally said to have been named for, and addressed to, his daughter.
— Bhaskara II, Lilavati — c. 1150 CE, section of verse arithmetic problems