Talk:Śālā

By Swami Harshananda

śālā (‘shed’)

Śālā is a shed built for the performance of Vedic sacrifices. It is built to the west of mahāvedi (See MAHĀVEDI.) having its beams in the easterly direction. Hence it is also called prācīnavamśa (with bamboo beams oriented to the east).

It is a quadrangular shed measuring 20 x 10 aratnis (one aratni = 1/5 the height of the sacrificer). There are four doors in the four cardinal directions and also windows at the corners. The shed is covered and enclosed with mat. A room for boiling milk and a hut for the sacrificer’s wife (hence called patnīśālā) are also built round it.

Inside the śālā, three fires are lighted. Hence the name agniśālā also.

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References

• The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

OLD CONTENT

śālā (‘shed’) Śālā is a shed built for the perform¬ance of Vedic sacrifices. It is built to the west of mahāvedi (See MAHĀVEDI.) having its beams in the easterly direction. Hence it is also called prācīnavaiṅśa (with bamboo beams oriented to the east). It is a quadrangular shed measuring 20 x 10 aratnis (one aratni = 1/5 the height of the sacrificer). There are four doors in the four cardinal directions and also windows at the corners. The shed is covered and enclosed with mat. A room for boiling milk and a hut for the sacrificer’s wife (hence called patnīśālā) are also built round it. Inside the śālā, three fires are lighted. Hence the name agniśālā also.