Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c18.s1.54

c18.s1.54

∗ *This refers to a division of the site of a house or temple into four areas by means of lines called Brahma sutra, Deva sutra, etc., dividing the whole into 64 squares. The four central squares compose the Brahma pada; the 12 surrounding squares the Deva pada; the 20 next surrounding squares the Manushya pada; the 28 outer squares the Preta pada. Diagonals are drawn from corner to corner. A house should not be built upon the Brahma or Preta areas. We are here told that the image in a temple should be within the Brahma area. Similar particulars are given in the Brihad Samhita, II., 6, vv. 55-58. The terms Brahma pada, etc., are also used in this verse as units of measurement: padaya=a foot; also a quarter, part, etc.* † *The line—not here a plumb line, of course—is asymmetrical as regards the head, because the head is raised on a pillow out of the straight line of the body, and so with the other lines.* ‡ *The figure of Rahu is not generally found in association with reclining images in Ceylon.*