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X KÂNDA, 5 ADHVÂVA, 4 BRÂHMANA, 8.
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the vital airs of two, and the head itself being the (thirty-fifth and) thirty-sixth ; and as to there being two of these, it is because 'siras' consists of two syllables. · 8. Now the first ten syllables of this Brihati, consisting of thirty-six syllables, make an Ekapadâ 1 of ten syllables; and the (first) twenty make a Dvipadâ of twenty syllables; and the (first) thirty a Virág 2 of thirty syllables; and the (first) thirty-three a (Virág) of thirty-three syllables ; and the (first) thirty-four a Svarâgs of thirty-four syllables; and in that this fire-altar is built with all metres thereby it is an Atikhandas 4, and (so) indeed are all these bricks 6. And the three syllables 'ishtaka (brick)' are a Gâyatri tripada, whence this Agni is Gayatra ; and the three syllables 'mrid' (clay) and 'âpah' (water) also are a Gâyatri tripadâ : thereby also he is Gâyatra. And what is between (each two) metres is the
1 The Ekapa dâ is a verse consisting of a single pâda, and the Dvipada one of two pâdas, whilst verses in the ordinary metres consist of three or four pâdas.
The Vuậg is a metre consisting of I to 4 (usually 3) decasyllabic pâdas; the one consisting of four such pâdas being, however, commonly called Pankti. Besides this, the principal, Virâg, there is, however, another consisting of 3 pâdas of 11 syllables each.
$ This name, which is here applied to a verse of 34 syllables, was in VII, 4, 1, 9 used of a verse of 10+10+11+II = 42 syllables (Vág. S. XI, 29); cf. Weber, Ind. Stud. VIII, p. 63.
* That is, an over-metre, excessive metre, consisting of more than 48 syllables. The fire-altar, being built up with all the metres (viz. with the Khandasyâ bricks, representing the metres, cf. VIII, 3, 3, I seqq.), would thus fai exceed the latter number.
0? Thus Sâyana : kityâgnir atıkhandâ iti yat tena sarvâ ishtaka atıkhandomayya ity uktam. 6 That is, the materials used for making bricks. [43]
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