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.c45.15

v7.c45.15

*Ideal and general method*—Dr. F. W. Thomas was the first to suggest the idea of compiling such an encyclopaedia long before I felt the necessity of the glossary mentioned above. In carrying out Dr. Thomas's kind advice it seemed to me that the most natural method was the one suggested by Dr. Burgess (*Ind. Ant.*, Vol. XIV, pp. 319-20), for collecting materials for the ancient Geography of India by indexing separately all the geographical words occurring in the archaeological and literary documents. Dr. Fleet illustrated this principle by making a topographical list of such words found in the *Bṛihat-saṁhitā* (*Ind. Ant.*, Vol. XXII, p. 169). This was followed by a similar list of words from the *Bhāgavata-Purāṇa*, by Revd. J. E. Abbott (*Ind. Ant.*, Vol. XXVIII, p. 1, f.). There such list-making stopped. It would have been much easier for me if I could have made use of any such list of architectural terms from any of the documents consulted.¹