230 G. Thibaut — On the S'ulvasutras. [No. 3, 



sutras have it — of the shadow of a falcon about to take wing is made 

 in the s'yena vakrapaksha vyastapuchchha, the falcon with curved wings 

 and outspread tail.* The kafikachit, the agni constructed in the form 

 of a heron, or according to Burnell (Catalogue, p. 29) of a carrion kite, 

 is but a slight variation of the s'yenachiti ; it is distinguished from it 

 by the addition of the two feet. The alajachit again is very little diffe- 

 rent from the kafikachit, showing only a slight variation in the outline 

 of the wings. What particular bird was denoted by the word alaja, 

 the commentators are unable to inform us ; in the commentary to Taittir. 

 Samh. V. 5. 20 it is explained as " bhasa", which does not advance 

 us very much, as the meaning of bhasa itself is doubtful. Next comes 

 the pratigachit, the construction imitating the form of the praiiga, the 

 forepart of the poles of a chariot, an equilateral acutangular triangle and 

 the ubhayatah-praugachit made out of two such triangles joined with 

 their bases. Then follows the rathachakrachit, the altar constructed in the 

 form of a wheel ; in the first place the simple rathachakrachit, a massive 

 wheel without spokes, and secondly, the more elaborate sararathachakrachit, 

 representing a wheel with sixteen spokes. The dronachit represents a 

 drona, a particular kind of tub or vessel ; it could be constructed in two 

 shapes, either square or circular (chaturasradronachit and parimandala- 

 dronachit). The parichayyachit, which is mentioned in the next place, is 

 in its circular outline equal to the rathachakrachit, but it differs from it in 

 the arrangement of the bricks, which are to be placed in six concentric 

 circles. The samuhyachit has likewise a circular shape ; its characteristic 

 feature was that loose earth was employed for its construction instead of 

 the bricks. Of the s'masanachit a full description together with the 

 necessary diagrams will be given further on. The last chiti mentioned is 

 the kurinachit, the altar representing a tortoise ; the tortoise may be either 

 vakranga, of an angular shape, or parimandala, circular. 



Every one of these altars had to be constructed out of five layers of 

 bricks, which reached together to the height of the knee ; for some cases 

 ten or fifteen layers and a correspondingly increased height of the altar 

 were prescribed. Every layer in its turn was to consist of two hundred 

 bricks, so that the whole agni contained a thousand ; the first, third, and 

 fifth layers were divided into two hundred parts in exactly the same 

 manner ; a different division was adopted for the second and the fourth, so 

 that one brick was never lying upon another brick of the same size and form. 



Regarding the reasons which may have induced the ancient Indians 

 to devise all these strange shapes, the Samhitas and Brahmanas give us 



* The plates accompanying this paper contain the diagi'anis of three different chitis ; 

 diagrams of all the remaining chitis will be given in the ' Pandit' iu the proper places. 



