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) v2.c16.349

v2.c16.349

In support of the indifferent treatment accorded to the Buddhists and the Jains, the passages quoted above contain references to Śaivism and Vaishnavism also. Vishṇu, Iśvara; Vishṇu, Rudra; Vishṇu, Tryambaka; and Brahmā, Vishṇu, Rudra are mentioned alongside Buddha and Jina². From this it must not be concluded, however, that Brahmā, Vishṇu, and Śiva are treated in the same way as Buddha and Jina. In these passages it is directed how the latter should be treated, the former having been elaborately described. But in the treatment of Brahmā, Vishṇu, and Śiva themselves a clear distinction and predilection have been shewn. It is true that the opening verse is an invocation to Brahmā, not to Vishṇu or Śiva, and that in the next verse the ultimate sources of the Śilpa-Śāstras, like many other Śāstras, have been ascribed to Śiva, Brahmā, and Vishṇu.³ These deities are described in the usual order of Brahmā, Vishṇu, and Śiva in the chapter dealing with the images of the Hindu triad.⁴