2 (a). Literary Evidence to Art-Activity

arāṅgaṇa Sūtradhāra, Aparājitapṛcchā and Śilparatna. Other than the Śilpaśāstra texts, literary works like Śukranītisāra, Śūdraka's Mṛcchakaṭika, Bāṇa's Kādambarī and Harṣacarita, Kalhaṇa's Rājataraṅgiṇī, and Bhavabhūti's Mālatīmādhava and Uttararāmacarita also provide valuable and interesting information on town-planning and palace-architecture. But the earliest literary evidence to art-activity is seen in the Vedic literature.

(i). Vedas and Brāhmanas

The Ṛgveda, hymn VII. 54. 3^[1] invokes Vāstoṣpati as the special deity to preside over building sites. He is also identified with Tvaṣṭā, the carpenter of the gods. Tvaṣṭā was the god of workmanship with skilled arms–supāṇiḥ (VI. 49. 9) and sukṛt supāniḥ (III. 54. 12). He is said to have been a master craftsman who fashioned things of manifold forms. The hymn X. 53. 9 calls all his wonderful creations as māyāḥ^[2]. He himself is described here as the greatest of the great fine craftsmen–apasām apastamaḥ. Viśvakarmā is invoked as the creator of the universe as a whole (X. 81; X. 82. 2-3^[3]).

The later Vedas and Brāhmaṇas present a picture of a more religious architecture than the civil one found in the Ṛgveda. The Śukla-Yajurveda' s (Ch. 35) description of the śmaśāna (funeral mound) gives an idea of the prototype of the Indian stūpas so popular in later art.

The Vājasaneyī Saṃhitā of Yajurveda (XIX. 86; XX. I) gives us a view of the civil art and architecture that prevailed during the period through the description of the furniture. The Atharvaveda is more informative on this subject. The Śālāsūkta (IX. 3) is very helpful in reconstructing the history of building residential houses.

The Brāhmaṇas contain elaborate descriptions of various religious structures like the yūpa, the vedi and the śmaśāna.

Deriving the word takṣa, Sāyana in his commentary on the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa (VI. 4) cites the example of a carpenter carving the wood:

(ii). Sūtra Literature

The Sūtra literature abounds in information on Indian Art and can be called as the earliest literature on Śilpaśāstra. The Sūtra works like Śāṅkhāyana Gṛhyasūtra (III. 2-4 khaṇḍas) and the Āśvalāyana Gṛhyasūtra (II. 7-10 khaṇḍas) devote as many as three chapters each on house building rules. Śulbasūtras are still more important since foundations of correct and proportionate measurements of the architecture of sacrificial altars were established by their time. These became later canons that were meticulously adhered to.

(iii). The Epics

The Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata portray an exceptional state of art and architecture in their descriptions of towns, palaces, assembly halls, forts and so on.

In the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, technical words for architects, like “sthapati”, “vardhakī”, “takṣaka” and “sūtradhāra” and the terms like “anekabhauma”, “saptabhauma” (V. 2. 52ab)^[4] are used to indicate many storeyed buildings. Different types of forts (VI. 3) such as Nādeya, Pārvatya, Vanya and Kṛtrima besides palace architecture have found eloquent descriptions in the Rāmāyaṇa.

The Mahābhārata also gives similar descriptions with more technical information. It also contains short but extensive accounts of some cities like the Dvārakā (III. 15), Indraprastha (I. 220), a floating city (III. 173. 5cd-6ab)^[5], Mithilā (III. 207. 7) and others.

(iv). Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra

This work can be regarded as the first datable work on civil architecture. This work by Kauṭilya, contains a scientific definition of vāstu (III. 8) which includes buildings and their construction methods. Durga-niveśa (II. 4) is a most systematic presentation of royal palaces and forts. Moreover, this text mentions the various artisans and their wages.

(v). Purāṇas

All the eighteen Mahāpurāṇas expatiate much on the concept of vāstu, śilpa and citra. Some of those information is now given here as the entire information is too vast. Among the various Purāṇas the following deal with the Śilpaśāstra in a more systematic and profound manner:

(a) Matsya Purāṇa:

This Purāṇa enlists the 18 preceptors of Vāstuśāstra in the chapter named Stambhamāna-nirṇaya (vv. 1-4). They are–Bhṛgu, Atri, Vasiṣṭa, Viśvakarmā, Maya, Nārada, Nagnajit, Viśālākṣa, Purandara, Brahmā, Kumāra, Nandi, Śaunaka, Garga, Vāstudeva, Aniruddha, Śuka and Bṛhaspati:

bhṛguratrirvasiṣṭa śca viśvakarmā mayastathā |
nārado nagnajiccaiva viśālākṣaḥ purandaraḥ ||
brahmā kumāro nandīśaḥ śaunako garga eva ca |
vāstudevo'niruddhaśca tathā śukabṛhaspatī ||
aṣṭādaśaite vikhyātā vāstuśāstropadeśakāḥ |

The five-fold columns are described and the Sūtra-tradition of the central post as regulator of the whole composition of a building is continued in the same chapter. Prāsādalakṣaṇa (Ch. 269) and Maṇḍapa-lakṣaṇa (Ch. 270) enumerate the details of Temple-architecture, plans, measures, storeys, cupolas, steeples and so on.

(b) Agni Purāṇa:

This Purāṇa is the most prominent with regard to architecture, for sixteen chapters of this Purāṇa deal elaborately on the topics of Vāstu and Śilpaśāstras. Of these, three chapters deal with Nāgarādi-Vāstu (106)–the canons of town-planning, Prāsāda-lakṣaṇa-kathanam (42) and Prāsāda-lakṣaṇa (104)–Temple-planning and the remaining thirteen deal with iconography and sculpture.

(c) Other Purāṇas:

The other two Mahāpurāṇas that deal with architectural concepts are the Skanda Purāṇa and the Garuḍa Purāṇa. While the Skanda Purāṇa devotes some chapters to laying of large cities, construction of halls, chariots and marriage halls, the 46-7 chapters of the Garuḍa Purāna deal with topics like palatial buildings (prāsādas), forts, pleasure-gardens, temples, maṭhas and the three types of buildings viz., residential, military and religious.

Other than these, the Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa, a minor Purāṇa, abounds with information on architecture, sculpture and painting. The text also gives an account of nearly hundred temples.

(vi). Āgama Literature^[6] :

The Āgamas deal with architecture more technically than the Purāṇas. For example, the Kāmikāgama, one among the tweny-eight Śaivāgamas, details about architecture and sculpture in about sixty chapters. Hayaśīrṣa-pāñcarātra and Atrisaṃhitā are some of the notable Vaiṣṇava āgamas, associated with temple architecture and the making of images.

(vii). Bṛhatsaṃhitā

The portion of this work has been compiled by Varāhamihira based on the authority of the master-architects Maya, Viśvakarmā (LVI. 29)^[7], Garga and Manu. The text gives a brief account of their treatises (LVI. 31)^[8].

(viii). Vāstuśāstra texts

[Vāstuśāstra texts]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

vāstoṣpate śagmayā saṃsadā te sakṣīmahi raṇvayā gātumatya |
pāhi kṣema uta yoge varaṃ no yūyaṃ pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ ||

[2]:

tvaṣṭā māyā vedapasāmapastamo bibhrat... brahmaṇaspatiḥ ||
Sāyana's com. on this reads:
ayaṃ tvaṣṭā devaśilpī māyāḥ | karmanāma etat | karmāṇi pātra nirmāṇa viṣayāṇi... | sa ca tvaṣṭā apasāṃ śobhanakarmavatāṃ madhye apastamaḥ atiśayena śobhanakarmā... |

[3]:

viśvakarmā vimanā ādvihāyā dhātā vidhātā paramota saṃdṛk |... ||
yo naḥ pitā janitā yo vidhātā dhāmāni veda bhuvanāni viśvā |... ||

[4]:

saptabhaumāṣṭabhaumaiśca sa dadarśa mahāpurīm |

[5]:

cāpamudgarahastaiśca sragvibhiḥ sarvato vṛtam || tadahaṃ prekṣya daityanāṃ puramadbhutadarśanam |

[6]:

A detailed description about the Āgamas will be discussed later in this chapter.

[7]:

bhūmikāṅgulamānena mayasyāṣṭottaraṃ śatam | sārddhaṃ hastatrayaṃ caivaṃ kathitaṃ viśvakarmaṇā ||

[8]:

prāsādalakṣaṇamidaṃ kathitaṃ samāsād gargeṇa yadviracitaṃ tadihāsti sarvam |
manvādibhirviracitāni pṛthūni yāni tatsaṃspṛśan prati mayātra kṛto'dhikāraḥ ||