वास्तुमण्डलम्The maṇḍala of Vāstu
Verse 50
कोणसूत्रे पातयित्वा चतुर्धा विभजेत्तु तत् । यथा तत्र भवेद्देवि मत्स्यपुच्छचतुष्टयम् ॥ ५० ॥
kōṇasūtrē pātayitvā caturdhā vibhajēttu tat | yathā tatra bhavēddēvi matsyapucchacatuṣṭayam || 50 ||
Translation
Laying the cords from corner to corner, he should divide it into four, so that there are four fish-tails in it, O Devī.
Word by word
- kōṇa
- corner
- sūtrē
- the two cords
- pātayitvā
- laying
- caturdhā
- into four
- vibhajēt
- he should divide
- tu
- and
- tat
- it
- yathā
- so that
- tatra
- in it
- bhavēt
- there are
- dēvi
- O Devī
- matsya
- fish
- puccha
- tails
- catuṣṭayam
- four
Meaning
The two diagonals cross at the centre. Each of the four triangles they make, with its point at the centre and its broad end at the edge, is called a "fish-tail".
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
"Koṇasūtre" and the rest. O Devī, he should lay the corner cords (the two diagonals) on that four-cornered maṇḍala and divide it in four, so that in that four-cornered maṇḍala there are four "fish-tails".