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.s41.2

v2.c14.s41.2

The following female deities are specially described: Sarasvatī, the goddess of learning; Sāvitrī; Lakshmī, the goddess of wealth or fortune; Mahī, the earth-goddess ; Manonmanī, the goddess of love ; Durgā ; and the Seven Mothers (*Sapta-mātṛi*) collectively so called. Of these, Lakshmī is distinguished into Mahā- (or the great) Lakshmī, and Sāmānyā (the ordinary) Lakshmī, the latter being installed in all the family chapels. The Seven Mothers consist of Vārāhī, Kaumārī, Chāmuṇḍā, Bhairavī, Māhendrī, Vaishṇavī, and Brahmāṇī. These seven goddesses are measured in the *nava-tāla* system, and all other female deities in the *daśa-tāla* system. The details of these measurements are discussed in two separate chapters, wherein the comparative measurements of the several parts of the various limbs of the body are given. It may be pointed out here that according to the *daśa-tāla* system the whole length of the body is ten times the face, while in the *nava-tāla*, it is nine times, and hence in the *ashṭa-tāla* it should be eight times the face, and so forth.