The Shulbasutras of Baudhayana, Apastamba, Katyayana and Manava: With Text, English Translation and Commentary c8.t10: Chapter 12: The Construction of a Fire-Altar in the Form of a Kite (Kaṅkacit)

The Śulbasūtras of Baudhāyana, Āpastamba, Kātyāyana and Mānava: With Text, English Translation and Commentary c8.t10

Language: English

Chapter 12: The Construction of a Fire-Altar in the Form of a Kite (Kaṅkacit)

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**12.1-12.6.** The kite-shaped fire-altar (*kaṅkacit*) is constructed in the same manner as the *śyenacit*. The areas and shapes of the body and the tail are the same as those of the second type of the falcon with curved wings and extended tail. The area of the body is, therefore, 52 *pañcamīs* or sq. *aratnis* and of the tail 15 *pañcamīs*. The measure of the head is given as 5 *pañcamīs* and that of the two wings 2 × 57 or 114 *pañcamīs*. These areas total 186 *pañcamīs* or sq. *aratnis*, leaving a deficit of 1½ *pañcamīs*, as the total area of the fire-altar is 187½ *pañcamīs* (= 7½ sq. *pu.*) This balance area of 1½ *pañcamīs*, which is nothing but 1 *adhyardhāpañcamī* (24 × 36 sq. *ang.*) is utilized in making the feet of the bird. The bending of the wing and the plumages are also slightly different from those of the *śyenacit*, 2nd type. The constructions are shown in Fig. 45.

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The head is constructed out of a rectangle 48× 72 sq. *aṅg.* of which the two eastern corners are cut off by 24 *aṅg.* (Fig. 45 (a)).

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Fig. 45. Parts of the *kaṅkacit* : (a) head, (b) tail, (c) divisions of 1 *adhyardhāpañcamī*, and (d) the wing with plumages.

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The construction of the tail *EBCF* is already explained under 11.4. *ABCD* (Fig. 45 (c)) represents the *adhyardhāpañcamī* (24× 36 sq. *aṅg.*), of which the *pañcamī* part *ABHG* is halved and used as the two legs *GILK* and *JHNM* (Fig. 45 (b)). The half *pañcamī* part *GHCD* (Fig. 45 (c)) is divided into 4 equal triangular parts and used as feet as shown in Fig. 45 (b).

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The wing is made of the rectangle *ABCD* (Fig. 45 (d)), of which AB=144 *aṅg.* (6 *aratnis*) and AD=216 *aṅg.* (9 *aratnis*). For the bending, the perpendicular *EP* at the middle of *BC* is 108 *aṅg.* The plumages are constructed out of 6 half *pañcamīs* (24× 24 sq. *aṅg.*) diagonally intersected. Note that the area of each wing is 54+3=57 *pañcamīs*.

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**12.7.** *Types of bricks.* Six types of bricks are prescribed for covering the fire-altar (Fig. 46). These are :

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Fig. 46 Brick type.

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B₁ — square brick of side 1/5 *pu*, *pañcamī*.

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B₂ — triangular brick, half of one-fifth, *pañcamī-ardhyā*.

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B₃ — triangular brick, quarter of one-fifth, *pañcamī-pādyā*.

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B₄ — triangular brick, one-eighth of one-fifth, *aṣṭamī*.

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B₅ — four-sided quarter brick of area ¼ *pañcamī*, *caturaśra-pādyā*. The sides are 6 *aṅg.*, 12 *aṅg.*, 18 *aṅg.* and 12 √2 *aṅg.* (Fig. 46 ). Its area is 144 sq. *aṅg.* or ¼ *pañcamī*

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B₆ — four-sided brick of area 1½ *pañcamī*, *caturaśra-adhyardhā*. The sides are 24 *aṅg.*, 24 *aṅg.*, 48 *aṅg.*, and 24 √2 *aṅg.* The area is (24 × 24 + 12 × 24) sq. *aṅg.* or 1½ *pañcamī* (Fig. 46 ).

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**12.8.** *Placement of bricks in the two layers.* The rule simply lays down that the two feet of the *kaṅkacit* are to be covered by B₅ and B₄ bricks and the remaining space is to be filled up by such types as these fit. Further details have been avoided as enough indications as to the manner of covering up such bird-like fire-altars with curved wings and extended tail have been given in the foregoing types. Following these indications, Dvārakānātha has proposed an arrangement for filling up the two successive layers, on which basis the Fig. 47 and Fig. 48 are here presented, after Thibaut.

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Fig. 47. Arrangement of bricks in the *kaṅkacit*—1st layer.

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*First layer.* The placement of bricks in the first layer is as follows:

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| (a) | In each of two feet | — B₅ — 2 ; B₄ — 2 ; total for 2 feet | — 8 |
| (b) | In the head, at eastern top | — B₂ — 2 ; | |
| | ,, ,, at the remaining space | — B₁ — 4 ; | total — 6 |
| (c) | In the body, at 4 corners diagonally cut | — B₂ — 8 ; | |
| | ,, ,, in the remaining space | — B₁ —48 ; | total —56 |
| (d) | In the tail, along two inclined sides | — B₂ — 6 ; | |
| | ,, ,, in the remaining space | — B —12 ; | total —18 |
| | | | 88 |
| | | | = |

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(D. writes : *evamātmaśiraḥ puccheṣu pādābhyāṃ sahāṣṭāśītiriṣṭakāḥ* |)

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| (e) | \multicolumn{l}{In the southern wing, at the bending (*nirṇāma*) layer} | | |
| | | \multicolumn{r}{east-west — B₁ — 1 ; B₃ — 2 ; B₆ — 3 ;} | total | — 6 |
| | ,, | \multicolumn{l}{two rows, east-west, on each side of the *nirṇāma* are filled with 4 B₆s per row ;} | ,, | —16 |
| | ,, | \multicolumn{l}{In two rows, north and south of the above — B₁ — 20 ; B₂ — 8 ;} | ,, | —28 |
| | ,, | \multicolumn{l}{in the plumages —B₂ — 6 ;} | ,, | — 6 |
| | | | | 56 |
| | \multicolumn{l}{In the northern wing, the arrangement is the} | | |
| | \multicolumn{l}{same, but reverse} | ,, | —56 |
| | | | total | 112 |
| | | | | = |

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TABLE 9. *Bricks in different parts of the kaṅkacit fire-altar—1st layer.

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| Parts of the *citi* | Brick types | | | | | | Total |
| | B₁ | B₂ | B₃ | B₄ | B₅ | B₆ | |
| Head | 4 | 2 | | | | | 6 |
| Body | 48 | 8 | | | | | 56 |
| Tail | 12 | 6 | | | | | 18 |
| Feet | | | | 4 | 4 | | 8 |
| Wings | 42 | 28 | 4 | | | 38 | 112 |
| Total | 106 | 44 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 38 | 200 |

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*Second layer* : The placement of bricks in the second layer is as follows :—
(a) In the head, including part of the body at the junction— B₂ — 2 ; B₃ — 9 ; B₆ — 2 ; total — 13.
(b) In the body, excluding the two junction layers, east-west, with the wings and one junction layer, south-west, with the tail— B₁ — 35 ; B₂ — 4 ; B₆ — 4 ; total — 43
(c) In the junction layer between the body and the tail— B₁ — 1 ; B₂ — 2 ; B₃ — 2 ; total — 5
(d) In the tail, excluding the junction layer, there are three layers, south-west, and the arrangement is as follows :— 1st layer in the east — B₂ — 2 ; B₆ — 2 ; total — 4 2nd layer in the middle—B₆ — 4 ; ,, — 4 3rd layer at the end, including feet— B₃ — 5 on each side with vertices reversed alternately —10 B₂ — part of each lying within each foot — 2 B₃ — 1 ; B₄ — 2, in the middle space of tail — 3 B₄ — 2 ; B₅ — 4, in the remaining space of feet — 6 total —21

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About the placement of these 21 bricks, D. comments as follows: *tataḥ pucchāgrarītyāṃ pārśvayoḥ pādyāḥ pañca pañca* | *tato dve ardhye padamadhyagatāgrike prāksthāratnipārśve dakṣiṇottarapārśvasthasaviśeṣe* | *tayormadhye prāgagrā pādyā* | *tāmabhitaḥ pratyagagrike dve aṣṭamyau* | *pādāntayordve dve caturaśrapādye dakṣiṇottarāyate pratyaksthadīrghapārśve* | *tataḥ pūrvapraviṣṭārdhyāgrasaṃhitāmekaitāmaṣṭamīṃ pādamadhyayorupadadhyāt* | *evaṃ samastā ekaviṃśatiriṣṭakāḥ* | A comparison with Fig. 48 will show how exactly and in what detail the placement of each brick has been described by the commentator.
(e) In the junction between the body and the wing— B₃ — 1 ; B₆ — 4 ; total — 5. Total for two such junctions —10.

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(f) In each wing, between the junction layer and the plumages, there are 8 rows, east-west, each with 4 *B*₆s ; total—32.
(g) In the plumages (*patras*) — *B*₂ — 6 ; *B*₃ — 12 ; total—18.

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Fig. 48. Arrangement of bricks in the *kaṅkacit*—2nd layer.

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The number and types of bricks used in the different parts are summarized in Table 10.

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TABLE 10. *Bricks in different parts of the kaṅkacit fire-altar—2nd layer

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| Parts of the *citi* | Brick types | | | | | | Total |
| | B₁ | B₂ | B₃ | B₄ | B₅ | B₆ | |
| Head, including part of body | | 2 | 9 | | | 2 | 13 |
| Body, excluding junction layers between wings and tail | 35 | 4 | | | | 4 | 43a |
| Junction layer between body and tail | 1 | 2 | 2 | | | | 5 |
| Tail and feet | | 4 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 29b |
| Junction layers between body and wings | | | 2 | | | 8 | 10 |
| Wings and plumages, excluding junction layers with body | | 12 | 24 | | | 64 | 100 |
| Total | 36 | 24 | 48 | 4 | 4 | 84 | 200 |

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a D. mentions 56 bricks in the body. This is arrived at by adding 10 bricks of the two junction layers between body and wings and 3 bricks from the junction layer between body and tail. The 2 B₃ bricks (*pādyās*) in the body-wing junction layers properly belong to the wings.

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b D. mentions 31 bricks. This is obtained by adding 2 B₃s from the junction layer between body and tail.