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unpublished or inaccessible both in original language as also in translation.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//

xii Vāstumaṇḍana
Date is 1890 saṁvat, 1755 śaka, i.e., 1833 A.D.
In the post-colophon it is written:
ग्रंथसंख्या ८८०/ सम्वत् १८९० शके १७५५ फाल्गुनशुक्ल ३ वृहस्पतौ / श्रीरामो
He also writes श्रीराम on each folio.
For nasal consonants – ङ्, ञ्, ण्, न, म all the scribes write.
This is in short the description of five manuscripts used in editing the
Vāstumaṇḍana.
MAṆḌANA SŪTRADHĀRA AND HIS DATE
In the 15ᵗʰ century, a brief but glorious period existed for the late medieval
style of western Indian Architecture. The prevailing environment provided Maṇḍana
Sūtradhāra with the opportunity of evincing his flair, potency, conceptual acuity
and functional brilliance on architecture as well as on sculpture. Maṇḍana, who
was endowed with scholastic erudition, enjoyed the royal patronage of Rāṇā
Kumbhā of Chitor in whose court flourished several men of literary prowess. This
royal architect wrote and compiled a number of treatises on architecture and
iconography.
Being an author of that period, he had an exposure to the previous authoritative
Vāstuśāstras and the Purāṇas from which he elicited his inspiration.
Maṇḍana's father Kṣetra was also an architect. In the concluding śloka of
Vāstumaṇḍana, he writes –
सुतेन दैवसिंहेन प्रार्थितः क्षेत्रमण्डनः
स्थपतिः सृजति स्मेदं मण्डनो वास्तुमण्डनम्
There has been lot of confusion regarding his origin. According to one tradition
Maṇḍana hails from Gujarat and was invited by Mahārāṇā Kumbha in his court to
compose treatise on Vāstuśāstras. According to other tradition and a few colophons
of Maṇḍana's works – Kṣetra and his son Maṇḍana belonged to proper Mewar but
their forefather hailed from Gujarat.
Whatever the origin may be, Maṇḍana's work evidently show close acquaintance
with the vāstu works from Gujarat. In this book, i.e., the Vāstumaṇḍana he followed
the technology of Aparājitapṛchhā and Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra to a great extent.
In his works Rūpamaṇḍana and Rājavallabhamaṇḍana Maṇḍana specifically
mentions that, he is the eldest son of the eminent architect Kṣetra.

? Wait, what is between ज्येष्ठोandडनस्तस्य`?
Let's zoom into maximum resolution:

• पु
• त्रो
• (space)
• ज्ये
• ष्ठो
• Next glyph: It is an ओ? Or is it ऽ followed by something?
  Wait! Look at the glyph immediately after ष्ठो:
  It is ओ! Wait, no: it has a 3-like left side, a vertical bar, and a matra on top? No, it looks like ओ or अ!
  Wait, look at ओ in पुत्रो: त्र + ो.
  Look at independent ओ: ओ.
  Wait, look at ऽ in क्षेत्राख्योऽयुत: it has no vertical bar.
  The glyph after ज्येष्ठो:
  Wait! Look at ज्येष्ठो:
  ज्ये (jye)
  ष्ठो (ṣṭho)
  Then: ऽ?
  Wait, is it ज्येष्ठोऽ?
  Wait, look at: ज्येष्ठो has ो.
  Then there is a character that looks like अ or ओ? Wait, no, it's ऽ?
  Wait, look at

xiv Vāstumaṇḍana
HIS WORKS
'At least 8 works of Maṇḍana are well reputed. These are by name Prāsāda
Maṇḍana, Vāstumaṇḍana, Vāsturājavallabha, Vāstuśāstra, Vāstusāra, Rūpamaṇḍana,
Rūpāvatāra and Devatāmūrtiprakaraṇa. The exact date of none of these works is so
far known, but a relative chronological position of a few can be ascertained by a
comparative appraisal. The Vāsturājavallabha for instance, seems a recast and an
abridged one, of the Vāstumaṇḍana; the Vāstusāra is just a summary of either
Vāsturājavallabha or the Vāstumaṇḍana' writes M.A. Dhaky in his article, The
Vāstuśāstras of Western India. Maṇḍana Sūtradhāra was a connoisseur in
architecture as well as in sculpture. He was said to have had been entrusted with
the assignment of designing and building the fort of Kumbhalgarh. In Vāstumaṇḍana,
we find references of similar forts.
In the unique library of Kavindracarya (17ᵗʰ century AD.) some manuscripts
on architecture were stored. Among them we find

1. Rājavallabhamaṇḍana (2146)
2. Vāstumaṇḍana (2849)
3. Prāsādamaṇḍana (2150)
4. Rūpamaṇḍana (2151), etc. (GOS No XVII, 1921).
   The Rājavallabhamaṇḍana and some other texts of Maṇḍana Sūtradhāra fetched
   tremendous popularity within two centuries. Copies of his work reached Benaras
   the unanimously revered nerve centre of Indian culture.
   From Benaras, Maṇḍana's works probably promulgated to other places. His
   works are now available in Kashmir as well as in Madras, in Baroda and in West
   Bengal. He must have been looked upon as an authority on this subject in his
   period. It is evident that his handbooks on architecture and sculpture earned
   unstinted popularity with artists and craftsmen of the time.
   Out of his works many have been published and are available, but these books
   are not critically edited. From his writings it seems that the author is well-versed in
   a variety of subjects, e.g., principles of architecture, town planning, location of
   different buildings, tanks etc. environmental science, soil technology, astrology,
   rituals connected with the starting of the construction, etc.
   He was not only endowed with unprecedented expertise over the science of
   architecture and allied branches of learning but also had unplumbed poetic talent.
   However, his Sanskrit was rather abstruse and esoteric. It appears that sometimes
   he has jumbled up local terms with Sanskrit language. Since many words are not
   found in any lexicon of the time hence it is very difficult to execute translation.
   Words like Sandhipāla, Priyamukha, Viṁśopa, Puradvīpa, Kuḍyadvāra, Gavāṅgāyadi
   kaṇapāli (p. 47). Jādyakumbha (p. 87), Dhiṅkuli (Ch. 3) are not traceable in the lexicons.

INTRODUCTION xv
Sometimes the descriptions are not vivid, and legible, some verses in between
the lines are missing also. This book appears to be a compilation from other
Vāstuśāstra books especially from Aparājitapṛcchā and Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra, but it
has its own ingenuity in some chapters. Specially in the third chapter the portrayal
of different types of yantras, is unique, though the picture is not legible in some
places. The topic is not available in other recognized Vāstusastras.
Again, in the description of gavākṣa, siṁhāsana, śivikā, he leaves marks of his
originality. Descriptions of śāla houses are extremely analytical, elaborate and
praiseworthy from which one can learn about his stupendous expertise over this
technical aspect of architecture.
CONTENTS
Vāstumaṇḍana is a treatise on architecture of 15ᵗʰ century A.D. epitomizing
secular architecture of that period. This book primarily reflects the architectural
pattern and its technology prevalent in Rajasthan, by which the date and time can
be easily ascertained. The author was the chief architect of the ruler Rāṇā Kumbhā,
whose history is known from other literary sources. The very name Vāstumaṇḍana
suggests either a treatise written by Śrī Maṇḍana or a sheer ornamentation of Vāstu.
If this book is compared with other Vāstu texts like Aparājitapṛcchā,
Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra, Mayamata and Mānasāra, it is found to be different from all
of these. At first glance, this book seems to be a compilation from other Vāstu texts
specially Aparājitapṛcchā and Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra. But deeper readings reveal its
uniqueness and speciality. The book mentions few other Vāstu texts, Purāṇas and
names of few authors of similar texts. These are Mānasollāsa, Sārasāgara, Mātsyapurāṇa,
and Maya, Bhoja, Viśvakarmā, Varāha, etc.
Unlike other Vāstu texts, this book contains only about 880 ślokas, divided
into 8 chapters. Among these chapters, the first one Miśrakādhyāya embraces highest
number of ślokas (207) and the fifth chapter Gṛhavinyāsa adhyāya is having only 32
ślokas.
This book may be referred best as a guidebook or a handbook for an architect.
The book must have been very popular in its period as manuscripts of it are found
almost all over India. Rājavallabhamaṇḍana another treatise of the same author
seemed to be very popular also, as large number of manuscripts of it could also be
located. Few similar verses in both the books could be noticed, but Vāstumaṇḍana
deals with each topic more elaborately. For example, in Rājavallabhamaṇḍana twenty-
three ślokas describe one particular topic āyādi ṣaḍvarga, whereas in Vāstumaṇḍana
eighty-five ślokas are written to describe the same topic. Although Rājavallabhamaṇḍana
contains more chapters (14), yet the number of ślokas is found to be more in
Vāstumaṇḍana.

xvi Vāstumaṇḍana
Uniqueness of this book lies in a particular field; that is, on the fort architecture.
This is probably the only book where the description of a fort, the remains of
which still exist near Udaipur, could be located. This book gives original blueprint
of the planning of that particular fort. It is traced from other references that Maṇḍana
himself, during the rule of Rāṇā Kumbhā, built this fort. The remains of the
boundary wall of the fort, even today, look like that of the great China wall.
Vāstumaṇḍana provides the detailed description of the fort as well as those of
palace and its inside.
BASIC TOPICS
Topics of the book can be divided into four main groups;

1. Astrology, astronomy, and ecology.
2. Fort and palace architecture.
3. Building architecture – śālā houses, etc.
4. Different components of the house.
   CHAPTERS ON ASTROLOGY, ASTRONOMY & ECOLOGY
   Vāstumaṇḍana clearly indicates ardent passion of Rāṇā Kumbhā towards
   astronomy and astrology. In his time, astrologers were hired to execute activities
   and works within the ambit of the entire kingdom. Astronomy was closely related
   to astrology and Rāṇā Kumbhā being the astronomer himself, observed intently
   the movements of the planets based on which important decisions were taken.
   Every step of construction activities, from the onset to the conclusion was governed
   by the decisive and instrumental influence of astronomy and astrology.
   The very first chapter starts with the description of good and evil yogas, position
   of the stars, solar and lunar zodiacs, etc. All these were incisively scrutinized at the
   outset of any new construction. In all sorts of construction the book categorically
   mentions of the lagna, tithi, vāra, auspicious for the owner as well as that of the
   influence of lunar zodiacs.
   With the help of astrology or owner's zodiac sign, the author tried to determine
   the direction of one's house plan. According to him a person having zodiac signs
   of pisces, scorpio or leo shall have his house facing toward East and so on (Ch 1. Śl
   41–42).
   In this connection the book The Royal Palaces of India, may be referred which
   says the plan of Jaipur was based on a maṇḍala with the royal residence in the
   middle. Its rectangular grid plan is tilted at an angle of 12 degree East to North to
   coincide with Leo, the astrological sign of Kacchwaha dynasty. Thus it is distinctly
   evident that Vidyādhara Bhaṭṭācārya, the planner of Jaipur city kept in mind the
   verdict of Maṇḍana Sūtradhāra and acted accordingly.

INTRODUCTION xvii
Consideration of omen was considered to be another important aspect for
construction activities. These are known as śakunalakṣaṇam and with their help one
could determine the auspiciousness of the place.
Direction is another important part for designing any type of building plan.
For this reason, the author took the help of the pole star and the gnomon to
determine proper direction. On a sunny day with the help of a gnomon one used
to find out east-west direction, and at night with the help of pole star one used to
find north-south direction. The author mentioned of specific timing for the purpose
of deciding on the direction. When the sun is in tulā or meṣa and in between citrā
and svāti nakṣatra then it is the right time to determine the direction.
To find out śalya in a land, the author took help of astronomical chart. A
chart having 28 chambers with 28 nakṣatras, is divided between solar and lunar
system. Knowing the position of the sun, moon and the stars, one could determine
the presence of śalya in a land and rectify.
The second chapter deals with a specific formula known as āyādi ṣaḍvarga. The
Āyādi is a cluster of six elements – āya, vyaya, rṁśa, ṛkṣa, yoni, vāra-tithi.
The conformity to the perimeter of structure has been nicely covered in this
formula. There are six basic components of a building comprising adhisthāna (base),
pada or stambha (column), prastara (entablature), karṇa (ear, wings) śikhara (roof) and
stupa (dome).
The āya represents the group of eight elements beginning with dhvaja, dhuma,
siṁha, śva, vṛṣa, khara, kuñjara and dhāṁkṣa. According to Stella Kramrisch these are
eight Vāstupuruṣas placed in the eight direction of a plot of the land. However this
āya formula is slightly different from that of Vāstumaṇḍana.
Vyaya represents the group of three parts, i.e., yakṣa, piśāca and rākṣasa. Yakṣa is
less than āya, Piśāca is equal to āya and rākṣasa is more than āya. Again vyaya is
divided into eight varieties. These are śānta, paura, pradyota, śrīnanda, Manohara, śrīvatsa,
vibhava, cintātmaka.
Aṁśa are also of three types – Indra, Yama and Nṛpa.
Ṛkṣa, (tārā) are distributed in three groups of nine elements each–suragaṇa,
rākṣasagaṇa and manuṣyagaṇa. These twenty-seven tārās are known commonly.
Whether the orientation of a building is correct or not and whether the
measurements as laid down with regard to the different structures are correct and
auspicious conforming to the orientation, are all tested by this formula.
Yoni constitutes the length and breadth of a structure, particularly that of a
house. A proper and auspicious Yoni is therefore required to be chosen for the
structure.

xviii Vāstumaṇḍana
Stella Kramrisch in her book The Hindu Temple writes, ‘The yoni formula is but
one of the six formulae, of the āyādi-ṣaḍvarga, in which the remainder determines
the gain or loss which will accrue to the builder, and the nakṣatra (Ṛkṣa), the lunar
day (tithi ) and the solar day (vāra), on which it is good to build that particular
building. These formulae belong to astrology in general. These are applied to the
building as if it is a living entity whose destiny is to be determined. However it is
only the cumulative bad effect that makes any perimeter inauspicious even if the
Yoni formula is satisfied. (V.K.R. Menon, “Six Canons Of Indian Architecture”,
Bulletin of the Sri Rama Varma Research Institute, 1934, pp. 66-67 ). The formulae
are not canons. The yoni and the other five formulae are considered when no other
definite injunction is given where the temple of a specified divinity has to face, etc
(part VII). The power of the specific divinity and its appropriate orientation outweigh
the āyadi ṣaḍvarga.’ (Footnote, p. 34 ).
Though this is the opinion of Stella Kramrisch, yet almost all Vāstu texts discuss
āyādi ṣaḍvarga in details. The author of Vāstumaṇḍana was not only an ardent
proponent of this formula but also added on some more to it. These are candra,
rāśimaitrī, grahamaitrī, pañcatattva, vargaprīti, vimśopā, etc.
After astronomy and astrology the author expressed concern with the
surrounding environment of a house also. Plants and trees have significant relation
with Vāstu. Almost all Vāstu texts refer to different types of trees and their respective
utility in a habitation. The author of Vāstumaṇḍana is no exception. He carefully
chose the plants telling where to plant those. In the first chapter, he has enumerated
forty-five types of trees and plants, which were to be planted or not to be planted
near one's house, their suitability or unsuitability for a new construction. In addition
to this, the author suggested the determination of the shading time of a tree and
creeper recommending astute discards of those, which provide shades more than
three hours.
The fourth chapter recommends wood as the material for construction. At
first one must appraise the type and nature of the wood, circumvent specific places
from where one not to collect wood, selection of the places from where one should
derive woods or so. Condition of the wood must also be taken care of. Author
mentioned fifty-eight types of trees which are regarded auspicious for human
dwelling and forty types of trees which are most apposite – suitable for temples
but malicious for human dwellings.
Not only the types of trees are important, but their joinery is also equally
important too. Here in this book the author categorically mentioned the principles
of joinery, which established his peerless expertise in the craft of wooden structure.
Two similar parts of a tree should neither be joined together, nor the new and old
parts of a tree be joined. Pillars and Brahmasthānas will be free from any joint. Again
in the eighth chapter, while giving description of types of beds, he mentioned
twenty types of trees, which are best, suited for beds, seats and vehicles.

INTRODUCTION xix
CHAPTERS ON FORT AND PALACE ARCHITECTURE
Fort occupies a major and very important place in this text. In the middle of
15ᵗʰ century, warfare was regular phenomenon in the western region and a strong
secured fort with a palace was inevitable. Rāṇā Kumbhā (1433-68) built numerous
forts in his domain the prime one of which was the Kumbhalgarh. From two
references, we infer that Maṇḍana Sūtradhāra was the chief architect of Kumbhalgarh.
These are: –
a) Saṅgītarāja by Rāṇā Kumbhā, which is edited by Premlata Sharma. In the
introduction she writes ‘Kumbhalgarh the famous fort of which has the
distinction that in all the wars against the enemies of Mewar it remained
unconquered (except for once). Its architect was Sūtradhāra Maṇḍana. It is
a marvellous feat of military Engineering.’
b) In ‘Some famous Sculptures and Architects of Mewar (15ᵗʰ century A.D.),’
I.H.Q.1957, Vol. xxxiii Sri R.C. Agarwal writes, ‘that whereas contemporary
artists like Jaitā and Maṇḍana had attained perfection in the sphere of
carrying out stone sculptures and constructing monumental structures like
the Kirtistambha at Chittor and the fort at Kumbhalgarh.’
Maṇḍana Sūtradhāra in his book Vāstumaṇḍana gave detailed description of
fort and its inside, the palace and its elaborate planning. He described Kumbhalgarh
fort as built by him. In the beginning he advises that one must built a strong fort
even if he has to demolish the existing structure. Interestingly the fort Kumbhalgarh
was built on the location of another old fort. In the Encyclopaedia of India
(Rajasthan), pp. 107-8, it is written that Kumbhalgarh was built by Maharana
Kumbha in 1448 on a rock plateau and in a site of an earlier ancient fortress. The
rampart of the fort is very strong and can be compared with the Great Wall of
China. Inside the fort there is a palace, which is self-contained and complete in all
respects. The text provides detailed planning of the palace and fort. Original
blueprints of the two could be located and in that aspect this book has great
documentary importance. Four corners of the fort were specially prescribed for
the artisans, wine sellers, hunters etc but those corners were not recommended
suitable for others. Brahmins were allocated to reside in the East, Kṣatriyas in the
South and Vaiśyas in the North. Water reservoirs were all in the West. The Sun god
was placed in the North-East corner, Gaṇādhipa in the South-East, Sahasrākṣa in the
South-West, and Janārdana in the North-West. Gods were either facing the East or
the west. City inside the fort was complete being adorned with palace, garden,
ramparts, main entrance (huge) gates, water reservoirs, gardens, tower of fame, etc.
Next the book provides an insufficient description of machineries, which were
used to protect the fort. Though the description is not very lucid yet it makes the
readers apprised with the name of machineries that were developed in those days.

xx Vāstumaṇḍana
It is the only Vāstuśāstra so far, which deals with weapons, a few other books such as
Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra or Aparājitapṛchhā mentions merely the names only. Here
the author describes eighty-four machineries, out of which nine each are the air
and water machineries. There are six varieties of firearms and sixty varieties of war
machineries. In this book we get different descriptions of war and fire machineries.
Here he enumerates names and measurement of eight types of rods/shafts used in
the warfare. Next one is probably the description of a bow, which is not very legible.
This bow is named as Markaṭī, which was to be made very firm with the help of
leather strips and iron.
After this we find a description of Gophanā, which in succinct version is still
used to drive away birds in the paddy fields. It appears that this simple device was
used to throw stones at the enemy from far distance. In one word it seems to be
stone or dart thrower.
Subsequently we have noticed the illustration of another machinery known
as Markaṭi. Probably it was made of iron nets, looking like a cage or drum and was
used to carry stones and arrows. It has few rotating discs, which has made it highly
resilient and facilitated easy hassle free movements of that machine. This drum like
thing has two supporting rods, a few holes and in the center a place for light etc.
We find also the measurement of the cage and the discs. There will be two wings
for easy movement. Author gave elaborate description of this item and it seemed
that it was an inevitable device in the warfare. This machine is named as Dhinkulī or
Gauriyantra.
In the seventy-second chapter of Aparājitapṛchhā similar names could be found
out.
This is the uniqueness of this book that tried to describe the local war
machineries. We find fairly a vivid description of firearms, used in the warfare during
that period. Small cannons, which were easily moved and carried, were well known
to people. There is detailed description and measurement of a cannon, the silhouette
of which resembled a Dhatura flower. It was made of brass or bell metal with a
pointer to help aiming cardinally the target. The measurement of the weapon is
three to six times of a Dhatura flower. It may be noted that the size of a Dhatura
flower available in Rajasthan is rather large approximately of 8-10 inches in length.
Along with the cannons we find references of cannon balls and the ingredients
with which the balls were manufactured.
Eighth chapter of this book describes six types of king's palaces. These are
Śrīdhara, Śrīnivāsa, Lakṣmīvilāsa, Pṛthvījaya, Pratāpavardhana, and Kṣiṇaibhūṣaṇa
compared to Aparājitapṛchhā mentioning twenty types of king's palaces. While
describing these palaces the author mentions of six chhandas or characteristics. These
are Māḍa, Mauḍa, Śuddha, Śekhara, Tuṅgāra and Simhakarṇa. Previously he mentioned

INTRODUCTION xxi
of another chhandas for the aerial view of a construction. These are Meru, Khaṇḍameru,
Patākā, Sūci, Neṣṭa and Uddiṣṭta. Mostly palaces are of Māḍa type and they come
under Meru chhanda. Another peculiarity of these palaces is that most of the palaces
are either three and half or five and half or seven and half storied and the ground
plan of these palaces are either 8 x 8, 9 x 9 or 10 x 10 square as required.
Śrīdhara type of palace is five storied with sixteen pillars in the centre. The
projected part of the palace is two and half storied. While there are four pillars in
one part, there are four pillars each for all the four doors with lattice. Platforms
were fitted with glittering silver seats adorned with Mattavāraṇa (A.P. Ch. 87, Ś16-
17). Aparājitapṛcchā mentions of three chadyas adorned with platforms and bells,
which are the decoration of this palace.
The palace Pratāpavardhana has four doors in four directions. There the projected
part will be one third of the breadth of the palace and the front portico constitutes
another part. No other information on this type of palace are found in the book
whereas Aparājitapṛcchā describes the land to be twenty-five hands in measurement
with four pillars in the center, twelve more pillars on the alindas, totaling thirty-two
pillars in outside and inside. Māḍa type of construction is described to have two
stories and above going up to three and half stories.
The palace Lakṣmīvilāsa is found to be similar to Pratāpavardhana to certain
extent. Vāstumaṇḍana adds that out of ten pillars in the mukhabhadra, six will be
inside and four will be on the outside. Māḍa type of construction is done two
stories and above on bhadra and for a house it will be upto five and a half storey.
This type of palace is best suited for a king. Compared to this, Aparājitapṛcchā writes,
the Bhadra for Pratāpavardhana palace is divided into three parts breadth wise and
one of the part is regarded as mukhabhadra, which is adorned with ten pillars is
known as Lakṣmīvilāsa palace. Here the Māḍa is done above two storey can go unto
five and half storey.
For Śrīnivāvsa palace similar description was noticed in both the books. This
palace is having thirty-six pillars on twenty-five parts of the land. Wall will be equal
to one-tenth part of the construction in length and four doors are also erected.
Bhadra is divided into nine parts with three mukhabhadras in one part. This palace
will be three and half storied with hundred and four pillars. Māḍa type of
construction is done above three or five storeys.
Kṣīṇabhūṣaṇa type of palace is constructed on a square land measuring eight
by eight squares and the foundation is on the seventh segment. Partition wall will
be within half of the squares. There will be four doors and twenty-five small pillars.
bhadra is divided into three parts and three Pratibhadras will be raised on one part of
bhadra. The number of pillars in a bhadra may be four or five but total number of
pillars may vary from eighty to two hundred. Māḍa is constructed above three stories
in a bhadra and in a house it will be above sixth stories.

xxii Vāstumaṇḍana
Aparājitapṛchhā differs to certain extent on this type of palace. The wall is one-
eighth part of the construction and there will be four doors. Bhadra will have twenty-
five small pillars and thirty-six large pillars. There will be three pratibhadras in a bhadra
and six pillars in each pratibhadra. Altogether there will be seventy-two pillars and
sixty-four small pillars. Māḍa type of construction will be above three stories and
may go upto six stories.
The last one known as pṛithvījaya, is mentioned in Vāstumaṇḍana where the
land is divided into ten by ten squares and walls are erected proportionately. The
center of the palace is adorned with hundred pillars and the construction goes up
to seven and half stories. There will be fifty-two pillars in a three and half storey
construction. We find general measurement of the palaces also. The area of a palace
can start from twenty-five hands and can go upto hundred and eight hands. Palaces
are decorated with various ornamental materials.
Sūtradhāra Maṇḍana deals with this topic elaborately. From his description it
is clear that expertise on the architectural design and the construction were very
much available at that period. With the help of a chhanda named as prastara, an
architect could design varieties of houses. Prastara or permutation is regarded as an
important mathematical model by which a graphic representation of different
arrangement of a building could be done.
D. N. Shukla in his Vāstuśāstra writes--, 'Thus this (prastara) is all mathematical
gymnastic. Its practical value is only to avoid wrong orientation and misplacement
of any of the component parts in the building of śālā in order to provide the
maximum comfort and the fullest of space together with conformity to the mystic
ideas of the doctrine of orientation.' (p. 320)
Here Prastara means a combination of guru and laghu in accordance with certain
rules. In Vāstu, guru implies wall and laghu insinuate alinda. With various combinations
of guru and laghu one can design thousand varieties of houses.
Vivid illustration of different types of dwelling houses has been found in
different chapters of Vāstumaṇḍana. Sometimes it is a description of the abode of a
king or landlord, whereas sometimes it is for common man.
Chhanda is the seminal aspect of a building, which is applicable to an ordinary
house as well as to a king's palace. It is a rudimentary characteristic of Nāgarī style
of architecture and discussed elaborately in Aparājitapṛchhā as well as
Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra. Chhanda of Vāstu meant 'disposition of a structure,' says
Mr. Mankad in the introduction of Aparājitapṛchhā.
These rhythmic patterns are of six types, which again have sixteen varieties.
These patterns have been planned mainly for designing common people's residence.
These are tṛṇa, paṭṭa, vāji, khaṇḍa, parṇa or pūrṇa and pāṇḍu. These are the names of
the type of houses which indicate the material by which these houses are to be

INTRODUCTION xxiii
constructed. For example: - Tṛṇa type of houses have thatched roof, vāji is made of
stone, pāṇḍu is storied mansion and so on.
Here the author gives another pragmatic suggestion for six types of chhandas
starting with meru. These are meru, khaṇḍameru, sūci, patākā, uddiṣṭa and naṣṭa. Uddiṣṭa
and naṣṭa are not independent chhandas.
With the laghu and guru placement, a meru structure will look like a Meru
mountain. The central part rising considerably above the ground will have side
sloping step by step all around till it reaches the ground surface. It is mentioned
that in meru, khaṇḍameru and sūci the construction will start with guru that means
wall and at the end there will be laghu, i.e., alinda, and the lines will be drawn before
hand. In meru and khaṇḍameru the section will increase downwards.
In patākā or khaṇḍaprastāra, guru will follow laghu and at the end there will be
one laghu. Here the multitude of laghu numerals has been shown in the different
manner. Ground plan of a house is regarded as the quintessence of the structure.
Vāstumaṇḍana states that the ground plan can start from one square and can go up
to thousand squares. According to the shape of a land, ground plan may be of
thirty-two types. The best and commonly known ground plans are with sixty-four
square or eighty-one squares. These are known as chandita and paramaśāyika. There
is a Vāstupuruṣa in every site and a chart is drawn accordingly which is known as
'Vāstupuruṣamaṇḍala.' Here forty-five deities reside also on different parts of
Vāstupuruṣa. Again we find positions of gods in sixty-four, eighty-one and hundred
square plans.
Marmavāstu is another type of ground plan, which according to the author
should be kept in mind during any type of construction. Marma, the orthogonal is
very important in site plan with 'Vāstupuruṣamaṇḍala.' Marma indicates the particular
places, where there will be no structure. It not only states that a percentage of the
plot should remain unused but also insinuates the location of the open places in
the general plan. Moreover, Vāstumarma is co-extensive with the prāsāda and these
marmas affect the position of pillars in a construction.
[Ninety-third chapter of Agnipurāṇa describes twelve marmas in a Vāstu. This
orientation of structure is the practical application of the general principle of
Vāstupadavinyāsa].
With the given description in Vāstumaṇḍana one can easily draw a chart of
Marmavāstu and can get a legible and perspicacious picture where construction
should be done or not to be done.
In the fourth chapter he gave general height of houses. It can be of three
types. The half of the width is to be multiplied by four, three and two, and one will
get the prescribed height of a house. Calculation can be started from the floor of

xxiv Vāstumaṇḍana
the house. These three types of houses can again be divided into nine (three each)
by dint of permutation combination. Here we find illustration of multi-storied
houses meant for different class of people.
Minimum diameter of a house will be eight hands and it can go up to ten and
half hands similarly. For common people there will be one or two storied house
Eleventh storey is the highest number, which are designed for a king with top and
bottom floor construction.
Each upper floor will be one twelfth part less than the lower one.
Lime powder, limestone, gravel and brick powder were deployed for plastering.
About the shape, the author mentioned that the land could be square or
rectangular, hexagonal or octagonal, round or oval. Thus one could have wide
options for selecting a land.
The book also describes a type of house, known as śālā house. These types of
houses are mentioned in the Purāṇas as well as in some other Vāstu texts such as
Mānasāra, Mayamata, Aparājitapṛchhā, etc. This text discusses the śālā houses very
systematically catering to the need of everybody starting from common man to the
king. One to four śālā houses are meant for common people of four varṇas, and
five to ten śālā houses are meant for king or people of similar category. Here the
author quotes sometimes from Mayamata and Aparājitapṛchhā mentioning that the
width of a śālā house could start from four hands and can go upto twenty to
twenty-four hands. The length will be one and half times of the breadth for a king's
house, but may be more for a religious establishment.
Prescribed measurement and location of the corridor are also mentioned.
Here we find the use of guru and laghu for the design of different types of śālā
houses.
At first a religious establishment known as paṭhaśālā has been described. It is
adorned with latticed window, altar, porticos, specific type of gates, etc. This may
be a double storied building furnished with granary, treasury, kitchen, etc.
While constructing a house, the author places special emphasis upon the
foundation details, walls and pegs. Himself being an architect, he has attached
importance to each and every minute intricacy of a construction and judicious
placing of the components.
In the sixth and eighth chapters we notice elaborate discussion of houses
with different number of śālā. The śālā houses may be of ten varieties, but five to
ten śālā houses are of different types combining the result of one to four śālā
houses.
According to the various position of Prastarachhanda each śālā house has many
sub varieties. For example:- Ekaśālā houses primarily have only sixteen varieties each