MAYAMATAM

(KMS No. 14-15)

Treatise of Housing, Architecture and Iconography

 Edited and Translated by BRUNO DAGENS

2007, 2 vols., ci+978pp., line drawings, appen., bibl., index,gloss., ISBN: 978-81-208-1224-6 (vol. I), 978-81-208-1225-3 (vol. II) 978-81-208-1226-0 (set), Rs.2500 (set) (HB). (3rd reprint)

The Mayamatam is a Vāstuśāstra, i.e. a treatise on dwelling and as such it deals with all the facets of gods’ and mens’ dwellings, from the choice of the site to the iconography of the temple walls. It contains numerous and precise descriptions of the villages and towns as well as of the temples, houses, mansions and palaces. It gives indications for the selection of a proper orientation, right dimensions and of appropriate materials. Well thought of by traditional architects (sthapatis) of south India, the treatise is of great interest at a time when technical traditions, in all fields,
are being scrutinized for their possible modern application.