Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v2.c14.s40: Chapter LIII: The Pedestal of the Phallus (Pīṭha-lakshaṇa-vidhāna)
Mānasāra Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Mānasāra-Śilpaśāstra; III. Mānasāra on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Mānasāra: Translation; V. Architecture of Mānasāra: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v2.c14.s40
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Chapter LIII: The Pedestal of the Phallus (Pīṭha-lakshaṇa-vidhāna)
v2.c14.s40.2
It has been pointed out in the previous chapter that the *pīṭha*² forms the *yoni* or the lower part of the phallus. The *pīṭha* must match the phallus of which it forms the lower member. There must, consequently, be as many kinds of *pīṭhas* as there are of the phalli. But the mouldings of the *pīṭha* are described under four classes, technically called, *bhadra-pīṭha*, *śrībhadra*, *śrīviśāla*, and *upapīṭha*. The principal parts of the *pīṭha* are the *nāla* (*lit.* canal), the *jala-dhārā* (*lit.* drain), the *ghṛita-vāri*, the *nimna*, and the *paṭṭikā*. These are, it may be observed, the various parts of which an ordinary *yoni* (female organ) is formed. The name of the principal mouldings are the following: *prathama* or *janman*, *padma*, *kshepaṇa*, *kandhara*, *kampa*, *ūrdhva-padma*, *vājana*, *ghṛita-vāri*, and *vṛitta-kumbha*.
v2.c14.s40.3
² The term *pīṭha* means a stool, seat, chair, throne, pedestal, an altar. The well-known fifty-one *Pīṭha-sthānas* are the sacred spots where the parts of the body of Satī (Pārvatī), the consort of Śiva, fell after she had been cut to pieces by the discus of Vishṇu. As the *liṅga* or phallus symbolically represents Śiva, so the *pīṭha* does his consort Pārvatī.
v2.c14.s40.4
A minute description and measurement of all these and other mouldings of *pīṭhas* of various kinds are given in detail. With regard to their shape, the *pīṭhas*, like the phalli (and, in fact, all other architectural and sculptural objects), are divided into three types, *nāgara*, *drāviḍa*, and *vesara*. The *pīṭhas* of the *nāgara* class are said to be square, those of the *drāviḍa* type are octagonal, and the *vesara* ones are round (*vṛitta*).