An Approximation for Square Roots known in India prior to Alexander's Conquest
arXiv:1010.4331
Abstract
This paper was published in French under the title \textit{Sur une méthode d'approximation des racines carrées dans l'Inde antérieurement à la conquête d'Alexandre}, in the Bulletin de la S. M. F., volume 7 (1879), p. 98-102. It argues that the process of approximating the irrational square root of an integer, now commonly known as Newton's method, was known in India since very ancient times.