5-8. The Present Thesis

a. Problems of the Present Thesis:

The Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa can be regarded as a storehouse of knowledge as various topics of research and study can be found here. Specially, in the aspect of different Art forms and Architecture, this work has immense information. But so far only a few works have been done on this great treatise, which again do not come under the jurisdiction of research work in particular. The book has not received sufficient attention which it should get. No such research has been done on the point of projecting the importance of Art and Architecture of the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa. So the present project has been thought and taken for research.

b. Hypothesis of the Present Thesis:

a) The text of the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa bears a great significance in the field of Art and Architecture which deserves importance in the world of Sanskrit literature.

b) It bears a plenty of information and theories regarding the knowledge of Art and Architecture which needs to be appreciated and placed among the works of world Art.

c) The analysis on Art and Architecture provided in this book can be corroborated easily with those of modern works and thus this work could take a revolutionary role in the field of Art and Architecture.

c. Aims and Objectives:

The proposed work is expected to deal with a detailed study of various Art forms of India including Architecture, projected in the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa. The main objective of the work is to project the wide range of the field of Art in India on the basis of the subject matter of the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa and to correlate these Art forms with the modern counterparts. Also this project will try to note the lost Art forms which once remained dazzling in Indian Territory.

d. Methodology of the Present Thesis:

In the present work, mainly analytical and comparative method of Research have been adopted. Somewhere, Descriptive method of Research has also been used where it is felt necessary. At the beginning of the project, the process of collection of materials or data collection had been done from different sources. In this work, mainly primary data are preferred. But in few places, the help of secondary sources also has been taken to establish some points. After the collection of materials, those have been analysed here methodically. All the supporting references have been put as footnotes. This work is classified into seven chapters including the introductory one. In the last chapter, i.e., in concluding chapter, a brief conclusion has been written on the basis of the findings of the previous chapters. Consulted works have been organized alphabetically in a bibliography attached at the near part of this dissertation. The names of books as well as the Sanskrit words have been written in italic excluding the proper names. Diacritical marks on the Sanskrit words have been put as per oriental methodology.