Devta Murtiprakaranam tatha Rupmandanam

Author(s): Upendramohan Sankhyatirtha
Publisher: Metropolitan Printing and Publishing House Limited

Page 9

PREFACE
Indian Architecture and Sculpture, in a way, illustrate the back-ground of philosophy and religion that are still blended together in this country.
Sculptures and pictorial representations of our different gods are significant. For example, Yatindramatadīpika explains the meaning of the image of Visņu (Nārāyaṇa) with his four hands bearing sankha 'conch-shell, cakra 'wheel', gadā club' and padma 'lotus': sankha represents ether, cakra wind, gadā fire, padma water and the image itself the earth. Thus, the figure of Nārāyaṇa represents the idea (as generally held) that he supports the creation made of the five gross elements, himself being the Supreme Spirit. The image of Natarāja, the 'Lord of Dancers', represents his five activities (pancalrtya), viz., creation, preservation, destruction, giving rest and granting salvation. The deepest significance of the Divine Dance of Natarāja can be realized only within the heart by means of meditation. Thus, in our Architecture, so far as temples, stīpas, etc., are concerned, we find the same kind of symbolism. All this gives peculiar importance to our different texts on silpa, such as Sūtradhāra Mandana's works.
The Dev a tā mūrtip r a ka r a n a mis a text on Indian Iconography and Iconometry by Sūtradhāra M and a na, who has to his credit, many other works on Indian Architecture and Sculpture. This work has not been published before.
The present text has been commented upon for the first time by the editor himself. Along with this has been published in full for the first time the text of the Rūp a m and a n a m of the same author and treating a kindred subject. It is hoped that the understanding of the principal work will be facilitated by it. The texts have been edited from an original manuscript,