History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c53.s3.9

v3.c53.s3.9

Then follows the building of the altar. The altar has five layers, the first, third and fifth being arranged in the same pattern and the 2nd and 4th being of a different pattern from the 1st, 3rd and 5th. The altar may have several forms such as that of a droṇa (trough), a chariot-wheel, a śyena (hawk), kaṅka (heron), suparṇa (eagle)²⁶⁸⁸ &c. Vide Tai. S. V. 4. 11, Kāt. XVI. 5. 9. The altar requires bricks of several shapes; some are triangular, some are oblong, some are perfectly square, some are oblong plus a triangle (in one). They are not to be placed one over the other as one chooses but are arranged in peculiar ways, some in front, some on the sides and so on. A sound knowledge of geometry and mason craft is required in constructing the altar. Every brick is to be placed after repeating a mantra. The bricks have various names to distinguish them. For example, the bricks called Yajuṣmatī are to be used in building the body (of the birdlike pattern, which is the most usual one), but not in building the sides or tail of the layer. The usual mantras in laying down and invoking a brick are two viz.. ‘tayā devatayā- ... sīda (Vāj. S. XII. 53, Tai. S. IV. 2. 4. 4) and ‘tā asya sūda-dohasaḥ’ (Vāj. S. XII. 55, Tai. S. IV. 2. 4. 4). Sat. XI. 8. 18 says that ‘tayā devatayā ... ...dhruvā sīda’ is repeated after each brick is deposited. But special mantras are prescribed in several cases e. g. as to the ten lokampṛṇā bricks the mantra is ‘lokam pṛṇa’ (Vāj. XII. 54, Tai. S. IV. 2. 4. 4). Some kinds of bricks bear the names of sages (e. g. Vālakhilya bricks). Probably they were first used by those sages. There are three bricks which are called svayam-ātṛṇṇāḥ (i. e. they are long and thin stones and have natural holes) and which are placed in the centre of the 1st, 3rd and 5th layers and are deemed to represent earth, air and heaven.²⁶⁸⁹ Jai. (V. 3. 17-20) deals with the respective positions of certain bricks called citriṇī and lokampṛṇā.