The sizes of the ritual enclosure and of the main altars are functions of the size of the Yajamana, and are sometimes identified with him.

The basic units, aratni and prakaram depend on the size of the Yajamana .The ritual enclosure and altars thereby become his own . Standing with hands raised above his head , the distance from the tips of his fingers to the ground is copied on a measuring stick, subsequently divided into five equal parts. Each fifth(panchami)is marked and determines the length of one aratni of his altar. Next ,this panchami or aratni is divided into four equal parts. one is added to the panchami , resulting in the sapudu, “with a quarter “ or ‘one quarter added” which is at the same time chaturthi, one fourth of the length of the Yajamana , and one prakrama of his altar The side of the basic square bricks used in the construction of the main altar is one aratni or pancami.

The Yajamana is again measured from the top of his head to the ground while standing . This distance is divided into three and again to seven equal parts. The resulting unities provide the lengths of the two sides of the rectangular bricks needed for the new domestic altar. Lastly , the distance is measured from the Yajmanas’s knees to the ground .This again divided into five equal parts each called ‘muttu’one such unit determines the thickness of the bricks of the domestic and the offering altar. The final altars will therefore reach upto the knees of the Yajamana.

The new domestic altar will be constructed from 105 bricks , equally distributed in five square layers, each of which consists of 3 X 7 rectangular bricks, all these bricks are of same size.

The main , bird-shaped offering altar consists of bricks of various rectangular & triangular shapes. The total number of bricks is 1000:200 for each of the five layers.

There is three tradition of altar construction . Two of these are called after the number of tips of the wings of the bird—Panchapatrika (five tipped),satapatrika (six- tipped ).

At the 1975 performance , the second one was adopted . In this tradition , there are ten types of bricks , and the basic unit is a square panchami or arathi. The other shapes are derived from the basic square by adding and subtracting.

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