रूपमण्डन एवं देवमूर्त्ति-प्रकरणम् (मण्डन सूत्रधार - प्राचीन मूर्तिकला एवं देव-प्रतिमा लक्षण सटीक)
Rupamandanam and Devatamurti Prakaranam of Sutradhara Mandana
मण्डन सूत्रधार द्वारा
( 2 )
Cat. no. I. G. 89, belonging to the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
Calcutta. The editor could not do more than what he did for
want of adequate manuscript materials. But though the texts
have been edited from a single manuscript, the editor may be
said to have done his work fairly well and the learned and
lucid commentary of the Devatāmūrtiprakaraṇam,
which he added for the first time, to explain the text, will, it is
hoped, be considered, a useful production.
Most cordial thanks are due to Mr. Haridas Mitra, M. A., of
the Visvabharati, Santiniketan, who has kindly written an Introduc-
tion to these works. He has discussed in it the various aspects of
the history of literature on Indian Architecture and Sculpture
as well as other relevant matters.
This introduction has added to the value of the volume.
An index of important words has also been appended at the
end.
We have the pleasure to express our thanks to the Secretary,
Asiatic Society of Bengal, for kindly lending us the manuscript.
But for this generous co-operation in the matter it would have been
quite impossible for us to bring out these texts.
We shall be failing in our duty if we do not express our
heartiest thanks to Prof. Amareswar Thakur, M. A., Ph. D.,
Vedantashastri of the Calcutta University and formerly
General Editor of the Series, who did much for the furtherance
of the publication of these works.
Finally, we may hope that the readers will excuse us for
any imperfection they may notice, especially misprints that have
crept in.
Calcutta, }
January, 1936 } Narendra Chandra Bhattacharya
INTRODUCTION
CENTRAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL
LIBRARY, NEW DELHI.
Acc. No. 23012
Date. 19. 3. 56.
Call No. Sa7S/Sur/Upe.
इस पृष्ठ पर कोई भी पठनीय पाठ (Text) उपलब्ध नहीं है। यह पृष्ठ रिक्त (blank) अथवा अत्यधिक धुंधला/अस्पष्ट स्कैन प्रतीत होता है।
and a vertical line, with a subscript slash: ग्र or त्र or श्र.
Shape 3: It has a left half like 3, a middle bar, a right vertical bar, and a matra ो: that is unequivocally ओ (or अो)! Wait, or शो?
Shape 4: भा!
Wait, could it be मग्रओभा? That makes no sense in Sanskrit or Hindi unless it's a misprint or a name like "मग्र ओझा" or "मगर ओझा"?
Wait! MAGAN OJHA!
Could it be मगनओझा?
Wait, look at "मगन":
म
ग
न?
Does the second letter have ग?
Yes! And what is the little thing below it? Is it न?
In some fonts, ग्न or गन?
Wait, what about मगन ओझा (Magan Ojha)?
Wait, who was Magan Ojha?
Wait! In Jaipur / Rajasthan / BHU:
Was there an Ojha named Magan Ojha?
Wait, no: what about "महिधर"?
Wait, what about:
पण्डितमुरारिमिश्र...?
Let's search Google Books mentally:
"श्रीमेदपाटे नृपकुम्भकर्णस्तदङ्घ्रिराजीवपरागसेवी"
"स मण्डनाख
( 2. )
the Saṅgīta-mīmāṁsā and the Saṅgīta-rāja. He also wrote the
Pāṭhyaratnakośa³. Mahārāṇa Kumbha is said to have constructed
the celebrated Tower of Victory at Chitore⁴.
It, therefore, stands to reason that Mahārāṇā Kumbhakarṇa
should be a patron of architects and sculptors, just like King
Bhoja of Dhārā धारानगरीपति-महाराजाधिराज श्रीभोजदेव (11th C.) who
compiled the Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra⁵, a work on architecture and
'to whom are ascribed many other important works, such as, the
Śṛṅgāraprakāśa (Alaṅkāra) and the Sarasvatī-kaṇṭhābharaṇa;
or like Someśvaradeva, the Cālukya King ( 12th C. ),
the author (or the patron of the scholar) who compiled the
encyclopædic work—the Mānasollāsa or the Abhilaṣitārtha-
cintāmaṇi⁶.
Sūtradhāra Maṇḍana or simply Maṇḍana seems to have been
a prolific writer of treatises on architecture and sculpture. The
- See T. Aufrecht : Catalogus Catalogorum Vol. I, p. 111 ff.
(a). K—(F. Kielhorn : A Catalogue of Sanskrit Mss. existing in the
Central Provinces.) 96.
(b). P—(F. Kielhorn : Lists of the Sanskrit manuscripts purchased
for government during the years 1877-78 & 1869-78, and a list of the manus-
cripts purchased from May to November 1881) 15. - Some scholars have doubts regarding the original purpose of the
structure, namely, if it was really a tower raised to commemorate a victory
at all. See D. R. Bhandarkar : The Kīrttistambha of Mahārāṇā Kumbha.
Journal of the Indian Soc. of Oriental Art. Cal., Vol. I, 1.
Regarding this magnificent structure, Fergusson says :—
"It has no plain parts, this mass of decoration is so subdued that it in
no way interferes either with the outline or the general effect of the pillar.
...It is infinitely better taste than the victory pillar of Trajan." - Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra, edited by Mahāmahopādhyāya T.
Gaṇapati Śāstrī. GOS. XXV & XXXII, 2 Vols. (1924, 25), Baroda. - Mānasollāsa, edited by G. K. Shrigondekar. GOS. XXVIII ff,
2 Vols (1925 ff); Abhilaṣitārthacintāmaṇi, edited by Dr. R. Shama Sastry.
MSS. 60. (1926), Mysore.
( 3 )
following is a list of works⁷ ascribed to him, and some of them are
styled differently in Mss.
Devatāmūrti-prakaraṇa⁸. Vāstuśāstra.
Prāsādamaṇḍana. Vāstu-sāra.
Rājavallabha Vāstuśāstra⁹. Vāstu-mañjari.
Rūpamaṇḍana. Āpa-tattva.
Vāstumaṇḍana.
Maṇḍana's treatise on architecture bears the titles—
‘Śilpa-śāstra’, ‘Vāstu-śāstra’, and also ‘Prāsāda-maṇḍana-
Vāstu-śāstra’.¹⁰ According to some scholars, it is possibly further
called the ‘Rājavallabha-maṇḍana’ (or simply ‘Rājavallabha’) or
the ‘Sūtradhāra-maṇḍana’¹¹.
In the unique library¹² of the Sarvavidyānidhāna
Kavīndrācārya (17th C.) were stored some Mss. on art (architecture
and sculpture), among which the following are worth noting—
शिल्पशास्त्रप्रकरण—2146 राजवल्लभ, 2849 वास्तुमण्डन, 2150 प्रासादमण्डन,
2151 रूपमण्डन, 2152 राजवल्लभशिल्प, 2153 वास्तुशास्त्रशिल्प. This book-
lover Kavīndrācārya was a Deccan Brahmin and a very learned
man, the head of the Pandit community of Benares, of his time,
- See T. Aufrecht : Catalogus Catalogorum Vol. I, pp. 730-31.
Also, Prasanna Kumar Acharya : Indian Architecture according to
Mānasāra-Śilpaśāstra. Oxford Univ. Pr., 1927. pp. 103-5. - First noticed by G. Bühler : Two Lists of Sanskrit Mss. in
Z. D. M. G. Vol. 42, 538. - See Note 1 Supra. Edited by Paṇḍit Rāmayatna Ojhā, Hindu Univ.
- J. Eggeling and E. Windisch : Catalogue of Sanskrit mss.
in the Library of the India Office. 3142, 1291 ; 3147, 2253. - P. K. Acharya : Op. cit., p. 102.
- कवीन्द्राचार्यसूचीपत्रम् Kavīndrāchārya list. Edited with Introduction
by R. Anantakrishna Sastry with a Foreword by Dr. Ganganatha Jha. GOS.
No. XVII, 1921. ( सूची ) सर्वविद्यानिधानकवीन्द्राचार्यसरस्वतीनाम् ( ग्रन्थसंग्रहस्य ) वेदान्तौकी बाग
—वरूषीतट—बनारस।
( 4 )
and possessed knowledge in all departments of Sanskrit. He
was rich, healthy and beautiful. After finishing studies he
took to Sannyāsa, thus showing his indifference to the world.
On his demise his invaluable library was dispersed.
Many of the texts by the Sūtradhāra Maṇḍana had titles
ending in Maṇḍana ‘in the sense of decoration’ and it is not
impossible, that all his works had originally such titles. On the
other hand, the learned Kavīndrācārya knew the Rājavallabha and
the Rājavallabha-śilpa to be two separate works ; perhaps, the
one was on Vāstu (architecture), while the other was on Śilpa
(sculpture).
The Rājavallabha-maṇḍana and some other texts by
Maṇḍana, seem to have been very popular. Within two centuries,
after compilation, we find copies of his texts deposited in the
invaluable library of Kavīndrācārya From Mewar, the works
of Maṇḍana found their way to Benares, the great nerve-centre
(Marma-sthāna) of Indian culture.
From Benares, Maṇḍana’s works probably spread to other
places westwards¹³ as well as eastwards¹⁴. Mss. of his works are
also met with in the South¹⁵, where they might have been
easily carried from the Central India. Thus it is evident that
Maṇḍana’s handbooks on architecture and sculpture, enjoyed
considerable popularity with artists and craftsmen.
13. Apparently one of Maṇḍana’s works as published with diagrams
by Bhāratī at Baroda, 1891, see P. K. Acharya : Op. cit., p. 103.
14. The Rājavallabha-maṇḍana was published by Rājā Rādhākānta
Deva in his Encyclopaedic Dictionary, शब्दकल्पद्रुम Śabda-kalpa-druma. See
under Śilpa-śāstram शिल्पशास्त्रम्.
15. Copious extracts from the Rūpa-maṇḍana have been made in
T A Gopinatha Rao : Elements of Hindu Iconography. Madras.
- SOURCES OF THE
DEVATĀMŪRTI-PRAKARAṆAM.
For compiling his DmP. Sūtradhāra Maṇḍana seems either
to have chiefly utilised the South Indian texts, or to have actually
based his work on them.
Indeed his DmP. is more S. Indian than N. Indian in
character. This would at once show that, most probably, the
art of temple-architecture was already slowly dying in the North
India, while in the South it lived with virility.
Naturally, for preparing his DmP. Maṇḍana turned chiefly
to South Indian sources. Another striking peculiarity is that he
never utilised, as far as is evident, the Tamil Śaiva or Vaiṣṇava
Āgamas. But he made copious use of the Śilparatnam¹⁶ and
the Mayamatam¹⁷ both probably from original Malayalam sources.
For some reasons, not evident, the S. Indian Āgamas
were not accessible to Maṇḍana. Either Skt. texts in the Tamil
script, often with copious glosses in vernacular, were not intelligible
to Maṇḍana ; or the lines of communication between Rajputana
and the Tamil lands were beset with obstacles. The latter
eventuality is all the more plausible, when we take into account,
the unsettled political conditions of the times.
Repeated invasions and onslaughts of the fierce Turks and
Mongols interrupted the normal course of events in Northern,
Eastern and Central India. And, the warriors' swords were more
in requisition then than the painters' brushes or the stone-masons'
lines and pellets.
- Śilparatnam of Śrīkumāra. Part I. Edited by Mm. T. Gaṇapati
Śāstrī, 1922 ; Ditto. Part II. Edited by K. Sāmbaśiva Śāstrī, 1929. - Mayamatam of Mayamuni. Edited by Mm. T. Gaṇapati Śāstrī,
( 6 )
Among the Northern Texts, Maṇḍana seems certainly to
have utilised the Viṣṇudharmottaram¹⁸, in the first instance.
This is, traditionally, said to be a part of the Garuḍa-Purāṇam—
more properly the uttara-bhāga of the Garuḍa-Purāṇam¹⁹.
According to another opinion²⁰, VP. belongs to the second part
of the Viṣṇu-Purāṇam.
"The Viṣṇudharmottara is occasionally given out as a part
of a Purāṇa, namely the Garuḍa-Purāṇa, but generally it is counted
an independent Upa-Purāṇa. It is repeatedly quoted by Alberuni
as the 'Viṣṇudharma'. It is a Kashmiri Vaiṣṇava book of ency-
clopœdic character in three sections. Section I deals with the
usual themes of the Purāṇas···Section II deals with law and
politics, as well as with medicine, the science of war, astronomy and
astrology. There is in it a prose section···'Paitāmaha-Siddhānta'
as this is an extract from the Brahma-sphuṭa-siddhānta written by
18. M. Winternitz : A History of Indian Literature. Vol I. (Cal.
univ., 1927) p. 580.
Śrīviṣṇudharmottaram, or, Viṣṇudharmottara-mahāpurāṇam was edited
by Paṇḍitas Madhusūdana and Mādhavaprasāda Śarmans from a ms.,
obtained by Mm. Sudhākara Dvivedin and published (from Śrīveṅkaṭeśvara
Press, Bombay) in Saṃvat 1969, 1834 Śaka (A. C. 1911-12).
See for Transl. of chapters 2, 27, 35-43, Dr. Stella Kramrisch : The
Viṣṇudharmottaram (Part III), A Treatise on Indian Painting. Journal
of Letters, Vol. XI. (Univ. Cal, 1924), and The Calcutta Review, Feb., 1924,
p. 331 ff.
A. K. Coomaraswamy : Viṣṇudharmottara (III), 41. JAOS., LII., 1932 ;
Ditto. : Transl. Viṣṇudharmottara. Chapt. 43, in Asutosh Commemoration Vol.
(Patna Univ.) Ed. by J. N. Samaddar.
See, also, Haridas Mitra : Sadāśiva Worship in Early Bengal,
J. & P., A. S. B., (N. S.) Vol. XXIX. 1933, No. 1. Appendix II. Note 2.
19. M. Winternitz : Geschichte der indischen Literatur, Band I,
(German Ed.) 480. 188a.
See Burnell : Classified Index of Skt. Mss. in the palace at Tanjore.
20. See Introduction in Skt. to the Ed. of Text. Śrīveṅkaṭeśvara Pr.
( 7 )
Brahmagupta in 628 A. D., the Viṣṇudharmottara must have been
compiled between 628 and 1000 A. D. Sect. III, too, is of a very
miscellaneous character, treating of dancing, singing and music,
sculpture and painting (the making of images of gods) and archi-
tecture (construction of temples).”
The Matsya-Purāṇa, the Padma-Purāṇa, the Skanda-
Purāṇa and the Brahma-Purāṇa were also used for the (Śiva)
Liṅga and (Viṣṇu) Śālāgrāma sections ; and passages from the
Bṛhat-Saṁhitā, have been quoted verbatim, in the Adbhuta
section.
Another text, more sparingly consulted, is the Viśvakarma-
Śāstra. This is certainly a Śilpa work of the Northern School²¹.
But the work most profusely drawn upon, often verbatim,
is certainly the Rūpamaṇḍana²². This may be identical with
the text of the same name²³, the authorship of which is ascribed to
Maṇḍana himself.
21. Haridas Mitra : Buddhāpratimālakṣaṇam. The Sārasvatī Bhavana
Skt. Series, Benares ; No. 48. Introduction p. 3. Also, see Note 27. Supra.
22. T. A. Gopinatha Rao : Elements of Hindu Iconography. Vol. I,
Part II.
23. See Section 1. Supra.
2
ON THE CANONS OF INDIAN ART.
The Matsya-Purāṇa²⁴ enumerates the names of eighteen
(वास्तुशास्त्रोपदेशक) Vāstuśāstropadeśakas or Masters²⁵ of the Sciences
of Architecture, Sculpture and Painting, as follows :—
भृगुरत्रिर्वशिष्टश्च विश्वकर्मा मयस्तथा ।
नारदो नग्नजिच्चैव विशालाक्षः पुरन्दरः ॥
ब्रह्मा कुमारो नन्दीशः शौनको गर्ग एव च ।
वासुदेवोऽनिरुद्धश्च तथा शुक्को वृहस्पतिः ( शुक्रवृहस्पती ) ॥
अष्टादशैते विख्याता वास्तुशास्त्रोपदेशकाः ।
संक्षेपेणोपदिष्टं यन्मनवे मत्स्यरूपिणा ॥
The Agni-Purāṇa²⁶ gives another list of 25 authoritative
texts, as follows :—
हयग्रीव उवाच—
वैष्णवादीनां प्रतिष्ठादि वक्ष्ये ब्रह्मन् शृणुष्व मे ।
प्रोक्तानि पंचरात्राणि सप्तरात्राणि वै मया ॥ १ ॥
व्यस्तानि मुनिभिर्लोके पंचविंशति संख्यया ।
हयशीर्षं तन्ममात्रं तन्त्रं त्रैलोक्यमोहनम् ॥ २ ॥
वैभवं पौष्करं तन्त्रं प्रह्लादं गार्ग्यगालवम् ।
नारदीयं च संप्रश्नं शाण्डिल्यं वैश्वकं तथा ॥ ३ ॥
24. Matsya-Pūraṇa. Ānandāśram Ed., 1907. Chapter 252.
25. See Haridas Mitra : Op. cit.
26. Agni-Purāṇa. Edited by Rajendralal Mitra. (Bibliotheca
Indica). Chap. 39, v. 1-5.
There are some different readings, noted in this edition :—
१ श्लोके चैश्वरं तथेति ग, घ, ङ—चिह्नितपुस्तकत्रयपाठः । प्रह्लादगार्ग्यगालवं ।
४ „ कापिळं इति पाठः ।
५ „ तथाष्टाङ्गमिविति ख, ङ—चिह्नितपुस्तकपाठः ।
The texts, quoted are from P. K. Acharya : Ind. Architecture, p. 165—
Edition, not noted, but seems to be corrupt. See Note 31 Infra.
( 9 )
सत्योक्तं शौनकं तन्त्रं वासिष्ठं ज्ञानसागरं ।
स्वायम्भुवं कपिलं च तार्क्ष्यं नारायणीयकम् ॥ ४ ॥
आत्रेयं नारसिंहाख्यमानन्दाख्यं तथारुणकम् ।
बौधायनं तथार्षं तु विश्वोक्तं तस्य सारतः ॥ ५ ॥
Another account given in the Viśvakarma-prakāśa²⁷, and
preserved in many versions is evidently a compilation of a later
date :—
इति प्रोक्तं वास्तुशास्त्रं पूर्वे गर्गाय धीमते ।
गर्गात्पराशरः प्राप्तस्तस्मात्प्राप्तो बृहद्रथः ॥
बृहद्रथाद्विश्वकर्मा प्राप्तवान् वास्तुशास्त्रकम् ।
स एव विश्वकर्मा जगतो हितायाकथयत्पुनः ॥
वास्तुदेवादिषु पुनर्भूर्लोकं भक्तितोऽब्रवीत् ।
Among the Brāhmaṇic masters of Vāstu and Śilpa-śāstras,
the names of Viśvakarman and Maya are mentioned very often.
The Viṣṇudharmottaram²⁸ gives the traditional or
mythical origin of the art of painting, and its canons, (i. e.,
Citrasūtram) :—how the sage Nārāyaṇa first painted on earth
with the juice of mango leaf the figure of a superbly beautiful
damsel, and for humiliating the heavenly apsarasas he invested
her with life. Brought into being, on urvī, (earth) she was
called Urvaśī (earth-born). The great sage having thus created
the art of painting (Citra), taught Viśvakarman its canons.
The Citralakṣaṇam²⁹ᵃ of Nagnajit mentions Viśvakarman,
Prahlāda and Nagnajit, among the masters of painting,—after the
adoration of gods and goddesses (namaskāras), and the benediction
27. Śrī-Viśvakarmaprakāśa, with Bhāṣāṭīkā—printed from the
Śrī-veṅkaṭeśvara Press, Bombay ; also lithographed from Siddha-Vināyaka
Yantra, Benares. See, also Notes 41, 42 post.
28. Śrī-Viṣṇudharmottaram. Part III, chap. 35.
29a. Berthold Laufer : Dokumente der indischen Kunst. Erstes Heft.
Maleri : ‘Das Citralakṣaṇa’. Leipzig, 1913.
D—2
( 10 )
(āśīrvacanam), the definition of the subject-matter (vastu-nirdeśa)
etc., in the regular Kāvya style.
An attempt may be made to render these important passages
back into rhythmic Sanskrit, from the German translations in
Dr. B. Laufer's admirable edition of the text—the original
version of which is probably lost, though a Tibetan translation
of it has fortunately been preserved²⁹ᵇ.
आदौ चन्द्रमसं वन्दे महादेवं ततः परं चूडायामिन्दुशकलं मूर्ध्नि यः संबिभर्ति वै ।
विष्णुमथेन्द्रं सूर्यं जलाधिपाग्नी तथा वायुं ततोऽभिवन्देऽहमेष प्रजापति-विश्वकर्माणौ ॥
ततः परं नग्नजितं पादयोः प्रणतोऽस्म्यहं सर्वानपि तथाचार्यान् कृताञ्जलिपुटैः करैः ।
यथानुक्रमतश्चित्रशास्त्राणां वर्णमाश्रितं यथामति यथाशक्ति मया किञ्चित् प्रवक्ष्यते ॥
सम्यक् परीक्ष्य संक्षेपान्मतानि विश्वकर्म-प्रह्लाद-नग्नजितानां
ततो धीमतां कृते हि जिज्ञासूनां समासाच्चित्रलक्षणं मया उक्तम् ।
तेनाधुना शृण्वन्तु तच्चित्रलक्षणं हि मत्तः पण्डितानां धियाम् अये ! ये निष्णाताः ।
The Matsya-purāṇam, the Agni-purāṇam, the Viśvakarma-
prakāśa and the Bṛhat-saṃhitā, probably have handed down the
northern tradition of their times.
The Mānasāra³⁰ is the most complete architectural treatise
29b. These conjectural reconstructions unsatisfactory though, they
might be of interest to those to whom the German and Tibetan editions
are inaccessible or not sufficiently intelligible.
30. P. K. Acharya : Mānasāra. Chapters lxviii, lxx. i, ii ;
also, Ibid : Indian Architecture according to Mānasāra-śilpa-śāstra, pp.
164ff. "...Evidences are undoubtedly more authenticated and substantial
...regarding the connection of the Mānasāra with Matsya-purāṇa (450 A.D.)
on the one hand and the Bṛhat-saṃhitā (550 A.D.) on the other....We shall
be justified in placing the Mānasāra before the Bṛhat-saṃhitā and some-
where close to the Matsya-purāṇa. In any event, we venture to hold that
the evidences...warrant the extension of the period of Mānasāra from 500
to 700 A. D." P. K. Acharya : Op. cit., p. 198.
( 11 )
extant and of this work, we have a critical ed. It gives a list of
thirty-two 32 authorities :—
विश्वकर्मा च विश्वेश(शः) विश्वसारं(रः) प्रबोधकः ।
वृतश्चैव मयश्चैव त्वष्टा चैव मनुर्नलः ॥ ५ ॥
मानविन्मानकल्पश्च मानसारो बहुश्रुतः।
प्रष्टा च मानवोधश्च विश्वबोधो ना(न)यश्च तथा ॥ ६ ॥
आदिसारो विशालश्च विश्वकाश्यप ए(श्चै)व च ।
वास्तुबोधो महातन्त्रो वास्तुविद्यापतिस्तथा ॥ ७ ॥
पाराशरीयकश्चैव कालयूपो महाऋषिः(हर्षिश्च) ।
चैत्याख्यः चितकः आ(श्रा)वर्यः साधकसारसहितः ॥ ८ ॥
भानुश्चेन्द्रश्च लोकज्ञः सौराख्यः शिल्पिवित्तमः ।
तदेव ( ते एव ) ऋषयः प्रोक्ता द्वात्रिंशतिः संख्यया ॥ ९ ॥
॥ अध्यायः ६८ ॥
गङ्गाशिरःकमलभू-कमलेक्षणेन्द्र-गीर्वाण-नारदमुखैरखिलैर्मुनीन्द्रैः ।
प्रोक्तं समस्ततरवस्तुवि वास्तुशास्त्रं तन्मानसार-ऋषिणापि हि लक्ष्यते स्म ॥ २ ॥
( १ अध्यायः ) संग्रहः ॥
पितामहेन्द्रप्रमुखैः समस्तैः देवैरिदं शास्त्रवरं पुरोदितम् ।
तस्मात्समुद्धृत्य हि मानसारं शास्त्रं लोकहितार्थमेतत् ॥ ५८ ॥ अध्यायः ७० ॥
The list in the Agni-purāṇam as well as in the Mānasāra
is confusing and apparently corrupt. There are linguistic and other
difficulties in the readings of the Agni-purāṇa list³¹ of 25
authorities ; on the other hand, all these are said to be Pañcarātra
and Saptarātra works—probably both classes were Vaiṣṇava, if
the latter school at all existed. The Mānasāra list³² is equally
31. The reading in the Agni-purāṇam, chapter 39, v. 4, should be
कापिलं but the metre does not allow it. But in v. 5, we must read—आत्रेयं
नारसिंहाव्यमानन्दाख्यं तथाऽऽरुणम्। Or ०ख्यं लाऽऽरुणकम्। and not ०ख्यं तयारुणकम्।
See Note 26. Supra. The list there does not seem to contain (25) twenty-
five names, after all.
32. See Note 30 Supra and text.
१. अध्याय १-२: ताल-मान, प्रमाण, शूल-रज्जु एवं अष्ट-धातु प्रतिमा निर्माण
( 12 )
dubious—similar or same names occurring repeatedly. Of some
names we are not sure if they are personal names or the titles of
works.
The Tibetan text, dpag bsam ljon bzaṅ³³ of Lama Sum-pa
mk'an-po ye-śes dpal-abyor (1702-1775), traces the origin of the
art of painting to Nagnajit:—how he painted the figure of a dead
Brahmin child and how the god, Brahman invested it with life.
Later on the art of painting was propagated through Viśvakarman,
and Ṛṣi Ātreya who discovered calligraphy. The latter is known
from Tibetan sources, as the author of an iconographic work, which
is preserved in translation, in the Tanjur³⁴.
Names of a few more authorities or masters are also known
from (stray mentions in) other sources. Their works are existent
mostly in Mss.
There is a Śilpa-śāstra ascribed to Kāśyapa, the Kāśyap-
īya³⁵, also called the Aṁśumad-bheda. It has been edited³⁶.
Kāśyapa is said to have learnt this science from Śiva.
The Agastya Sakalādhikāra is ascribed to Agastya³⁷.
"The work entitled Sacalādhicāra, an excellent but rather volumi-
nous performance, is attributed to Agastya, a sage whose history
occupies a conspicuous place in the Purāṇas. Some few sections
only of this work are to be now met with; and the portion which
33. Pag bsam ljon bzaṅ. Ed., Saratchandra Das. Calcutta, 1908.
p. 136ff.
34. Pratimānalakṣaṇa-nāma, classed under Tanjur. Section Mdo
—hgrel (Sūtra-vṛtti), Śilpa-vidyā-śāstras.
35. For Mss. of Kāśyapīya, see Catalogue Vol. XXII. Oriental Mss.
Library, Madras., pp. 8755ff. Nos. 13032, 13033. Also, Oppert: List of
Sanskrit Mss. in Private Libraries of South India, Vol. II, p. 395, No. 6336.
36. Kāśyapīya, quoted by Varāhamihira. Edited in Ānandāśram
Skt. Series, from Poona.
37. See P. K. Acharya: Indian Architecture according to Mānasāra-
śilpaśāstra. p. 100. For Mss. of the work, see Orient. Mss. Libr.,
( 13 )
has as yet come under my own observation, is exclusively on the
subject of sculpture as connected with the function of statues ;
but it is so diffuse, that if we suppose the whole work to be written
in a similar style, it must considerably exceed the volume of
Mānasāra, the largest at present of my collection.”³⁸
There is also, the Sanatkumāra-vāstuśāstra³⁹, of Sanat-
kumāra, who acknowledges his debt to other Ācāryas, among
whom are Candra and Yama, Bhārgava, Aṅgiras, Manu, Vyāsa,
Bhṛgu.
38. Rām Rāz ; Essay on the Architecture of the Hindus, (London,
M. DCCC. xxxiv.) p. 8.
“The small portion which has come under my observation of the work
called sacalādhicára,—‘the universal authority’, does not furnish sufficient
data to form any opinion of the precise time at which it was composed ; and
in the section which gives rules for carving statues, “...the only part...seen, I
find no mention of the saints...” “who have been admitted among the inferior
divinities.” “It is generally believed to have been composed by Agastya,
under the auspices of the founder of the Púndya government, a circumstance
which, if admitted, would give to this Work a very high antiquity. Mr.
Wilson,...places this event three or four centuries before the Christian æra,
although in another place he fixes the date of the civilization of the South of
India, ten centuries before Christ, but the data on which this conjecture is
formed is imperfect. There exists a long list of the princes of the Púndya, and
their contemporary Chola and Chéra dynasties, many of whom appear to
have reigned long anterior to the Christian æra, and their celebrity to have
attracted the notice of Ptolemy. The few facts,...recorded of those dynasties
...are unfortunately inadequate to the formation of...sketch of their history,
or to trace their chronology . . ; but the various accounts...of these ancient
monarchies, though they usually commence with the earliest ages, and are
blended with...fictions, would still afford...proofs of the establishment of these
principalities at an earlier period than...hitherto assigned. And as the
Mahábhárat, which is believed to have been composed by Vyása, in the
beginning of Kaliyug, makes mention of the Púndya and Chola governments,
we must give them credit for higher antiquity.” Ràm Ràz, op. cit., p. 10-11.
39. P. K. Acharya : Op. cit., p. 102. For Mss., see Eggeling, III.
3151, 2680 ; Oppert, Vol. I, No. 8239. In Orient. Mss. Libr., Madras,
Cat. Vol. XXII, Nos., 13060-13068, there are nine Mss., mostly fragments.
( 14 )
There is also a Sārasvatīya-śilpa-śāstra⁴⁰ ascribed to
Sarasvatī.
The Paulastya, Sārasvata, Manohalya, Brahma, Kaumudīka,
Nārāyaṇīya (Śilpa-śāstras ?) are also known through quotations⁴¹ ;
similarly, are Vasiṣṭha, Nārada, Varāha, Māṇḍavya⁴².
Indra, Bhārgava, Āṅgirasa, Dhruva, Gautama, Gārgeya,
Manu, Vyāsa and Bhṛgu are also mentioned⁴³.
The Aparājita-pṛcchā⁴⁴ is said to be revealed by God
at the request of Aparājita ; it was quoted by Hemādri⁴⁵
while, the Aparājita-vāstu-śāstra⁴⁶ is ascribed to Viśva-
karman⁴⁷
A Gārgī-saṃhitā⁴⁷ᵃ was known long ago and a Gārgya-
saṃhitā⁴⁷ᵇ also exists. Both have been preserved in modern
copies.
40. Aufrecht : Op. cit., Vol. I, p. 714.
41. See Orient. Mss. Libr., Madras, Cat. Vol. XXII, No. 13058,
Śilpasaṃgraha. It expressly mentions the sources it has been compiled
from.
42. See P. K. Acharya : A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture,
Appendix I. p. 803. Quoted in Saṃgraha-śiromaṇi by Sarayu Prasad.
43. See Oriental Mss. Libr., Cat. Vol. XXII, No. 13057.
44. An edition of the Aparājita-pṛcchā was announced long ago in the
GOS. But the work has not yet come out. Dr. Bhandarkar : Report
(1883-84), p. 276, sub voce. Compare also Śilpa-grantha in Eggeling :
Op. cit., Mss. 3152, 1603b.
45. "Quoted by Hemādri in Pariśeṣakhaṇḍa 2, 660-62, 819" Aufrecht
Cat. Catalog. Vol II, p. 4.
46. Dr. Bühler : Catalogue of Sanskrit Mss. contained in private
Libraries—, 1872, p. 276.
47 a. Varāhamihira's Bṛhat-saṃhitā. (Ed., Bibliotheca Indica).
Introduction by Kern, p. p. 33 ff.
47 b. P. K. Acharya : A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture. Appen-
dix I. sub. voce. "Mss. R. 15. 96., in Trinity College, Cambridge . . .
( 15 )
“According to the Mahābhārata 9. 37, 14f. there is a sacred
place Garga-srotas, “Garga’s stream”, on the Sarasvatī, named
after the venerable ascetic Garga, who was famous on account of
his knowledge of time”, “and the movements of the celestial
bodies”. “To the same (later) period (of Indian astronomy)
belongs also the Gārgī-saṃhitā of Garga who was always
regarded as a highly distinguished authority on Astronomy ;
the Vṛddha-Gārga-saṃhitā, which exists, dealt, it is true,
chiefly with astrology but it also contained (discussions on)
Astronomy⁴⁸ᵃ.”
The Bṛhat-saṃhitā⁴⁸ᵇ of Varāhamihira mentions Garga,
Maya, Viśvakarman, Vasiṣṭha and Nagnajit, as also, Bhāskara
and Manu.
Works of Bhāskara and Gaṇapati are also quoted from, in
the Vāstu-sāraṇī⁴⁹, a modern compilation ; these may be authentic
Śilpaśāstrakāras whose names are known from other sources, and
whose works might be preserved.
Bhagavān Gaṇapati is mentioned, among later writers only
by Madhusūdana Sarasvatī in his Prasthānabheda⁵⁰, as a master
of dramaturgy, Bharataśāstram :—
48a. M. Winternitz : Geschichte III. pp. 556-57. Bracketed portions
in the above translation are ours.
48b. Bṛhat-saṃhitā. Edited by Kern. Bibliotheca Indica, Asiatic Soc.
Bengal ; also, edited by Mm. Sudhākara Dvivedin with Bhaṭṭotpala’s com-
mentary, Vizianagram Skt. Series, Benares.
49. P. K. Acharya : Op. cit. Appendix I. sub-voce. Vāstu-sāraṇī
by Matīprasāda Pāṇḍe. Benares, 1901. Bhāskara is quoted early, in
Varāhamihira’s Bṛhat-saṃhitā. (Ed. Kern) Ch. 58, 52.
50. These surprisingly informative and new texts are not to be found
in the ordinary edition of the Prasthānabheda by Śrī Madhusudana Sarasvatī
e. g. from Śrī Vāṇīvilās Press, Śrīraṅgam, 1912. Nor are they to be found
in the closely analogous passage in Śrī Madhusūdana’s learned commentary
to the ŚIVA-MAHIMNA-STAVA, edited by Panśīkar Lakṣaṇa Vāsudeva,
Nirṇayasāgar Press, Bombay under the most famous and oft-quoted verse :—
( 16 )
॥ १८. भरतशास्त्रम् ॥
एवं नाट्यभरत-हस्तभरत-भावभरत-नेत्रभरत-अभिनयभरत-वाग्भरत गीतवाद्यादि-
सप्तशतभरतप्रबोधकं चतुध्व(ष्ष)ष्ट्यध्यायात्मकं भरतशास्त्रं भगवता गणपतिना
विरचितम् ॥
The Prasthānabheda also mentions Bhīmasena as the author
of the canons of painting, Citrakarma-śāstram :—
॥ १६. चित्रकर्मशास्त्रम् ॥
एवं नखचित्र-केशचित्र-शल्यचित्र-अङ्गचित्र-भावचित्र-आवृत्तचित्र-शिलाचित्र-लोह-
चित्राद्येकोननवत्युत्तरशतचित्रप्रबोधकं द्वात्रिंशदध्या[या]त्मकं चित्रकर्मशास्त्रं भीम-
विरचितम् ॥
The same Prasthānabheda further informs that Kaśyapa
was the author of a voluminous Śilpaśāstra :—
॥ ७. शिल्पशास्त्रम् ॥
एवं यक्षशिल्पि गन्धर्वशिल्पि-किन्नरशिल्पि-किंपुरुषशिल्प्यसुरशिल्पि-दैवशिल्पि-मानुष-
शिल्प्यदि-सप्तोत्तरत्रिशतशिल्पप्रभेदान्संग्रहेण निरूप्य भूलोकसंबंधदैवविग्रहदेवालय-
राजगृहगरुडस्तंभकुड्यमंटपाद्येकोत्तरशतविधरचनाविधिगर्भितं कश्यपछायापुरुषमारुतिमय-
विश्वकर्मत्वष्टृमनुबाणशिल्पिवर्धनवटकशल्यतिप्रभृतीनां परस्परशिल्पप्रभेदमार्गप्रदर्शनपूर्वकं
द्विचत्वारिंशदुत्तरैकसहस्रप्रबोधकं द्वाविंश-गुच्छपरिमितं शिल्पशास्त्रं भगवता कश्यपेन
प्रणीतम् ॥
त्रयी सांख्यं योगः पशुपतिमतं वैष्णवमिति प्रभिन्ने प्रस्थाने परमिदमदः पथ्यं हितमिति च ।
रुचीनां वैचित्र्यादृजुकुटिलनानापथजुषां नृणामेको गम्यस्त्वमसि पयसामर्णव इव ॥
The Prasthānabheda of Śrī M. seems to be an elaboration of, if not
identical with his elucidations or comments to the passage 'प्रभिन्ने प्रस्थाने' in
the above verse, of the Ode—which is one of the gems of Sanskrit Literature.
This superb verse may be thus freely rendered into English :—
Diverse are the canons—viz. the three (revealed Vedic Texts)
Sāṁkhya, Yoga, the doctrines of the Pāśupatas and the Vaiṣṇavas—
this one may be supreme, or that one may be salutary and good. People
[tread] paths straight or circuitous, owing to their different
[ 17 ]
Regarding the Śilpa Śāstras, Rám Ráz says⁵¹ :—
"It is true that the Hindus were in possession of numerous
treatises on architecture, sculpture, &c., which collectively are called
the Śilpa Śāstra, but unfortunately few traces of them remain.
There appears to have been, according to some, thirty-two, and
according to others sixty-four, standard treatises on the above-
mentioned arts·········
In a series of memorial verses preserved among the artists,
are recorded the names of the authors or titles of the above men-
tioned sixty-four treatises. Of these, thirty-two are called Muc'hya,
or principal, and thirty-two Upa or subordinate.
They (verses) contain little more than titles···mostly
patronymics of the deities who···revealed the particular art or
temperaments. But like unto the rivers, which take direct routes or run
along circuitous courses, and yet, ultimately, find their ways and merge
into the sea — even, like unto that, indeed, O ! my Lord, you alone are
the sole Refuge of the human beings.
These three most important references to the ancient Masters—
Bhagavān Gaṇapati, Bhīma and Kaśyapa — the first two references
being especially striking, are to be found in Prasthāna Thraya Madhusūdana
Saraswati Smriti. Reproduced by Pandit T. Subraya Sastri of Bangalore.
Transl. into Eng. by the Late Ratanlal M. Mody and G. Venkatachala
Sarma of Bangalore. V. B. Soobbiah & Sons. Bangalore, 1931.
Though there are some anachronisms in the edition, as regards
Śrī Madhusūdana's date etc., there are the strongest grounds to suppose
that the learned Paṇḍita's wonderful edition is absolutely genuine. As,
many of the Texts, mentioned are actually traceable and one, even,
published by the same—viz. the Aṁśu-bodhinī of Bhāradvāja Ṛṣi with
Comm.
As regards the time etc. of Śrī Madhusūdana Sarasvatī, a few words
would be not out-of-place. He flourished before Śrī Caitanyadeva, in
Bengal and was the author of several works of great erudition, among
which are Bhaktirasāyanam (Ed. Acyutagranthamālā, Benares) and
Advaitasiddhi (Ed. Rajendra Ghosh, Calcutta).
51. Rám Ráz : Essay on the Architecture of the Hindus, London,
M. DCCC. XXXIV.