The Positive Background of Hindu Sociology c12.s10.3

c12.s10.3

The problem of dating in connection with the *Śilpaśāstras* is identical with that in connection with the *Vārttā-* *śāstras*. As in the case of the latter, the materials of the *Śilpaśāstra*²² can be traced in well developed forms at least to the Gupta age, e.g., to the *Brihat Samhitā* (c. 550 A.C.). Nay, in so far as town-planning, the establishment of villages and towns, the erection of buildings, dams etc., and the construction of roads belong to the *Kautalīya Arthaśāstra*, the *Śilpaśāstras* like the *Vārttāśāstras* can to this extent be seen even in that *milieu*.