5. Problem faced in Understanding the text Kāśyapa Śilpaśāstra

The language of the Śilpaśāstra texts, by and large, looks to be at the first reading quiet simple. But as the exposition becomes technical, one is at times at a stand-still to understand what exactly is meant and how it could be executed practically. It has been shown in the section on Gopura (chapter V of the thesis) that the readings are corrupt in particular places in all the texts that deal with the matter, be they the varied editions of Kāśyapa Śilpaśāstra or the Kāmika, Ajita, Kāraṇa and other Śaivāgamas that have been referred to for clarification.

In addition to this, as P.K. Acharya notes in his Preface (p. xxii) to the edition and translation of Mānasāra, one is faced with great difficulty “owing to the technical nature of the subject. There are various words used in a strictly technical sense differing entirely from their derivative literary renderings. It is... an extremely difficult task to trace the exact significance of forgotten ancient technical expressions.”

Hence it becomes necessary to meet the Sthapatis who are experts in this field and get clarifications from them. Here too, one has to meet some difficulties because they often use the terms in regional language which has an equivalent in the texts, or sometimes not. One has to sit with them to understand such terminologies from actually employing the theory into practice.