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Shulbasutras (शुल्बसूत्राणि) (view source)
Revision as of 18:55, 27 March 2020
, 18:55, 27 March 2020→Relationship between Shulba and Yajnas: adding content and references
=== List of Shulbasutra Works ===
=== List of Shulbasutra Works ===
Of the available extant texts, Baudhayana Shulbasutra is considered to be the most ancient one. It also presents a very systematic and detailed treatment of several topics that are skipped in later texts.
Of the available extant texts, Baudhayana Shulbasutra is considered to be the most ancient one. Following is the list of shulbasutras and their commentators.
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
!Vedas
!Vedas
The chitis had rich symbolic significance and their designs were often intricate. For instance, the Syenacit has the shape of a falcon in flight (a symbolic representation of the aspiration of soaring upward); the Kurmachit is shaped as a tortoise, with extended head and legs, the rathacakracit as a chariot wheel with spokes, and so on.<ref>A. K. Dutta and M. S. Sriram. ''[https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/bb84/9b5ff23bc22e2056f0aab069c92c05f7af0c.pdf Mathematics and Astronomy in India before 300 BCE.]'' </ref>
The chitis had rich symbolic significance and their designs were often intricate. For instance, the Syenacit has the shape of a falcon in flight (a symbolic representation of the aspiration of soaring upward); the Kurmachit is shaped as a tortoise, with extended head and legs, the rathacakracit as a chariot wheel with spokes, and so on.<ref>A. K. Dutta and M. S. Sriram. ''[https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/bb84/9b5ff23bc22e2056f0aab069c92c05f7af0c.pdf Mathematics and Astronomy in India before 300 BCE.]'' </ref>
== Subject-matter of Shulbasutras ==
Baudhayana shulbasutras are considered to be the most ancient of the Shulbasutra texts. It also presents a very systematic and detailed treatment of several topics that are skipped in later texts.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Topics covered in Baudhayana Shulbasutra<ref name=":1" />
!
!Topics
!English Equivalent
|-
|1
|रेखामानपरिभाषा
|Units of linear measurement
|-
|2
|चतुरश्रकरणोपायः
|Construction of squares, rectangles, etc
|-
|3
|करण्यानयनम्
|Obtaining the surds/theorem of the square og the diagonal
|-
|4
|क्षेत्राकारपरिणामः
|Transformation of geometrical figures
|-
|5
|नानाविधवेदिविहरणम्
|Plan for different sacrificial grounds (darsa, pasubandha, sutramani, agnistoma etc)
|-
|6
|अग्नीनां प्रमाणक्षेत्रमानम्
|Areas of the sacrificial agnis/vedis
|-
|7
|इष्टकसङ्ख्यापरिमाणादिकथनम्
|Specifying the number of bricks used on the construction of vedis including their sizes and shapes
|-
|8
|इष्टकोपधाने रीत्यादिनिर्णयः
|Choosing clay, sand, etc in making bricks
|-
|9
|इष्टकोपधानप्रकारः
|Process of manufacturing the bricks
|-
|10
|श्येनचिदाद्याकारनिरुपणम्
|Describing the shapes of syenachiti
|}
A brief explanation of a few topics dealt in the shulbasutras is given below
=== Approximation of Surds ===
Besides presenting the details related to the construction of altars - that generally possess a bilateral symmetry - the Shulbasutra texts also present different interesting approximations for surds. The motivation for presenting estimates of surds could be traced to the attempts of vedic priests
* to solve the problem of 'squaring a circle' and vice versa
* to construct a square whose area is n times the area of a given square, and so on
=== Determination of cardinal directions ===
[[File:Determining Cardinal Directions.PNG|thumb|Determination of Cardinal Directions]]
Determining the exact east-west line at a given location is a prerequisite for all constructions, be it a residence, a temple, a vedi or yajna kunda. Finding the cardinal directions using a shanku has been described thus:<ref name=":1" /><blockquote>समे शंङ्कु निखाय शंङ्कुसम्मितया रज्ज्वा मण्डलं परिलिख्य यत्र लेखयोः शंङ्क्वग्रच्छाया निपतति तत्र शंङ्कू निहन्ति सा प्राची । (Katy. Shul. Sutr. 1.2)</blockquote>Fixing a pin (or gnomon) on levelled ground and drawing a circle with a cord measured by the gnomon, he fixes pins at points on the line of the circumference where the shadow of the tip of the gnomon falls. That gives the east-west line (prachi).
Now, to answer the question about the necessity of such an experiment, instead of simply looking at the sunrise or sunset to determine the cardinal directions, the commentator Mahidhara observes:<blockquote>... तस्य उदयस्थानानां बहुत्वात् प्रतिदिनं भिन्नत्वात् अनियमेन प्राची ज्ञातुं न शक्या। तस्मात् शङ्कुस्थापनेन प्राचीसाधनमुक्तम्। दक्षिणायने चित्रापर्यन्तमर्कोऽभ्युदेति। मेषतुलासङ्क्रात्यहे प्राच्यां शुद्धायामुदेति। ततोऽर्कात् प्रचीज्ञानं दुर्घटम्।</blockquote>Meaning: Since the rising points are many, varying from day to day, the (cardinal) east point cannot be known (from the sunrise point). Therefore it has been prescribed that the east be determined by fixing a Shanku (शङ्कु)... therefore simply looking at the sun and determining the east is difficult.
Having obtained the prachi, getting udichi (the north-south line) correctly is extremely important for the construction of various vedis having bilateral symmetry.<ref name=":1" />
== References ==
== References ==