Description: The ancient monuments of India possess that quality of leaving a lasting impact on the mind of the beholder and awakening his spirit. Their irresistible appeal has resulted in the creation of a vast literature dealing mostly with their aesthetic aspects. The technical aspect was neglected; for information on this subject was scarce and available only in the manuscripts with private owners scattered all over India. Undaunted by the dismal prospect before him, Prasanna Kumar Acharya ventured in this untrodden field and after years of diligent search and study, prepared the work: Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture. This contains the Sanskrit text of the Building science studied by the architects of ancient India. Critical notes on every chapter are provided for an easier understanding of the text. Everyone interested in the Architecture of ancient India shall find this book as the most authoritative on the subject.

The Mayamata is a Vastusastra, that is to says a treatise on dwelling and as such, it deals with all the facets of gods temple dwellings, from the choice of a site to the iconography of temple walls. It contains many precise descriptions of villages and towns as of temples, houses, mansions and palaces. It gives indications for the selection of proper orientation, of the right dimension and of appropriate building materials. It intends to be a manual for the architect and a guidebook for the layman. Well thought of by the traditional architects (sthapatis) of South India, this treatise is of interest at a time when technical traditions, in all fields are being scrutinized for their possible modern application. The Mayamata has so far been translated into Tamil and into French. The present English version is based upon the edition, with French translation, previously published by Dr. Bruno Dagens in the Publication Series of the French Institute of Indology (Pondicherry).

Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi motilalbanarsidass.com, [email protected] The Matamata is a Vastusastra, i.e. a treatise on dwelling, and as such, it deals with all the facets of gods' and men's dwellings, from the choice of the site to the iconography of the temple walls. It contains numerous and precise descriptions of villages and towns as well as of temples, houses, mansions and palaces. It gives indications for the selection of proper orientation, correct dimensions, and appropriate materials. It intends to be a manual for the architect and a guidebook for the layman. Well thought of by traditional architects (sthapati-s) of South India, the treatise is of great interest at a time when technical traditions, in all fields, are being scrutinized for their possible modern application. The present bilingual edition prepared by Dr Bruno Dagens contains critically edited Sanskrit text which is an improvement over the earlier edition by the same scholar and published as No.40 of Publications de L'Institut Francaisd' Indologie, Pondicherry. The English translation, also published earlier, has now been revised with copious notes. The usefulness of the edition has been further enhanced by adding an analytical table of contents and a comprehensive glossary. In the series of Kalamulasastra early texts on music, namely, Matralaksanam, Dattilam and Brhaddest, have been published. The medieval texts on music, especially, the Sribastamuktavali (No.3 in the series) and the Nartananirnaya (No.17 in the series), bring us up to the 15th and 16th centuries. In the case of architecture, despite the IGNCA's endeavour to publish portions of the Brhatsamhita, the Agni Purana and the Visnudharmottara-Purana, first, this has not been possible. Instead, our scholars were able to complete work first on a late but important text, namely, Silparatnakosa. We hope that the sections on architecture in the Brhatsamhita, the Agni Purana and the Visnudharmottara-Purana which predate the medieval texts, will be published soon, along with revised and re-edited texts of Manasollasa and Aparajitaprccha. The Mayamatam is the fourteenth and fifteenth volume in the Kalamulasastra series of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).

Illustrations: Numerous B/w Illustrations Description: P.K. Acharya's An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture is a comprehensive work on the technical terminology, now obsolete but then in vogue, of the creators of such epics in stone as those of Sanchi and Konark during the ancient and medieval periods of Indian history. It contains about three thousand terms culled, with indefatigable industry spread over a long span of years, from ancient architectural treatises--Manasara, and Vastu-Sastras : Agamas, Puranas, Brahmanas, Sutras, epics, literary works, epigraphical records and manuscripts in obscure scripts. The terms are arranged in the order of Sanskrit alphabet. A brief rendering in English followed by extensive quotations from various sources and supplemented by line drawings and photographs elucidate every aspect of the term, leaving no room for ambiguity. Two appendices, one giving a sketch of Sanskrit treatises on architecture and the other furnishing a list of historical architects with short notes on their works, are added. This monumental work has remained a standard treatise of reference since its publication in 1946 for all connected with architecture.

First Chapter Is Introductory, Second Chapter Is Determination Of The Cardinal Points, Third Chapter Is Hindu System Of Surveying, Fourth Chapter Is Hindu Measurements, Fifth Chapter Is Hindu Proportions Or The Relation Between Length And Breadth, Sixth Chapter Is The Erimeter And The Yoni, Seventh Chapter Is Tests For Measurements, Eighth Chapter Is Hindu Fractions And Limiting Values, Ninth Chapter Is The Sacrificial Altars, Tenth Chapter Is Town Planning, Twelfth Chapter Is Sculpture, Thirteenth Chapter Is About Silpis, Who Are They?, Fourteenth Chapter Is Conclusion. In The Last Of The Book Dictionary Of Architectural Terms, Bibliography And Index Has Been Given.

This volume examines the multifarious dimensions that constitute the workings of the Hindu temple as an architectural and urban built form. Eleven chapters reflect on Hindu temples from multiple standpoints - tracing their elusive evolution from wayside shrines as well as canonization into classical objects; questioning the role of treatises containing their building rules; analyzing their prescribed proportions and orders; examining their presence in, and as, larger sacred habitats and ritua...