Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v1.c7.9

v1.c7.9

Mahamahopadhyaya—Dr. V. V. Mirashi : This brief account of the contents of the four books submitted by the author will show how comprehensively he has dealt with the subjects of iconography and painting. These subjects have, indeed, already attracted some eminent scholars who have made notable contributions to our knowledge about them. The merit of Shri Shukla's work lies in this that he has tapped Sanskrit sources exhaustively. This will be seen from the list of fifty-five works which he has appended at the end of his Pratima-Lakshanam. He has also drawn upon the previous works of several authors such as R. C. Bhandarkar, P. V. Kane, Stella Kramrisch, P. C. Brown, Raghavan, Sivaramamurti etc. He has analysed his material thoroughly and has collected all available information under several heads. We have thus in one place all available material bearing on iconography and painting in the existing Silpasastras ... ....Many of the works which treat of iconography and painting have come down to us in a corrupt form. Again, they abound in technical terms, the meaning of some of which is now far from certain. Dr. Shukla's good knowledge of Sanskrit has enabled him to restore original readings in some cases. He has also succeeded in giving plausible explanations of several judicious uses of the words of previous writers and has exercised independent judgment in several places. All these books testify to the immense labour which he has spent in collecting material and the ingenuity he has displayed in interpreting it. The author has taken infinite pains in writing these works which are packed with information about iconography and painting. He has considerably advanced our knowledge of these subjects by his devoted labours. I heartily recommend him for the award of the D.Litt. degree of the Lucknow University, without further examination.