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CANONS & SYMBOLISM
(PART IX
material would bring prosperity. The type of material, like wood or stone, might vary according to the rank or caste of a person or to the nature of the building or the purpose.
To test the density of the soil a pit of twenty-four angulas may be dug and filled up with the same clay. The more the pit remains unfilled even with all that clay, the less dense is the soil. On the other hand, the more the clay overflows the pit, the denser is the soil. Or the pit may be filled up with water and then be observed just after walking over hundred steps, to and fro. The less soaked is that water, the denser is the soil. After either type of test the quality of the soil may be judged to be of maximum, medium or minimum density. A particular colour of the soil may bring prosperity to a particular varna or caste, namely white to the Brāhmaṇa, red to the Kşatriya, yellow to the Vaisya and black to the Südra.
The selection of the site is to be done with every caution. Any kind of defect in the soil or even in the site may bring various troubles like poverty, disease, etc., to the owner. A spot where the shadow of the flag of a temple near by falls during the second and third quarters of the day should never be selected. Salya or extraneous matter of any type, as bone, coal, etc., whether on the surface or under the ground, should be removed, even if excavation is needed, that too even down to man-height. The extraneous matter can be inferred by the help of the seșa-naga-cakra. The excavation may, if necessary, be done in parts and with gaps of time according to the astronomical codes like the seșa-nāga-cakra or the vrşa-västu-cakra.
The line-plan should be accurate in accordance with the compass. The direction-line may well be assessed with the help of the dik-sädhaka-sarku or direction-peg. Likewise, the sama-catuskoņa-sthiti or quadrangular prism should also be utilized. Moreover, the level of the spot must be ascertained, specially in the case of temples and palaces. The construction as such may be started during some particular months, the rāśi or the signs of the zodiac, the nakşatra or star, the graha or planet, etc. ; better if they all happen to be favourable. But exception can be made to this in the case of a house to be built of wood, grass and so on. This code of astronomy should also be followed in the putting of the first foundation-stone, or at the time of the first entry into the built-up house, these being the two occasions when prescribed rituals may be performed and the architect may be felicitated.
The measurement of the building and the component parts thereof must, before it is accepted, be confirmed by a set of ayadi-sad-varga or the six
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