The Science of the Shulba: A Study in Early Hindu Geometry c18.2

c18.2

The geometrical constructions described in the preceding chapter are of considerable algebraic significance. They indeed form the seed of the Hindu *geometrical algebra* whose developed form and influence we notice as late as in the *Bījagaṇita* of Bhāskara II (born 1114 A.D.). The first plan of enlargement of a figure in which all the constituent parts are affected in equal proportions, leads to the quadratic equation of the type $ax² = c.$ The second plan leads to the complete quadratic equation $ax² + bx = c.$