''Samarangana Sutradhara'' () is an 11th-century poetic treatise on
classical Indian architecture (''
vastu shastra'') written in the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
language attributed to
Paramara King
Bhoja
Bhoja was the Paramara dynasty, Paramara king of Malwa from 1010 until his death in 1055. He ruled from Dhara (city), Dhara (modern Dhar), and Military career of Bhoja, fought wars with nearly all his neighbours in attempts to extend his king ...
of
Dhar.
The title ''Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra'' is a compound word that literally means "architect of human dwellings", but can also be decomposed to an alternate meaning as "stage manager for battlefields" – possibly a play of words to recognize its royal author.
Three manuscripts of ''Samarangana Sutradhara'' were discovered in early 20th century, while others were found later. They vary somewhat and all survive in an incomplete form. The most complete version is one likely copied and recompiled in the 15th century.
This manuscript has 7,430 ''
shloka
Shloka or śloka ( , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927).) in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is "any verse or stan ...
s'' (verses) set in 83 ''adhyayas'' (chapters). A notable aspect of each ''adhyaya'' is that it starts with a verse composed in ''
anustubh'' meter (''chanda'' in Hindu texts) and ends with a verse in a longer meter, typically ''upajati'' or ''vasantatilaka''.
The ''Samarangana Sutradhara'' is among the few important texts that have survived on the theory and practice of Hindu temple architecture in the north, central and western Indian subcontinent (chapters 52–67). Its chapters also include discussions on town planning, house architecture, iconography, painting (''chitra''), and sculpture arts (''
shilpa'').
Some chapters include Hindu legends such as of sleeping
Vishnu
Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
as it explains its ideas, as well as verses on Hindu philosophies such as
Samkhya and
Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ...
. It includes a discussion of ''
vastu mandalas'' (chapters 11–15). Others are practical manuals on architecture and construction; for example, house (chapter 37), soil preparation (chapter 8), wood and timber for carpentry (chapter 16), laying bricks (chapter 41) and others. Later chapters (70–83) are dedicated to sculpture and painting.
The ''Samarangana Sutradhara'' acknowledges and builds upon older Indian texts on temple architecture, and ''vastu'' in general, states
Adam Hardy – a scholar of
Hindu temple architecture and related historic texts. It provides one of the most complete list and descriptions of 64 designs of Indian temples as they existed by the 11th century. The text also influenced later Indian treatises such as the 12th-century ''
Aparajitaprccha''. The text is significant in its discussion about Nagara,
Dravida,
Bhumija and other diversified styles of Hindu temples. It is particularly notable for the sections that match with the unfinished 11th-century temple in
Bhojpur (
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...
) and the earliest known architectural drawings of a Hindu temple engraved on the surrounding rocks.
The ''Samarangana Sutradhara'' has a chapter on the art of mechanical contrivances, the
yantras (chapter 31). ''Samarangana Sutradhara'' includes chapters about the decoration of palaces, which describes the construction of mechanical contrivances (
automata), including mechanical bees and birds, fountains shaped like humans and animals, and male and female dolls that refilled oil lamps, danced, played instruments, and re-enacted scenes from Hindu mythology.
It has some visionary verses as well, such as envisioning machines that could fly. However, the author states that he will "not explain how to construct such machines, for the sake of secrecy, and not due to lack of knowledge."
Editions
*Sastri, T.G. (1924)
*Kumar, Pushpendra, ''Bhoja's Samarangana-Sutradhara : Vastushastra''. 2 Vols, New Bharatiya Book Corporation (2004), .
Critical studies and translations
*Chapters on residential architecture, Felix Otter (2009)
*Chapters on Indian temple architecture, Adam Hardy (2015)
*Sharma, Sudarshan Kumar, ''Samarangana Sutradhara of Bhojadeva : An Ancient Treatise on Architecture (With an introduction, Sanskrit text, verse by verse English translation'', 2 Volumes (2007),
Notes
References
{{reflist
See also
*
Vastu Shastra
Indian literature
Indian architectural history
Architectural treatises
Hindu texts
Hindu architecture
Indian iconography
History of Malwa
Bhoja