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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) v6.c37: Mānasāra Series

Mānasāra Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Mānasāra-Śilpaśāstra; III. Mānasāra on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Mānasāra: Translation; V. Architecture of Mānasāra: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c37

Language
English

Contents

Mānasāra Series

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Volume I—A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture (1927).

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Volume II—Indian Architecture according to *Mānasāra Śilpaśāstra* (1927).

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Volume III—*Mānasāra*—Sanskrit Text with Critical Notes (1934).

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Volume IV—Architecture of *Mānasāra*—Translation in English (1934).

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Volume V—Architecture of *Mānasāra*—Plates ɪ-ᴄxxxv (Architectural), ᴄxxxvɪ-ᴄlvɪɪ (Sculptural) (1934).

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Volume VI—Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad (1946).

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Volume VII—An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture (1946).

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In this volume an endeavour has been made to give a brief survey of Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad. Materials are, however, not yet quite sufficient to attempt a full and complete history of the building activities of the Hindus in India itself. Architecture, in ancient India, was understood in a comprehensive sense, and included sculpture and a variety of other arts. In the preliminary section of the *Mānasāra* the ancient authorities themselves discussed the allied subjects. In the Introductory chapter of this volume a short account is given of what was understood as fine arts. Many of the fine arts are intimately connected with architecture. Thus a full history of Hindu architecture will be incomplete without a complete survey of all the allied arts. Besides, Hindu architecture was cultivated with success not only in its homeland and in its neighbouring countries, but also in far off colonies and apparently disconnected and distant countries. It has been now admitted by competent authorities that the Maya civilization of Central America spread from India, the motherland of the Maya clans, who, in the times of the great Epics, were known as *Dānavas* or opponents of Aryan invaders of India.

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Great explorers like Sir Aurel Stein have unearthed various Hindu monuments over an extensive area in Central Asia, which has been significantly designated as Serindia in order to keep its home connexion with India alive, especially in the matter of architecture, both Buddhist and Hindu. Numerous savants, especially French and Dutch scholars, have published particulars, with minute details, of Hindu and Buddhist monuments of colossal character in numerous island countries of the Indian Ocean and the inlands connected therewith. This extensive area, also, has been significantly designated as Insulindia for the same purpose of keeping fresh in the memory its home connexion with India. In the homeland itself the astonishing archaeological survey of General Sir A. Cunningham opened out an endless store of architectural materials of the Buddhist and later periods. The wonderful discoveries, at first of Mr. R. D. Banerji and, later, of Sir John Marshall and his colleagues, made especially at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, have brought out an unexpected netherland, with its awe-inspiring cities and monuments which are stated to point to an Indian architecture of the pre-Vedic age, beyond 3000 B.C. These undreamed of discoveries have rendered quite stale the vigorous and learned controversy between Raja Rajendralal Mitra and James Fergusson regarding the architectural achievements of Vedic Indians, more specifically the question if the Indians of 2000 to 1000 B.C.

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knew the manufacture and use of burnt bricks. Convincing references are, however, available not only to burnt bricks and carved stones, but also to the storeyed mansions with a hundred doors and a thousand pillars which are described in the Vedic literature, and, subsequently, elaborated in the Buddhist scriptures and the Hindu Epics, *Purāṇas*, *Āgamas* and numerous other branches of Sanskrit literature. One of the fortunate results of this controversy has been, however, the publication of valuable books, especially of Fergusson's *History of Indian and Eastern Architecture*, containing life-like references to our architectural monuments of Buddhist and later periods. His noble example has been followed with greater zeal and clearer understanding by genuine friends of Indian culture like the late lamented E. B. Havell, Vincent A. Smith, and several others whose sacred memory deserves our respect, but who are too numerous to be quoted here. All these savants, however, had to restrict their researches to the trodden paths, which they enormously cleared, though they could explore no new avenue. Thus the period between 3000 B.C. and 500 B.C. remained practically unrepresented, so far as archaeological remains are concerned. This gap could only be filled by those vivid descriptions which can be gathered together from literature. The reality of non-technical literary and casual references has, however, been reasonably substantiated by the publication of the *Mānasāra* series.

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The treatises on *Śilpa-śāstra* were till very recently known only from casual references. The stores of manuscripts on the subject of architecture and other arts were practically closed for a long time. The publication of the *Mānasāra*, the leading and standard work on the subject, has made it possible to fill to a certain extent the gaps left vacant by the explorers, archaeologists, and historians.

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This volume, purposely named, may justify its title, as it should supply a brief résumé of all sources of information generally indicated above. Parts of Chapters II, III, IV, V, VI, and VII were included in the writer's *Indian Architecture according to Mānasāra Śilpa-śāstra*, which was first published in 1927, but that edition was sold out in less than a year's time. The Government of the United Provinces accepted the proposal of bringing out a second edition, but preferred the scheme of the present volume, and consented to the change of the former title and the inclusion of illustrative drawings and photographs. The late lamented Mr. H. R. Harrop, the then Director of Public Instruction of the United Provinces Government, induced the writer to go much further and undertake the construction of a residential house in accordance with the rules and methods of the *Śilpa-śāstras*, with *such adaptations as would not violate the principles of Hindu architecture, but, at the same time, would satisfy present-day requirements*.

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This volume opens with an account of the pre-Vedic architecture of 3000 B.C., which is based entirely on the Mohenjo-daro discoveries, and my grateful acknowledgment is due to Sir John Marshall and his co-workers. An endeavour has been then made to give a picture of the Vedic architecture such as could be drawn from copiou literary references and inferred from the Mohenjo-daro finds of the preceding period, and corroborated by what happened in the succeeding classical period. The earlier part of this classical period, terminating roughly at the Christian era, depends also on literary references. But these literary references are different from and more substantial than those of the Vedic period. The accounts gathered from the Buddhist scriptures and the great Epics, the *Āgamas* and the *Purāṇas*, are, at many places, a technical description of the subjects. Moreover, from about the fifth century before Christ, architectural remains are available to supplement and to substantiate the vivid literary descriptions of the various types of monuments of purely Buddhist, Jain, and Brahmanical groups. This realistic background of Hindu architecture in its homeland is brought face to face with the pictures given in the avowedly architectural texts, which are unquestionably intended to serve as guide books to the practical builders and the professionals.

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This brief survey of Hindu architecture in India itself may enable the reader to follow the natural course of its migration, not only to the border lands, but also into what is known as Serindia and Insulindia, and, to a certain extent, to China, Japan, and even Central America. The account of the Central Asian Hindu architecture is largely based on the Serindian explorations of Sir Aurel Stein, to whom the indebtedness of the writer is gratefully acknowledged. Insulindia comprises a much larger area, and contains in its wonderful island stores numerous colossal Hindu and Buddhist monuments which were necessarily erected because of their aesthetic and scientific merits, and because the builders and the rulers who colonized those islands went from India and were lovers of Indian arts. The accounts of such varied types and of such long duration had to be gathered from various sources, which have been specified in the footnotes for reference and for an expression of my gratitude. My grateful acknowledgment is, however, recorded here, also, to James Fergusson for the help received from his drawings and woodcuts in his *History of Indian and Eastern Architecture*, and to Dr. R. C. Mazumdar and other scholars who recently contributed to the Greater India series. While the influence of Hindu culture on Chinese and Japanese civilizations is generally known and acknowledged, it would be news to many that the Yucatan Peninsula, in the Mexican territory of Central America, contains some Hindu monuments. The Maya manuscript book records the migration to America of the clans whose chief, Maya, is stated in the great Indian Epic to have built a wonderful audience hall for the King Yudhishṭhira. The *British Museum Guide to the Maudsley Collection of Maya Sculptures* further confirms the building activities of Maya clans in America. But the credit is due to Dr. Gann and Professor Morley for the first discovery of the great city of Coba and the famous monolith of Aśokan type in the once populous site of the forests of Yucatan. The Mayas also erected magnificent temples and palaces, no doubt after Hindu originals, through the prototypes of Java. The conclusion of Professor Elliot Smith, of University College, London, which is gratefully reiterated here, is that ‘the Maya civilization of Central America was directly derived from India.’

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In Appendix I, an endeavour has been made to remove an erroneous notion that Hindu architecture was based on, or, at least, largely influenced by, the Persian architecture. The Persian had no temples, nor images, nor idols, while the glories of Hindu architecture are evinced nowhere more than in temples and sculptures. In Appendix II, a further endeavour has been made to remove a similar deceptive notion. Taking advantage of our present national awakening, certain time-servers and fortune-seekers have gone to the length of misleading even some big municipal corporations in matters of the so-called Indian style, which they enforced by legislation in certain quarters of their cities. This has also affected some truly patriotic builders, who have been persuaded to believe that their mission towards Hindu or Indian architecture will be fulfilled if they can discard everything European, especially English, and if they place a Gaṇeśa image or an elephant figure at the landing of their dwellings, a monkey on their school buildings, and a hawk symbol upon their hospitals. This leads to the more important question of ascertaining the future of Indian architecture.

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Appendix III contains extracts from various shades of opinion which command respect and will help the solution of such a serious question. These observations are primarily on the *Mānasāra* architecture. ‘Forms of ancient architecture’ as supplied by the *Mānasāra* series, interested Dr. Rabindranath Tagore ‘in a real human way.’ Dr. Sir C. Y. Chintamani shared the view that ‘our architectural policy of the past few hundred years, based on foreign imitation, has not proved successful, and that a trial may be given to our ancient methods and principles.’ It is of particular interest to Professor Keith to see whether ‘the true doctrines of the ancient Hindu authorities made available by the *Mānasāra* series can be turned to practical benefit for India and for its people,’ and he looks forward to see ‘a house built after the *Mānasāra* which may demonstrate that modern India has something to learn from the achievements of its past.’ Mr. Hargreaves recommends to Indian architects ‘to examine to what extent the principles laid down in the *Mānasāra* represent those of medieval Hindu architecture and art and to consider if they are suitable for modern practice.’ Dr. Jha and Mr. Chatterjee are more than convinced about the practicability of the *Mānasāra* principles of architecture. The former believes in ‘the practical outcome of the experience of centuries, which is likely to be more adapted to the climatic conditions of the country than the ideas derived from experience in other climes and other countries, and which was likely to be extremely useful to the extensive town- and village-planning that was going to be undertaken in Bihar’ after the disastrous earthquake, incidentally, but, for which, a wholesale trial of ancient methods is impracticable. Mr. Ramananda Chatterjee, after citing the examples of ‘old Nepal temples which have withstood the earthquake shocks more than modern buildings,’ appeals not so much to the Provincial Governments or the national leaders as to one’s commonsense, to the effect that a trial must be given to the elaborate and practical handbook of *Mānasāra*, which ‘embodies the age-long experience of many experts native to the soil and climate, and that to dismiss it without such trial is to insult ourselves as well as our ancestors.'¹

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¹ For further observations of a few more leaders of public thought, *see* Appendix III, pp. 422–449.

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Such exhortations naturally tempted the writer himself to make a trial, as no one else would be so anxious to see the actual result of his life-long researches. Thus at first a couple of tiny temples have been attempted with very great success. They are, however, erected in an out-of-the-way place, in his native village, Yajña-śāla, some five hundred miles east of Calcutta, in the Tippera District, East Bengal. One of these is a memorial Śiva temple on the cremation grounds of his parents. It faces south on the eastern bank of a tank, to the east of which, at a distance of some 400 yards, runs a nameless ancient river. This river rises from the mountains between Burma and India and falls into the Bay of Bengal, making a semi-circle of some two miles from north to south and a mile and a half towards the east from the temple. It is a very simple structure, 10 feet 6 inches long, 8 feet broad, and 12 feet high. It faces an eight feet high Nandi pillar and contains a phallus of Śiva, so carved by a sculptor in Benares as to symbolize the Ardha-Nārīśvara image. In a town it can be built at a cost of less than Rs. 500.

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The other is a Vaishṇava type of temple containing the images of the family deities, Lakshmī-Govinda and Rāja-Rājeśvara Nārāyaṇa. It is situated at some 400 yards to the west of the Śiva temple and is separated from the tank by a rectangular garden, 100 yards by 150 yards. It also faces the south, to which direction there are courtyard, garden, paddy-field, and the public road, east to west, to about 1,000 yards off the temple. The main shrine, a square of 16 feet a side, has a 7 feet 8 inches high and 10 feet 6 inches broad *śikhara* (spherical dome) of the *Mānasāra* pattern, rising above the roof 12 feet 4 inches from above the plinth and 16 feet above the ground. It has a colonnaded 6 feet wide verandah on all four sides, which may serve as the path for circumambulation on rainy days, the regular *pradakshiṇa* path being beyond the plinth. The pillars are of the *Mānasāra* type. This structure (Plates I*a*, I*b*) can be built in a town at a cost of less than Rs. 4,500, with marble floor throughout.

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These trial illustrations, being very much in an out-of-the-way place, are not likely to be scrutinized by many people. Besides, however religious-minded we are reputed to be, the success of the modern (*Top*) RĀJRĀJEŚVARA TEMPLE (EAST SIDE VIEW) (*Bottom*) LAKSHMĪ-GOVINDA TEMPLE (WEST SIDE VIEW)

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architecture must be judged by dwelling-houses and such other buildings as are more unavoidably connected with our earthly existence, with our worldly comfort and convenience, and with our town-life with its privileged amenities but having peculiar restrictions and requirements. Mr. Harrop, who, as the Director of Public Instruction, handled the publication of the *Mānasāra* for some fifteen years until he retired, was very much influenced by his own reading of the texts, as well as by the expert opinions, not only of scholars and leaders of public thought, but also of artists, engineers, and laymen,¹ to whose commonsense Mr. Ramananda Chatterjee so vigorously appealed. Thus, at his express suggestion and promise of some possible financial assistance from Government, who had already made a small profit, out of the sale-proceeds of the entire first edition, a bigger trial was undertaken in October, 1935.

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¹ See Appendix III, pp. 422-449.

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The object has been to demonstrate a residential design from the *Mānasāra*. The Svastika plan of storeyed mansions described in Chapter XXXV has been selected. The structure has been built upon a site which answers the primary requirements demanded in the texts, regarding the natural slope for drainage purposes, the wind direction for ventilation, and the sun's course for a correct orientation of a dwelling-house in Allahabad. This Svastika Mansion is situated in a delta formed into a tableland by the three famous rivers, the Sarasvati, the Ganges, and the Yamuna, which no doubt once met below the Bharadvāj-Āśrama, some two hundred yards to the north of the site. The Sarasvati has now altogether disappeared, leaving behind its trace by a big dry drain which forms the southern boundary line of the site, but her roaring eloquence can be heard and her reality felt for an hour or two after a heavy shower of rain. The Ganges and the Yamuna have been diverted, the former to some three miles north and the latter about two miles south of the site, by dykes built by the Moghals. They now meet below the Fort of Akbar, at a distance of some two miles.

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The site-plan (Plate II) will show the actual shape, size, and the surrounding views of the plot. The site commands a round frontage of six hundred and fifty-two feet, with a straight back of five hundred and eighty-seven feet, and has three road junctions on the circular part of the segment. At the east end of the segment Hamilton Road and Malaviya Road, coming from the south, and another new unnamed road coming from the north-east, merge into the provincial road locally known as Fort Road. About the middle point of the segment, and just facing the front entrance and the porch-pillar, another new road meets the Fort Road, coming straight from the dyke of the Ganges and running as if into the house, and thus may fittingly be named after the Svastika Mansion by the Municipal authorities. At this junction, also, ends the three-mile long Thornhill Road, the best street in Allahabad: it issues from the Cantonment area and passes through the Civil Lines, having the famous Alfred Park on the right and Muir College grounds and towers on the left at a distance of some two furlongs from the Svastika Mansion. At the west end of the segment this road is crossed below the Bharadvāj Park by Lowther Road, which, at this junction, merging into the provincial road, connects the Ganges and the Yamuna. It runs from south to north and joins the East Indian Railway bridge on the Yamuna with the Curzon Bridge on the Ganges, and connects the city sides at two ends of the town. On the left of this important road stands the Government House Compound at a distance of some two furlongs, Bharadvāj-Āśrama at less than two hundred yards, and University grounds and main buildings at six furlongs; on the right lie the Swaraj and Anand Bhawans at some three hundred yards north, Prayag railway station at the distance of a mile, and the Chatham Lines fields and open country-side at one and a half miles. On the opposite side of Thornhill Road, between the central and western road junctions, is a triangular open ground, with a small tin-shed for public shelter, which terminates at another road-junction some fifty yards from the site, made of Lowther Road, provincial road, and Kamla Nehru Hospital-and-Annie Besant School Road.

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The natural slope of the site is towards the south-east. Beneath the road-junction at this end of the segment the straight Sarasvati (drain) and the Fort Road drain meet at the road culvert and take away every drop of unwanted water and liquid refuse. The whole segment has been covered with boundary walls which demonstrate, in a modified form, the Buddhist railings of Sanchi and other places, really a variety of those referred to in the texts. The two main gates, specially made of wrought-iron to demonstrate an ancient design, are placed in a line with the eastern and western extremities of the main house. The central road-junction at the middle part of the segment, which supplies the axis to the house, faces a three-part Close-up Front View of Svastika Mansion, showing the Octagonal Tower, Segment-shaped Porch, and the Griha-stambha (Main Porch Pillar)

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A DISTANT FRONT VIEW SHOWING THE RAILINGS

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wicket-gate fitted with two closed and one open iron gates of special ancient design. The western main gate has a half wicket-door for servants and traders. About halfway between this gate and western end of the segment there is another twelve feet wide iron gate leading straight to the porch to the east, and to the garage, stable and outhouses to the south on the Sarasvati (drain).

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The segment-shaped porch, a prototype of the site, coming out of the front portion of an eight-sided tower, is supported by a single main pillar (*grihastambha*) erected after the *Mānasāra* design, on the axis of the house. This tower, fifty feet high, supplies the grand stair hall to answer for the reception room (*rodana-griha*) on the ground floor; the semi-circular gallery at the level of the porch-roof and first floor; and the segment-shaped tower hall at the roof-level of the first floor which serves the purpose of the family chapel internally, and, externally, an octagonal dome with two slightly rounded sides. The chapel has a colonnaded balcony in the straight front side, wherefrom the Ganges waters are visible when the river is full. At the back of it is a hexagonal boudoir, with one convex side, which serves as the shed over the grand staircase, and its doors at right and left open out to the roofs of the family bedrooms and of the slightly lowered back balconies. These roofs serve as terraces to the chapel and the boudoir. The boudoir has a corresponding hexagonal parlour on the ground floor. Both these rooms jointly form five sides of the octagonal tower, which has one flat side in front and two round sides on right and left. The tower has two wings on right and left, the single-pillared porch in the shape of the site in front, the hexagonal inner courtyard¹ at the back, the single-storeyed kitchen block and guest-rooms on the two back

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¹ This irregular-sided courtyard is intended to represent the prescribed unsymmetric figure of the Spirit of the house (*Vāstu-purusha*) lying on its face. His five principal limbs are represented by the five set of staircases ascending from the ground to the high-plinthed verandahs, the head being on the landing, on the axis, from the parlour door; the right arm on the landing from the big verandah of the inner side of the dining- and the drawing-rooms; the left arm on the landing from the long verandah facing the library and the office rooms; the right leg on the landing from the verandah of the kitchen block; and the left leg on the landing from the verandah of the guest block.

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The usual but unintelligible custom is still followed and the house-builders make on the actual building site a figure of the Spirit of the house with powdered chalk during the ceremonies of laying the foundations. That chalk-mark is, however, defaced in no time, while in the case of the Svastika Mansion the court-yard and its five landings, representing the Spirit of the house, may be expected to last as long as the house does.

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sides of the inner courtyard. Thus the main structure with façades fulfils the plough-shaped *Svastika* plan,¹ and looks like an aeroplane (*vimāna*) from the distant front.

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¹ *Svastikaḥ lāṅgalākāraḥ.* Another characteristic is that it has three faces.

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The eastern wing comprises, on the ground floor, the dining-hall, the drawing-room, and a large room partitioned into a shower-bath, flush latrine, wash-basin, and dressing-tables. The roadside of this wing is parallel to Fort Road, and the other outer side faces the cast, having a covered verandah and an open platform which is connected with the main eastern gate. Below the raised platform is the terraced quadrangular lawn, having surrounding paved paths, and a well with high plinth and platform standing on the shortest side of the quadrangle. The drawing- and dining-rooms have a combined large back verandah terminating at two sides of the inner courtyard. From the end of this verandah, and covering two short sides of the courtyard, is erected from underground a pentagonal tower to the height of the first floor rooms. The lower part of this tower forms the underground summer-room, with two windows opening to the grassy courtyard, which, being covered by structures on all sides, is free from dust. Its top portion forms the strong-room, By one of its sides rises a flight of steps, forming a private staircase. By its two other sides proceed a corridor from the big verandah which separate the summer-room from the bathroom and the kitchen block. The same wing on the first floor comprises three bedrooms—one upon the dining-hall and two on the drawing-room—and a bathroom corresponding with the ground floor one with similar shower-bath, flush commode, wash-basin and dressing-table; a large balcony corresponding with the ground floor big back verandah; and two colonnaded front balconies, one overlooking the central road-junction and the other facing the lawn, the well and the road-junction at the east. The corridor from the large balcony runs between the bathroom and the strong-room to the terrace which forms the roofs of the kitchen block and guest rooms.

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The western wing comprises, on the ground floor, the library, the office or business room, and a bathroom with all sanitary fittings and shower-bath, and runs parallel to Thornhill Road. This wing has a long inner verandah along the whole length of the library and the office room and terminating at the longest side of the courtyard. The first floor of this wing comprises another bedroom, the segregation or

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WESTERN WING OF SVASTIKA MANSION TOGETHER WITH THE OUTHOUSES AND ORCHARD GROUNDS

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confinement room, and a bathroom covering the roof respectively of the library, the office, and the bathroom of the ground floor; one outer balcony covering the bedroom and connecting the porch roof, and a long inner balcony corresponding with the ground floor verandah, which is connected with the terrace forming the roofs of the guest rooms and the kitchen block. The segregation room, which, like the chapel, was in ancient times an essential feature of a dwelling-house, big or small, has three ventilators or gable windows, five large windows and three doors, and will answer the requirements of a modern hospital.

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All other rooms, also, are similarly furnished with sufficient number of ventilators, doors, and windows which are built after the directions of the texts. At Allahabad the wind blows from the north-east for four months and from the south-west for eight months. Thus all the living and public rooms of the present plan of the Svastika Mansion get a free passage of breeze throughout the year. The kitchen block being at the southern end of the courtyard, and being shaded by the two towers and the bathroom walls, its smoke cannot contaminate the air entering into the living or public rooms. All these rooms are daily flushed by the morning sun, but the glare of the evening sun is screened off by the situation of the two towers and four large balconies and verandahs, four bathrooms, and especially by the guest rooms and the kitchen blocks on the west and south of the courtyard. On the other hand, the bathrooms at the south-east corner of the ground floor and first floor get both the forenoon and the afternoon sun, and the two others at the north-west corner are thoroughly disinfected by the afternoon sun. The courtyard and the kitchen block also get the afternoon sun from midday till four in the afternoon. The two rooms in the guest block get the sun from nine till midday and from two to four in the afternoon.

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The inner kitchen block on the south side of the courtyard comprises one non-vegetarian kitchen and one non-vegetarian Indian dining-room, and one vegetarian kitchen and a corresponding dining-room. Both the kitchens are furnished with smoke chimneys and have separate washing-rooms on their sides. There is also a shed at the eastern end which may be used for domestic animals or fowls. Rooms of the kitchen block are wire-netted in order to prevent the flies entering into them. All these rooms, as stated above, are daily disinfected by a flush of the sun’s rays from midday till four in the afternoon. The guest block, comprising two rooms on the west side of the courtyard and a bathroom in continuation of the office room, with all the modern fittings, has a small verandah on the east and a large one on the west. It faces the outer courtyard, in continuation of which are laid the gardens. From this western verandah one can get a clear view of the Thornhill Road rising up and up, and of the Muir College tower and the dome of the Vijayanagaram Hall. The outer courtyard, protruding below the large verandah on the west of the guest rooms, has, on its left side, the store block, comprising five rooms. One of these rooms is intended to be used as a European type of kitchen, one for storing water and the other three are stores proper. In continuation of this block, but outside the outer courtyard wall, are built the outhouses, consisting of one stable and cow-shed, one garage, four servant quarters, and two latrines. The strip of land on the Sarasvati (drain) behind the kitchen block, store rooms and outhouses, contains the kitchen gardens; and the grounds protruding from the outer courtyard beyond the outhouses form the orchard wherein a complementary pavilion may be built.

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It should be noted that, owing to the extraordinary situation of the plot, which is, however, not always available in towns, the slope, the air-passage and wind direction, and the sun’s course could be utilized exactly in the way demanded in the texts. This has further enabled the distribution of the rooms, blocks, courtyards, and gardens in accordance with the directions of the *Mānasāra* and other authorities. *These are really the matters of importance.* Once these facilities are available, it becomes easy to exercise one’s free choice regarding the types of pillars, openings, screen-works, railings for verandahs and balconies, balustrades for staircases, and parapets for the roofs, all of which in the case of the Svastika Mansion bear, however, the hall-mark of ancient architecture with pleasing effect. The very few ornaments, which can be selected from anywhere, represent the simple patterns of ancient texts and are mostly in lines. They satisfy the aesthetic requirements and fulfil the tendency of modern times.

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Much more ingenuity was, however, required in the technique of actual construction in accordance with the regulations, even in ancient times. For instance, the prescribed rock- or water-foundations, which no doubt provide a very long life to buildings, cannot always be made available in villages or towns where dwelling-houses have to be built. Thus, an adaptation has been made by the application of the modern device of a thick ferro-concrete slab resting on artificial sand-bed and a brick-soling at the bottom of the ten-feet deep pit. Similarly, the flat roofs have been made of reinforced stone

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CLOSE-UP VIEW OF THE WESTERN WING

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concrete slabs in place of the roofs of natural stone slabs, as prescribed in the texts. These slabs are supported by steel-girders that are converted by plaster to look like the prescribed wooden beams, which, in many places, would be uneconomical in these days. In the same way, stone concrete slabs have been used for the-sloping roofs which surround the whole of the main structure above the door and window levels in all the three storeys. These sloping roofs, incidentally, serve as rain-protectors and have given a very pleasing effect to the structure. In a like manner, stone concrete lintels just above the door-level run throughout the outer and inner walls, and will serve as earthquake bands, because the first-class brick walls are thus held fast between the roof slabs and the lintel slabs. They themselves have been mortared by well-ground lime and cinder, which has been found by experiment to be better than cement-sand mortar in dry climates with very scanty rainfall. Well-seasoned Burma teak of the B.B.T.C.L. brand has, however, been carved for the doors and the window frames, which latter have been panelled with diamond cut glasses of ancient design. Similarly, the floors have been laid upon a concrete bed, resting on sand and brick-soling, of precast mosaic tiles of various artistic colours and designs in order to economize the cost of coloured marble tiles, which have been used only in the reception hall.

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These devices, it may be hoped, will serve the *real purpose of the ancient architecture*, namely, utility, stability, and beauty. These qualities have been preserved, also, in matters of modern fittings which are necessary to make the modern houses more comfortable. The United Provinces Electric Supply Company have made the electric installation with rubber-covered Indian cable (which is stated to have been manufactured specially to suit the tropical climate) resting on teakwood batten. Mr. C. G. L. Gamlen, the then Resident Engineer of the United Provinces Electric Supply Company, himself designed the artistic layout of the cables, and personally supervised the construction in order to make a demonstration. He holds the view that the installation should be lasting. With the same purpose of providing durability the G.E.C. fans have been used. Similarly, water pipes have been laid and rotary pumps fixed, although a well has been dug to the east of the lawn in accordance with the direction of the texts, with the remarkable result of a good supply of sweet water which is not available in the same quantity from wells of the neighbouring premises.

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Individual tastes differ. Anything may be beautiful to its lover. But aesthetics have reached the status of a science and there are recognized standards by which beauty is to be judged. So far as architecture is concerned, proportion, uniformity, symmetry, and harmony are stated to be the chief elements of beauty. The business and originality of a builder, like those of an editor, lie in his ability in a wise compilation and in an aesthetic and economical adaptation from his authorities. The learned reviewer in *The Times’* Literary Supplement has quoted an instance from the *Mānasāra* that, ‘if the staircase be less or greater the master would certainly be crippled,’ and has himself emphasized that ‘such might indeed happen from such a faulty construction.’¹ It is with a view to guarding against faulty constructions that one’s choice is limited within the suggested alternatives in essential matters. In the non-essential particulars one is given an unrestricted liberty to introduce new elements, even the monkey symbol, if only the whole composition do not become incongruous and the principles of beauty be not violated.

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¹ Page 443 of this volume.

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The Svastika Mansion, it is hoped, will demonstrate all those principles. Its perimeters and dimensions of its rooms will illustrate several of the prescribed proportions, *śāntika* (peaceful), *paushṭika* (prosperous), *jayada* (progressive), *sarvakāmika* (fulfilling all desires), and *adbhuta* (wonderful).² Similarly the *Mānasāra* pillars, entablatures doors, windows, verandahs, balconies, platforms, courtyards, and boundary walls may demonstrate the harmony of the whole composition.

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² The height being, respectively, equal to, 1⅛, 1½, 1¾, and twice the breadth, see the writer's *Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture*, under UTSEDHA, for further particulars.

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In the limited space of a Preface no further elaboration would be justified. This pen-picture may be elucidated by a reference to the line-drawings and photographs (Plates II–XI, XXVIII, XXXII). But only a personal inspection, with some previous knowledge of the ancient and modern authorities, will enable one to judge for himself as to what extent the Svastika Mansion demonstrates the ancient principles, wherein lies its adaptation, what is its supporting authority, and finally, what is the resultant success. An ordinary visitor may, however, testify to its actual comfort and convenience. The writer himself would treasure the censure of a distinguished engineer, Mr. T. A. Otto, much as did Ardhendu Śekhar Mustofi, the chief actor in Dīnabandhu Mitra’s *Nīladarpaṇa*, who had the shoes of Pandit Iswara An Inside View of the Western Wing showing the Types of the Screen Work, Pillar, Parapet, and Railings Chandra Vidyāsāgara thrown at him, when, owing to the very realistic performance on a Calcutta stage of the atrocities of the indigo-planters, the Pandit was so provoked that he forgot that it was a mere play. Mr. Otto, who worked as a Government builder for some thirty years and gained familiarity as an officer of the Department of Archaeology with the Hindu and Muslim monuments, remarked that the Svastika Mansion is but a 'schoolmaster's exercise-book meant to illustrate the rules and regulations of Hindu architecture in a pleasing manner,' while some learned colleagues are delighted to call it the complementary volume of the *Mānasāra*.

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THE SVASTIKA MANSION FROM THE ROOF OF THE KITCHEN BLOCK AND GUEST; THE DEPTH OF THE OCTAGONAL TOWER AND PARTS OF THE TWO WINGS

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Time alone can prove the stability of the house, which quality emphatically distinguishes the old structures from the modern ones. Time will also show if anybody else will care to try the ancient methods and principles at a lesser strain and a greater economy.¹

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¹ In the construction of the Svastika Mansion, with its covered area of 11,361 (6495+4670+196) sq. ft., the total cost, including that of land, masonry retaining walls on both sides of some 800 feet long drain, and some 500 yards cement-concrete roads, is approaching a sum of six figures. It, however, does not represent a correct estimate on the house alone. That could be more accurately calculated on the basis of the following amount and quality of materials used, which would vary according to the size of similar houses, and in consideration of prices and rates which must necessarily vary in different places. (Smaller houses, retaining the *Mānasāra* style, can be built at much lesser cost, still less if cheaper materials are used) : Bricks, 732,720 (first class 503,132, second class 181,339, third class 48,259). Brick ballast, 9,651 c.ft. Stone ballast, 3,488 c.ft. Cement, 1,186 bags (about 60 tons). White lime, 1,913 maunds 36 seers. Kankar lime, 3,398 c.ft. Sand, 9,754 c.ft. Cinders, 24,133 c.ft. Surki, 425 c.ft. Iron— Joists, 127 maunds 36 seers. Rods, 279 maunds 20 seers. Miscellaneous, 68 maunds 35 seers. Railings, 38 maunds 28 seers. Gates, 33 maunds 35 seers. Wire net, 1,037 sq. ft. Wood— Burma teak (B.B.T.C.L.), 4,016 sq. ft. for shutters, 117 c.ft. for frames. C. P. teak, 45 c. ft. for kitchen block. Nepal sal, 296 c.ft. for kitchen block and outhouses. Glass—diamond cut, 408 sq. ft. (for windows of main structure), and ordinary 286 sq.ft. (for windows of kitchen block, etc.). Door fittings, polish, etc., Rs. 663-9-6. Precast mosaic tiles, 5,351 sq. ft. Marble tiles, 212 sq. ft. Marble chips, 549 lb. Colours and paints, 924 lb. Labour (including masons, carpenters, and labourers), Rs. 9,902-1-9. Cost of drawings, Rs. 34. Cost on estimator, Rs. 544-2-6. Architect’s travelling allowance, Rs. 43-11. Miscellaneous things, Rs. 590-9-9. Water-pipes and bathroom fittings, Rs. 1,063-12. Electric installation and fittings and lightning conductors, Rs. 1,985-2-6. *N.B.*—Design in outline was supplied free by the architect, Mr. S. C. Mukerjee ; the elaboration of the original plan, the supervision of construction, control of labour, purchase of materials, and keeping of accounts were carried out by the writer himself.

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The expectations of scholars and other commentators have, however, not been fulfilled.¹ Neither the Bihar Government nor the Darbhanga Raj took their advice to experiment with the principles enunciated in our *Śāstras* when rebuilding the areas devastated by the earthquake of 1934. The expectation, too, that the engineering colleges might include the study of the *Mānasāra* series among their compulsory subjects remained unfulfilled; and it is a remarkable commentary on their interest in this important aspect of essential Indian culture that few copies of the first edition were purchased in India, the great bulk of them having been sold in Europe and America. The parent Governments themselves have not as yet made up their mind to give a lead to the private builders. The national importance of the *Mānasāra* and the value of the application of its principles to practical ends, as exemplified in the Svastika Mansion, still remain to be recognized. In other countries Governments and other bodies invite and grant awards of their own accord for improved housing schemes, competitive designs and economic plans to suit the needs of the people and to stand the weather and climate of their countries. With the present-day tendencies of all peoples to foster national culture Indian Governments might well, with sound reason, have adopted ere this the *Mānasāra* as a standard and revived the true Indian architecture by constructing public buildings according to the principles of an indigenous science which became almost lost and forgotten although it now shows the experience of generations and experiments of centuries. In these days of mob mentality people are helpless to think for themselves and to decide what to do until and unless they get a lead from the Government of the country, even in respect of food and clothes, not to speak of house and furniture. The introduction of a new style of architecture among the public will be facilitated if the Indian Governments, and the public bodies subordinate to them, take it as their own policy and have the courage to experiment on the lines of the *Mānasāra* in order to give a practical lead to the public. In this, as in other fields of endeavour, the natural hesitancy of individuals and non-Government institutions to try something new and untried can only be overcome by the example and the publicity provoked by builders constructing models of every-day utility, and publishing complete and detailed plans and costs thereof. But the demonstrations themselves need publicity for which again some signal recognition and special reward have been found necessary even in big international exhibitions in order to draw public attention. A more ready recognition and the consequent publicity to the *Mānasāra* and the principles exemplified in the Svastika Mansion might have been expedited if the series could have been completed during the regime of the great educationist Governor, Sir Harcourt Butler, who sanctioned the publication of the series by advancing money from public funds,¹ and if Mr. H. R. Harrop, the late lamented Director of Public Instruction of the local Government, who saw through the details of the publication and encouraged the construction, were in office till now. Nevertheless I acknowledge with respectful thanks the help received from the Government of the United Provinces and the Government of India during some thirty years I have been engaged in completing the *Mānasāra* series in seven big volumes involving as it did continuous and strenuous labour in addition to my professorial and other official duties.

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¹ See Appendix III, pp. 422-449.

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¹ At the suggestion of an Indian Adviser to the Governor, the local Government have decided that after the realization of the full sum of money advanced from the public funds for the cost of printing and publishing through the Oxford University Press, of the seven volumes, the further sale-proceeds, if there be any, will go to the successors of the writer.

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During the closing months of his governorship of the United Provinces, Sir Maurice Garnier Hallett, g.c.i.e., k.c.s.i., i.c.s., who had appreciated our oriental scholarship in other provinces also, happened to inspect a volume of *Hindu Architecture* in an exhibition. Since then he took a personal interest in the architecture of *Mānasāra* and declared at a function: 'As Professor of Sanskrit and Head of the Oriental Departments of the Allahabad University since 1922, and as Dean of the Faculty of Arts for two successive terms, your work has been of a high order. Your monumental work, the *Mānasāra* series, which constitute a complete and illustrated survey and encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology and Hindu Architecture, has been highly appreciated by eminent scholars all over the world. In recognition of your services in the promotion of Sanskrit scholarship and in the field of research, the title of "Mahāmahopādhyāya" has been conferred on you. I heartily congratulate you upon this well-merited distinction.' If his interest be supplemented by his successors in office it may be hoped that this series would ultimately attract the notice of the Indian public more effectively. The builders of this great country with its unrivalled achievements in science and arts may henceforth be induced to consult these volumes and to consider the advantages of adopting the architectural principles and methods of *Mānasāra*. On the eve of my own retirement this hope is a great consolation for me for my past 30 years’ continuous labour on this task and I shall ever remain grateful to Sir Maurice for his congratulation. It remains for me to record my gratitude, in addition to Sir Harcourt Butler and Mr. Harrop, to Lieut.-Col. R. S. Weir, C.I.E., who succeeded as Director of Public Instruction, for his uniform sympathy and encouragement. To Lieut.-Col. D. W. Crighton, O.B.E., the then Superintendent, Printing and Stationery, and Mr. M. G. Shome, his successor, and his staff I owe much more than I can adequately express. Words fail me to give vent to my feeling of gratitude to Lieut.-Col. Crighton, not only for his faultless technical production, but also for his personal assistance in the matter of revision and linguistic amendments; in gathering together photographs and drawings from the Governments of Java, Sumatra, Siam, and French Indo-China, and from the Provincial Superintendents of the Department of Archaeology of the Government of India; and in preparing the correct plan, elevations, and illustrations of the Svastika Mansion.

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I am in particular indebted to the Director General of Archaeology and his colleagues and staff and the Provincial Superintendents for the originals of Plates XIII, XIV*a*, XIV*b*, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX*a*, XIX*b*, XIX*c*, XXIV, XXVII, XXIX, XXX, XXXI, XXXIII, XXXIV*a*, XXXIV*b*, XXXV, XXXVI, XXXVII, XXXVIII. I also take this opportunity to express my indebtedness to the Governments of Siam, Java, Sumatra, and French Indo-China for the supply of the photographic views of Plates XLIX, L, LI, LII, LIII, LIV, LV, LVI, LVII, LVIII.

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To Mr. S. C. Mukerjee, B.A., G.D.ARC., A.I.I.A., the architect, more than a courtesy reference is necessary. He has supplied all the line-drawings, which needed a unique skill and personal interest in order to keep up the spirit and details of the texts. I am also indebted to him for working out the original plan of the Svastika Mansion. Mr. G. A. Sewell, the chief draughtsman of the Government Central Press, who got his training in Roorkee Engineering College, has cleverly redrawn the much-altered ground-plan and the present elevation of the house. Messrs. Zaidi Brothers, who, among all the local photographers consulted, had the courage and enthusiasm to take up the task, have supplied the photographic views which needed considerable skill. To both of them I record my thanks. For occasional technical assistance and guidance from time to time I am indebted to Mr. D. H. R. Rao, the University Engineer; Mr. Asutosh Gupta, the Assistant Engineer of the local Municipality; and Mr. T. A. Otto, a retired Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department, of considerable building experience and of very generous and scholarly temperament.

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I am also grateful to late Sir Lalgopal Mukerji, a Judge of the Allahabad High Court, for his ready assistance and invaluable suggestions. For some special facilities in converting the site of the Svastika Mansion out of a strip of waste land into a beauty spot, I am grateful to the District and Municipal officers and the engineers of the combined Public Works and Public Health Departments. I am indebted to the then City Magistrate, Mr. A. D. Pandit, I.C.S., and the District Magistrate, Mr. G. W. M. Whittle, I.C.S., for enabling me to give a proper shape to the site and beautify the whole locality by straightening the drains, etc., and encroaching on a few yards of waste land whereupon nuisance was committed, for which, however, the then Indian Divisional Commissioner, imposed a fine of Rs. 5 in order to put a check to such an endeavour. I shall ever remain grateful to Mr. W. G. P. Wall, once the Director of Public Instruction, Mr. A. D. Dixon, I.C.S., once the District Magistrate, and Mr. M. S. Singhal, Rai Bahadur, the then Divisional Commissioner, on whose combined recommendation the Governor of the United Provinces, Sir Maurice Garnier Hallett, was ‘pleased to sanction, as a special case, the sale of Nazul plot no. 44, Thornhill Road’ in my favour, which was originally held by me on lease for 30 years; the freehold right thus secured ‘for ever’ fulfils the requirements of a permanency of the costly demonstration of the Svastika Mansion built upon this plot.

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