बृहत्संहिता (आचार्य वराहमिहिर - स्थापत्य, खगोल, मौसम व जल विज्ञान)

Adh. LIII. Sl. 39-41.] त्रिपञ्चाशोऽध्यायः 433
Slokas 39-41.—A house with only a western and
a southern hall is termed Siddhartha; one with a western
and a northern hall, Yamasurya; one with a northern
and an eastern hall, Danda; one with an eastern and
a southern hall, Vata; one with an eastern and a west-
ern one, Graha-Chulli; and one with a southern and a
northern one, Kacha The first kind of house leads to
the acquisition of wealth; the second, to the death of
the house-holder; the third, to punishment and death;
the fourth, to grief from quarrel; the fifth, to loss of
money; and the sixth, to hatred among kinsmen.
There are many writers on architecture such as Viswakarman,
Maya, Kama and Hiranyagarbha. The last one mentions 64 or
120 varieties of houses. Great kings can have mansions of 8½
storeys; Brahmins, of 7½; Kshatriyas, of 6½; Vaisyas, of 5½;
and Sudras, of 3½. The height of Sudra's house ought not to
exceed 20 moderate cubits; that of Vaisya's, 40 cubits; that of
Kshatriya's, 60 cubits; that of Brahmin's, 80 cubits; and that of
king's, 100 cubits. The last is the maximum limit for the height
of human habitations.
According to the same authority, the height of the founda-
tions of best houses is to be 2½ cubits.
There is restriction regarding the height of the storeys of
buildings with two, three and four halls. In a house of a single
hall, the height is equal to its breadth.
According to another authority, viz Sakra, the width of single-
halled houses is not restricted; but it should not exceed the
length. Should it exceed the length, such houses would be called
Utsargas. But single-halled houses are not prescribed for Brah-
mins, etc. Such houses are not conducive to longevity, but if
made of straw, they can be permitted (Garga).
Viswakarman speaks of three kinds of digits, viz., major,
moderate and minor. The first is the length of eight of full-
grown barley grains; the second, of seven; and the third, of six.
बृ. सं. 55