रूपमण्डन एवं देवमूर्त्ति-प्रकरणम् (मण्डन सूत्रधार - प्राचीन मूर्तिकला एवं देव-प्रतिमा लक्षण सटीक)

( 38 )
In close analogy to the rules of interpretations, the Pari-
bhāshās of Vyākaraṇa and Mīmāṁsā Śāstras, we must formulate
some rules, for these Śilpa Texts, too.
As the (Śilpa) Vāstu Śāstras are technical and obscure in
language, no violent corrections or half-hazard emendations of texts
are warrantable. Similar is the case with the Tāntrik and
Kindred Texts.
Some of the first rules, that should be made, may be as
follows :—
(a) Not a single syllable should be ommited or even a half,
in the (Śilpa) Vāstu and the Tāntrik Texts.
मात्रालाघवो नाऽनुमन्तव्यो वास्तु-शिल्प-तन्त्रशास्त्रादिषु ।
(b) As in the Mīmāṁsā Śāstra, we should try to account for
and harmonise any apparent contradictions. When some of the
texts are really contradictory, they may be considered to be due
to differences in recensions, sections or topics.
सति भिन्नवाक्यत्वे शाखाभेदः प्रकरणभेदो विषयभेदो वाऽवगन्तव्यः ।
(c) Corrections should be reduced to the minimum e. g.,
like addition of an Akṣara, as a-kāra or anusvāra.
स्तोकमात्रा संशुद्धिः । योगोऽकाराऽनुस्वारादीनाम् ।
(d) For determining the correct readings not only the
metrical and the grammatical considerations should be regarded
as important but also the Epigraphic data are equally valuable.
पाठनिर्णये छन्दोव्याकरणवत् प्रामाण्यं लिपिशास्त्रस्य ।
Besides these four main principles, other important ones
might suggest themselves or be evolved.
Now, we must turn back to the important question of the
interpretation of texts. As has been stated before, there is a great
paucity of aids to explanation. Commentaries, notes, so far as both
the (Śilpa) Vāstu and the Tantra Śāstras are concerned, are