The Science of the Shulba: A Study in Early Hindu Geometry c22.16

c22.16

An isosceles triangle is denoted by the term *praüga*. This word is probably derived from *pra* + *yuga*, meaning "the forepart of the shafts of a chariot." A rhombus is similarly called *ubhayataḥ praüga* ("praüga on both sides") inasmuch as it is divided into two praügas by a diagonal. Both these terms are as old as the *Taittirīya Saṃhitā*⁶ and continued to be used in the same sense in posterior works, the *Brāhmaṇa* and *Śrauta* including *Śulba*.