Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s18.115

v1.c3.s18.115

An arithmetical progression of some interest is found in the Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa,¹² where occurs a list of sacrificial gifts in which each successive figure doubles the amount of the preceding one. It begins with dvādaśa-mānam hiraṇyam, ‘gold to the value of 12’ (the unit being uncertain, but probably the Kṛṣṇala¹³), followed by ‘to the value of 24, 48, 96, 192, 384, 768, 1,536, 3,072,’ then dve aṣṭāviṃśati-śata-māne, which must mean 2 × 128 × 24 (the last unit being not a single māna, but a number of 24 mānas) = 6,144, then 12,288, 24,576, 49,152, 98,304, 196,608, 393,216. With these large numbers may be compared the minute theoretical subdivision of time found in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa,¹⁴ where a day is divided into 15 muhūrtas—1 muhūrta = 15 kṣipras, 1 kṣipra = 15 etarhis, 1 etarhi = 15 idānīs, 1 idāni = 15 prāṇas. The Śāṅkhāyana Śrauta Sūtra¹⁵ has a decimal division of the day into 15 muhūrtas—1 muhūrta = 10 nimeṣas, 1 nimeṣa = 10 dhvaṃsis.