Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v1.c6.s25.407

v1.c6.s25.407

MĀNA—The measurement of height or length.
(1) The linear measurement is divided into six kinds—Māna, Pramāṇa, Parimāṇa, Lamba-māna, Unmāna, and Upamāna. The measurement from the foot to the top of the head is called Māna which is in fact nothing but height. Pramāṇa is the measurement of breadth (vistṛita). Parimāṇa is the measurement of width or circumference (paritaḥ). Lamba-māna is the measurement along the plumb-lines or the lines drawn perpendicularly through different parts of the body, Māna or the measurement of height being determined by the surface of the body. Unmāna is the measurement of thickness (nimna) or diameter. And Upamāna is the measurement of interspace (antara), such as the distance between the two feet of an image; this measurement is apparently taken from one plumb-line to another: