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STHAPATYA IN ANCIENT INDIA

Saturday, 25 December, 1999 Thane, Mumbai
Introductory Speech by Dr. Vijay Bedekar vbedekar@bom3.vsnl.net.in

On behalf of the members of the Institute for Oriental Study, Thane, I extend my
heartiest welcome to you all, to this seminar on the subject " Sthapatya " in Ancient
India being held under the auspices of the Institute. We have been conducting
seminars for last sixteen years on different facets of the Indian culture. This will be
the twenty-fourth seminar. Today we are going to have two special lectures and
more than fifteen scholars from different parts of the country are going to present
their papers in this seminar. I am sure these deliberations would throw light on various
dark corners of this subject and by the end of the day we will be richer in knowledge.

Every culture or civilization of the world has its own history especially related to the "
architecture ". Here we may ask a question, what do we mean by architecture? If we
see only the dictionary meaning, it means the art and science of designing and
constructing buildings. This may lead us to believe that this is the history of bricks
and mortar or the evolution of design, etc. However this is not true. By and large
human needs like protection, shelter and many basic functions of the society are the
same the world over. In spite of this, we do not see similar or identical structures
everywhere. Not only do they differ in design but they also differ in many respects in
their expression as seen in their art. It would be worth while to see the definition of
the Art of Architecture given by Encyclopaedia Britannica, [1]

Architecture is the art and the technique of building, employed to fulfil the practical
and expressive requirements of civilized people. Almost every settled society that
possesses the techniques for building produces architecture. It is necessary in all but
the simplest cultures; without it, man is confined to a primitive struggle with the
elements; with it, he has not only a defense against the natural environment but also
the benefits of a human environment, a prerequisite for and a symbol of the
development of civilized institutions.

This definition is more restricted and confined to the ability of the society or the
civilization to construct shelter for protection and also speaks of symbol of
development from primitive to civilized institutions. By and large human beings do not
stay in isolation but they form settlements. These buildings built by him for any
purpose, become the part of this settlement. So these structures also do not remain
in isolation, but are related to and dependent, for the fulfillment of their functions and
for longer survival, on the environment in which they are built. Any disharmony,
incompatibility or disrespect to the environmental resources to build these structures
may lead to undesirable effects on the environment and the settlement. So art or
architecture does not mean only building the shelter but it also speaks of philosophy,
ethical, moral and cultural values and the religious beliefs of the society in which it is
created. In the year 1996 (3rd to 14th June) United Nations had a conference on
Human Settlements (habitat II) in Istanbul, Turkey. The preamble of the conference is
more inclusive. The preamble says, [2]

1.Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are
entitled to enjoy the benefits of human settlements for a healthy and productive life
in harmony with nature and in harmony with shared spiritual and moral values and

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ethical considerations. Without these values and considerations that imply justice,
peace, love and compassion, a human being cannot live in harmony with others.

5.Throughout history, cities, towns and urban areas have served as centres of
culture and civilization, facilitating the evolution of knowledge, fine arts, as well as
industry and commerce. [At their best these areas play a primary role in the
transformation and growth of the economy, in the division of labor, in social, cultural
and political evolution, beginning from traditional societies, and in opening up to the
modern world ]. At their worst, they perpetuate social exclusion and internal
disorganization. Many cities are no longer efficient places for commerce and
employment and harbor detrimental patterns of production, consumption and mobility.
These are symptoms of mismanagement, lack of resources and failure to adapt to new
social, cultural and economic realities in a changing world. On the other hand,
enhanced communication increased trade and capital flows and technological
developments offer new opportunities for cities, not least in developing countries, to
provide the framework for accelerated and ecologically sustainable industrialization.
Thus, cities can be the engines for sustained economic growth and sustainable
development and can be part of the world economy. However, if present urban
problems are not solved, they will become obstacles to stability, well being and the
attainment of sustainable development. Urban areas must continue to fulfil their vital
roles in order to nourish and sustain socio-economic development, culture and
civilization. Therefore, deliberate and concerted efforts are required by all women and
men, civil society, Governments at all levels and the world community to overcome
the growing, serious problems of social exclusion and the rapid degradation and
disorganization of cities. [The establishment of appropriate management machinery
and the allocation of adequate resources are also necessary].

The draft of the preamble is definitely shows concern about the present situation of
our urban centers specially it's disrespect to the environment. It also warns of
degradation and disorganization of cities. If the visible part of architecture is to build
houses, the invisible part of this art is to see how it respects the philosophy of the
culture and the environment in which it exists. As seen earlier the requirements of
human settlement are many. Apart from places of worship, society needs proper town
planning, roads, schools and colleges, administrative buildings, water reservoirs,
markets, hospitals etc, etc. To construct these structures we need timber, iron and
many more things. So history of architecture should also include history of other
industries required for construction of buildings of various nature. Unfortunately,
today in India, history of architecture means history of temple buildings and sculpture.
Many temples in India are gigantic and massive. It is obvious that it could not have
been possible to construct these temples without the aid of tools, instruments and
engineering devices. However we see archaeologist and historians in the previous
century were more busy in searching the western influence on Indian art and
architecture rather than looking for indigenous science and technology responsible for
these structures. We have well recorded travelers accounts and internal and external
evidences to show that agriculture [3], textiles, logic, mathematics, astronomy,
grammar, well developed medicine and health care system, in short all systems that a
civilized society needs, were developed and they existed at least for more than two
thousand years. Why then the historians of last century and many even today did not
look for possibilities of development of science and technologies rooted and develop
indigenously? It would be worthwhile exercise to find out the reasons for this
mentality, which are preventing us from understanding the creative and functional
aspects of our ancient Architecture, culture and civilization. [4]

The " Indology " as we know it today and the Sanskrit studies were started in the
latter half of the eighteenth century. Almost all earlier Orientalists were Western and
howsoever devotion and sincerity they had, it was very difficult for them to digest or
rather accept that a non-western civilization can have well developed science and
technology of its own. James Mill's views on Indian civilization are well known. In one
of his dispatch of February 1824, his views on Indian science are, [5]

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With respect to the sciences it is worse than a waste of time to employ persons
either to teach or to learn them in the state in which they are found in the Oriental
booksto establish seminaries for the purpose of teaching mere Hindoo, or mere
Mohomedan literature, you bound yourselves to teach a great deal of what was
frivolous, not a little of what was purely mischievous and a small remainder indeed in
which utility was in any way concerned.

Lord Macaulay father of English education in India was of the opinion, [6]

. when we can teach European science, we shall teach systems which,by universal
confession, wherever they differ from those of Europe differ for the worse, and
whether, when we can patronize sound philosophy and true history, we shall
countenance, at the public expense, medical doctrines which would disgrace an
English farrier, astronomy which would move laughter in girls at an English boarding
school.geography made of treacle and seas of butter. We are a board for the
wasting the public money, for printing books which are of less value than the paper
on which they are printed was while it was blank-- for giving artificial encouragement
to absurd history, absurd metaphysics, absurd physics.

Charles Grant and Wilberforce expressed similar views about Indian Science and
civilization about forty years before. These and such opinions shaped the direction of
education in India and the mindset of contemporary Englishmen who made their
careers as historians, archaeologists or Sanskritists in India during nineteenth and
early twentieth century. Prinsep, Cunninham, Fergusson and Havell are founding
fathers of Indian archaeology and history of architecture. Their opinions and
conclusions are treated as gospel truths by succeeding generations of Indologists.
James Furgusson arrived in India in 1820 and started indigo business at Calcutta and
left for England within ten years. Cunningham arrived in India in 1833 at the age of
twenty. Their knowledge and views about India relied on James Mill's History of India
(The History of British India Vols. 1 and 2, 1840, London: James Madden and
Company.), which was, required reading for all English men who were to serve in
India. Mills never visited India and knew no Indian languages. India was a second-rate
civilization incapable of evolving any art, architecture, sculpture or sciences equal to
those in the West. Obviously any remarkable construction just could not have been
original Indian creation but had to reflect western i.e. Greek, Roman or Persian
influence. The finding and conclusions of these archaeologists and art historians
further strengthened Deindianization and westernisation of Indians, started by
Macaulay. About forty years later in 1875 Sir Richard Temple while writing to the then
British Viceroy Northbrook observed, [7]

No doubt the alumni of our schools and colleges do become as a class discontented.
But this arises partly from our higher education being too much in the direction of law,
public administration, and prose literature, where they may possibly imagine, however
erroneously, that they may approach to competition with us. But we shall do more
and more to direct their thoughts towards practical sciences, where they must
inevitably feel their utter inferiority to us.

Once this goal of denigrating India was set, any theory howsoever absurd could be
put forth to justify Western influence. Fergusson proposed a classification of Indian
architectural styles on racial basis and called them Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Pathan,
Moghul and Rajput. Even Buddhist and Jain were to him racial groupings and not only
religious. This led him to believe that the people of south India were devoid of noble
feelings and their intellectual status was mediocre This further led him to believe that
nine out of ten south Indian temples are a fortuitous aggregation of parts, arranged
without plan, by sheer accident! Fegusson contrasted the Halebid temple with the
Parthenon. He acknowledged that all the pillars of Parthenon were identical, while no
two facets of the Halebid temple were the same. However to him the Parthenon was
a product of the intellect, and though the Halebid temple was a portrayal of human

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faith and feeling, lacked intellect.

Cultural and social engineering started by Macaulay and the success it obtained have
no parallels in the world history. John Keay the author of the book India Discovered
writes, [8]

This, however, was not quite the same thing as taking Indian architecture at its
Indian value. For Fergusson, as for Macaulay, Hinduism was still " the most monstrous
superstition the world has ever known". He made no attempt to master the symbolism
and iconography of Hindu temples, and took his stand simply on what he regarded as
the universal values of architecture. This dispassionate outlook eased the business of
classification and his three temple styles (Dravidian, Chalukyan and Indo-Aryan),
though much subdivided, are still accepted today. But one can understand how
irritating such pontifications must have been to Alexander Cunningham, whose
scholarly bent precluded all aesthetic judgements. Havell, too, rightly insisted that
Fergusson's "true styles of architecture", "true principles' and ''universal values'' were
nothing of the sort. They were just a rationalization of his European outlook.

This intoxication of " European superiority " complex just denied any creativity to the
native civilization. Missionaries whose only goal was to spread Christianity at any cost
strengthen this premise. So natives were left only with their superstition,
primitiveness and backwardness in all walks of their life. However the ground reality
was different and the Englishmen working in India for any purpose, was seeing
magnificent temples, arts and crafts and every system, which a civilized society
needs. As ability for its creation was not to be attributed to the native civilization the
only choice or explanation left was to either advance absurd racial theories or outside
i.e. western influence theories. Your eyes cannot see what your mind cannot think.
Temples were the part of the human settlements i.e. habitat and were not isolated
entities. Their creation had some societal function, needed various materials, sciences
and skilled artisans. Cunningham and Fergusson's accounts have excellent details of
height, lengths and breadth of column and beams of temples but fail to muster see or
appreciate the throbbing society behind this creation. The ample proof of this was
available in the literature and other activities of the society, which it had left behind,
and was available for examination even at that time. We can examine some of them
here.

Never was the concept of vaastu restricted only to the temple construction. It
included all construction activity needed for the functioning of any civilized society.
Town planning, construction of roads and dams, hospitals, stadiums, gardens and
parks is the subject matter of many shilpa texts. It also included metallurgy and
mining. Traditionally shilpa shastra typically included 32 vidyas and 64 kalas. Even if
one goes through the names of these kalas and vidyas you get the idea of its
extensive coverage of human activity. The word vaastu is derived from the root vas i.
e. to inhabit. The definition of vaastu and the qualities required by sthapati given in
the shilp samhitas, is very interesting. According to Mayamata, vaastu means, [9]

A vaastu is a place where anybody, immortal or mortal, could live. The God Divine is
all pervading, hence any object is called vastu. Houses, palaces, cloths, pots and
pans are all vastu. Houses and palaces contain many vastus and are also built of
them. They are made of vastu, they are related to vastu and hence the ancients
have called them vaastu. In short, a house, palace, town and a city are called
vaastu.

According to Bhrugu Samhita, shilpa means, [10]

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Fabrication of objects of many kinds, different type of machines, their designs, i. e.
mechanical engineering, metallurgy as well as different appliances and construction of
all kinds of residential buildings are included in the science of shilpa.

All Bhrugu, Kashyap and Mayamata give the essential characters of an engineer
(sthapati). According to Mayamata Ch.5, [11]

An engineer should have knowledge of all branches of engineering and capable of

laying foundation of any project. He should have adequate ability, not more or less.
He should be compassionate and kind hearted; he should neither hate nor be jealous
of any body. He should be always alert and creative. He should be expert in
mathematics, history. He should be truthful and having control over his senses. He
should know the art of drafting and drawing, and also topography and meteorology of
the land and the country. He should be a good employer and should not be covetous.
He should be healthy, avoid committing mistakes and also not afflicted by seven bad
habits.

I think this definition should be valid even today. Only I do not know how many would
qualify the test?

Another vaastu text Shilpsamhita also gives us the detailed information of areas and
activity shilpa shastra typically covered. The concept of town planning was well
developed as can be seen in the passage of Shilpa Samhita. [12]

According to this text the planner had to take into consideration various vocations of
the society. He had to select appropriate, suitable, safe and productive land for the
development of the city or town. Detailed consideration was given for the
construction of houses of kings, learned people, warrior class, merchants, traders and
business people as well as service class. Outlets for agriculture, for industries of
various craftsmen and bazaars for fishermen and butchers were provided. Town
planning also included recreation and amusement parks, play grounds and stadiums,
gardens and creeper clusters, art galleries and pleasure pavilions, water reservoirs
and wooden play hills. Royal palace complex had mansions for preceptor, army chief,
prognosticator and ministers. Location for temples of different Gods, inside as well as
outside the town was provided. The most important aspect of town planning was the
road, lanes and squares, which divided the city. Last but not the least, the provision
for the prostitutes was also made.

We have many literary, archaeological and epigraphical evidences, to confirm these

statements.

Bharata's Natyashastra is at least two thousand years old. He has not only given the
information regarding construction of stage or theater but his overall dimensions of a
theatre are based on the theory of acoustics. Bharata has specifically mentioned that
the length of the theatre should not be more than 30 meters as otherwise echo
effect would be operational and the audience can not hear the oration of actors
properly. (2.19)

He further states that, if the length of theatre is more than 30 meters then the men
sitting in the last row of the auditorium cannot see the expressions on the face of the
actors. Thus maximum length of the theatre is restricted to 30 meters for the above
two reasons. (2.18)

Bharata specifically mentions that theatre should have height as if it is the two
storied building.

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Increasing the height of the theatre also helps hear the oration of actors clearly. He
advises that the roof of the theatre should be like that of a cave.

In order that there is a very mild breeze in the theatre all windows should be provided
with grills and shutters. This ensures that the words spoken by the actors reach the
audience without any obstruction. (2.80-81) Natyashastra of Bharata. [13]

Construction of dams and water management also exhibits excellent skills

Following are the principles used by the irrigation engineers at the medieval period,
i.e. before 1000 AD, [14]

A weir has flat slopes on the upstream and the downstream side. A vertical wall is not
favored. The flat upstream slope help the silt in floodwaters to pass over the weir,
the life of dam is thus not reduced because of silting of reservoir. In south India,
there are many dams, which are functioning even after one thousand years.

A weir has to be constructed on solid rocks. It may be zigzag in its alignment. This
precaution has two effects, one the length of weir increases, increasing its capacity
of water flow. Another advantage is that the weir never fails by piping.

Grand anicut near Thanjavur is the best example. British engineers were very much
impressed by the engineering professionalism with which it was built and also its long
service life. British engineers constructed an anicut across the river Cauvery, imitating
the construction of the grand anicut. But after constructing the new weir at the time
of very first reservoir filling the weir failed because of piping.

A large number of reservoirs were built on the tributaries and nallas of a river. In a
distance of 10 to 15 kms, there are 33 reservoirs across river Suruliyar in Tamilnadu.
The reservoirs are inter connected. The river in flood feeds its floodwater to these
reservoirs. Thus number of small weirs help augment floodwater and the destructive
effect of flood is controlled. Thus the system of many small reservoirs helps control
flooding also.

The Ery system of south India [15] is an excellent example of simplicity and efficiency
achieved by traditional engineering skills. According to one estimate there are 2 lakh
Erys in India which receive about 1000 mm or less rainfall which provides irrigation to
about 5 million hectares. Ery is not water tank. Tank usually is a dug out reservoir,
which has steps on all sides reaching down to the water. An Ery is a reservoir of
water contained behind earthen bunds or embankments. Inspite of its usefulness in
irrigation proved for centuries, the modern intellegentia feels this technology is
backward and primitive.

Bav in Gujarat is also an excellent example of traditional constructional skills.

We have many literary evidences for hospital and Sport Pavilions. Now we have
inscriptional evidence from Kakatiya period to show that general and maternity
hospitals were maintain by the State for the benefit of the public. [16] In a recently
held excavation at Nagarjunakonda an arena was unearthed. [17]

Kautiliya Arthashastra is full of engineering and technological references related to

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Building Construction, Transportation and Communication engineering, Town Planning
and Irrigation Engineering. [18]

Superior quality of Steel produced in ancient and medieval India and simplicity of its
production technology is unmatched in the history of science in the World. Dr Helenus
Scott sent samples of Indian steel to Sir J. Banks, President of the British Royal
Society with the following note, [19]

I enclose in one of the boxes a specimen of a kind of steel which is called wootz and
is in high esteem among the Indians. It appears to admit of a harder temper than
anything we are acquainted with. I should be happy to have your opinion of its quality
and composition. It is employed here for covering that part of gun locks which the
flint strikes, for cutting iron on a lethe, for chissels for cutting stone, for files and
saws and for every purpose where excessive hardness is necessary.

The opinion expressed was " excellently adopted for the purpose of fine cutlery, and
particularly for all edge instruments used for surgical purposes."

The sample was sent to England in 1794 at least four decades earlier when Macaulay
was commenting on Indian Science as utter absurdity and Cunningham and Fergusson
had started expressing their views on Indian architecture.

Indian architectural history needs a through revision. I hope this seminar will be a
step in that direction.

Dhanyavad.
Dr. Vijay V. Bedekar

Reference
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1986, Fifteenth Edition, Vol.13, p 932
2. The Habitat Agenda, Interim draft Global Plan of Action, Prepared by the Informal Drafting group of the
Preparation Committee for the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), 31 July
1995.
3. See my paper presented in the seminar Agriculture in Ancient India held at Thane, India in the year
1992. Paper is available at the Institute's Web site www.orientalthane.com
4. See my paper British Policies and Indian Culture. Available at Institute's Web site
www.orientalthane.com
5. Sharpe, H., 1920 Selections from Educational Records. Part 1: 1781-1839. Calcutta: Bureau of
Education. p. 92
6. Ibid., 110, 117.
7. Dharampal, "Indigenous Indian Technological Talent and The Need for It's Mobilization", lecture delivered
at Birla Industrial and Technological Museum, Calcutta on 4th October 1986. Published in PPST Bulletin
No. 9 December 1986. P. 6.
8. Keay, John., India Discovered, 1981, P 160.
9. Vaze, K. V., "Prachin Hindi Shilpashastra", Introduction, p 1, published in Tilak Mahavidyalaya's quarterly
(4th year) No.1.
10. Vaze, K. V., Shilpashikshanache Mahatva, 1924.
11. Vaze, K. V., Hindi Shilpashastra Bhag Pahila, 1928 p 43. Published by Bharat Itihas Samshodhan Mandal,
Pune.

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12. Vaze, K. V., "Prachin Hindi Shilpashastra, Introduction", p. 7, published in Tilak Mahavidyalaya's
quarterly (4th Year) No. 1
13. Kulkarni, R. P., Bharat Praneet Natya Mandap, 1984, Published by Maharashtra Rajya Sahitya Sanskritee
Mandal, Mumbai.
14. Personal communication with shri R. P. Kulkarni
15. Mukundan, T. M., "The Ery system of South India", PPST Bulletin, September 1988 No16: 1-37
16. Rama Rao, B., "Medico Historical Information From Non-Medical Sources", Bulletin of The Indian Institute
of History of Medicine, Vol,16 p.6
17. Deshpande, S. H., Physical Education In Ancient India, p.91, Published by Bharatiya Vidya Prakashan, I.
U. B.Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar Delhi- 110007
18. Kulkarni, R. P., Engineering And Technology In Kautiliya Arthashastra, 1980, Published by The Institution
of Engineers (India), 8 Gokhale road Calcutta-700020.
19. Book review of Dharampal's book Indian Science and Technology in the Eighteenth Century, published
by Impex India 1971, printed in Readings From PPST Bulletin, p. 34.

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