The Development of Hindu Iconography c8.27.2

c8.27.2

Nagnajit was probably also the author of a work, *Pratimālakṣaṇa* by name. While commenting on verse 15 of Chapter 57 of the *Bṛhatsaṃhitā*, the first line of which runs, "*Āsyaṃ sakeśanicayaṃ ṣoḍaśa dairghyeṇa Nagnajitproktam*," Utpala makes this interesting comment, "*Nagnajitproktam Pratimālakṣaṇe āsyaṃ mukhaṃ sakeśanicayaṃ ṣoḍaśāṅgulāni*"; or this *Pratimālakṣaṇa* might have been simply a section of his other work just mentioned. Further, there were other such works passing current in the names of such mythical sages as Kāśyapa and Agastya, or legendary artists like Viśvakarmā and Maya. Utpala quotes extensively from Kāśyapa in his commentary, while many iconographic and iconometric texts passing current in the south pass in the names of both these mythical sages. The *śilpaśāstra* ascribed to Kāśyapa is called the *Kāśyapīya*, known also as the *Aṃśumadbheda* (or rather forming a part of the *Aṃśumadbheda*).¹ Agastya is the reputed author of the work entitled *Sakalādhikāra* about which Ram Raz makes this interesting observation: "the portion of the work which has as yet come under my own observation, is exclusively on the subject of sculpture as connected with the formation of statues;