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) v7.c44.10

v7.c44.10

The distinguished artist, Dr. Abanindra Nath Tagore, c.i.e., observes also that the *Dictionary* is ‘in the nature of an Encyclopaedia embracing all the existing treatises on Indian art. He (*the author*) has herein presented before us all the information that so long lay hidden and scattered all over the world . . . it may be appropriately called the *Mahābhārata* of the literature on Indian art, for, in it we find all that there is to know about Indian art. . . . Hitherto it has been extremely difficult to be able to read all the connected literature that is to be found in libraries whether in India or outside. Everyone of us does not know the language in which the treatises are written. Moreover, most of the original texts are preserved in distant lands. In the circumstances, a volume of this nature, written in English and containing as perfect a compendium as is possible, of all the existing treatises on art, came to be a necessity, not only for us but for foreign artists as well. . . . I cannot adequately express the extent to which I shall be able to make use of it . . . and the profit which my pupils will derive from it.’¹