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) v4.c29.s5.100

v4.c29.s5.100

The *Bṛihat-sa hitā*, usually classed under astronomical works, is but a semi-*Purāṇa*, dealing as it does, with heterogenous subjects like the *Purāṇas* themselves. In this treatise there are five chapters wherein both architecture and sculpture are treated with a master hand. The chapters open with a definition of architecture and the author goes on describing briefly, but succinctly and to the point, the suitable building-sites, testing of soil, general plan, comparative measures of storeys and doors, and carvings thereon, and other important parts of a building. Twenty types of buildings referred to above are next described. Preparation of cement and paste is described in a separate chapter. The house-furniture, including bedsteads, couches and seats, are described in another chapter. In a single chapter important sculptural matters and images are described. By a detailed comparison it has been shewn that the architectural and sculptural portions of this treatise must have been based on the *Mānasarā*.²