Out of a swarm of bees one fifth part settled on a Kadamba blossom; one third on a Silihindra flower; three times the difference of those numbers flew to the bloom of a Kutaja. One bee, which remained, hovered about in the air. Tell me, charming woman, the number of bees? ...?
Let there be n bees in the swarm. Kadamba: n/5 Silihindra: n/3 Kutaja: 3(n/3 - n/5) Remaining = n - n/5 - n/3 - 3(n/3 - n/5) 1 = n - n/5 - n/3 - 3(n/3 - n/5) Now, we solve this equation: 1 = n - n/5 - n/3 - n + 3n/5 1 = 3n/5 - 8n/15 1 = (9n - 8n)/15 n = 15 There are 15 bees in the swarm.
