Vedic maths · trick 12 of 36 · free

Digital roots — check any answer — Vedic maths trick

The digital root of a number is what you get by adding its digits until one digit is left. It lets you check a multiplication answer without doing the sum again.

The trick

Gunita Samuccayah — “the product of the sums is the sum of the product”

  1. Add the digits of a number; keep adding until one digit is left (a total of 9 stays 9).
  2. For a product, multiply the digital roots of the two numbers and take the digital root of that.
  3. If your answer’s digital root is different, the answer is wrong.

Use it for: Checking multiplication, addition and squares in exams. (It cannot catch every mistake — swapped digits keep the same root.)

Worked example: Digital root of 23 × 41 = 7

  1. 23 → 2 + 3 = 5.
  2. 41 → 4 + 1 = 5.
  3. 5 × 5 = 25 → 2 + 5 = 7.
  4. So 23 × 41 must have digital root 7.

Check: 23 × 41 = 943 → 9 + 4 + 3 = 16 → 1 + 6 = 7 ✓

✏️ Practice

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🏁 Trick 12 test

20 sums. Check each answer, then go to the next one. Get 16 or more right to pass.

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🖨️ Digital Root Worksheet

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