________________
SILPA SASTRA.
AUGUST, 1876.j
on Fridays and Sundays it is propitious to the 12th Indian hour; on Tuesdays it is propitious to the 12th Indian hour to journey northward; and on Wednesdays it is propitious to the 16th
Indian hour.
The author next gives the various points, their regents, together with the astrological points, and their signs, &c. &c., and then proceeds as follows:-" In the following four months, namely, Auni, Purattasi, Margali, and Punguni,§ if one builds a house, endless sickness and poverty shall be his lot. Even the gods themselves would suffer should they build in these months." In proof of what has just been stated he adduces the following examples: "On a Monday in the month Adi,|| Ravana lost his head; in the month Margali the Bharata war and other wickedness took place; in the month Purattasi Hyrania died; in Punguni Siva drank the poison; in the month Auni Mapelasakkiravarthi fled from his town: therefore, in the months Auni and the others aforesaid, to commence a house, or to take up residence, is dangerous. Persons who do so will not only be obliged to desert the house; they will further become beggars. The gods themselves cannot prevent this taking place.
"If Sunday and the tenth lunar asterism occur together, Monday and the sixteenth, Tuesday and the sixth, Wednesday and the ninth, Thursday and the twenty-fourth, Friday and the fourth, Saturday and the twentieth asterism, do not build on these days: if you do, the house will be consumed by fire.
"When Sunday and the second lunar asterism occur together, Monday and the fourteenth, Tuesday and the twenty-first, Wednesday and the twenty-third, Thursday and the eighteenth, Friday and the twentieth, Saturday and the twenty-seventh, these days are unlucky for the performance of anything.
"On these days if one marries, his wife shall soon be a widow, the newly built house shall, soon be a ruin.
If on those days one sets out on a journey, death shall overtake him, and though he perform the nideka ceremony, his wife shall be barren, but should a child be born it will die.
"When one is building his house, he should present the silpan with a new cloth, money, sandal-wood powder, and gårlands; he should §4.e. Ashadha, Aévina, Pausha, & Chaitra respectively-ED.
235
further salute him and make respectful inquiries regarding his health: so decreed Myen."
Auspicious signs when visiting the selected site:"When the householder and the excellent silpan set out to inspect the newly selected site, if on the way they should meet with a handsome damsel, or a damsel whose skin resembles gold in colour, build the house immediately.
"When the excellent silpan and the householder arrive and are standing on the site, if a lizard chirps on the right side it is a good sign; if on the left the sign is excellent, the householder will have good fortune; let him finish the house rapidly and neatly: those that dwell in it will obtain riches and never lose them." The Site.
"If one finds a piece of land the east and west of which are low but the south-west high, there he should build his house, for all kinds of prosperity will attend him. If the site should be low on the western and the northern sides, or should the western be high and the northern side low, in a house built on such sites the family will increase they will have long life and live prosperously.
"If one should build a house on a site crossed by a pathway common to the people, his wealth will perish, his cattle will die, his wife and children will die, and the house will become equal to a burning-ground for the dead.
"Land at the side of a temple or in front of one, land frequented by devils and hobgoblins, land on the right side of a temple sacred to Kali, or land belonging to the highroad, are not suitable for building-sites. Should, however, a man be so far lost to decency as to build upon such sites, his wife and children shall die, his cattle and all that he has will perish, and, alone in the world, he will wander from place to place, a beggar living upon alms.
"The site of an old or ruined church, land in which snakes dwell, land upon which Pariahs resided, land upon which sages have resided, burning grounds, battle-fields, these are unsuitable for building-sites. Should a man build upon them, he and his relatives will perish, and the house will become a jungle."
In the first portion we mentioned the author's division of the site into sixty-four parts. In the second part he recurs again to it, but with
|| Sravana.
