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.c42.s1.68

v6.c42.s1.68

This brief summary is enough to indicate that the *Mānasāra* is a complete work of architecture and sculpture as applied to the construction of temples and images, and all work of building connected therewith. Though we know of something like 300 works on these subjects, most of which exist only in manuscripts, none of them attains to the voluminous and the detailed treatment of the *Mānasāra*. A certain number have been published since, such as the *Mayamata*, *Silparatna*, and *Manushyālaya-chandrikā* in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, and a few other elsewhere; but none of them comes up to the comprehensiveness or complete details of the *Mānasāra*. The Agamaic works, both *Śaiva* and *Vaishnava*, have to deal with these very topics, as one of the main sections of these works, both *Vaishnava* and *Śaiva*, have reference to temple-worship. Some of them do give detailed description of these, the best among them being the *Kāmika Āgama*. This is a vast work of 160 chapters of which a fairly large number are devoted to these subjects. There again architecture is generally regarded as subsidiary to town-planning. The building of temples, of course, forms a part of town-planning. When we get to a description of temples, naturally it takes us on to the description of the making of images, being connected intimately with each other. Dr. Acharya draws attention incidentally to the fact that even Vedic Indians were not ignorant of stone forts or walled cities, stone houses, carved stones and even brick edifices, although they are generally regarded as being ignorant of these. A certain amount of information on these subjects could be collected from Buddhist literature as Dr. Acharya points out, not to speak of the description of palaces and towns, such as we find in the *Rāmāyaṇa* and the *Mahābhārata* and work of that kind. The *Purāṇas*, like the *Āgamas*, contain elaborate chapters upon these subjects, as again they have to deal with the connected subject of temple-worship. A co-ordinated study of these gives a detailed idea of architectural notions of the Hindus, and these theoretical principles could be verified from even existing buildings where they do exist in some number.