Essays in Architectural Theory by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy:  This is one of the two volumes of Coomaraswamy’s writings on architecture published by IGNCA.  The essays, collected for the first time, are based on a probing analysis on terminology, planning, morphology and construction of vernacular, urban and sacred structures in ancient India.  there are six essays in all, published in different journals, the earliest being in 1930 and the last in 1947.

Essays in Early Indian Architecture by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy: This is a collection of four essays, three of which were published in a journal ‘Eastern Art’ and the fourth survived only in manuscript.  As the editor of the book Michael W. Meister writes, “Early Indian architecture has strong pragmatic basis, functional in its rhetoric, rooted in carpentry and other building crafts….A.K. Coomaraswamy set out to document this urban language of form as utilitarian and practical level in his ‘Early Indian Archituecture’ series…..”The two books together present a new approach to ancient Indian architecture.

Concepts and Responses: IGNCA held an international architectural design competition for its new building.  Some 194 entries were received.  An international jury made the selection and Prof. Ralph Lerner was awarded the first prize.  The cultural complex envisaged covers a 10-acre site.  In order to document for the future generation the designs of some of the best architects in the world. IGNCA published them as a book.  About 50 of the best proposals have been reproduced in the book.  The first five prizewinning designs have been dealt with in detail.

On Temple Architecture, IGNCA has published 7 books.

The Temple of Mukteswara at Cudadanapura by Vasundhara and Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat: The northern part of Karnataka is one of the richest areas of India in monuments of great artistic value.  Specially, the 10th, 11th and 12th centuries A.D. were a period of great cultural refinement.  The temple of Muktesvara (in Dharwar district) was built during this period.  The history of the temple is known to us through a set of seven long inscriptions engraved on steles.  Hence the book is not merely about the architectural beauty.  It packs the history, socio-cultural details and an iconographical analysis.  Dr. Vasundhara Filliozat is a historian and epigraphist.  Dr. Sylvain Filliozat teaches Sanskrit in Paris and has authored several books, including on temple architecture in Vijayanagar.

Tanjavur Brhadisvara by Pierre Pichard: Brhadisvara is one of the pilot studies of IGNCA’s kshetra samapada project.  This project attempts to look at select places of worship in India that have more than spiritual or religious significance.  This book is the first in the series published on Brhadisvara, concentrating on its architecture alone.  It has multilingual bibliography, inscriptional and epigraphically material, architectural and photographic records, architectural analysis, iconographical study of sculptures, stone reliefs, bronze images and mural paintings, line drawings and sketches.  The author gives an account of studies undertaken by various scholars on Brahdisvara since 1792 till recent times.

Jain Temples of Rajasthan by Sehdev Kumar: explores the artistic nuances of the rich tradition of the Jain temple architecture and iconography in India.  The author observes that “the Jains have been great temple builders in India particularly in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat.  Their temples are marked by the same aplomb that is evident in other Indian temples…. There is great sense of details and precision in their craft…” The book documents in details the iconography and architecture of two sets of temples in dilwara and Ranakpur.  These are separated by 500 years and 200 km.  Yet there is unbroken continuity in images in these temples, part of a larger tradition of temple architecture in India.  A review of the book appeared in Vol.IV, 2001 issue of Vihangama.

Govindadeva: A Dialogue in Stone edited by Margaret H. Case: The temple of Govindadeva, built in the 16th century is the largest temple ever built to have been designed as a single structure.  This volume records the temple in its totality – first discussing architecture and iconography and the  tracing its history of construction and its desecration by Aurangzeb, the lineage of priests and the temple rituals.  Heavily relying on the manuscript sources in the temple, the authors – noted Indian American and European scholars have reconstructed the events.

Encyclopedia of Indian Temple Architecture edited by M.A. Dhaky: This title is perhaps the most comprehensive documentation of temples.  They are extensively illustrated.  Part 3 of Volumes I and II have been published (two binds each) by IGNCA.  The other part of the volumes were published by the American Institute of Indian Languages.

Ancient Cities, Sacred Skies: Cosmic Geometries and City planning in Ancient India: This a compilation of essays, which explore the symbolic geometry that helped organized the integrated life of traditional cities.  There are seven technical papers in all, covering a time span of 4,500 years – from Harappan city of Dholavira to the capital city of the last great Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagara.  Kings and architects intentionally designed some of the cosmic geometries of these cities.  The north-south axis of Vijayanagara is revealed as the most accurate astromical alignment that has yet been found in the ancient world.  The essays have been written by scholars, renowned in their fields of study.  The books, through the interdisciplinary studies, facilitates deeper comprehension of the relationship of the physic-cultural, economic dimensions and the planning and organization of specific territory.  It has been edited by Prof. John McKim Malville and Dr. Lalit M. Gujral.