236 G-. Tbibaut— On the 8'ulvasutras. [No. 3, 



and running from the east towards the west had been drawn on the ground. 

 On both ends of this line a pole was fixed and the ends of the cord of 54 

 padas length tied to these poles) and taking it by the sign at fifteen, draw 

 it towards the south ; (at the place reached by the mark, after the 

 cord has been well stretched) fix a pole. Do the same on the northern 

 side (i. e., draw the cord towards the north as you have drawn it just 

 now towards the south). By this process the two s'ronis, the southwest 

 corner and the southeast corner of the vedi are fixed. After that ex- 

 change (the ends of the cord ; i. e., tie that end which had been fastened 

 at the pole on the east end of the prachi to the pole on its west end 

 and vice versa), and fix the two amsas ( u shoulders" of the vedi, i. e., the 

 southeast corner and the northeast corner). This is done by stretching 

 the cord towards the south having taken it by the mark at fifteen and 

 by fixing a pole on the spot reached by the mark at twelve ; and by 

 repeating the same operation on the northern side. The result are the 

 two amsas. This is the measurement of the vedi by means of one cord 

 (the measurements described further on require two cords each). (See 

 diagram 1.) 



The whole process described in the preceding is founded on the know- 

 ledge that a triangle, the three sides of which are equal to 15, 36, 39, is 

 rectangular. 



The end aimed at was to draw the east and the west side of the vedi 

 at right angles on the prachi. Accordingly, the prachi a b being 36 feet 

 long, a cord a c b ( = 54 ) was divided by a mark into two parts a c = 39 

 and b c = 15 and fastened at a and b. If then this cord was taken at c, 

 and stretched towards the right, the angle a b c could not but be a right 

 angle. The same applies to the angles a b d, b a e, and b a f . In fixing 

 the two east corners, both marks on the cord had to be employed, the mark 

 at fifteen being used for constructing the right angle, the mark at 12 giving 

 to the east side of the vedi the prescribed length (24 padas). 



The diagonal cord of an oblong, the side cords of which are three and 

 four, is five. 



mf«f^:w^rTf*R;^T i 



With these cords increased three times (by itself ; i. e., multiplied by 

 four) the two eastern corners of the vedi are fixed. 



The proceeding is as follows : (See diagram 2.) 



At c, at a distance of 16 padas from a, the east end of the prachi a 

 pole is fixed and then a cord of 32 feet length tied to the pcles at a and c. 

 The cord is marked at a distance of 12 padas from a, and then taken by the 

 mark and drawn towards the south until it reaches the position a e c. Thus 



