Shulba sutras
Also called: Sulba sutras · Topic: The Vedic Age · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Shulba sutras are Vedic manuals on measuring and building fire altars for sacrifices. Shulba means 'cord'. Builders used a stretched cord to mark out lines and shapes. To make altars of exact shape and size, these texts worked out rules of geometry. They are among the earliest works of mathematics in India. They belong to the kalpa (ritual) branch of the Kalpa sutras.
Example
The Baudhāyana Shulba Sutra states that the square drawn on the diagonal of a rectangle equals the two squares drawn on its sides together. This is the rule now called Pythagoras' theorem. It also gives a very close value for the square root of two.
Don't confuse with
- Grihya sutras: these deal with household rites such as marriage and naming a child. The Shulba sutras deal only with the measurement and building of altars.
Related concepts
- Vedas
- Rigveda
- Rig Veda family books
- Yajurveda
- Samaveda
- Atharvaveda
- Brahmana texts
- Aranyakas
- Upavedas
- Vedangas