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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.c41.s4: The Three Styles

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.c41.s4

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English

The Three Styles

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The style is also a technical and purely architectural subject. Thus it is not dealt with in the *Purāṇas*, not to speak of the epics or other poetical works where, as shown above, casual references to architecture and sculpture are met with. In some of the epigraphical documents and the *Bṛihat-saṁhitā* mention of the styles is occasionally made. The *Āgamas* contain a little more detail, while in the *Mānasāra* the subject is exhaustively treated.

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The *Nāgara*, *Vesara*, and *Drāviḍa* are the three broad styles distinguished in the *Mānasāra*.¹ They are applied to both architecture² and sculpture.³ With reference to the construction of cars or chariots a fourth style is mentioned.⁴ This is called *Randhra*, which seems to be a corrupt form of *Andhra*. In an epigraphical record,⁵ *Kaliṅga* is mentioned as a distinct style of architecture. But if the identification of *Vesara* with Telugu or *Tri-Kaliṅga* be accepted, the *Kāliṅga* and the *Andhra* would be the two branches of the *Vesara* style. In the case of twelve-storeyed buildings, which are the most magnificent and imposing edifices as described, twelve special types, not necessarily the styles, of residential dwellings are also mentioned in the *Mānasāra*.⁶ All these names are geographical, implying the twelve provinces into which the then India was divided architecturally, if not also politically. And these types are distinctly based on geographical divisions, in exactly the same way as the three styles, the *Nāgara*, *Vesara* and *Drāviḍa*, as also the two branches of the *Vesara*, the *Kāliṅga* and *Āndhra*, are based. The Græco-Roman orders, on which the European styles of architecture are mainly based, are also but geographical names.¹

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¹ *Mānasāra*, XVIII, 92–104. The *Nāgara* style is distinguished by its quadrangular shape, the *Vesara* by its octagonal or hexagonal shape, and the *Drāviḍa* by its round shape. For details, *see* pp. 258–259 and the writer's *Encyclopaedia*, under *Nāgara*.

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² *Mānasāra*, LIII, 53–54; XXI, 72–73; XXVI, 76; XLIII, 124–125, etc.

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³ *Mānasāra*, LII, 78, 100; LIII, 46–47, etc.

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⁴ *Mānasāra*, XLIII, 124–125.

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⁵ In the record itself, it is, however, stated that the *Nāgara*, *Vesara*, *Drāviḍa*, and *Kāliṅga* are four types, not styles, of buildings. (An inscription on the capital of a pillar in the Amṛiteśvara temple at Holal, Government of Madras G. O. no. 1260, August, 1915, Progress Report of the Assistant Superintendent for Epigraphy, Southern Circle, 1914–15, p. 90.)

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⁶ *Pāñchāla*, *Drāviḍa*, *Madhyakānta*, *Kāliṅga*, *Va(Vi)rāṭa*, *Kerala*, *Vaṁśaka*, *Māgadha*, *Janaka* and *Sphū(Gur)jaka* (*Mānasāra*, XXX, 5–7). We have seen in the previous section ninety-eight kinds of mansions are described in the *Mānasāra*. In the above-mentioned Holal inscription a reference is made to sixty-four kinds of mansions.

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¹ See p. 202 and footnote 7.

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In the *Kāmikāgama*, as well as in the *Suprabhedāgama*, frequent references to the three broad styles, the *Nāgara*, *Vesara*, and *Drāviḍa*, are made.²

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² *Kāmikāgama*, LXV, 6–7, 12–18, etc., *Suprabhedāgama*, XXXI, 37–39, etc.

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The distinguishing features of these styles are practically exactly the same in all the three works, namely, the *Mānasāra*, the *Kāmikāgama*, and the *Suprabhedāgama*.³ The *Āndhra* and the *Kāliṅga* branches of the *Vesara* style are not mentioned in the Āgamas. But we have seen that the *Kāmikāgama*, like the *Matsya-Purāṇa*, the *Bhavishya-Purāṇa*, and the *Bṛihat-saṁhitā*, describes twenty kinds of mansions, while the *Suprabhedāgama* has reference to ten kinds. These varieties of buildings, as also the sixty-four kinds mentioned in the Holal inscription, and the ninety-eight kinds described in the *Mānasāra*, do not, however, represent the styles which fall only under three broad divisions, namely, the *Nāgara*, *Vesara*, and *Drāviḍa*.

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³ For details, see the writer's *Encyclopaedia*, under *Nāgara*.

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In the *Bṛihat-saṁhitā*,⁴ clear mention is made only of the *Drāviḍa* style in regard to the measurement of the face, although the other styles may be said to have been implied. It is stated that according to one's own *aṅgula* (finger's breadth) the face (of an image) should be twelve *aṅgulas* (nine inches) broad and long; but as stated by the architect Nagnajit the face should be twelve *aṅgulas* long and fourteen *aṅgulas* broad in the *Drāviḍa* style. Obviously, therefore, the former measurement refers to other existing styles or those which are not specified here.

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⁴ Chapter LVIII, 4.

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In regard to the styles also, therefore, the *Mānasāra* must be undoubtedly given the first place amongst all these works which for the purpose of the present item of comparison comprise practically the Āgamas.

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In the light of all these facts—merely to deal with the question in its aspects as they concern the *Mānasāra*—it seems to me impossible to resist the following conclusion. There appears to have been a relation of indebtedness between the *Mānasāra* and the other works, both architectural and non-architectural. Except in a few instances noted above, it is, however, difficult to state definitely that the *Mānasāra* is the debtor or creditor to this or that work in respect of this or that matter. Most of the difficulties, it is needless to observe, hinge upon the chronology, which is the irritating point in the Sanskrit literature. If the chronology of the works discussed above were definitely known, it would have been easier to assume that the works earlier than the *Mānasāra* had been known to its author and those later than the *Mānasāra* had been influenced by it. Except in cases of support by archaeological records, epigraphical or non-epigraphical, the dates assigned to Sanskrit works are mostly but provisional. I have discussed elsewhere the available materials and the reasons which have induced me provisionally to place the *Mānasāra* somewhere in the fifth to seventh century of the Christian era. In view of the essential points of comparison and the accepted chronology of the works which have been critically studied by scholars, I should say that the *Bṛihat-saṁhitā*, and the later Āgamic and Paurāṇic works in respect of architectural and sculptural matters, as well as most of the avowedly architectural texts, are debtors to the *Mānasāra*; while it is a debtor itself in respect of the same matters to the Vedic and the early Epic works, as also to the early polytechnical treatises (like the *Kauṭilīya-Artha-śāstra* and the *Kāmandakīya*), and to the avowedly architectural works of the thirty-two authorities mentioned in the *Mānasāra*, which might have existed till its own time. Besides, it cannot but have been based on the actual observation and measurement of extant architectural and sculptural objects; in this matter lies the special importance of the *Mānasāra*.

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An objection may be raised here. It is possible that those works which are stated above to have been debtors to the *Mānasāra* might have been influenced directly by those which are asserted to have been the creditors to the *Mānasāra*. Such an objection, however, can be easily disposed of. The *Mānasāra*, in whichever period of history it is finally placed, has become a standard work on architecture and sculpture, because we have seen, firstly, it is the largest of its kind; secondly, its treatment of the subjects is most exhaustive; and, thirdly, in it the subject-matter has been scientifically classified and systematized. When there is a standard work existing, it is natural and highly probable that those who treat the subject rather casually or less exhaustively, should draw upon it instead of going to the original sources, except in some special instances. For the ordinary meanings or synonyms of a word we generally consult a standard dictionary, rather than attempt to trace the history, phonology, morphology, and semasiology of the word. An analogical instance may perhaps make the point clearer. Pāṇini’s grammar makes mention of some nineteen pre-existing grammatical works, and it has been placed by later scholars somewhere in the fourth or third century before Christ. Like the works on rhetoric and prosody, grammars cannot be prepared without consulting the existing literature, because the sole business of these works is to generalize certain regulating features of literature. The methods of the pioneers of law books, as well as the grammar, the *Alaṅkāraśāstra*, and the *Śilpa-śāstra*, must have been inductive. Pāṇini, as he acknowledges generously, has been indebted to his predecessors; it is also clear from his work that he himself has consulted the preceding Vedic and post-Vedic literature. It is true that grammars have been prepared after Pāṇini also. But when Pāṇini’s grammar reached the status of a standard work, his rules and regulations were naturally followed in the later literature. The later grammarians also must have been influenced by Pāṇini. In the field of grammar and literature Pāṇini’s grammar is, therefore, the regulating and controlling standard work. In the same way, and more clearly and significantly, it seems to me, the *Mānasāra* occupies a unique position in literature, both architectural and non-architectural.

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THE MĀNASĀRA AND VITRUVIUS

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AS HAS ALREADY been pointed out in the Preface, the name *Mānasāra* is of ambiguous significance. It is, however, clear from the preceding chapters that the text bearing the title *Mānasāra* is a standard treatise on Indian architecture. It is divided into seventy chapters each bearing a distinct title. In 1834, in his *Essay on the Architecture of the Hindus*, Rām Rāz referred to the first few chapters of the *Mānasāra* from a single fragmentary manuscript to which he had access. Since then several manuscripts have been discovered ; but, owing to some serious difficulties stated in the Preface, nobody had made any attempt to deal with this huge text in any way for a period of 80 years till the present writer undertook in 1914 to edit it for the first time. This, the first edition, is based on all the eleven available manuscripts which are written in five different scripts in a language branded as 'barbarous Sanskrit.' Figures, sketches, or illustrations of any kind are absolutely wanting in all these manuscripts. The various scripts and the provenance of the manuscripts,¹ however, indicate that the *Mānasāra* was known and used in all provinces of ancient India.² Its extensive popularity has been further established by its unique position in literature, discussed in Chapter V.

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¹ For details, *see Mānasāra* (text), Vol. III, Preface, pp. xi-xviii.

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² *See* pp. 254–256, and notes.

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Vitruvius is the name of a Roman architect. His treatise, on which, in a sense, all European architecture is based, seems to have been composed 25 years before the Christian era. 'The materials for a life of Vitruvius are only to be found in his own treatise. Among the ancient authors he is merely mentioned by Pliny as one of those writers from whom he compiled, and by Frontinus, in his treatise on Aqueducts, as the first who introduced the Quinarain measure.'

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The title of Vitruvius's treatise is lost, if it originally had one. The *editio princeps*, printed at Rome in or about 1486, bears no title. The unique position of this treatise is, however, sufficiently clear from the fact that since its first appearance in the fifteenth century there have been, till 1807, forty-two editions of the work, practically in all the European languages. There are seventeen editions in Latin, eleven in Italian, two in Spanish, six in French, four in German, and two in English.¹ It is divided into ten books, which, too, do not bear any titles. Each book contains a number of chapters varying from seven to twenty-two. The chapters also have not any proper titles. The treatise deals with both civil and military architecture. The rules respecting military engines, ‘now incomprehensible, but doubtless in his time sufficiently clear,’ are laid down in the last book. The treatment of civil architecture includes both temples and residential buildings. ‘That he should have met with opposition from his brethren is quite consonant with later experience, for the rabble of ignorant builders, and artisans, and draughtsmen are of the same class as those that flourished subsequently to Vitruvius.’ From this remark of Gwilt it appears that Vitruvius was induced to ‘write his treatise with a view to assisting the uneducated professional architects’ who, like those of India, depended solely on the knowledge handed down to them from their equally uneducated forefathers.

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¹ *See* Gwilt (XV—XXV) for fuller details of the following : *Latin editions*— 1486—*Editio princeps*, printed at Rome by George Herolt begins, without title, *Sulpitius lectori salutem*. Polenus says, ‘There are but few errors in this edition.’ 1496—Printed at Florence. According to Fabricus the orthography of this edition is more correct than in the preceding one. 1497—The name of the editor does not appear. With a few slight variations this is little more than a reprint of the Florence edition. In this the chapters of the first book are differently divided from those of the two former editions. 1511—This is the first illustrated edition. It contains many wood-blocks and figures. Jocundus, the editor, altered the text of the two former editions in many places. 1513—The figures in this edition are the same as in the preceding, but considerably reduced and more imperfectly kept. 1522—This is a reprint of the preceding edition with the same blocks for the figures. 1523—This was probably edited by Will. Hayon of Lyons. This is a counterpart of the Giunta edition. Some of its figures are taken from the first Italian edition of 1521, which is noticed hereinafter. 1543—The text is nearly the same as that of Jocundus. The figures of the wood-blocks are partly borrowed from the Giunta edition and partly from the Italian edition of 1521. 1550—The text is the same as that of 1543 edition. But it contains notes of Philander which were first published at Rome in 1544. 1552—‘Philander himself superintended this edition, chiefly following the Giunta text, which he collated with several MSS. The wood-blocks are better than in any preceding edition.’ 1567—Darbaro in this seems to have mostly followed Philander’s edition of 1552. 1586—Harwood says that ‘the editor of this edition was Jo. Tornaesious, junior, and that it is more correct, though less elegant, than that produced by the father in 1552.’ 1649—With commentary of Meibomius on those chapters relating to musical notation. This was the best edition of the author produced at that time. ‘De Laet professes to follow the text of Philander’s edition but neither was this accurately done, nor were the notes of Philander, nor the Lexicon of Baldus, given entire, as the title would import.’ 1758—By Marchese Berardo Galiani at Naples, with an Italian version noticed under the Italian editions. Harwood says that this is ‘a fair and valuable edition.’ 1800—The text of this edition is of little value, nor its plates well executed. It has notes appended, but it contains the glossary in five languages. 1807—It contains notes. 1807—In the same year another edition was published. The second and third volumes are devoted to commentaries on the text. It contains, however, no plates. ‘This is the best edition of the author which has appeared.’ *Italian editions*— 1521—This is one of the earliest and rarest versions of Vitruvius. It was translated, with the assistance of Benedict Jovius, by Caesar Caesarianus, who was one of the architects of the Cathedral of Milan. One of the plates contains a plan and two sections of this Cathedral.

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1524—This is a repetition of the preceding edition, but without the notes of Caesar Caesarianus. 1535—This is copied from the preceding edition, but the index is not quite so copious. 1536—A translation of the first five books. Perugia. 1556—With Barbaro’s commentary. 1567—With Barbaro’s commentary. 1581—Similar to the preceding edition. 1629—Very similar to the preceding edition. 1641—Little differing from the preceding. 1758—In Napoli, accompanied with the Latin text. 1790—Another edition by Galiani, similar to the preceding, but without the Latin text. *Spanish editions*— 1602—Without plates. 1787—Large folio, with plates. *French editions*— 1547—First version in French, Jan Martin, Paris. 1572—A reprint of the preceding, Cavellat, Paris. 1618—Printed from the two preceding editions by Jean de Tournes at Geneva. 1673—Translated by Perrault. Figures are numerous and well executed. 1684—With plates, best of Perrault’s editions. 1816—With plates, Bruxelles. *German editions*— 1548—With plates on wood-blocks cut by Erard Schaen. 1575—A repetition of the preceding, Basil. 1614—Another repetition with a little different title. 1796—With a life of Vitruvius in the first volume. This edition contains many illustrations of the author. *English editions*— 1771—Translated from the original Latin by Newton, London. 1791—Second volume with many plates. It exhibits defective knowledge of Latin, but the notes are good. Latterly a portion was translated by Wilkins. After Joseph Gwilt’s translation there have been several others in English.

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‘Certain points of similarity between the *Mānasāra* and the treatise of Vitruvius are so striking that they raise a presumption that the two works are in some way connected with each other.’ This thesis¹ is proposed to be illustrated in this chapter.

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¹ Submitted as such to Leiden University by the present writer.

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Practically seven-tenths of both the works is avowedly architectural.

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Out of the seventy chapters of the *Mānasāra* the first fifty deal with architecture proper, and out of the ten books of Vitruvius the first seven deal with the same subjects.

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The remaining twenty chapters of the former are devoted to sculpture, and the remaining three books of the latter deal mostly with war instruments, machines, and engines. Of the similar seven-tenths in both the works, the names of many chapters, and the contents, too, in most instances, are the same.

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The *Mānasāra* opens, following the usual custom, with a prayer to the Creator Brahmā and touches upon the origin and development of the science of architecture, from Śiva, Brahmā, and Vishṇu, through Indra, Bṛihaspati, and Nārada, to the class of Ṛishis called *Mānasāra*, and concludes the introduction with a list of the chapters.

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Vitruvius, too, opens with a prayer to his patron, Caesar, and acknowledging his obligations to Caesar’s father and sister, concludes with a proposal to give an account of the magnificent edifices Caesar had built, and to develop all the principles of the art.

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The next chapter (II) in the *Mānasāra* deals with two distinct subjects, the system of measurement (*mānopakaraṇa*), and the requisite qualifications of an architect (*śilpi-lakshaṇa*).

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The corresponding chapter is marked ‘I’ instead of ‘II’ by Vitruvius, because the preceding chapter goes without any numbering, as it is called Introduction. This, the present chapter, deals exactly like the corresponding chapter in the *Mānasāra* with two distinct subjects under the heads, ‘what architecture is,’ and ‘of the education of an architect.’ The former of these two subjects has again been treated in the following chapter, namely III, of the *Mānasāra*, and is noticed below. The striking similarity in the training demanded of the architect by the two authorities may be noticed here.

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According to Vitruvius ‘an architect should be ingenious, and apt in the acquisition of knowledge. He should be a good writer, a skilful draughtsman, versed in geometry and optics, expert at figures, acquainted with history, informed on the principles of natural and moral philosophy, somewhat of a musician, not ignorant of the sciences, both of law and physic, nor of the motions, laws and relations to each other, of the heavenly bodies.’ The absolute necessity for these qualifications has been very satisfactorily elaborated by Vitruvius.

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In the *Mānasāra* artists are first divided into four classes. Together they form the guild of architects, each an expert in his own department, but possessing a general knowledge of the science of architecture as a whole. They consist of the chief architect (*sthapati*), the draughtsman or the designer (*sūtra-grāhin*), the painter (*vardhaki*), and the joiner (*sūtra-dhāra*).

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According to the *Mānasāra* the chief architect is expected to be well versed in all the sciences. He must possess a knowledge of all the *Vedas* and all the *Śāstras*. He must be proficient in law, mathematics, history, geography, painting, draughtsmanship, mechanics, and deep ‘in the ocean of the science of architecture.’ He must be very learned, meritorious, patient, and dexterous, a champion, of large experience, of industrious habits, and of noble descent, full of resource, and capable of application to all kinds of work. He must possess a wide outlook, bold temperament, and self-control. He must be above committing errors. He must have a good name and be faithful to his employers (*lit.* friends). He must be endowed with all the qualifications of a supreme managing director. He must not be deformed or have any disease or disability; he must also be free from the seven vices, namely, hunting, gambling, daydreaming, blackmailing, addiction to women, etc.

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A similar set of qualifications is also demanded of each of the other three artists, but the *sūtra-grāhin* is expected to possess an expert knowledge of draughtsmanship, the *vardhaki* of painting, and the *sūtradhāra* of carpentry.

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The utility or the possibility of so many attainments in a single person has not been expressly discussed in the *Mānasāra*. But Vitruvius has submitted an interesting explanation.

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It is familiar to everybody that for success in any profession in life one must be clever, industrious, honest and generous. It is also easily understood that an architect, who has got to do both manual and brain work, must not be deformed, and must be free from any disease or disability.

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According to Vitruvius he is required to be a good writer also, because an architect is to commit to writing his observations and experience, in order to assist his memory. Drawing is employed in representing the forms of his designs. Geometry, which forms a part of mathematics, affords much aid to the arhitect; to it he owes the use of the right line and circle, the level and the square, whereby his delineations of buildings on plane surfaces are greatly facilitated. Arithmetic estimates the cost and aids in the measurement of the works; this, assisted by the laws of geometry, determines those abstruse questions wherein the different proportions of some parts to others are involved. The science of optics enables him to introduce with judgment the requisite quantity of light according to the aspect. Unless acquainted with history, he will be unable to account for the use of many ornaments which he may have occasion to introduce. For history (the expression *purāṇa* is used in Indian literature), which implies 'ancient' or mythological legends that are as a rule depicted in the buildings of a nation. There are, however, other uses of history for an architect.

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'Moral philosophy,' says Vitruvius, 'will teach the architect to be above meanness in his dealings and to avoid arrogance, and will make him just, compliant, and faithful to his employer; and what is of the highest importance, it will prevent avarice gaining an ascendancy over him; for he should not be occupied with the thoughts of filling his coffers, nor with the desire of grasping everything in the shape of gain, but by the gravity of his manners and a good character, should be careful to preserve his dignity.' These precepts of moral philosophy are prescribed by our Indian authorities almost in the same terms. We have seen above that the architect is required to be of noble descent, pious, and compassionate. He must not be malicious or spiteful. He must be content and free from greed. He must be truthful and possess self-control. He must be above the seven vices. He must be faithful to his employer. He must not have excessive desire for gain. He must be of good behaviour and generous enough to forgive his rivals.

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'The doctrine of physic is necessary to him in the solution of various problems, as for instance, in the conduct of water, whose natural force, in its meandering and expansion over flat countries, is often such as to require restraints, which none know to apply but those who are acquainted with the laws of nature.’ This matter, too, has been more exhaustively discussed in various chapters of the *Mānasāra*.

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‘Music assists him in the use of harmonic and mathematical proportion.’ In these matters, the *Mānasāra* is rather too elaborate; in most individual cases nine proportions have been suggested, and the selection of the right proportion and harmony has been made dependent on the application of the six formulas, which are treated in a very technical manner, based on mathematics. According to Vitruvius, music is, moreover, absolutely necessary in adjusting the force of the ballistae, catapultae, and scorpions, in whose frames are holes for the passage of the homotona, which are strained by gut-ropes attached to windlasses worked by hand-spikes. Unless these ropes are equally extended, which only a nice ear can discover by their sound when struck, the bent arms of the engine do not give an equal impetus when disengaged, and the strings, therefore, not being in equal states of tension, prevent the direct flight of the weapon. A knowledge of music is specially useful to the architect in building theatres, lecture rooms, and such other halls where the spread of sound is taken into particular considertion. Both Vitruvius and the *Mānasāra* are equally enthusiastic in speaking about it. The former further says that the architect ‘would, moreover, be at a loss in constructing hydraulic and other engines if ignorant of music.’ ‘Skill in physic enables him to ascertain the salubrity of different tracts of country, and to determine the variation of climates, for the air and water of different situations, being matters of highest importance, no building will be healthy without attention to those points.’ A very elaborate account of the selection of sites and the examination of soil is given in the *Mānasāra* and other architectural treatises.¹ The salubrity of the tracts is minutely ascertained with reference to the site where a village, town, fort, palace, temple, or dwelling-house is to be built. The soil is examined with regard to its contour, colour, odour, features, tastes, and touch. The level of the ground, as well as the characteristic vegetation of the site, as pointed out above, are also minutely examined.

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¹ *Brihat-saṁhitā*, *Gārga*, *Viśvak*, *Kāśyapa*, *Vāstu-ratnāvali*, *Vasishṭha-saṁhitā*, *Vāstu-pradīpa*, *Nārada*, *Griha-kārikā*, *Bhrigu*, *Śilpa-dīpaka*, *Bhavishya-Purāṇa*. *See* quotations from these works under *Bhū-parīkshā* in the writer’s *Encyclopaedia*.

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‘Law should be an object of his study, especially those parts of it which relate to party-walls, to the free course and discharge of the eaves’ waters, to the regulation of cesspools and sewage, and to window lights. The laws of sewage require his particular attention, so that he may prevent his employers from being involved in law suits when the building is finished. Contracts, also, for the execution of the works, should be drawn up with care and precision, because, when without legal flaws, neither party will be able to take advantage of the other.’

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Law, as explained by Vitruvius, is not mentioned in so many words in the list of accomplishments given in the *Vāstu-śāstras* quoted above. But most elaborate instructions are given in the *Arthaśāstra* and other treatises on party-walls, the sewage system, and on windows and other openings¹

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¹ See the writer’s *Encyclopaedia*, under *Jaladvāra* and *Vitāyana*.

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‘Astronomy instructs him in the points of the heavens, the laws of the celestial bodies, the equinoxes, solstices, and courses of the stars ; all of which should be well understood in the construction and proportions of clocks.’ In the *Vāstu-śāstras* dialling is an important subject; but astronomy, which is always mixed up with astrology, has been drawn upon particularly with regard to the auspicious moment invariably observed in almost all matters.

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Vitruvius has added an explanatory note on the expression ‘all sciences’ of which the architect is required to have sufficient knowledge. This explanation will indeed throw a clear light upon a similar expression, *sarva-śāstra*, used by the Indian authorities. But for the following note of Vitruvius, we might have taken the term *sarva-śāstra* as an exaggeration which is very often found in Sanskrit literature to imply nothing more than a general knowledge.

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‘Perhaps, to the uninformed mind,’ begins Vitruvius, ‘it may appear unaccountable that a man should be able to retain in his memory such a variety of learning; but the close alliance with each other of the different branches of science will explain the difficulty. For as a body is composed of various concordant members, so does the whole circle of learning consist in one harmonious system.’

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‘On this account, Pythius, the architect of the noble temple of Minerva at Priene, says, in his commentaries, that an architect should have that perfect knowledge of each art and science which is not even acquired by the professors of any one in particular.’ This seemed rather too much to Vitruvius, so he asks ‘how can it be expected that an architect should equal Aristarchus as a grammarian, yet should he not [*sic*] be ignorant of grammar. In music, though it be evident he need not equal Aristoxenus, yet he should know something of it. Though he need not exceed, as Appeles in painting, nor as Myron or Polycletus in sculpture, yet he should have attained some proficiency in these arts.’

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‘Thus, also, in the other sciences,’ concludes Vitruvius, ‘it is not important that pre-eminence in each be gained, but he must not, however, be ignorant of the general principles of each. For in such a variety of matters it cannot be supposed that the same person can arrive at excellence in each, since to be aware of their several niceties and bearings, cannot fall within his power. . . . Wherefore Pythius seems to have been in error, forgetting that art consists in practice and theory. Theory is common to, and may be known by, all, but the result of practice occurs to the artist in his own art only. The physician and musician are each obliged to have some regard to the beating of the pulse, and the motion of the feet, but who would apply to the latter to heal a wound or cure a malady ? So, without the aid of the former, the musician affects the ears of his audience by modulations upon his instrument. The astronomer and musician delight in similar proportions, for the positions of the stars, which are quartile and trine, answer to a fourth and fifth in harmony. . . . Throughout the whole range of art there are many incidents common to all. Practice alone can lead to excellence in any one. That architect, therefore, is sufficiently educated whose general knowledge enables him to give his opinion on any branch when required to do so. Those unto whom nature has been so bountiful that they are at once geometricians, astronomers, musicians, and skilled in many other arts go beyond what is required of the architect.’

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Further observations are perhaps unnecessary with a view to reiterating the striking similarities between the *Mānasāra* and Vitruvius on this point. This series of similarities between the injunctions of the standard works on such an important matter as the training of the architect, the very soul of architecture, seem to have been due to something more than mere coincidence.

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The next chapter (III) in the *Mānasāra*, called *Vāstu-prakaraṇa*, defines *vāstu* or habitation and divides it into four classes—ground, building, conveyance, and couch (*dharā*, *harmya*, *yāna*, and *paryaṅka*).

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Chapter IV, called *Bhū-parīkshā* or examination of soil, deals with the site where a village, town, fort, palace, temple, or dwelling is to be built, and examines the soil thereof with regard to contour, colour, odour, features, taste, touch; the elevation of the ground; and the luxuriance of certain plants, trees, and grasses.

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Chapter V, called *Bhūmi-saṁgraha* or selection of site, deals further with the soil before it is finally selected for a building site.

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The next chapter (VI) considers the orientation of buildings, and recommends that a building should preferably face the east or north-east, and never the south-east. Reasons have not been discussed fully, beyond stating that this is auspicious or that is inauspicious. Incidentally, the principles, mechanics, and details of dialling have been exhaustively discussed.

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The following chapter (VII) discusses the design or division of the site selected for a village, town, or house, into a number of plots. Thirty-two schemes are distinguished, each of which is divided into squares of various numbers.

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Following the usual custom, this introductory section concludes with a chapter (VIII) on offerings to various deities. In this matter, too, the chief architect takes a leading part.

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The corresponding chapter (II) of Vitruvius is called, ‘Of those things on which architecture depends.’ It deals with the fitness (*ordinatio*) and arrangement (*dispositio*), also proportion, uniformity, consistency, and economy, and is divisible into three heads, ichnography, orthography, and scenography, which considered together constitute design.

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The next chapter (III) is called ‘Of the different branches (building, dialling, and mechanics) of architecture,’ and the chapter following (IV) is named ‘Of the choice of healthy situation,’ which deals with the climatic conditions and elevations of the building site, as well as with its aspects or orientation. Unlike in the *Mānasāra*, the consideration of fog, rain, heat, and cold, which are peculiarities of the European countries, has been given prominence here. The explanations of aspects recommended are satisfactory. ‘A city on the seaside,’ it is stated, ‘exposed to the south or west will be insalubrious, for in summer mornings a city thus placed would be hot, at noon it would be scorched. A city, also, with a western aspect would even at sunrise be warm, at noon hot, and in the evening of a burning temperature. Hence the constitution of the inhabitants of such places, from such continual and excessive changes of the air, would be much vitiated.’ After citing opinions of physicians andothers, and supporting by illustrations, it is further stated, ‘When, therefore, a city is built in a marshy situation near the sea coast, with a northern, north-eastern or eastern aspect, on a marsh whose level is higher than the shore of the sea, the site is not altogether improper; for by means of sewers the waters may be discharged into the sea; and at those times, when violently agitated by storms, the sea swells and runs up the sewers, it mixes with the water of the marsh and prevents the generation of marshy insects; it also soon destroys such as are passing from the higher level, by the saltness of its water to which they are unaccustomed.’ The frequent mention of the seaside, it is needless to point out, is due to the situation of the prominent Italian cities on the sea shore, and of Rome in particular, which was the object of special study to Vitruvius.

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Vitruvius has also elaborately treated the subject of dialling in as many as four chapters (Book IX, Chapters I, II, VIII, IX).

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In this matter of dialling, as in many others, Vitruvius, of course, differs in certain details from the *Mānasāra*. For instance, regarding the principles of dialling, each of the twelve months is, in the *Mānasāra* (VII), divided into three parts of ten days each, and the increase and decrease of shadow are calculated in these several parts of the different months. Vitruvius (Book IX, Chapter VIII), on the other hand, discusses ‘the principles of dialling and the increase and decrease of the *days*,’ not the *shadow* thereof, in the different months.

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In both these works, therefore, this introductory section comprises exactly eight chapters, which bear similar titles and deal with the same subjects practically in the same way.

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Town-planning is the next topic treated in both the works, and it covers exactly two chapters both in Vitruvius (Book I, Chapters VI and VII), as well as in the *Mānasāra* (Chapters IX and X).

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The *Mānasāra* describes the subject under two heads, *Grāma-lakshaṇa* and *Nagara-vidhāna*, and three categories, village, town, and fort. Villages are divided into eight classes, called *daṇḍaka*, *sarvatobhadra*, *nandyāvarta*, *padmaka*, *svastika*, *prastara*, *kārmuka*, and *chaturmukha*; each of these, as the names indicate, represents a particular design and layout. Towns are also divided into eight classes: *rājadhānī*, *nagara*, *pura*, *nagarī*, *kheṭa*, *kharvaṭa*, *kubjaka*, and *paṭṭana*. These refer more to the situation and distribution of buildings than to their shapes or designs.

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Forts are first divided into eight classes: *śibira*, *vāhinīmukha*, *sthānīya*, *droṇaka*, *saṁviddha* or *vardhaka*, *kolaka*, *nigama*, and *skandāvāra*. According to their situation, they are further classified into mountain fort (*giri-durga*), forest fort (*vana-durga*), water fort (*jala-durga*), chariot fort (*ratha-durga*), gods' fort (*deva-durga*), clay fort (*paṅka-durga*), and mixed fort (*miśra-durga*). The mountain fort is subdivided into three classes, according as it is built on the top of the mountain, in the valley, or on the mountain slope.

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According to the *Mānasāra* there is, however, not much difference between a village, a town, and a fort. The town is the extension of a village. And the fort is in many cases nothing more than a fortified town. There seems to be only this difference that a fort is chiefly meant for purposes of defence, while a village or town is mainly intended for habitation and commerce. But the village scheme seems, all the same, to have originated from the plan of the military camp.

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Each village is surrounded by a wall made of brick or stone. It is supported by ramparts. Beyond this wall there is a ditch, broad and deep enough to cause serious obstruction in the event of an attack on the village. There are generally four main gates at the middle of the four sides, and as many at the four corners. Inside the wall there is a large street running all round the village. Besides, there are two other large streets, each of which connects two opposite main gates. They intersect at the centre of the village, where a public temple or hall is generally built in which the villagers may meet. The village is thus divided into four main blocks; each of these is again subdivided into many blocks by streets, which are always straight and run from one end to the other of the main block. The two main streets crossing at the centre have houses only on one side, facing the street. The ground floor of these houses on the main streets consists of shops. The street which runs round the village, also, has houses only on one side. These houses are mainly public buildings, such as schools, colleges, libraries, guest-houses, and liquor saloons. All other streets generally have residential buildings on both sides. The houses, high or low, are always uniform in make. The drains and sewers are made towards the slope of the village. Tanks and ponds are dug in all the inhabited parts and located in such quarters as can conveniently be reached by a large number of inhabitants. The temples of public worship, as well as the public commons, gardens, and parks, are similarly located. People of the same caste or profession are generally housed in the same quarter. The habitation of the dead-body burners (*chaṇḍālas*), as well as the places for cremation, are located outside the village wall, to the north-west in particular. The temples of fearful deities, such as Chāmuṇḍā, are also located outside the wall.

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A town may be situated from east to west or from north to south according to the position it occupies. There should be one to twelve large streets in a town. It should be built near a river or a mountain, and should have facilities for trade and commerce with foreigners. It should be furnished with walls, moats, ditches, gates, drains, parks, commons, shops, exchanges, temples, guest-houses, colleges, etc. The king and his court usually reside in a town, and traders and forum are essential elements in its population.

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Forts are also surrounded with strong walls and large and deep ditches. The wall is made of brick, stone, and similar lasting materials. It is at least eighteen feet in height and its thickness at the base is at least nine feet. The wall is provided with watch-towers.

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Fortified cities are specially honoured with the residences of the king, the princes, priests, ministers, and military officers. There are also humbler dwellings, as well as courts of justice, arsenals, traders' booths, shops, work-houses for artisans, various assembly halls, dancing halls, liqour saloons, and gambling halls.

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According to Vitruvius (Book I, Chapter V) :

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‘When we are satisfied with the spot fixed on for the site of the city, as well as in respect of the goodness of the air, as of the abundant supply of provisions for the support of the population, the communications by good roads, and river or sea navigation for the transport of merchandize,¹ we shoud take into consideration the method of constructing the walls and the towers of the city. From the exterior face of the wall, towers must be projected from which an approaching enemy may be annoyed by weapons ; from the ambrasures of those towns, right and left, an easy approach to the wall must be provided against ; indeed they should be surrounded by uneven ground, and the roads leading to the gates should be winding and turned to the left from the gates. By this arrangement the right side of the attacking troops, which are not covered by their shields, will be open to the weapons of the beseiged.’

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¹ Cf. Chāṇakya’s saying : ‘ Residential houses should not be built in such places where there are no rich men, no learned men, no kings, no rivers, and no physicians.’

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‘The thickness of the walls should be sufficient for two armed men to pass each other with ease. The walls ought to be tied, from front to rear, with many pieces of charred olive wood; by which means the two faces, thus connected, will endure for ages. . . .'

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'The distance between each tower should exceed an arrow's flight. The walls will be intercepted by the lower parts of the towers where they occur, leaving an interval equal to the width of the tower, which space the tower will consequently occupy. The towers should be made either round or polygonal. A square tower is a bad form on account of its being easily fractured at the quoins by the battering ram; whereas the circular tower has this advantage, that, when battered, the pieces of masonry whereof it is composed being cuneiform, cannot be driven in towards their centre without displacing the whole mass. Nothing tends more to the security of walls and towers than backing them with walls or terraces; it counteracts the effects of rams as well as of undermining. . . .'

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'In the construction of ramparts, very wide and deep trenches are to be first excavated, the bottom of which must be still further dug out for receiving the foundation of the wall. This must be of sufficient thickness to resist the pressure of earth against it. Then, according to the space requisite for drawing up the cohorts in military order on the ramparts, another wall is to be built within the former, towards the city. The outer and inner walls are then to be connected by cross-walls, disposed on the plan after the manner of the teeth of a comb or a saw, so as to divide the pressure of the filling-in earth into many and less forces, and thus prevent the walls from being thrust out.' The materials are stated to be 'what are found on the spot, such as square stones, flint, rubble, stones, burnt or unburnt bricks' (Book I, Chapter V).

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'The plan of the city should not be square, nor formed with acute angles, but polygonal, so that the motions of the enemy may be open to observation' (Book I, Chapter V).

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'The lanes and streets (of which no details are given) of the city should be set out, the choice of sites for the convenience and use of the state remains to be decided on; for sacred edifices, for the forum, and for other public buildings. If the place adjoin the sea, the forum should be seated close to the harbour; if inland, it should be in the centre of the town. The temples of the gods, protectors of the city, as those of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, should be on some eminence which commands a view of the greater part of the city. The temple of Mercury should be either in the forum, or, as also the temple of Isis and Serapis, in the great public square; those of Apollo and Father Bacchus near the theatre. If there be neither amphitheatre nor gymnasium, the temple of Hercules should be near the circus. The temple of Mars should be out of the city, in the neighbouring country, that of Venus near to the gate. According to the revelations of the Hetrurian Haruspices, the temples of Venus, Vulcan, and Mars should be so placed that those of the first be not in the way of contaminating the matrons and youth with the influence of lust; that those of Vulcan be away from the city, which would consequently be freed from the danger of fire, the divinity presiding over that element being drawn away by the rites and sacrifices performing in his temple. The temple of Mars should be also out of the city, that no armed frays may disturb the peace of the citizens, and that this divinity may, moreover, be ready to preserve them from their enemies and the perils of war. The temple of Ceres shall be in a solitary spot out of the city, to which the public are not necessarily led but for the purpose of sacrificing to her. This spot is to be reverenced with religious awe and solemnity of demeanour by those whose affairs lead them to visit it' (Book I, Chapter VII).

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It should be observed that in the *Mānasāra* eight distinctive plans of villages and some twenty-five varieties of commercial cities and military forts have been described with all details. In town-planning the Indian authority has recommended almost all the suitable designs, square, rectangular, and polygonal. But Vitruvius recommends only the polygonal. In the matter of the disposition of temples within the city wall and outside, the two authorities very strikingly correspond. In both the treatises the fear-inspiring deities are similarly located outside the city wall.

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The following seven chapters (XI to XVII) in the *Mānasāra* serve the purpose of a preamble to the subsequent chapters dealing with buildings.¹

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¹ Of these seven preliminary chapters the twelfth, on foundations (*garbha-nyāsa*), should have been in the place of the eleventh, which treats of dimensions of buildings (*bhūmi-lamba*), as in Vitruvius’s treatise.

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The first of these (XI) is named *Bhūmi-lamba*, or height of storey, in the *Mānasāra*. It is defined in the *Kāmikāgama* as the dimensions of the four sides. The contents of the chapter in the *Mānasāra* describe in detail the measurement of length, breadth, and height of buildings of one to twelve storeys, assigned to persons of different ranks. The five forms, namely, square, rectangular, round, octagonal, and oval, are prescribed for buildings of different classes, *jāti*, *chhanda*, *vikalpa*, and *ābhāsa*. These shapes are equally applicable to religious, military, and residential buildings. A palace of five to twelve storeys is stated to suit the emperor or the universal monarch, highest in rank among the nine classes of kings. Residences of one to three storeys are assigned to the heir-apparent and the chief feudatories, and so on.

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The title of the corresponding chapter of Vitruvius (Book VI, Chapter III) is more significant. It is called, ‘Forms of houses suited to different ranks of persons.’ As in the *Mānasāra*, buildings are divided exactly into five classes, though the criteria of classification are different. It is stated (Book III, Chapter II) that ‘there are five species of temples, whose names are Pycnostylos, that is, thick set with columns; Systylos, in which the columns are not so close; Diastylos, where they are still wider apart; Aræostylos, when placed more distant from each other . . . ; Eustylos, when the intercolumnation . . . is of the best proportion.’ ‘The conditions of temples are distinguished,’ it is further stated (Book III, Chapter I), ‘by their different forms. First, that known by the appellation, In Antis, then the Prostylos, Peripteros, Psuedodipteros, Dipteros, and Hypaethros.’ ‘Circular temples are constructed of which some are Monopteral . . . others are called Peripteral’ (Book IV, Chapter VIII).

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As regards the distribution of buildings it is stated (Book IV, Chapter III) that ‘temples of the Doric order are erected to Minerva, Mars, and Hercules, on account of whose valour their temple should be of masculine proportions and without delicate ornaments. The character of the Corinthian order seems more appropriate to Venus, Flora, Proserpine, and Nymphs of Fountains, because its slenderness elegance and richness, and its ornamental leaves surmounted by volutes, seem to bear an analogy to their dispositions. A medium between these two is chosen for temples to Juno, Diana, Bacchus, and other similar deities, which should be of the Ionic order, tempered between the severity of the Doric and the slenderness and delicacy of the Corinthian order’ (Book I, Chapter II). As regards secular buildings, it is laid down that ‘the houses of bankers and receivers of the revenue may be more commodious and elegant than those of persons of middling condition in life. For advocates and men of literature houses ought to be still handsomer and more spacious, to suit the reception of persons on consultations. But for nobles, who in bearing honours and discharging the duties of the magistracy must have much intercourse with the citizens, princely vestibules must be provided, lofty atria and spacious peristylia, groves, and extensive walks, finished in a magnificent style. . . . If, therefore, houses are erected thus adapted to the different classes of society . . . there will be nothing to reprehend, for they will be suitable to their destination.’ ‘I have thus described,’ concludes Vitruvius, ‘the proportions of town residences as I promised. I shall now proceed to those of houses in the country’ (Book VI, Chapter VIII).

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