Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v2.c72.16

v2.c72.16

Without going into the details of the subject-matter dealt with in the respective parts—vide the Introductory Chapters, it may be brought home to my readers that the arrangement of this work is comprised of as many as five parts: The ‘Introductory’ part deals very briefly with the foundations of Hindu Iconography (which has been treated in details in my Hindi work Pratimā-vijñāna and gets compensated here also cf. the part II. ‘The Icons and Iconology—an exposition of Pratimā-lakṣaṇas’). The first part deals with the canons of Iconography, systematised under suitable scientific headings bringing not only a good deal of new material, but also including some new elements for the first time, a reference to which may be seen in the Introductory chapter of this part. The second part dwells at length, with the Icons and Iconology—the exposition of Pratimā-lakṣaṇas in as many as eight chapters treating all the Indian images—Brāhmaṇa (Trimūrti, etc. Brāhma, Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva Gāṇapatya, Devī, the Sun—Ādityas, Navagrahas—and the Dikpāla ones and those pertaining to Yakṣas, Vidyādharas, Kinnaras, Nāgas, Vasus, Pitṛs, Ṛṣis and Bhaktas, etc.), Baudha and Jain, along with the background of their respective sectarian cults as well as their artistic (iconographic) evolutions and developments. The third part deals with the pictorial art (and iconography), the citrajā-images, the treatment of which under scientific art canons along with an outline history of painting, both from the archaeological and literary sources, may be taken as a first systematic attempt in the contemporary studies, to which detailed introductory remarks may be seen in the Introductory Chapter of this part. The fourth part is the compilation of the sources from the representative works be-to all classes of literature—Purāṇas, Āgamas, Śilpa-śāstras, Pratiṣṭhā works, etc., etc., bringing quite a good deal of material so far remained unworked by my predecessors, under three sections, Pratimā-vijñāna, Pratimā-lakṣaṇa and Citra-lakṣaṇa. Thus all these parts really represent only two divisions: the first, the exposition, the second, the sources. The unique feature of this compilation is its emergence of a modern manual on this art in Sanskrit.