Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v2.c76.99

v2.c76.99

“Now I propose to notice the contents of two works treating of painting which are still in manuscript form. The Sārasvatacitrakarma-śāstra is a manuscript on Citra available in the Tanjore Library (Burnell 11076). It is on Citra and not on painting alone. Citra, as is known from the Śilparatna does not mean picture alone. It means exactly what the Tamil work ‘Bomai’ means. It means Citra, sculpture or complete figures in stone, metal, etc., Ardhacitra, ‘half-visible reliefs on the walls, and Citrābhāsa, ‘semblance of a Citra’, viz. the monodimensional drawing on a flat surface like wall, plank, cloth, etc. It is sculpture, etc. which are Citra par excellence. This classification is also given by the Sārasvatacitraśāstra. It means first Citra, Ardhacitra and Citrābhāsa, —Citra in धातु, दारु, शिला, रत्न and लौह and Citrābhāsa on wall or plank of wood. Then it speaks of Māna of man and women and these go up to chapter X. It then takes up the Māna of Mūrtis. In the 39th chapter, it speaks of मृल्लेपन, smearing the walls with mud and of शुक्ललेपन, smearing the walls with cunam. The 40th chapter deals with Varṇa Samskāra. From such works as this we learn that painting and iconography and sculpture came to be related and that the canons for the latter two were also the canons for painting—a fact which we realise also on seeing the rather modern paintings on the walls of almost all the South Indian temples.