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Essay name: Architectural data in the Puranas

Author: Sharda Devi
Affiliation: Himachal Pradesh University / Department of History

This essay studies ancient Indian architectural science as found in technical treatises and the Puranas, with special reference to the Matsya, Garuda, Agni and Bhavishya Puranas. These texts detail ancient architectural practices, covering temple and domestic designs, dimensional specifications, and construction rules.

Chapter 6 - Houses

Page:

22 (of 37)


External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)


Download the PDF file of the original publication


Copyright (license):

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)


Warning! Page nr. 22 has not been proofread.

213
than other and the best of all is Simśapā, which is still the most approved
Indian wood for doorframes and house construction besides Sāla and
Devadāru. 78
The MP79 says that for constructing a house one ought to select for
timber, trees other than that are inhabited by birds, that are broken,
withered, burnt, that are in temples and burial grounds, milky trees,
Dhava, Neem, Bibhitak, Slesmātmak, mango and Kantaki. A tree that had
been worshipped with food, etc. should be cut on an auspicious day
beginning with the north-eastern part in a clockwise direction. If it falls
towards the north or east, it will be beneficial and one falling elsewhere
should be rejected. The MP80 says that a tree cut and brought down to the
ground is named Godhā.
HEIGHT OF BUILDING
It is given in MP81 that height of the building should be equal to the sum of
1/16th part of its width and four cubits. If the house has more than one
storey, the height of the second storey should be less than that of the first
storey by its 1/12th part. The height of the third storey should be less than
that of second storey by its 1/12th part and so on the same rule can be
followed up to a few storeys. In multi-storeyed buildings now a days this
rule cannot be followed strictly. However, upper storeys should have
successively height than the lower storeys. The height of building in
various directions affects the life and fate of the house owner. If the house

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