Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v2.c77.31

v2.c77.31

**Pictorial Iconometry.**—"In the Mänasollāsa, very interesting details are given on portrait painting, which is dependent in the first place on the three principal lines, called the plumb lines here named as the Brahmasūtra and the two Pakṣasūtras. The Brahmasūtra is the line which begins from the Keśānta (forehead where the line of hair begins) and passes through the middle of the eyebrow, the tip of the nose, chin, chest and navel to the middle of the two feet. This line, therefore, marks the centre of the body from head to foot.