Temple design in six early Saiva scriptures, critical ed. and tr. of the prasadalaksana-portions of the Brhatkalottara, Devyamata, Kirana, Mohacurottara, Mayasamgraha & Pingalamata

Book Details

• Publisher: ADITYA PRAKASHAN Indological Publishers & Booksellers

• Language: Sanskrit, English

• Edition: Pondicherry

• Year: 2019

• ISBN-13: 9788184702286

• ISBN-10: 8184702280

• Subject(s): Fine Arts, Texts M

About the Book

This book is a significant contribution to the history of Saiva temple construction, presenting for the first time an edition and translation of prescriptions from some of the earliest known Sanskrit sources. The volume includes six works, all scriptures of the Mantramarga (tantras), preserved in early tenth- to thirteenth-century manuscripts from the Kathmandu valley. With the exception of the Pingalamata, all texts belong to the Saivasiddhanta tradition.

The study highlights the origins and development of temple architecture and iconography, correcting the longstanding focus on South Indian sources from the second millennium. By examining texts often overlooked in earlier scholarship, this work provides a more balanced understanding of the iconographic and architectural principles that guided temple construction before the Chola period in the Tamil-speaking South. Essential for researchers, scholars of Indology, and enthusiasts of Hindu temple art, this volume bridges textual study with historical and cultural context.