The peacock, the pillar and a theorem: How ancient Indian scholars knew the triangle rule before Pythagoras

Let's explore how the Pythagorean theorem was known and applied in India centuries before Pythagoras, highlighting a poetic geometry problem from Bhāskara II’s Līlāvatī. It traces the theorem’s presence in the Baudhayana Sulba Sutras and explains how different civilisations — Indian, Babylonian and Greek — contributed to its development. The piece encourages students to see mathematics as a shared global legacy shaped by storytelling, proof and practical innovation.