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problem 22

medium number theory

The Indian astronomer and mathematician Mahavira, who lived in the ninth century, posed this puzzle: A band of 23 weary travellers entered a lush forest where they found 63 piles each containing the same number of plantains and a remaining pile containing 7 plantains. They divided the plantains equally. How many plantains were in each of the 63 piles? Solve this puzzle.