Articles on Ancient Indian Architecture
Dholavira's Geometric Planning: A Harappan City's Deliberate Layout
By Michael Danino · Journal of Indian History and Culture, 2007
The article analyzes the geometric planning of Dholavira, a Harappan city in Gujarat, emphasizing its deliberate proportions and architectural precision. Discovered in the 1960s and excavated in the 1990s, Dholavira features monumental structures,…
The Vastu-vidya of Varahamihira
By Narayan M. Kansara · Sambodhi, 1998
N. M. Kansara’s article delves into Varahamihira’s treatment of architecture (vāstu‑vidyā) in the Brhatsamhitā, a sixth‑century encyclopaedic work better known for its astronomical and astrological sections. Varahamihira was a polymath who synthesised…
The Kahaum Stone Pillar Inscription of Skandagupta
By R. B. Pandey · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1952
This article reinterprets the Kahaum stone pillar inscription found in a village in the Salempur tahsil of present‑day Deoria district. Previous scholars such as Fleet and Bhagwanlal Indraji assumed that the five standing figures carved on the pillar…
A Further Note on the Origin of the Bell Capital
By A. K. Mitra · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1934
This miscellaneous note criticises Ananda Coomaraswamy’s attempt to identify bell capitals with lotus supports. Coomaraswamy argued that the lotus pedestal and bell capital represent the same form, citing examples from Bharhut and relating them to Vedic water…
Origin of the Bell-Capital
By Achyuta Kumar Mitra · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1931
The debate on the origin of the bell-capital centers on whether its design derives from the lotus symbol in Indian iconography or external influences. Scholars like Coomaraswamy argue for an Indian origin, linking the Mauryan capital’s lower member to the…
Town-Planning and House-Building in Ancient India according to Silpasastras
By K. Rangachari · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1927
Drawing on the Śilpaśāstras and especially the Manasara, this paper reconstructs ancient Indian principles of town planning and house building. The Manasara, an extensive architectural treatise, comprises seventy chapters, of which forty‑two are devoted to…
Buddha as an Architect
By P. K. Acharya · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1925
In early Buddhist northern India, villages and towns exhibited distinct architectural arrangements. Villages featured clustered houses separated by narrow lanes, adjacent to sacred groves and surrounding rice fields. Towns were fortified with walls, ramparts,…