समराङ्गणसूत्रधार (महाराज भोज - वास्तु, स्थापत्य एवं यंत्र शास्त्र)

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
(Second Volume of Samarāṅgaṇa Sūtradhāra)
This, the second volume, completes the work of Samarāṅgaṇa which runs
up to a portion of the 83rd Adhyāya. It contains descriptions of Prāsādas
pertaining to Devas, statues made of gold, silver etc., the art of painting, रस and
दृष्टि to be delineated in pictures and images, 64 kinds of हस्त beginning with Patākā
and similar other topics, a detailed mention of which may be found in the
contents attached.
Great difficulty had to be experienced in bringing out this edition as no
other manuscript was available than the one referred to in the preface to the first
volume, which contains several errors and is in many places not legible. Proper
substitutes for the errors have been proposed within interrogations and new
readings for impure words and phrases suggested as far as possible by means of
foot notes.
The subject matter being śilpa, the work need not possess the characteristics
of a literary work. Nevertheless it is remarkable for its sweet and simple Kāvya
style. It is for this reason that I said in the first volume that the author of the
work is the same King Bhoja of Dhārā who wrote Śṛṅgāraprakāśa and other
works and to whom is assigned a high place in the domain of Sāhitya.
It may be said that, because the various machines such as the elephant
machine, door keeper machine, flying machine etc., mentioned in the work, have
not been either seen or heard of before, they are only products of imagination
and not actual machines made and put into practical use. That is not so; for,
even things which once existed might, in the long run, come to be considered as
unreal on account of their disuse and things involving much labour, time and
money may also get out of use very easily.
It may be asked next why the poet has not described the method of
constructing the machines. The poet himself answers thus :-
यन्त्राणां घटना नोक्ता
गुप्त्यर्थं नाज्ञतावशात् ।
तत्र हेतुरयं ज्ञेयो
व्यक्ता नैते फलप्रदाः ॥
(Vol. I, P. 175)
The meaning of the line, व्यक्ता नैते फलप्रदाः is, in case the methods are revealed in
the work, then every one not initiated in the art by the preceptor will try to
construct the machines and the attempt made by such a person may not only