146 FURTHER MEDITATIONS
9. He must think of the corner of the world called Agnidiku, or the Corner of Fire, over which the god Agni-Iswara presides, and which is that part of the world in which India is situated. 10. He must think of the Dravida country, where the
Tamil( Arava) language is spoken. 11. He must think of the moon ' s pathway, and the change of one moon to another. 12. He must think of the year of the cycle in which he is living. The Hindu cycle is composed of sixty years, each of which has its own particular name. And he must say aloud the name of the particular year of the cycle in which he is living.
13. He must think of the ayana in which he is. There are two ayanas in the year, each of which lasts six
months— one called the dakshina-ayana or southern ayana, which includes the time during which the sun is south of the equinoctial line, and the other called uttaraayana or northern ayana, which comprises the rest
of the year, during which the sun is north of this line.
He must pronounce the name of the ayana which is then
going on. 14. He must think of the rutu, or season of the year.
There are six rutus in the year, each of which lasts two months. He must pronounce the name of the rutu in which he is performing the sam-kalpa.
15. He must think of the moon. Each moon is divided into two equal parts, one of which is called Sukla-paksha
and the other Krishna-paksha. Each of these divisions lasts fourteen days, and each day has its own special name.
He must call to mind the division and day of the moon, and pronounce their names.
16. He must think of the day of the week and pronounce the name.
17. He must think of the star of the day. There are
twenty-seven in each lunar month, each of which has a name.
He must pronounce the name of the one which is in the ascendant on that day.
18. He must think of the yoga 1 of the day. There are twenty-seven of these, corresponding to the twenty-seven
1
Yoga means conjunction of stars. Ed.