Collection of Manuscripts

Ms. No. 2

...should be buried. In this way, the ground of the pavilion Mandapa measures twenty cubits Hasta A 'hasta' or cubit is a traditional unit of length, approximately the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger (about 18-21 inches).. Around the pavilion, there are twelve pillars Stambha made of Palmyra palm wood original: "tāla-vṛkṣa"; these are measured at fifteen cubits and fifteen fingers Angula An 'angula' or finger-breadth is 1/24th of a cubit.. They must be thick enough to be wrapped by a cord that is twenty-four fingers long. These pillars also require five [units] of depth for their burial in the ground.

They should be constructed with finials original: "sa-cūḍāḥ" — referring to the decorative head or crest of the pillar. Alternatively, they may be sixteen cubits and sixteen fingers in length, and thick enough to be wrapped by a cord of twenty-four fingers. These too require five [units] of burial depth. Thus, the height of the pavilion ground from the lower level is established. Based on the measurement of the eastern direction: they stand thirteen and a half cubits high from the ground, or fourteen cubits and eight fingers high from the pavilion floor. Alternatively, they may be twelve and a half cubits high, or thirteen cubits and eight fingers high. The remaining height [of the central area] is slightly less than fifty [units], or in some cases, exactly fifty. 2

ॐ

...also the burial depth. Having thus established the placement of the basic pillars Prakrita-stambha and having dug them in, one should set aside the central ninth-part cell Kostha of the pavilion. Then, in the eight directions, within their respective cell-divisions, and at the locations of the four lines (East, West, South, and North), one should divide each cell into nine parts.

In the pavilion, sixteen pillars are to be buried. In the remaining spaces where the sixteen basic pillars were buried, one should dig seventy-two 72 other pillars known as "The Splendid" Shobhana. The arrangement for them is as follows:

On the outer sides of the Eastern, Southern, Western, and Northern cells of the pavilion, and on the outer sides of the cells in the Southwest, Northwest, and Northeast corners, two pillars are placed on both sides of each corner. These sixteen "Splendid" pillars are made of Palmyra wood. They should be as thick and as high (up to the finial) as the twelve basic pillars mentioned previously, and they are to be buried in the ground in the locations specified. In this manner, including those in the Northwest, a total of one hundred and twenty pillars original: "śatā-viṃśati" are completed around the pavilion. Inside these, in all directions, another one hundred and twenty "Splendid" pillars are arranged in a peripheral row...