Overview

This book is the first complete study of the origin of geometry in India. In Ancient India, brick-built fire-altars (citi-s) were ordained for the Soma sacrifice, a Vedic rite, which led to the compilation of rule-books for making and arranging bricks. These volumes, called Sulbasutra-s, represent the first available texts of both geometry and mensuration, and were composed from 600 BCE, although the actual practice goes back to c. 1500 BCE. This book begins by detailing the history of geometry in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece, and shows that geometry everywhere starts with brick-built structures, rather than the measurement of land. It emphasizes that geometry in India, unlike in Greece, was side-based rather than angle-based. The text is profusely illustrated.

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9781527530942

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Ramkrishna Bhattacharya taught English at the University of Calcutta, and served as an Emeritus Fellow of the University Grants Commission, India. He is currently a Fellow of the Pavlov Institute, India. His publications include Studies on the Carvaka/Lokayata (2009; 2011), and his papers on the history of science in India have appeared in a number of international journals.

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