Question

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

Answer 1

setting things up:
let x be the # of bees in the swarm, then

`(x)/(5)+(x)/(3)+3((x)/(3)-(x)/(5))+1=x`

multiply across by 15

`3x+5x+3(5x-3x)+15=15x`

`8x+3(2x)+15=15x`

`8x+6x+15=15x`

`14x+15=15x`

`15=x\leftrightarrow x=15`