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expression in living beings, and directly as the Deva capable of blessing the worshipper with all gifts.
The meanest service that is done to any living being is really an act of worship to deities. 'God fulfils himself in many ways'. Man who benefits by the services of the Devas has to pay his debts to them. How to do it? His own reasoning and judgment are too limited for finding a proper solution. The revealed texts and the teaching of Seers give direct answers. If he does not care for these in his sense of self-sufficiency, the punishment is that he will be deprived of the gifts of volition, reasoning and judgment which he does not use for doing his duty to the rest of the creation from which he derives so much benefit. He is degraded to the level of a beast which has no sense of obligation and has no volition.
The propitiation of deities presiding over the several 'padas' or squares into which the site is divided is therefore prescribed as a necessary preliminary to every contruction. The deities are mentioned by name but there are slight differences between the several texts. The majority of the texts practically agree in fixing the number of deities at a maximum of 32 Devatas for the outer squares, Eight deities for the eight quarters and Brahma with four other devatas surrounding him in the centre. Four female deities to be propitiated against evil are placed at the four corners. Where the plots exceed this number of deities more plots than one are assigned for a single deity and the offering to be made for each deity is also prescribed. But our text has simplified the rules in other texts and has advised the division of the site into twenty-five plots for square sites, twenty plots for rectangular sites, sixteen plots for circular sites, eight deities for temple sites, and four deities for human habitations. The deities are all chosen from among those mentioned in other texts.
Before going to describe the different kinds of cities, their planning and construction, different kinds of measure
