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.c16.413

v2.c16.413

The mixture of styles or the preferential treatment of one style over the other may similarly be accounted for. The "sporadic appearance of temples of a style removed from their proper area may be accounted for in various ways; great temples were constantly being visited by pilgrims on their way from one shrine to another, and the repute of any new fane was soon spread over all India; and thus, when a prince undertook to build a new temple, an architect (*sthapati*) of acknowledged ability might occasionally be sent for from the most distant province, and engaged to design the work, which of course, would be in his own style." In the very same way the author of the *Mānasāra* might have been sent for from southern India to compose the standard work on Indian architecture.