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.c47.2461

v7.c47.2461

TĀLA-MĀNA—A sculptural measurement. In this system the length of the face (including the top of the head) is stated to be the unit (*Matsya-Purāṇa*, Chap. cclviii, v. 19). But it seems more logical to have the span or the distance between the tips of the fully stretched thumb and middle-finger, which is technically called tāla (*see* below), as the unit. It admits of many varieties: the ten-tāla measures are mentioned in the *Mānasāra*. But the *Bimbamāna* has reference to twelve kinds (*see* below). Each of these ten or twelve kinds is again subdivided into three types, namely, the uttama or the largest, the madhyama or the intermediate, and the adhama or the smallest. Thus an image is of daśa-tāla¹ measure when its whole length is equal to ten times the face (including the top of the head). In the largest