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.c41.s25.81

v6.c41.s25.81

The capital given to the first design is from a model found at Tiruvottiyur, near Madras, and is called *taraṅga* (wave)-*bodhikā*. It is one diameter high, and projects equal to its height.⁵ The other form is from a temple at Mayalapura. It is called *suru-bodhikā* or roll capital.⁵ The height of the third capital, called *Phalaka*, is three-quarters of the lower diameter of the column and is divided into thirteen parts. Its projection is one diameter.¹ The capital in the fourth variety takes three-quarters of the diameter.² The fifth capital, called *Pushpabandha* or band of flower, is equal to the upper diameter of the column. Its projection is equal to its height, but its altitude may be equal to the higher, lower, or the middle diameter of the column; and its breadth may be equal to its height, or four or five diameters.³ There are many other varieties which are hardly necessary for the present purpose.⁴ We may conclude with a more general direction : ‘ a capital, the height of which is from one to two diameters, and the breadth twice its height, is of the superior sort; that which in height is half the diameter, and in breadth from one to three diameters, is of the inferior sort.’³