Traditional Indian Architecture

[Deepak Gupta]

Hello everybody in the group,

It is great pleasure to join a group that brings under one roof
so many serious scholars devoted to study of Indology and related 
fields from around the world.

I am trying to relate to the current discussion, probably it
is going to take a while before I get really involved.
Meanwhile, I would like to introduce my current research work,
and invite anybody for a meaningful exchange on the subject.
As a part of my master's thesis in architecture, I am studying
ancient architectural tradition in India. I am sure many of
you will be aware of Vastu Purusha Mandala and other
architectural concepts in the Indian tradition. As an
architect my primary aim is to appropriate these principles
into practice, which is probably a life time project. To begin
with, the current work is a pilot study that explicates basic
premises of the hoary tradition, and identifies areas for
future research that might lead to such an appropriation.The
abstract below will further clarify the structure of the work. 

Presently, I am defining terms such as
`sacred',`metaphysics',`ritual',`space',`time', others. 
analysing the principles. As it is apparent that these
terms can have various meanings in varied contexts which is
more true in case of Indian tradition and its philosophical
constructs. Mainly I am drawing on Coomarswamy, Joseph
Campbell, H Zimmer, and Eliade for the purpose. I will welcome
any suggestions in this regard and other aspects of the study.
Here is the abstract. 


Title: SACRED ARCHITECTURE : An Exploration of Indian Traditional
Principles 


Abstract 

The ancient Indian architectural treatises are among the rare texts
that  prescribe in detail various aspects of architectural design such
as geometry  proportions and orientation. Clearly delineated canons 
dominate the text without any explanations for their prescriptions. This often
leads to their rejection as `myth', causing them to fall under the 
label of the unexplainable and illogical. It must be understood, however, that all these 
prescribed physical entities have metaphysical origins that are not 
readily evident. Moreover, Indian studies of the ancient texts, while 
accepting their metaphysical premises, have generally adopted a historical 
viewpoint in their approach. Therefore, even the most detailed inquiries have 
largely been unable to generate any significant appropriation of 
the esoteric knowledge that might be useful for architectural 
design in the present.

The proposed study will attempt to explicate the hidden relationship
between the physical and metaphysical aspects of architectural
design within the framework of traditional Indian architecture. The
main purpose underlying this proposal is to conduct a comprehensive
study of Indian architectural principles and document available
sources on related topics.  Such an analytical exercise will begin
with a theoretical exploration into concepts such as `space', `time'
and `sacredness' as defined in Indian thought and philosophy,
resulting in the delineation of concepts and terms that are germane
to any discourse on metaphysical aspects of design. The next step
will be a study of traditional Indian architecture, within the
earlier developed conceptual framework. A comprehensive survey of
the application of vastu principles (fundamental principle in
traditional Indian architecture) in town planning, housing and
residential design as well as religious, institutional and
 commercial buildings, will be conducted. Finally, a summary of the
previous stages of research will form the foundation for a 
consideration of how traditional principles might inform the contemporary 
design. 


              
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