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Constructing A Square Indian Fire Altar Activity, Cynthia J. Huffman Ph.D.
Constructing A Square Indian Fire Altar Activity, Cynthia J. Huffman Ph.D.
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In this activity, we will model constructing a square fire altar with a method similar to one used by people in ancient India. The fire altars, which were made of bricks, had various shapes. Instructions for building the altars were in Vedic texts called Śulba-sūtras. We will follow instructions for constructing a square gārhapatya fire altar from the Baudhāyana-śulba-sūtra, which was written during the Middle Vedic period, about 800-500 BC.