Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v2.c74.19

v2.c74.19

Study of Hindu Iconography provides a study of religion—this we have already seen. As a matter of fact, Iconography is an outcome of the religious life itself. The religious view of life in India was not theological in character. It embraced all the aspects of culture. Naturally, therefore, iconography is only a branch in the broad cultural history of this land. Materials for the study of iconography are of mainfold data. The archaeological data has been well investigated by the eminent scholars, like Fergusson, Havell, Coomaraswamy and so many other stalwarts in this fascinating field of Indology. The Epigraphic and Numismatic data also come under the former and it has been done full justice to, by J. N. Bannarjea, in his ‘The Development of Hindu Iconography’ in which the learned author has devoted two long chapters showing the bearing of this data on the study of Iconography. Again the literary data so abundant and exhaustive in the Purāṇas and Āgamas and so many texts of Vāstu-Śāstra, has also been made use of, in his monumental work the ‘Elements of Hindu Iconography’ by T. Gopinath Rao. But it may be pointed out that this class of material supplying the traditional and Śastric information on the iconographical tradition has not been properly studied. Much water has since flown and a fresh attempt is called for. Therefore, there is still plenty of material, which can be utilised by not one scholar but a body of them to correlate and corroborate both the existing monuments and sculptural representations provided by the texts.