History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c50.4.5

v3.c50.4.5

it must be in length at least as much as the height of the yajamāna or as much as the yajamāna with hands upraised. The girth of the yūpa is not fixed. That part of the yūpa which is to be planted in the pit is called *upara*, which is not to be chiselled and which is about a 5th of the whole log but the rest of it is to be chiselled from the bottom towards the top so as to make the yūpa have eight angles and it should be somewhat tapering towards the top. One corner or angle (out of the eight) should be more prominent than the rest and should face the fire. Out of the top portion of the²⁴⁸⁵ tree that remains after making the yūpa the carpenter prepares a wooden head-piece, eight-cornered and of the length of the hand from the wrist to the tips of the fingers and contracted in the middle like a mortar. This piece is called *caṣāla* and is made hollow so as to fit in exactly on to the top of the yūpa like a turban and the peg-like top of the yūpa on which the caṣāla is fixed should protrude two or three *aṅgulas* beyond the caṣāla (Kāt. VI. 1. 30).