With reverence for the sacred task ahead, the wise are instructed to become the source of satisfaction for humans and all beings, bringing prosperity—especially the increase of cattle. After declaring such intentions, the ritual begins with the sprinkling of the foundation pit using cow urine, sanctifying the site. Once this purification is done, the foundation deposit—the embryo of the future temple—is placed with care. The implantation takes place at night, a time chosen for its auspiciousness. Gifts of cow cloth, food, and other offerings are given to the teacher and those assembled, honoring their roles in this divine undertaking. With the embryo placed, bricks are laid, and the foundation is filled. The platform is constructed according to prescribed methods, ensuring the building’s size remains modest and appropriate. The platform’s height is carefully considered: the best is half the building’s width, the medium is a quarter less, and the lowest is half the best. Upon completion of the platform, worship is performed again. The one who establishes the foundation with his own feet, free from sin, is promised joy in heaven. Even the mere thought—“I will build a temple for the gods”—when held with sincere intent, destroys all sins attached to the body that very day. What, then, can be said of the merit gained when one actually builds the temple according to the rules, using eight bricks for the gods? The abundance of fruits (merit) that accrues from such an act is beyond description; its greatness can only be inferred from the temple’s extent. In the village, the temple is ideally placed in the center or to the east, with an eastern-facing door. In all directions, the temple should face west within the village. At this point, Iyagrīva speaks, offering the general rule for temple construction. The wise should divide a square plot into sixteen equal parts. At the center, a structure is made with iron, occupying four divisions, while the walls are arranged in the remaining twelve divisions. The lower wall’s height should be one-fourth the length, and the platform twice the height of the lower wall. The circumambulation path is one-fourth the length of the platform, with equal passageways on both sides. The extension in front should match the width of the threshold, or be twice as large if more fitting and beautiful. In front of the pavilion, two garbha-threads should extend its width, with the length exceeding by a foot, adorned with central pillars. Alternatively, a mukha-maṇḍapa may be constructed to match the inner chamber’s measurement, or the pavilion may be eighty-one feet, beginning the maṇḍapa at the rear. For eastern doorway arrangements, offerings are made to the gods at the ends of the feet, and similarly, offerings to thirty-two deities are made at the ends of the enclosure. This outlines the general characteristics of a temple. Yet, another temple may be measured by the image or by its own measure. The pedestal must be made according to the image’s measurement; the inner chamber is half the pedestal, and the walls match the chamber’s size. The height is determined by the wall’s measurement, and the tower is twice the shadow cast by the wall. The circumambulation path is a quarter of the tower’s measure, and the mukha-maṇḍapa in front is also a fourth of the tower’s measure. The exit for the chariot halls is one-eighth of the inner chamber, and three chariot halls are made in proportion to the perimeter. Alternatively, the exit may be a third of that measure, with three platforms established for the chariot halls. For the tower, four threads are laid down, and above the parrot-nose, a transverse thread is placed. A lion is fashioned at half the tower’s height, and parrot-noses are fixed at the central joints. On the other side, a thread is placed similarly, and above it, an altar is made with a neck and a mind-like arc. The altar must not be deformed or broken; above it, a finial is fashioned according to the altar’s measure. The doorway is made twice as wide as the measure, and above it, an auspicious branch of udumbara wood is placed. At the fourth part of the doorway, Caṇḍa and Pracaṇḍa are fashioned, with two staffs like Viṣvaksena, and above the finial, Śrī is placed on the udumbara. The beautiful form, adorned with lotuses and bathed by jars from the guardian elephants of the directions, is at the fourth part of the temple; the enclosure wall’s height is proportionate. The gateway is lower than the temple by a foot. For a deity of five hastas, the pedestal is one hasta. In front of the pavilion, a Garuḍa-maṇḍapa and a terrestrial abode are made. For the image, eight are made above, one in each direction: in the east, the Boar; in the south, the Man-Lion; Śrīdhara in water; in the north, Hayagrīva; in the southeast, the son of Jamadagni; in the southwest, Rāma; in the northwest, Vāmana; Vāsudeva in the west; and in the northeast, the arrangement is made with Vasus, Ādityas, and others. Then, the Blessed Lord speaks. The deities are to be installed in the temple. In the center of a five-shrine arrangement, Vāsudeva is enshrined. Vāmana, Narahari, Aśvaśīrṣa, and Śūkara are placed in the southeast, southwest, northwest, and the domain of Īśa, respectively. Next, Nārāyaṇa is installed in the center, Ambikā in the southeast, Bhāskara in the southwest, Brahmā in the northwest, and the Liṅga in the northeast. Alternatively, Rudra’s form may be placed, or in a nine-shrine arrangement, Vāsudeva is at the center, with the leftmost and rightmost in the east and so on. The guardians of the worlds, beginning with Indra, may also be placed in the nine-shrine arrangement, with the Supreme Person at the center. Lakṣmī and Vaiśravaṇa are installed in the east, the Mothers in the south, Skanda, Gaṇeśa, Īśāna, Sūrya and others, and the planets in the west. Thus, with devotion and precision, the temple is established, sanctified, and filled with the divine presence, following the sacred instructions and honoring the gods in their rightful places.