The Development of Hindu Iconography c13.37.2

c13.37.2

Stones, that are not so, are those which are burnt by sun-rays, which are used for other works, which contain alkaline water, which are very rough, which are marked with minute spots or patches of different shape and size (*Tilaiḥ sambhūṣitā yā tu vicitrairvindumiśritā*) and so on (on this authority the spotted red sandstone of Mathura will be unsuited for image-making). Then mention is made of various modes of testing the selected stone,—the test consisting of different kinds of *śilālepas*, a few recipes of which are given; the application of this test to the stone and the reactions which will follow will show whether the stone is worth collecting for images or not. After being fully satisfied on all these points, the artist will take the selected stone according to rules to the temple for being fashioned into the divine image. The last part of the eighteenth *vilāsa* of Gopala Bhatta’s *Haribhaktivilāsa*, entitled *Śilāgrahaṇam*, is devoted to the consideration of the same subject.