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Essay on the Architecture of the Hindus c4: Essay

Essay on the Architecture of the Hindus c4

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English

Contents

Essay

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ON THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE HINDUS.

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It is true that the Hindus were in possession of numerous treatises on architecture, sculpture, &c., which collectively are called the *Silpa Sástra*,[^asterisk] but unfortunately few traces of them remain. There appears to have been, according to some, thirty-two, and according to others sixty-four, standard treatises on the above-mentioned arts, but of these, excepting a few scattered fragments which are occasionally to be met with among the artists themselves, nothing but the titles of the works are now generally known to the learned. Speaking of these treatises, Sir William Jones expresses it as his opinion that they contained useful information on sixty-four different arts and manufactures; but while I admire his extraordinary talents and extensive knowledge of Asiatic literature, I cannot but think that he was misinformed as to the number of subjects comprised in the *Silpa Sástra*, as from the similarity of the contents of the remains of several of these treatises, and which will be hereafter noticed, there is reason to think that

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[^asterisk]: From *silpa*, manual art, and *sástra*, science. This term, though in its general signification it comprehends the whole of the mechanical arts, is applied commonly, and perhaps by way of pre-eminence, to architecture.

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the whole thirty-two, or sixty-four, if there did exist so many, must have treated principally, if not entirely, of sacred architecture and sculpture.

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In a series of memorial verses preserved among the artists, are recorded the names of the authors or titles of the above-mentioned sixty-four treatises. Of these, thirty-two are called *Muc'hya*, or principal, and thirty-two *Upa* or subordinate. I have not been able to ascertain who was the author of these verses, but they contain little more than the titles of the works in question, and which are mostly patronymics of the deities who were believed to have revealed the particular art or arts on which each work treated, or of the authors of the treatises themselves, the renowned *Rishis* or holy men, who are said to have flourished in the earlier ages.

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Many works of acknowledged antiquity attest the existence of a number of treatises on *Silpa Sástra*; and every artist proverbially knows that there have been thirty-two principal, and as many subordinate works on this subject. In a Tamil controversial work entitled *Iru-samaya-villacam*, or "the illustration of the two systems," (i. e. of *Vishnu* and *Siva*), supposed to have been written in the fifteenth century by a *Vaishnava*,ast in refutation of the doctrines of his opponents, or rather in commendation of his own, a work which is held in high estimation, especially among the *Vaishnavas* in Southern India, the author, in the course of his arguments to prove the supremacy of *Vishnu* over *Siva*, has been led incidentally to cite certain passages from the *Silpa Sástra*, which describe the sites to be assigned for the erection of temples for *Vishnu* and *Siva*: the former to be in the middle of the town or village, as the most acceptable place for a deity whose characteristic attributes are benignity, mercy, and preservation; and the latter without the village, as proper for one possessed of opposite qualities. This work recognizes a great number of the treatises abovementioned, and enumerates twenty-nine of them by their titles, concluding the list with the words “and others;” but which of these works it was that he consulted on the point of discussion, the author does not inform us : there is reason, however, to believe that many of them had been lost long prior to the period at which he wrote.

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ast * A follower of Vishnu.
* In order that a more accurate idea may be formed of the subjects contained in this work, a particular description is given of the contents of each *adhyáya* as taken from the preface to be planted in Indra's heaven, and to supply all the wants of those who have the happiness of taking shelter under it The forty-sixth chapter treats of *Abhishécas* or ablutionary rites, by which images are sanctified, the forty-seventh of jewels and ornaments worn by the gods and mortals, the forty-eighth of statues of *Brahma* and other deities, the forty-ninth of the *Lingam* the emblem of *Siva*, the fiftieth of seats and forms raised for the reception of images, the fifty-first of the form of *Sacti* the goddess of nature, the fifty-second and fifty-third of the images worshipped by the *Bauddhas* and *Jainas*, the fifty-fourth describes the statues of *Yecshas*, *Vidyádharas*, and other choristers, the fifty-fifth those of the saints or holy men, the fifty-sixth and fifty-seventh those of the *Devas* or gods, with their respective vehicles, and the fifty-eighth concludes with rules for chiselling the eyes of the statue, and the ceremonies to be performed on the occasion.

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Some shattered remains of the treatises entitled *Mánasára*, *Múyámata*, *Cúsyapa*, *Vayghánasa*, *Sacaládhicára*, *Viswacarmiya*, *Sanatcumára*, *Sáraswatyam*, *Páncharatram*, and others included in both the lists, are still occasionally, though rarely, to be met with in Southern India; and notwithstanding that I have been able to procure considerable portions of the four works first named, and a few detached chapters or sections of each of the rest, it was with considerable difficulty; and unfortunately, the manuscripts which I have collected, are not of a very useful description. Mutilated as they invariably are in many important parts, almost every line of them is not only disfigured by gross errors, perpetuated by a succession of ignorant transcribers, but the technical terms and memorial verses with which the whole abounds, are so little understood either by the artists or the pundits of the present day, that it requires no ordinary exertion to comprehend and explain the exact import of even a single section.

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The first work, entitled *Mánasára*, is the most perfect I have seen, and perhaps the most perfect on the subject that now exists. It is stated to be the production of a sage named *Mánasára*, and is of great celebrity in the south of India, as affording copious information on every branch of the art on which he treats, but particularly on that of building sacred edifices; and it is often consulted by the artists as the highest authority for the solution of contested points in architecture. This work appears, according to an enumeration of the contents given in the preface, to consist of fifty-eight *adhyáyas* or chapters, each of which is devoted to a particular topic, but the portion I have in my possession contains no more than forty-one chapters, in which are described the measures used in architecture, sculp-

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The first chapter treats of the measures used in architecture, sculpture, carpentry, &c ; the second describes the qualification of a *Silpi*, and gives a brief account of the origin of the five different classes of artists, said to have been descended from *Viswacarma*, and to have followed respectively the occupations of sculptors, joiners, braziers, jewellers, and blacksmiths. The third, fourth, and fifth chapters explain the nature and qualities of the soil on which buildings should be erected—such as temples, palaces, and private dwelling-houses for the several classes of people The sixth contains rules and directions for constructing a gnomon, for the purpose of determining the several points of the compass. The seventh treats of the parts into which the ground-plan of the cities, towns, temples, palaces and houses should be divided The eighth chapter gives a minute description of sacrifices and other devotional rites, to be performed on various occasions in the building of temples, houses, &c. The ninth chapter treats of villages and towns, and prescribes rules for the formation of streets, and the allotment of fit places for the erection of temples, and for the residence of the different classes of people.

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The tenth contains a description of the different sorts of cities, the eleventh treats of the dimensions of the several sorts of edifices, the twelfth of the *Garbhavinyása*, or laying the foundation-stone in the centre of the intended building, the thirteenth of *Upapít'has* or pedestals, the fourteenth of *Adhisthána* or basement; the fifteenth of the several species of pillars, with their respective dimensions, the sixteenth of *Prastaras* or entablature, the seventeenth of the junction of the several parts of timber work, with reference to their points, the eighteenth of *Vimánas*, temples, or palaces in general. Twelve successive chapters, from the nineteenth to the twenty-eighth, contain descriptions of temples surmounted by pyramidal domes, consisting of from one to twelve stories, with their respective dimensions The twenty-ninth chapter treats of *Prácáras* or outer courts of temples; the thirtieth of the attendant deities, and the parts respectively assigned to each within the walls of the temple, the thirty-first of *Gópuras* or pyramidal buildings, or turrets raised over the gateways leading into the temples; the thirty-second of *Mantapás* or porticoes, or resting-places for the deity, the thirty-third of *Sálas* or halls, the thirty-fourth of cities, the thirty-fifth of private dwelling-houses, the thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh of gates and doorways, with their dimensions; the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth of the palaces and their appendages;

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the fortieth of princes with their titles, the forty-first of the building of cars and other vehicles of the gods; the forty-second of couches, cushions, and the like; the forty-third of the thrones for the gods and for princes; the forty-fourth of ornamental arches, the forty-fifth of the *Calpataru* or the all-productive tree, which is supposed ture, &c.; the different sites to be selected for buiding temples and houses; the mode of determining the different points of the compass; the several sorts of villages, towns, and cities, with directions for building them; the different parts of an edifice, its ornaments, pedestals, bases, pillars, entablatures, &c; the various sorts of temples, consisting of from one to twelve stories high, the construction of *mantapas* or porticoes, gates, and doorways, palaces, &c. &c. The remainder of the work appears to contain ample information respecting the whole process in the construction of images, and of cars and other vehicles in which the gods are carried in procession; but these subjects are more immediately connected with sculpture and carpentry than with architecture. It may be proper to notice, however, that a considerable portion of the whole is occupied with a minute description of the mysteries, rites, and sacrifices to be performed on various occasions, in the building of temples, houses, villages, towns, and cities; the ceremonies attending the consecration of images;

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the mode of determining the propitious moment for commencing to lay the foundation of an edifice, as well as rules for predicting the future prosperity of him who causes the edifice to be raised, by the aspect of the stars, the situation of the building with respect to the cardinal points, and other astrological devices.

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The second work, entitled *Máyámata*, is ascribed to *Máya*,¹ probably the author or compiler of the *Súryasiddhánta*, a work on astronomy of the greatest repute, and who is stated in the *Rámáyana* of *Válmíc* to have prepared the altar for the sacrifice performed by *Dasáratha* the King of *Ayodhya* (Oude), and father of *Ráma*. It differs little from the *Mánasára* in the main arrangement of the subjects. It opens with the mystical rites performed in honour of the *Vástu*, or the spirit presiding over the ground on which buildings are erected, and proceeds to give rules for the examination of the soil, the preparation of it for buildings in general, the construction of a gnomon for the purpose of determining the cardinal points, the division of the ground-plan into several parts for religious as well as domestic purposes, and the performance of sacrifices previous to the commencement of the work; after which it describes the several sorts of villages, cities, and fortresses, *upapíthas* or pedestals, the *adhisthánas* or bases, the *pádas* or pillars, the *prastaras* or entablatures, the ornaments used in cavettos under the cupola, the seats raised for the reception of idols, the *sicharas* or the domes of temples, the ceremonies observed in laying the first and the last stone of an edifice, the several sorts of temples, the courts by which they are surrounded, the pyramidal gateways, the *mantapas* or porticoes, the altars to be raised in the front of temples, and concludes with instructions for the carving of images, &c.

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¹ \* *Máya* is also stated in the *Mahábhárata* to have erected a splendid palace for the residence of the five sons of *Pándú*, a poetical description of which occupies a whole book of that celebrated work. He is supposed to be one and the same person with him who erected the altar for *Dasáratha*, and the seeming inconsistency of his being contemporary with *Ráma* and *Chríshna*, in two such remote periods as the Creta and Dwapara Yugas, mythological writers reconcile by assigning a supernatural term to the life of the personage in question.
* India.

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The third work, entitled *Cásyapa*, is attributed to the sage whose name it bears, a personage celebrated in sacred writings of great antiquity. He is considered as one of the progenitors of mankind, and ranked the first amongst the seven holy men who were preserved from the universal deluge, and who peopled the earth soon after that great event. This treatise, though more succinct than the two former, contains sufficient information on the subject of sacred architecture and sculpture; the whole is composed in a dramatic form, and is stated in the preface to have been revealed to the author personally by *Siva*; and in consequence, the former is frequently addressed throughout the book by the appellation of *Dwijóttama*, "the best of the twice-born," and the like. The subjects contained in this work are nearly the same as those contained in the *Mánasára*, but the arrangement is somewhat different. It commences with the description of the several sorts of soil which are considered proper for buildings, and proceeds to the preparatory rites and sacrifices to be performed in honour of the *Vástupurusha*, or the spirit presiding over the ground appropriate for the erecting of temples and houses; thence to the mode of constructing a *sanc'hu* or gnomon for the purpose of ascertaining the points of the compass, and thence to the laying of the foundation-stone, and the ceremonies to be observed on this occasion. It afterwards describes the pedestals, the bases, the gates of the temples, and doorways of houses, pillars, capitals, and other ornaments; the seats raised on the pavements of temples, and niches for the reception of images; aqueducts or watercourses; the several sorts of *vimánás* or shrines with the pyramidal towers, consisting of from one to sixteen stories; the *tóranas* or ornamental arches erected over gateways and pillars; doors and their dimensions; statues of the gods, saints, and holy men, &c.

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The fourth treatise, called *Vayghánasa*, is the work of a sage so named, and who was the founder of a sect of *Vaishnava* priests. It is written in a sort of metrical prose, and is rather ritual than architectural; and as the author in the latter part of the work frequently cites the authority of *Cásyapa*, and as the work itself is included among the subordinate treatises enumerated in the list, it appears to be comparatively a modern performance. It opens with an encomium on the land of *Bhárata*,cont as being peculiarly sacred, and adapted for the performance of holy rites and sacrifices; and thence proceeds to describe the various sacrifices ordained in the *Véda*, to be performed when the purpose is to obtain special boons or favours, either temporal or spiritual, such as progeny, riches, wisdom, absolution from sin, purification, &c. It next treats of the mystical rites practised in honour of *Vástu*, preparatory to the building of sacred edifices, or of altars for sacrifices; of villages, towns, and cities, the fruits to be derived from building and peopling them with *Bráhmans*; the construction of temples dedicated to *Vishnu*, with rules for carving the images of that deity and his attendants, on whose attributes the author occasionally dwells with that devotion and zeal which characterize all his followers.

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The work entitled *Sacaládhicára*, an excellent but rather voluminous performance, is attributed to *Agastya*, a sage whose history occupies a conspicuous place in the *Puránas*. Some few sections only of this work are to be now met with; and the portion which has as yet come under my own observation, is exclusively on the subject of sculpture as connected with the formation of statues; but it is so diffuse, that if we suppose the whole work to be written in a similar style, it must considerably exceed the volume of *Mánasára*, the largest at present of my collection.

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As I have but a few detached pieces of the other works mentioned above, they do not appear to call for any distinct notice. Some of these pieces are descriptive of the construction of temples, some of the towers over gateways, some contain directions for laying the foundation of a building, some treat of the auspicious and inauspicious seasons for the commencement of an edifice, and others of the manufacture of images and so forth. However, as the rules contained in these fragments differ very little in substance from those laid down in the *Mánasára* and other treatises on the same subject, I shall seldom have occasion to refer to them in the course of this essay.

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The exact age of each of these treatises it is very difficult to ascertain. Tradition gives to most of them an antiquity altogether extravagant; and however diligent the endeavour to obtain authentic information on this point, success can hardly be expected to attend it, when we consider in what obscurity and oblivion the ancient history and chronology of the Hindús are involved. Of *Mánasára*,[^asterisk] the sage to whom the first treatise is attributed, I have not been able to procure any distinct historical notice, but, as has already been mentioned, the supposed authors of the other treatises, entitled *Cásyapa* and *Máyámata*, are, under these names, greatly celebrated in the *Puránas* and other sacred writings of antiquity. That all these treatises were composed in the South of India, there appears indeed no reason to doubt, for they seem to have been the standards by which the existing religious structures were reared throughout this part of the peninsula.

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The most interesting circumstance connected with these treatises, is their toleration of the worship of the *Jainas* and *Baud'dhas*, the authors of them having carefully pointed out distinct sites to be set apart in villages and towns for the erecting of their temples, and having likewise prescribed rules for constructing images of the objects of adoration by these sects. This prescription marks, though indefinitely, the age of these compositions to have been posterior to the great schism which took place between the Hindús and Jains, and which terminated in the overthrow of the latter. The contentment, too, of this latter sect with the inferior situation assigned them by their conquerors for their divine worship, in a place contiguous to that which, among Hindús, is usually appropriated to the shrines of inferior deities and malignant spirits, evinces their complete subordination at the period alluded to.

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Another circumstance in that portion of the foregoing treatises which has fallen into my hands is worthy of notice. They prove by internal evidence, that they were written at a period subsequent to the canonization

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[^asterisk]: \* Some say *Mánasára* is not the name of the author but the title of the work itself, signifying " the essence of proportion," and which, from this etymology, I am inclined to believe, but whatever may be the real name of the author, I shall make use of the word both as the name of the author and the title of the work throughout this essay.

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of *Apper*, *Sundarer*, *Sammander*, *Mánicyavásarer*, and other holy men, several of whom are supposed to have lived between the third and fifth century of *Saliváhn*. The ground on which this proof rests is, that in the chapters which prescribe rules for carving statues, directions are likewise given for carving those of the personages here mentioned, who have been admitted among the inferior divinities, and assumed their places around the temple of *Siva*, particularly in the South of India. But some learned men to whom I mentioned this circumstance, rather than concur in an opinion which detracts from the antiquity of these works, are inclined to think that the passages in question are modern interpolations.

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The small portion which has come under my observation of the work called *Sacaládhicára*, "the universal authority," does not furnish sufficient data to form any opinion of the precise time at which it was composed; and in the section which gives rules for carving statues, that is, in the only part I have seen of it, I find no mention of the saints above referred to. It is generally believed to have been composed by *Agastya*, under the auspices of the founder of the *Pándya* government, a circumstance which, if admitted, would give to this work a very high antiquity. It is, however, difficult to trace the exact period when the *Pándya* principality was originally established. Mr. Wilson, in his prefatory remarks to his catalogue of the M'Kenzie collection, places this event three or four centuries before the Christian æra, although in another place he fixes the date of the civilization of the South of India, ten centuries before Christ; but the data on which this conjecture is formed is imperfect, being derived from a source which can be no authority in matters of this nature.[^asterisk] There exists indeed a long list of the princes of the *Pándya*, and their contemporary *Chóla* and *Chéra* dynasties, many of whom appear to have reigned long anterior

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[^asterisk]: * The author, it would appear, identifies the civilization of the South of India with the establishment of the *Pándya* principality; events which Professor Wilson conjectures, on the authority of the traditional records of the South, to be distinct, and of different eras.

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to the Christian æra, and their celebrity to have attracted the notice of Ptolemy. The few facts, it is true, that have been recorded of these dynasties, or preserved by tradition, are unfortunately inadequate to the formation of a connected sketch of their history, or to trace their chronology with precision; but the various accounts which are obtainable of these ancient monarchies, though they usually commence with the earliest ages, and are blended with marvellous and extravagant fictions, would still afford ample historical proofs of the establishment of these principalities at an earlier period than what has been hitherto assigned them by western antiquarians. And as the *Mahábhárat*, which is believed to have been composed by *Vyása*, in the beginning of the *Caliyug*, makes mention of the *Pándya* and *Chóla* governments, we must give them credit for a higher antiquity.

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That the religion and literature, as well as the political constitution of the South, were derived from the North, the earliest seat of the Hindú empire as well as of arts and sciences, and that the southern peninsula was divested of all the extraneous matter with which they abound, contain little more than a dry detail of the technical names, and of the proportions of the several members of a sacred edifice. It has already been stated that considerable portions of the works above-mentioned, are replete with minute descriptions of religious rites, to be performed on various occasions from the commencement, to the completion of a building, as well as rules and aphorisms drawn from its situation, aspect, &c. for predicting the future destiny of the builder. The latter, however, form no part of the present inquiry, and they are interesting so far only as being descriptive of the customs of the ancient Hindús, with regard to their belief in divinations, omens, prodigies, &c., a belief which is still fondly adhered to by their posterity. With respect to other branches of the art on which information is wanting, it is stated by good authorities, and there is reason to believe the statement, that military architecture is treated of at length in some of the ancient treatises on *Arthasástra*, or political science, and particularly in one attributed to *Chánacya*, the well-known minister of Chandragupta.∗ The same authorities also state, that ample instruction for the building of private dwelling-houses, is contained in other works, professedly written on civil architecture:† but as these books are not at present to be met with, it has been thought advisable to restrict this research to religious architecture.

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∗ A celebrated prince who reigned in Pátáliputrá when Alexander visited the upper Hindustan; the same who is known to the Greek writers by the name of Sandracottus.

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† Since writing the above, a respectable friend of mine had the kindness to procure me, from Travancore, a copy of a work entitled *Mánushyálaya Chandrica*, which, as its name implies, treats of that branch of the art which applies to private houses, but of the description built in that kingdom.
* A treatise on civil architecture referred to in the preceding note. \* Chadira (*memosa* of Linn ), cadumba (*naseclea*), nimba (*margosa*), champaca (*michelea*), punnága (*mesua* of Linn.), amlaca (*emblica* of Linn.), pátala (*bignonia*), saptapharna (*echites* of Linn.), and some others, belong to this species of trees.

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I now proceed to a more detailed consideration of the portions of the treatises in my possession, trusting that it may serve to elucidate both the theory and practice of the art. In doing this, I purpose occasionally to introduce extracts from the authorities which I may consult, and to make my own observations regarding any affinity which to me may seem to exist between the Indian and European systems.

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The first chapter of the *Mánasára* treats of the several measurements used in architecture, sculpture, &c. In measuring space, the Hindús commonly take their reckoning from the most minute quantity or extent; and *Mánasára*, like others who have treated on the subject, begins his measure from *paramánu*, which he defines to be the particle perceptible only to the eyes of the sages, perhaps thereby importing the atoms spoken of in the writings of philosophers, while others have identified it with one of those subtile particles of substance which are seen floating in the reflected light of a sunbeam. "Eight" of these *paramánus* make one *ratharénu*, or grain of dust raised up by the wheels of carriages; eight *ratharénus* one *valágra*, the point of a hair; eight *valágras* are equal in size to a louse; eight lice to a grain of *yava*; three, three and a half, and four *yavas* make one *angula*, or finger of the inferior, middle, and superior sorts respectively. Twelve *angulas* make one *vitasti* or span; two *vitastis* one *hastha* or cubit, which is equal to twenty-four *angulas*, and is sometimes called *cishcu hastha*, lesser cubit, in contradistinction to *prájápatya hastha*, which is equal to twenty-five *angulas* Twenty-six *angulas* make one *dhanurmusti* or the grasp of a bow; twenty-seven *angulas*, one *dhanurgraha* or the handle of a bow. Thus the *hasthas* are fourfold; the first or *cishcu* is employed in the construction of couches, vehicles, and the like; the second or *prájápatya* is used in building temples, pyramids, &c.; the third or *dhanurmusti* in constructing houses; and the fourth or *dhanurgraha*, in the measurement of villages, towns, and cities. According to some, however, the *cishcu hastha* is adopted for all these purposes indiscriminately. Again, four *hasthas* make one *dandá* or staff, which is called sometimes *yesti*, and sometimes *dhanus*; and eight *dandás* are equal to one *ryju*, a cord which is employed in measuring all sorts of land. In raising sacrificial altars, a particular sort of *angula* is used, equal in size to the intermediate space between the two middle joints of the middle finger of the *carta*, or master, and which is thence called *mátrángula*.

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The second chapter of the *Mánasára* treats of the qualities of an architect (*Silpi lacshanam*); and as preliminary thereto, of the origin of artists of the several kinds, and which is traced to *Viswacarma* the heavenly architect. This personage is stated to have had four heads, probably in allusion to the supernatural talents with which he was endowed, and to his invention of so many useful arts. Another *Viswacarma*, *Twasta*, *Maya*, and *Manu* are named as his sons, and said to have left four other offspring, whose names, however, are not mentioned in any of the works under examination, but of whom the first is affirmed to have been by profession a *sthapati*, architect; the second *sútragráhi*, the measurer; the third *vardhaci*, the joiner; and the last *tacshaca*, the carpenter; and all of whom are considered as indispensably necessary to the building of an edifice. Their intermarriage, also, with the families of some noted persons of the Hindú mythology, is adverted to as a further proof of the divine origin of the artists; and the whole concludes with a short notice of their requisite qualifications, of which the following passages from the *Manushyálaya Chandrica*cont will convey some idea.

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“An architect (*sthapati*) should be conversant in all sciences; ever attentive to his avocations; of an unblemished character; generous, sincere, and devoid of enmity or jealousy.”

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“Of nearly equal qualification with him should be the *sútragrahí*; he may be either the son or disciple of the *sthapati*; he should be particularly skilled in mathematics, and be strictly obedient to the will of the *sthapati* ”

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“A *tacshaca*, who is thus called from part of his avocation being to pare the rough wood, should be of a cheerful temper, and well versed in all mechanical arts.”

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“A *vardhaci* is he who is dexterous in joining wood, and uniting other materials one with another; he should be of a calm disposition, and acquainted with drawing and perspective,”

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“As it is impossible to build houses and the like without the aid of the four descriptions of artisans, *sthapati* and so forth, let the enlightened twice-born[^asterisk] gratify them in every respect, so that buildings may be erected.”

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“Woe to them who dwell in a house not built according to the proportions of symmetry. In building an edifice, therefore, let all its parts, from the basement to the roof, be duly considered.”

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The word *sthapati* is from *stha*, that which is fixed or formed, and *pati* lord or master, and consequently, like the Greek *Αρχιτεκτων*, signifies a person who presides over the erecting of an edifice, the formation of a statue, and the construction of a chariot, &c. The principal qualifications of an architect consist in a knowledge of various branches of learning, such as arithmetic, geometry, drawing, sculpture, mythology, astrology, &c., the usefulness of all of which to a master-builder is too obvious to require any comment. Nor are these qualifications altogether unlike those which Vitruvius and other western architects have prescribed as indispensable to their profession, if we except the knowledge of medicine, music, and even anatomy, which the latter have thought proper to add to the qualifications of an architect. It is curious to observe, that among other moral qualities enumerated in the texts above cited, as requisite in the Hindú architect, is included “sincerity,” a virtue, the want of which in the artists of India is proverbial.

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The third chapter of the *Mánasára* professes to treat of the nature and qualities of the ground on which buildings are to be erected. It opens with the definition of *vástu*, a term used to express the ground on which any superstructure is raised, as signifying that which is inhabitable, and directs a careful examination of the site to be selected for building, as to its fitness for the purpose from its colour, smell, taste, form, and touch. It then goes on to divide the soil into four sorts, and to point out in the order of superiority what is considered auspicious for the residence of each of the four classes, with reference to the five qualities above-

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[^asterisk]: * Brahmans, C’shetriyas, Vais’yas, or men of the first, second, or third classes.

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mentioned. Nay, some have gone even so far as to forbid the lower class from occupying the ground suited to the higher, and *vice versâ*, on pain of incurring the severest vengeance of heaven; but the principle on which these distinctions are founded is altogether nugatory. It signifies little whether the ground designed for the residence of a Brahman be square or oblong, white or red, sweet or sour, provided that the situation is convenient, and that it furnishes a firm bottom for laying the foundation; nor is it possible to find a place possessing all the qualities required by this prescription for the residence of any one of the classes; and, in order perhaps to obviate this difficulty, another more general classification of the soil into three sorts is added, with a declaration that the two first will answer the purposes of all classes of men without exception.

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“The best sort of ground should abound with milky\* trees, full of fruits and flowers; its boundary should be of a quadrangular form, level and smooth, with a sloping declivity towards the east, producing a hard sound, with a stream running from left to right, of an agreeable odour, fertile, of an uniform colour, containing a great quantity of soil, producing water when dug to the height of a man’s arm raised above his head, and situated in a climate of moderate temperature. The ground possessed of qualities directly opposite to those mentioned above is the worst, and that which has a mixed nature is the middling.”

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The ground to be avoided is described in a special manner as follows: “That which has the form of a circle, a semicircle, containing three, five, or six angles, resembling a trident or a winnow, shaped like the hinder part of a fish, or the back of an elephant, or a turtle, or the face of a cow, and the like; situated opposite to any of the intermediate quarters north-west, and the like; abounding with human sculls, stones, worms, ant-hills, bones, slimy earth, decayed woods, coals, dilapidated wells, subterraneous pits, fragments of tiles, lime-stones, ashes, husks of corn; and exposed to the wafted effluvia of curds, oil, honey, dead bodies, fishes, &c.: such a spot should be avoided on every account."

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The following rule is laid down in the first section of the *Cásyapa*, for the purpose of ascertaining the solidity of the ground on which the foundation is to be laid. "Having dug a pit a *hasta* in depth, in the middle of the ground, return the earth into it, and according to the space which the latter may now take up with reference to that which it occupied before the digging of the pit, whether more, less, or the same, the ground should be considered as good, bad, or indifferent; the good and indifferent sorts are acceptable, but the bad should by all means be avoided."

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After the ground has been chosen with due regard to its qualities, the *sthapati*, in an auspicious moment, must cause the rites of purification to be performed, the prescribed oblations made, and consecrated water to be sprinkled on all sides, accompanied with invocations for the prosperity of the builder. The soil is then ploughed, certain ceremonies prescribed for this occasion also being observed.

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The fourth chapter of the *Mánasára* contains rules for the construction of the plough, and directions for ploughing the ground, preparatory to erecting temples, &c. "A plough," says the author, "must be made of the *chadira*,[^asterisk] *nimba*,dagger or of the wood of any other milky tree. It must be from one to one and a half *hasta* in length, with a tapering point resembling the leaf of a *bambu*, furnished with a share of three, five, or six *angulas* long and two thick, and with a beam of three yards in length. This machine is to be yoked to a pair of oxen of equal size and of the same colour, either white, black, red, or gray. The oxen should be strong, and such as have not exceeded the middle age. Oxen with horns bent down, maimed, weak, meagre, toothless, or lame, should be rejected; those with a white

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dagger † *Margosa.*

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[^asterisk]: * Memosa of Linn.

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spot on their legs and foreheads, with eyes resembling the petals of the lotus, are to be preferred. They should be decorated with fillets and the like, and their horns and hoofs with gold or silver rings. The *sthapati*, clad in fresh garments, and adorned with garlands of flowers, waits the auspicious moment to present his offerings to the deity, and then, guiding the oxen, draws the first furrow. After this, *sudras*,[^asterisk] hired for the purpose, complete the ploughing of the whole ground. A minuter description of the plough is contained in the first section of the *Cásyapa*, the insertion of which may not be irrelevant in this place, as affording some proof that, how rude soever this useful implement of the Hindú husbandmen of the present day may appear, it has been originally constructed on principles derived from no slight knowledge of mechanical laws. The author says, "the plough should be made from the wood of any species of milky trees, such as are used in sacrifices, and according to the prescribed form; let the beam be three *hastas* long, with a projection of seven *angulas* from the yoke, and its bottom six *angulas* broad, four thick, tapering gradually from the lower to the higher end, with a slight indenture about the middle. The inverted piece at the lower end of the stilt or handle should be nine *angulas* long, two broad, and one and a half thick. The mould-board should be twenty-four *angulas* long, and its height above the beam, five. Let a head be fashioned in the bosom of the mould-board, of fourteen *angulas* in length, and the remainder of the inverted piece may be said to be taken up by the hole in which the beam and the handle are joined together. Let the mould-board be six *angulas* broad and four thick, with a point shaped like a pin, and gradually diminished towards the front; three times five *angulas* are said to be the interval between the beam and the fore end of the mould-board, to which the coulter should be fixed. The yoke pole is equal in length to the beam, with holes at both ends, and a leathern strap attached to each, of two *hastas* in length, and of the thickness of the little finger."

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[^asterisk]: \* Men of the fourth class.

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“Having yoked the oxen,” continues the same author, “a little more to the right than to the left of the pole, or towards the right hand of the driver, and having recited the appropriate prayers, let furrows be drawn towards the east or west, the grass being plucked out in the first instance. Let sesamum seeds, pulse, and kidney-beans be sown, with incantations pronounced over them, and let due reverence be paid to the spiritual teacher, and the oxen and the plough to which they are attached presented to him. When the crops are matured, and the flowers in bloom, let them be grazed on by cattle, and let cows remain on them for one or two nights. The ground will become purified by the froth flowing from the mouths of the cows, and by their ordure, after which you may commence building in the centre thereof.”

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The next thing of seeming importance treated of by Hindú architects, is the mode of ascertaining the cardinal points by means of a gnomon. It is indispensably necessary that all the quarters should be distinctly and precisely marked on the spot on which buildings are to be erected, for the purpose of giving them an auspicious aspect, and of preventing their being opposite to any of the intermediate points, which are declared to be inauspicious. The sixth chapter of the *Mánasára* is exclusively devoted to this subject, the fifth containing directions for performing certain religious rites to propitiate the presiding deities of the soil. The first section of the *Cásyapa* combines both these topics, and the fifth of the *Máyámata* corresponds with the sixth of the *Mánasára*; but the portions of the manuscripts which are in my possession are so imperfect from the causes before noticed, that the whole taken together, conveys but a very imperfect idea of the subject treated on, and recourse has therefore been had to other sources to supply the defect.

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The mode of ascertaining the points of the compass by the shadow of a gnomon is extremely simple. “On a smooth level piece of ground is erected a gnomon,” which according to some, “should be of sixteen *angulas* in height, and of the same diameter at the bottom; the whole should be shaped like the leaf of an opening bud, tapering gradually from the

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bottom to the top." "Around this a circle is drawn with a cord of twice the height of the gnomon, by fixing one end of it to its base and carrying the other around it. Points are marked in the circumference where the shadow of the gnomon projects, both in the forenoon and afternoon, that is at any given hour after sun-rise, and at the same time before sun-set; and between these points a right line is drawn so as to join them; the point marked by the morning shadow will shew the east, and that marked by the evening shadow the west. Then, from each of these two points, and with a radius equal to the distance between them, describe two more circles cutting each other, and resembling (in their points of intersection) the head and tail of a fish, between which draw a right line, which will point to the south and north. Again, from the southern and northern points, which touch the circumference of the inner circle respectively, and with the same radius, describe two more circles, and the points of intersection on the two other sides will indicate the east and west." The text goes on with repeating a similar process for ascertaining the intermediate points. Some treatises require the first circle to be described around the gnomon, not previous to making the morning and afternoon shadows, but afterwards; and in this case, the shadow being marked in the first instance, the circle is described from the centre of the gnomon, with a radius equal to the length of the shadow, plus half the diameter of the gnomon."

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Various rules have been laid down for the purpose of rectifying the variation of the shadow owing to the irregularity of the sun's motion in the ecliptic, the simplest of which seems to be as follows: The place where the shadow of the gnomon projects, on two successive days at the same hour, being marked, the difference between those two days, is taken as the variation of the shadow for sixty *ghaticas* or twenty-four hours. The interval between the times at which the western and eastern points were marked on the preceding day is multiplied by the difference of the shadow measured for one day, and the product being divided by sixty *ghaticas*, the result will give the difference of the shadow for the given time; it will then be only necessary to remove the eastern or western point so far towards the south or north, according as the difference of the shadow on the second day may be in either of those directions, or as the sun is in the southern or northern solstice.

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Another rule for finding the true points is given in the *Súrya Sid'dhánta*. "But, in consequence of the processional variation of the times of the shadow marked in the east and west of the circle, the difference in the sine of the declination between those times, being multiplied by the hypothenuse of the shadow at either of those times, and the product divided by the cosine of the latitude, the quotient will give the *angulas*; remove the western point so many *angulas* in the opposite quarter of the sun's declination, and the eastern point will become due east; or else, according as the sun is in the northern or southern solstice, the eastern point may be removed the same distance in that direction."

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"Having marked," says the commentary, "a point in the middle of a level piece of ground, from that point, and with a radius equal to the length of the shadow projected at the third *ghatica* after the sun's rise, plus half of the diameter of the gnomon (because the shadow is measured from the circumference of the gnomon), let a circle be described, and in the centre of it let a *sanc'hu* be erected, of twelve *angulas* in height and of the same diameter: mark points where the shadow falls before and after noon on the east and west of the circumference; then having computed the sines of the declination three *ghaticas* after sun-rise, and three *ghaticas* before sun-set, multiply the difference between these two sines by the hypothenuse of the shadow at the third *ghatica* after sun-rise, and the product being divided by the cosine of the latitude of the place, the quotient will give the *angulas* or their integral parts. Then remove the eastern point so many *angulas*, &c. according as the sun is in the south or north latitude; by this means all the points of the compass may be rectified.”

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Passing over several sections of the *Mánasára* which are not immediately connected with the main purpose of this essay, and reserving one or two of them for future consideration, we now come to the thirteenth and fourteenth, which treat of pedestals and bases.

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The Hindú orders may be said to consist of four principal parts, namely, the *upapítha* or pedestal, the *athisthána* or base, the *sthamba* or pillar, and the *prastára* or entablature. Western architects consider the base, not as a distinct member, but as a constituent part of the column; and this is not altogether at variance with the practice of the Hindú architects, for they likewise include the base and capital in taking the height of the pillar, and even consider the pedestal as a necessary part of the order. However, the latter invariably treat of a pedestal and base as separate bodies, as they are sometimes employed without pillars. These several members of the order have also been subdivided into various inferior parts, and the whole are curiously compared to the several parts of the human body, in all which particulars a striking similarity may be perceived between the Indian and European systems.

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The two first members now under consideration derive their names as *upapítha* and *athisthána*—the former from *upa*, under, and *pítha*, a seat or bench, and the latter from *atki*, upon, and *stha*, to stand. Both are for the most part composed of the same mouldings; but the most remarkable feature in which they differ is the square dye, which is peculiar to the former. The pedestal is not only placed under the base of a column or pilaster, but frequently employed, both singly and together with the latter, as a pavement for temples and porticoes, over cornices of edifices consisting of several stories in height, and also as a platform for thrones, and as seats for statues. In the latter situations especially, their decorations will be found to have employed much of the skill of the Hindú artists, and the most finished specimens of them may be justly said to surpass any thing of the kind in the Grecian or Roman orders, both in the beauty of their proportions and richness of their ornaments.

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The several mouldings which enter into the composition of pedestals and bases are, 1. *upána*, 2. *campa*; 3. *gal'a*, *cant'ha*, *gríva*, or *candhara*; 4. *uttara*; 5. *vájina*; 6. *prativájina*; 7. *pat'tíca*; 8. *álinga*; and 9. *antarita*; all which are of a quadrangular form: and 10. *cumuda*; 11. *padma*; 12. *capóta*, &c., which are circular. And as these mouldings frequently occur in the description of the several sorts of pedestals and bases which will be presently exhibited, a brief notice of their respective forms and uses, as well as of their correspondence with the mouldings of similar members in western architecture, may not be a useless preliminary, especially, as it may tend to the disclosure of any mistakes into which I may have fallen, in identifying the mouldings described in books, with those found in the existing models of the art, the technical terms above-mentioned being no longer in use. (See Plate I.)

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To begin, then, with the circular mouldings: the section of that which is called *cumuda* (10), literally *nymphæa esculenta*, is a semicircle projecting from a vertical diameter, and corresponds with the astragal, bead, or torus of the Grecian orders. It is chiefly employed in bases and cornices.

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The moulding called *padma*, (11) literally lotus, is supposed to resemble a petal of that flower. It is a sort of compound figure, partly convex and partly concave; and its section is composed of two opposite curves, meeting at the bisecting point of a line drawn between the points of recess and projection, and very much resembling the *cima recta* and *reversa* of the western architects. This moulding is distinguished into greater and less, and forms the principal ornaments of Indian architecture. It is generally employed in detached pairs, in bases and cornices, one facing the other in opposite directions, and is formed upright or the reverse according to its situation, either as a crowning member of the former or the supporting ornament of the latter. The concave part of it, when placed with its bottom reversed, is often so designed as to project forward or rise up, after having touched, as it were, the fillet below, with a small perpendicular curvature, resembling in shape the petal of the lotus, with its pointed head somewhat inclined towards the top. In some specimens, this moulding is placed at the base of columns, and looks very much like an *apophyge* or ogre of the Ionick and Corinthian orders, being formed either with a curved line having more or less convexity at the top, or with an upright tangent to the concave part below. It is sometimes made exactly in the form of an ovolo of the western architects.

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