[INDOLOGY] Help on ŚulbS needed

[Francois Voegeli]

Dear Members of the List,

I can't make much sense of a passage of the commentary of Dvārakanāthayajvan on BaudhŚulbS 1.67 (in the edition of Thibaut revised by Satyaprakash & Sharma, New Delhi [Research Institute of Ancient Scientific Studies], 1968, p. 62-63). 
It describes the way in which the Anvāhāryapacana fire should be measured.

BaudhŚulbS 1.67 runs thus: aayaamat.rtiiyena trii.ni caturasraa.ny anuuciinaani kaarayed aparasyottarasyaa;m śro.nyaa.m gaarhapatyas tasyaiva dak.si.ne ';mse 'nvaahaaryapacana.h puurvasyottare ';msa aahavaniiya iti

The part of the commentary of this suutra which causes difficulties to me is:

tasyaivaaparasya [sc. caturasrasya] dak.si.ne '.mse 'nvaahaaryapacanamadhya;sa:nku.h | ma.n.dala.m caturasra.m cikiir.sann[*] ityaadinaaniitanavatilasahitaikavi.m;satya:ngulacaturasradvikara.nyaa catustilasahitatri.m;sada:ngalayo [sic! read °a:ngulayo] samacaturasra.m k.rtvaa ma.n.dala.m k.rtvaa dak.si.navihaaravi.skambham catustri.m;sada:ngulayo da;sa tilaa;s ca | dak.si.navihaaramadhye ;sa:nkor uttarato vi.skambhacaturbhaagamaatre ;sa:nku.m sthaapayitvaa tasmin vi.skambhaardha.m pratimucya ma.n.dala.m parilikhya ma.n.dalamadhye praakpratiicii.m spandyaa.m niyamyaanuspandya.m lekhaam aalikhya uttaraardha.m tyajet so 'nvaahaaryapacana.h

[* this is BaudhŚulbS 1.59: ma.m.dala.m [sic!] caturasasra.m cikiir.san vi.skambham a.s.tau bhaagaan k.rtvaa bhaagam ekonatri;m;sadhaa vibhajyaa.s.taavi;m;satibhaagaan uddhared bhaagasya ca .sa.stham a.s.tamabhaagonam]

It seems to me that the problem has to do with squaring the circle, but what I don't understand at all in this passage is the sentence: aaniitanavatilasahitaikavi.m;satya:ngulacaturasradvikara.nyaa […] dak.si.navihaaravi.skambham catustri.m;sada:ngulayo da;sa tilaa;s ca.

Help with a translation of the whole much welcomed!

Yours sincerely,




Dr François Voegeli

Senior FNS Researcher
Institut d'Archéologie et des Sciences de l'Antiquité
Anthropole, bureau 4018
Faculté des Lettres
Université de Lausanne
CH-1015 Lausanne