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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.c40.s35: The Saṁgraha

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.c40.s35

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English

The Saṁgraha

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This work is avowedly a compilation (*saṁgraha*). It bears the title *Śilpa-saṁgraha*, and, to our great relief, it expressly mentions the sources from which it has been compiled.¹ In fact, several of the architectural treatises compared above, and many more not mentioned here, are evidently compilations, although the authors have not acknowledged their debt, nor even mentioned the sources drawn upon. This point is convincingly illustrated in the following instance.

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¹ Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras, Cat., Vol. XXII, no. 13058. It comprises 429 pages of 25 lines to a page of paper 13½″×8″.

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The following chapters in the order found in the manuscript are ascribed to

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I.—*Mānasāra* : Under 7, *Gomukha-lakshaṇa*—under this heading there is no separate chapter in the eleven manuscripts of the *Mānasāra* so far known to exist.
(13) *Upapīṭha-lakshaṇa*—pedestals (*M.* XIII). Under 15, *Vṛishabha-lakshaṇa*—image of the bull, the riding animal of Śiva (*M.*, LXII).

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II.—*Mayamata* : Under 6, *Dik-parichchheda*—the cardinal points.
(23) *Maṇḍapa-vidhāna*—open sheds.
(9) *Grāma-vinyāsa*—villages.
(20) *Eka-bhūmi-ro(vi)dha(ā)na*—one-storeyed buildings. Under 86, *Sthapati-lakshaṇa*—characteristics and qualifications of the architect.
(24) *Gopura-vidhāna*—gate houses.
(13) *Upapīṭha-vidhāna*—pedestals.
(1) *Adhishṭhāna-vidhāna*--bases.
(20) *Dvi-bhūmi-vidhāna*—two-storeyed buildings. Under 20, *Tri-bhūmi-vidhāna*—three-storeyed buildings.

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III.—*Kāśyapa* : Under 7, *Prastara-lakshaṇa*—entablatures. Under 7, *Adhishṭhāna-paṭala*—bases. Under 7, *Nāla-pramāṇotsedhālankaraṇa*—drains and canals. Under 24, *Dakshiṇā-mūrti-paṭala*—an image of the god Śiva. Under 22, *Nṛitta-lakshaṇa*—image of dancing Śiva.

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Under 6, *Gopura-lakshaṇa*—gate-houses. Under 36, *Śayana-lakshaṇa*—bedsteads and couches.
(86) *Sthapati-lakshaṇa*—characteristics and qualifications of the architect.
(14) *Āyādi-sampad-artha-vidhāna*--the formula of Āya, etc.

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V.—*Agastya* : Under 1, *Māna-samgraha-viśesha*—system of measurement. Under 2, *Uttama-daśa-tāla*—the large type of the ten-*tāla* measure. Under 3, *Madhyama-daśa-tāla*—the intermediate type of the ten-*tāla* measure. Under 4, *Soma-skanda-lakshaṇa*—images of Soma and Skanda. Under 5, *Chandra-śekhara-lakshaṇa*—image of Śiva. Under 6, *Vṛisha-vāhana-lakshaṇa*—image of Śiva, riding on the bull.

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It is not known for certain whether or not the following, under 6 and 19, are to be ascribed to Agastya. Under 6, *Tripurāntaka-lakshaṇa*—image of Śiva. Under 6, *Kalyāṇa-Sundara-lakshaṇa*—image of Kalyāṇa-Sundara Śiva. Under 6, *Ardha-nārīśvara-lakshaṇa*—image of Śiva. Under 6, *Pāśupata-lakshaṇa*—image of Śiva. Under 6, *Bhikshāṭana-lakshaṇa*—image of Śiva. Under 6, *Chaṇḍeśānugraha-lakshaṇa*--image of Śiva. Under 6, *Dakshiṇā-mūrti-lakshaṇa*—image of Śiva. Under 6, *Kāla-dahana-lakshaṇa*—image of Śiva. Under 19, *Pratimā-lakshaṇa*—images in general.
(3) *Upapīṭha-vidhāna*—pedestal.
(9) *Śūla-māna-vidhāna*—pikes.
(10) *Rajju-bandha-saṁskāra-vidhi*—preparation of ropes.
(11) *Varṇa-saṁskāra*—preparation of colours.
(12) *Akshi-mokshaṇa*—chiselling the eyes of an image. .

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VI.—*Bhṛigu* : Under 7, *Ratha-nirmāṇa*—construction of chariots.

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VII.—*Paulastya* : Under 22, *Dakshinā-mūrti-nirmāṇa*—image of Śiva.

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VIII.—*Nārada* : Under 14, *Kṛishṇa-lakshaṇa*—image of Kṛishṇa.

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IX.—*Nārāyaṇa* : Under 20, *Rāma-Lakshaṇa*—image of Rāma.

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X.—*Maushalya* : Under 7, *Ratha-lakshaṇa*—chariots.

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XI.—*Śesha-bhāshya* : Under 36, (title missing). Under 22, *Ekatāla-vidhāna*—one-storeyed buildings.

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XII.—*Chitra-sāra* : Under 14, (title missing).
(7) *Pratimāsāra* (?).

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XIII.—*Sārasvata* : Under 28, *Chaṇḍeśvara-vidhāna*—image of Chaṇḍeśvara.
(28) *Garuḍa-lakshaṇa-paṭala*—image of the Garuḍa bird ; *Rāma-Lakshmaṇa-paṭala*—the images of Rāma and Lakshmaṇa. (The term *paṭala*, usually used in the *Āgamas*, indicates that these chapters may have been borrowed from some *Āgamas*.) Under 20, *Gopura-māna*—gate-houses.
(1) *Māna-saṁgrahādi*—the system of measurement.

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XIV.—*Viśva-sāra* : Under 20, *Aśva-māna-vidhi*—image of the horse. Under 20, *Vīra-bhadra-lakshaṇa*—image of Vīrabhadra. Under 20, *Skanda*—image of Skanda. Under 20, *Tripurī*—image of Tripurī. Under 20, *Pratimādi*—images, etc.

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XV.—*Chitra-jñāna* : Under 20, *Dhvaja-daṇḍa-paṭa-lakshaṇa*—flagstaff and banner. Under 20, *Jīrṇoddhāra*—repairs.

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XVI.—*Kapiñjala-saṁhitā* : Under 20, *Garuḍa-lakshaṇa*—image of the Garuḍa bird.

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XVII.—*Kaumudī* : Under 29, *Pratimā-lakshaṇa*—images in general.

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XVIII.—*Brahma-śilpa* : Under 15, *Sayana-lakshaṇa*—bedsteads and couches.

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XIX.—*Brahma-yāmala* : Under 5, *Chāmuṇḍī-dhyāna*—characteristics of the goddess Chāmuṇḍī. Under 20, *Daśāvatāra-lakshaṇa*—images of the ten incarnations of Vishṇu.

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XX.—*Dīpta-tantra* : Under 15, *Liṅga-lakshaṇa*—Phallus. XXI.—*Dīpti-sāra* : Under 8, *Gopura-lakshaṇa*—gate-houses.

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Of these, it will be noticed, numbers I to V refer to treatises discussed above, VI to X refer to authors whose treatises are not mentioned here, and the rest refer to treatises and not to their authors. In fact, it is practically impossible to trace the authors of these latter treatises, as is the case with several others dealing with architecture and cognate arts.

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The brief sketch of this compilation, as well as the other illustrative *Śilpa-śāstras* presented above, incidentally substantiate two theories. Most of the architectural treatises, whether or not ascribed to an author, historical or mythical, are but compilations. Some of these have actually acknowledged the sources drawn upon, while others have not. This practice of misappropriating somebody else's property is prominently shown in works like the *Purāṇas* and the *Āgamas*; which in most cases are undeniably huge compilations gathered together from various sources dealing with heterogeneous subjects. The second theory is that the *Mānasāra*, though itself a compilation, because the author seems to have consulted some thirty-two authorities on architecture, appears to be the standard work on the subject, inasmuch as it is the most complete, scientific, and probably the oldest extant record. This last impression will be further strengthened by comparison of the *Mānasāra* with the architectural portions of the *Purāṇas*, the *Āgamas*, and the *Bṛihat-saṁhitā* in detail.

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