सूत्रधारमण्डनकृतम्
वास्तुमण्डनम्
VĀSTUMANDANAM
SŪTRADHĀRA MANDANA
INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE ARTS

इस पृष्ठ पर कोई देवनागरी या अन्य लिखित पाठ (Text) उपलब्ध नहीं है; यह केवल एक स्थापत्य/शिल्प रूपांकन (Architectural carving / fretwork motif) का चित्र पृष्ठ है।

7-5

इस पृष्ठ पर कोई पाठ (टेक्स्ट) उपलब्ध नहीं है, यह एक कोरा (रिक्त) पृष्ठ है।

सूत्रधारमण्डनकृतम्
वास्तुमण्डनम्
VĀSTUMAṆḌANAM
OF
SŪTRADHĀRA MAṆḌANA

कलामूलशास्त्र-ग्रन्थमाला
KALĀMŪLAŚĀSTRA SERIES
इ.गा.रा.क.के.क.मू.शा.-६७
I.G.N.C.A. K.M.S.-67

सूत्रधारमण्डनकृतम्
वास्तुमण्डनम्
VĀSTUMAṆḌANAM
OF
SŪTRADHĀRA MAṆḌANA
Critically Edited Text with Critical Notes,
Translation, Appendices and Plates by
DR. ANASUYA BHOWMICK
INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE ARTS,
NEW DELHI
and
MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD.,
DELHI

First Edition : Delhi, 2017
© Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced in any form, or by any means, without written
permisssion of Publishers.
Managing Editor : Dr. Sudhir Lall
Published by
INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE ARTS
Central Vista Mess, Janpath, New Delhi-110001
in association with
MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD.
Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi - 110007
ISBN : 978-81-208-4019-5
Price : Rs. 1350/-
Typeset by
Amar Printing Press
8/25, Vijay Nagar, Delhi-110009
e-mail : [email protected]
Printed in India by
Thomson Press (India) Ltd.
18.35, Delhi Mathura Road,
Faridabad (Haryana)

CONTENTS
Foreword (by Member Secretary) vii
Introduction ix
Acknowledgements xxx
Scheme of Transliteration xxxi
Abbreviations xxxii
TEXT AND TRANSLATION 1–219
Chapter I Miśrakādhyāyaḥ 1–59
Chapter II Āyādhikāraḥ 60–79
Chapter III Durgādilakṣaṇam 80–99
Chapter IV Gṛhādiniveśaḥ 100–129
Chapter V Gṛhavinyāsaḥ lakṣaṇasamuccayaḥ 130–137
Chapter VI Śālādi gṛhalakṣaṇam 138–165
Chapter VII Dūṣaṇabhūṣaṇāni 166–187
Chapter VIII Prakīrṇakādhyāyaḥ 188–213
APPENDICES 215–222
I– Names of the Plants mentioned in Vāstumaṇḍana 215–219
II– Names of the Planets mentioned in Vāstumaṇḍana 220
III– Effect of Moon in Each Zodiac Sign 221
IV– Stars Mentioned in Vāstumaṇḍana 222
CHARTS 223–227
– Śalyoddhāraḥ 223
– Marmavāstuḥ 224
– Plan of an ordinary House 225
– Plan of King's Palace (along with list of pāda) 226–227

vi Vāstumaṇḍana
PLATES 229–232
– Prākāraka Ch. 3, (VM) 229
– A Panoramic view of Kumbhalgarh Fort 230
– Kumbhalgarh Fort and Wall 231
– Ambarāgāra Ch. 5, Verse 4, (VM) 232
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 233–238
INDEX GLOSSARY 239–256

FOREWORD
The Kalāmūlaśāstra series of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA)
is aimed at bringing to light the primary textual source material hitherto unknown,
unpublished or inaccessible both in original language as also in translation. Under
the aegis of this ongoing and long term research programme, the publication of
the fundamental texts of Indian arts is undertaken along with annotations and
translations. The critical edition of each text is prepared on the basis of several
manuscripts, those being collated, transcribed, etc. along with the commentary of
the source material, if any.
So far in this series, along with other works on different aspects of Indian
arts, three seminal works on Indian architecture have been brought to light, namely,
Mayamatam (edited and translated by Bruno Dagens), Śilparatnakośa of Śthāpaka
Nirañjana Mahāpātra (edited and translated by Bettina Baumer and Rajendra Prasad
Dash) and Śilpa Prakāśa of Rāmacandra Mahāpātra Kaula Bhaṭṭāraka (edited and
translated by Bettina Baumer, Rajendra Prasad Das and Sadanana Das). The present
volume titled the Vāstumaṇḍana of Sūtradhāra Maṇḍana is another value addition
and it is a matter of immense pleasure for us at IGNCA to publish this significant
work on medieval Indian architecture from western India under the Kalāmūlaśāstra
series. Sūtradhāra Maṇḍana is believed to be the chief architect of Mahārāṇa of
Kumbhalgarh and his fundamental writings were used as manuals by the practicing
architects. Thus the Vāstumaṇḍana is a critical landmark in the development of
Indian architecture.
Dr. (Smt.) Anasuya Bhowmick is a noted modern scholar and is an authority
in the field of Indian architecture. She has painstakingly prepared the critical edition
by surveying all the available manuscript material and has given a suitable English
translation to it. She has also given various indices, charts and illustrations to
make the concepts embedded in the text more intelligible to readers. The edition
paves the way for a better comprehension of Indian architecture. This publication
is another example of Dr. (Smt.) Anasuya Bhowmick's scholarly contribution to
the field of Indian architecture in particular and to Indian Arts in general. Dr.
Sudhir Lall of the Kalākośa division is the managing editor of this volume, who
contributed tirelessly, in bringing the output submitted by Dr. (Smt.) Bhowmick
to the stage of publication.

viii Vāstumaṇḍana
We fervently hope that the academic fraternity will welcome this significant
contribution by IGNCA and will benefit from it. The IGNCA looks forward to
receiving feedback from the readers of this publication. We would appreciate your
suggestions or comments for incorporation in the future editions of Vāstumaṇḍana.
Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi
October, 2016 Member-Secretary,
IGNCA

INTRODUCTION

In The Indian Encyclopedia, architecture has been depicted as the rudimentary
art of India and almost all other forms of art have emerged as accessories to it. We
find similar tune in the article written by K.R. Pisharoti, who writes, ‘Architecture is
one of the most important forms in which the Indian culture has found expression
from ancient times.’ The New Encyclopedia Britannica explicates architecture along
with some other arts, the practice of architecture embraces both aesthetic and
utilitarian aspects. In this context Pisharoti says, ‘Architecture is primarily utilitarian,
both in conception and in practice, and at the same time it is expected to satisfy
aesthetic sense. A structure which has any pretence to architectural quality must
satisfy both these aspects of utility and of beauty.’
Architecture has a sprawling history in our country. We find references of
various architectural forms specially altars of multifarious shapes and sizes for
sacrifices in the Vedic literature.
Some of the major Purāṇas like Matsya, Agni, Garuḍa and others, expatiate and
explain various aspects of architecture. In the later period we find a number of
texts from different regions of India, which deal extensively with different forms of
architecture; religious as well as secular. To name a few they are Mānasāra, Mayamata,
Viśvakarmā Vāstuśāstra, Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra, Aparājitapṛcchā and so on.
The Vāstumaṇḍana, a treatise on architecture of medieval age, shows close
acquaintance with the vāstu works from Gujarat. Basically it is a compilation from
other vāstu texts, in some places it shows its inherent exclusivity.

MANUSCRIPTS OF THE VĀSTUMAṆḌANA

To prepare the critical text of the Vāstumaṇḍana, five manuscripts have been
consulted. These are collected from different parts of India.

Manusript A

The mother one (A) was collected from BORI. Pune. Its record no. is 123. It is
written in Devanāgarī script, and complete with 35 folios, each consisting of 12/
13 lines. The size of this manuscript is 9. 5/9 inches x 41/8 in. The material is
country made paper. The date is saṁvat 1675 i.e., 1618 A.D.
The manuscript has some peculiarities. The scribe writes ष्, and घ् in stead of
थ and ष instead of ख; such as मुष instead of मुख in Ch. 1 verse no 48, 51 and in

x Vāstumaṇḍana
many other places. In many places, we find श instead of स such as नाशिका (नासिका),
माश (मास) and sometimes स्मशान instead of श्मशान (20.a.ll).
The scribe used पृष्ठमात्रा instead of the normal one, such as he writes सुलग्ने च
सुभे दिने in the first chapter. Again in the same chapter we find दित्रोन्तशषाटाधनिष्ठो। In
the 10ᵗʰ folio we find वोर instead of वौर.
He has the tendency of interchanging the syllables, e.g., चम्पक instead of पञ्चक
(f20bl.2) प्रवि instead of विप्र, (2ⁿᵈ Ch. v 57), स्यते instead of तस्ये (f23bl.6) and so on.
In case of रेफ् he writes रेफ् and रफला together. For example दुर्गं for दुर्गे or दुर्गन्धा
for दुर्गन्धा (Śl. 74, 2ⁿᵈ Ch.).
Some times he writes छ like (31a, 11, b13, 33b, 4.67, etc.). In the colphon and
[L12

INTRODUCTION xi
Here also we find a few peculiarities of the scribe. He has a tendency of writing
same consonants one after another. Such as मानसोल्लास् (lbsl8) or भर्भु instead of
भर्तुः (ld3sl3) or ललं instead of तलं (28b.5) and many more.
He writes ‘राम’ on each ‘B’ folio and after folio 28ᵗʰ it seems the handwriting
has been changed.
Here, in the post-colophon entry the scribe writes
सुतेन देवसिंहेण प्रार्थितः श्रैनन्दनः /
Then he indexed the ślokas with numbers in each chapter and at the end he
gives his own short details संवत् 1897 माधवदिगरौश्री उदयपुरत्राधान्या श्रीपुराणा श्रीजगत्सिंह
विजयराज्ये भट्टभाइ रामसुतोभट्टनीलकंठोहम लेखि श्रीरामोजयति /
It seems the scribe is a devotee of Rāma. In the descriptive catalogue, it is
written that extent in ślokas are 900 but actually we find lesser numbers.
Manuscript C
The third Manuscript (C) is collected form the Oriental Institute, M.S. University
of Baroda. Its accession no. is 5317. This is a complete manuscript with 49 folia,
but 8 folia are missing in between. These are 1, 2, 7, 10, 28, 29, 32,43 folio. The
lines per folio are inconsistent. There are 8, 9, 10 or 11 lines in different folia.
Script is nāgarī and the date is saṁvat 1811, i.e., 1754 A.D. The name of the scribe
is not mentioned in the post colophon. Only the date of copying is given as follows:-
सम्बत् १८११ मितिमाघवदि २ मंगलवारसरायां लिपिकृतम् //
Manuscripts D and E
The fourth (D) and fifth (E) were collected from Saraswati Bhawan, Benaras
(Record No. 33876 and 4330). Manuscripts D is incomplete in 18 folios, and the
numbers of lines vary from 15 to 19. The script is Nāgarī and the date is not
mentioned – size is 12.8 x 6.3 inches.
Manuscript E is complete in 25 folios. Numbers of lines are different in
different folios varying from 11 to 13 lines. Script is Nāgarī and the size is 13.2 x 4
inches. In this manuscript, we find some marginal notes and a few graphs. It seems
that the scribe was proficient in jyotiṣa, so wherever he felt, he did some graph or
calculation and made a few comments on the border. In the beginning he writes :-
ग्राम नाम अधिष्ठाता कर नक्षत्रमध्यदैकर लिखव/ शुक्रेचन्द्रे जलाधारौ देवता वसते गुरौ// रवौ
चतुष्पदस्थानम् मेडिका निश्चयावधः/ भौमेऽग्निधकं चैव शनौ राहौ क्षयंकरः //१//