How a 7th-Century Indian Formula Inspired Today’s Google Doodle

When you opened Google this morning, you probably didn’t expect a math lesson. A little animation popped up — a ball soaring in a perfect curve, a few letters and numbers dancing across the screen: ax² + bx + c = 0.

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You might have smiled, or scrolled past, or thought, “Oh, that looks familiar — but what is it, again?”

Here’s the story behind that curve. It starts in 7th-century India, with a man named Brahmagupta, and it ends — well, right here on your Google homepage.

The poetic mathematician

In 628 CE, Indian astronomer-mathematician Brahmagupta wrote a book called Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta. Written entirely in Sanskrit verse, it wasn’t a textbook — it was poetry about numbers.

Inside, he described a method for solving puzzles that involved squares and unknowns — the kind we now write as ax² + bx + c = 0. He didn’t use those symbols, of course, but he had the idea: how to find something hidden, how to trace a curve, how to make sense of motion.

It was the birth of algebra long before the word existed.

Why did Google choose this moment?

Fast forward 1,400 years. On 12 November, 2025, Google decided to celebrate this ancient marvel with an interactive Google Doodle.

The animation shows a basketball’s path forming a perfect U-shaped curve — called a parabola. Click on it, and Google will let you type or scan any quadratic equation and instantly see how it’s solved — step by step.

It’s a nod not only to the power of math, but also to when Indian students actually study it — around October and November, as part of the Classes 9 and 10 syllabus.

In other words, Google’s timing wasn’t random; it was thoughtful. It dropped the Doodle just as millions of students were meeting this idea for the first time.

What we see in today’s Doodle

Ever noticed how a basketball shot forms a curve before landing perfectly in the hoop? That curve isn’t just luck — it’s maths in motion.

The path the ball follows is called a parabola, and it can be described using a quadratic equation. This simple formula captures the entire journey of the ball — how high it goes, when it reaches its peak, and when it comes down — all governed by gravity and the force of the player’s throw.

In short, what looks like a smooth arc on the court is actually a real-life example of mathematics at play.

The Quadratic Equation’s relevance today

Today, the quadratic equation is applied extensively in the real world.

• Engineers use it to design bridges and roller coasters.

• In cricket, the arc of a ball before it lands perfectly in a fielder’s hands.

• Physicists use it to calculate the path of rockets and projectiles.

• Computer graphics experts rely on it to create lifelike animations and video games.

• In finance and economics, it helps model profit predictions and cost optimisations.

Each follows the same graceful rule — rise, peak, and fall — captured by one formula that’s been around since ancient India.

The first-ever Doodle

The very first Google Doodle was published in 1998 as a quick way for founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to let users know they would be out of the office for Burning Man — a week-long festival in the Nevada desert celebrating community, art, self-expression and self-reliance.

How to teach it (without tears)

You don’t need a math degree to teach or learn the quadratic equation. Try this simple story-based method with your child — or your inner child:

1. Start with a Ball: Throw one in the air. Watch it rise, pause, and fall.
   That’s the shape of the equation — the parabola.

2. Talk about balance: Every throw, every curve has a starting point, a highest point, and an ending point. The equation ax² + bx + c = 0 just measures those three things — how strong the throw was (a), the direction it took (b), and where it landed (c).

3. Draw it out: Take a piece of paper. Make a simple U-shaped curve. Mark the top as “turning point” — where the ball slows down before it drops. That’s when the magic happens: the equation’s graph tells the story of motion.

4. Explore digitally:

• Search “solve quadratic equation” on Google — the Doodle still works as an interactive learning tool.

• Use free apps like GeoGebra or Desmos to draw parabolas. Kids can play with sliders and see how changing “a, b, c” changes the curve.

It’s curiosity, not calculation, that matters first.

Story about patterns

In a world obsessed with AI, coding, and quantum computing, it’s humbling that one of the most-searched formulas online is still this ancient one.

Because at its heart, the quadratic equation is a story about patterns — about how things rise, peak, and fall, whether it’s a ball in the air or a startup finding its rhythm.

When Google turned it into art, it wasn’t just celebrating math. It was celebrating the act of wondering — something Brahmagupta did centuries before any of us typed “how to solve for x” into a search bar.

Sources:

‘Google Doodle goes mathematical: The reason behind today’s quadratic equation tribute’: by Eshita Gain, Published on 12 November 2025.

‘Quadratic, cubic and quartic equations’: by  J J O'Connor and E F Robertson, Published in February 1996.