Family doctors of last century used to

say

Go, use this, It will work

But modern Specialist doctors say
Go, try this, it may work

Sushruta says Cancer is not a disease,

cancer cells are present in every human
body

Modern doctors say Diabetes cannot be

cured, it can be only controlled

ISC-2015 Mumbai

Same is true for Engineering.

Ancient Temples, Palaces, Forts etc were

constructed to last for 1000 years,

But modern buildings, after 100 years, are
declared UNSAFE.

What is the secret of endurance of our

heritage structures?
ISC-2015 Mumbai

By A.S. Nene
Professor of Civil Engineering (Retd),
VNIT Nagpur
nene_ashok@yahoo.com

Ancient
comprise

Indian
of

techniques

engineering.

engineering

ten
and

All

sciences,
sixty-four

these

philosophy,
thirty-two
skills

sciences

of

are

interlinked in one way or other. Hence one

can find hundreds of references of botany
related to engineering.
ISC-2015 Mumbai

Many ancient texts,

applications

of

describes engineering
various

components

(Panchanga) of trees, plants, and creepers .

ISC-2015 Mumbai

The Engineering applications of botany

can

be grouped under following heads.

1. Adobe construction- brick earths, mud plasters,
pottery , mud floorings etc.
2. Tempering of steel implements
3. Water purification.
4. Rainfall predictions.
5. Gold plating of copper and silver
ISC-2015 Mumbai

6. Crack detection by herbal paints.

7. Adamantine Glue.
8. Lime Mortars and lime plasters

9. Basic colors and pigments.

10.Herbal paste for water divining.

ISC-2015 Mumbai

Chemical

soil

stabilization

includes

soil

selection, treatment with organic additives.

Such soil is used for brick earth, mud

walls, plastering, and outer coat of idols,
pottery, base coat of cave paintings and
other purposes.
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Soil plasticizers
Functions of soil plasticizers are; to increase
1. workability with optimum water content
2. water repellent property
3. strength by increasing the density

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10

Soil plasticizers can be grouped as

1-Extracts of
Flowers: Palash, Shalmali
Fruits : Trifala1Wood apple2, Holy tree
fruit3
Barks: Khadir4, Arjun trees

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2-Natural fibers
Cotton, coir, wool, silk cotton , jute, spider
web etc.

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3-Natural polymers
Cow Dung, Jaggery, Coconut water, Eggs,

Green Algae, rice husk, burnt coconut shell

etc.

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1a Bricks and Roofing tiles

Shukla Yajurvedhita (3000 BC) mentions

methods

of

preparation

bricks

and

special type of pot (Ukha). The soil is

stabilized by adding hairs of goat, fine

sand, iron slag and stone dust.

Shatapatha Brahman (2500 BC) mentions

use of sand, stone dust and iron slag for

soil stabilization.
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15

Trifala (three fruits-Aamla, Hirda and Behda)

are boiled in water till the solution is reduced
to

one

decoction

fourth

of

original

volume.

This

is called Trifala-Kashaya. (Ref.

Shilparatna).
The

suitable

soil

is

mixed

with

Trifala-

Kashaya. The soil is kneaded for a long period.

The soil such prepared was used for plastering

of walls.
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16

Vastu Vidya describes the soil preparation

as below,

Add extracts of barks of milky trees,

knead for one to ten days
Add extracts of barks of Shirish tree,
knead for one to ten days
Add decoction (Kashaya), knead for 3 to

30 days
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17

13th Centuary Floating Bricks of

Ter and Dhoki Villiage
On Kurduwadi Latur Road, Maharashtra.
(Supposed to be made by Saint Gora Kumbhar)
Sizes in mm : 100 x 75 x 62.5 Min to 300 x 150
75.
Weight in kg: 0.75 min to 3.15 Max.
Density ratio (Std Brick/ Ter brick): 1.88 to 2.37
Floating period prior to sinking in water : 4 to 40
hours .
Probable Ingredients: Rice Husk creating partially
interconnected pores.

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Brick Floating on Water

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19

1b-Clay idols

Additives- milk, yogurt, ghee , stone dust;

iron slag . Decoctions made from barks of
Khadir or Arjun trees ,oil, resinous exudation
of Sal tree, grass of kundru plant.
Ref. Tantrasamuchhyaya,Sakaladhikar
and
Vastu Vidya
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20

Aparajitprichha (1200-1300 AD)

Suitable soil (white, red or yellow) is mixed

with cows milk, linseed oil, floor of wheat
and barley. A decoction is prepared by boiling
barks of Kshir and bakul in water

Clay balls are prepared and allowed to dry.

Further lime and gum is added to dry
pulverized clay balls are allowed to mature
for on month. Lime in 1:2 parts is added and
the mixer is used for coating the idols.
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21

1c-Foundry soils for metal casting

The Dhokra Technique of Metal

casting developed by tribes of
Bastar
1. The first layer, the closest to the wax
sculpture,
is the river bed soil, water and
coal powder applied with brush.
2. A paste of red soil with rice husk is applied to
first dry solidified layer This is applied with
hands.
3.A final coating of rice husk, sand and clay
is applied to the entire surface of the piece.

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1d-Adobe floors

Floors are made from poured and trowelled mud mixed

with Isabgol (psyllium hulls).

The mud is easy to work and acts as a binder when the

floor dries.
It reduces cracking and increases strength.
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23

1d-Light weight wood

For seats of air balloons wood of certain

trees

(Palash)

are

specified.-

Ref.

Agastsamhita.

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24

1f- Earthen pots

Mix floor of Satu, powder of Amaksh

,Tatwasi and coconut water to clay in a

proportion of 8 parts of clay and 1 part

of admixtures. Ref. Shilparatna 1.14.48

1g. Ceramic pots

Prepare a mixture of Shraveshat,Guggul and

Kunda grass (one eleventh of clay) and curd .
Apply this mixture to clay pot before baking in a
furnace. Ref. Shilparatna 2.19.11

1h- Glazing of earthen pots

Apply a mixture of milk ghee, honey

and Herb powder (churni, Pipli,Marichi

and Rasani ) to clay pots. This process

imparts glazing to the ceramic pots.

Ref. Shilparatna 1.14.15

1i- Coloring of Clay pots

Mix sesame powder and resins of Kapittha and

Beal

trees.

Add

desired

coloring

agent

(Kushta, Red ochure, orpiment etc). Polish the

pot with the mixture to impart suitable color.

Ref. Shilparatna 1.14.16

2a-Tempering or hardening of tools

Ref. Brihat Samhita
1. Heating the tool in fire until it becomes red hot.
2. Application of paste of certain materials (excreta of
pigeon and rat,

powder of horns of a buffalo and

milk extract of a

Mandar plant) OR

dipping the

red-hot tool in Solution of buttermilk and ash of

banana plant.
3. Sharpening the tools. Ref.Brihatsamhia ch.54
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2b-Breaking of stone blocks

Heating:

The stone block is heated by make a

pyre of wooden logs of Palash or Tinduk trees.

The heating is continued till the color of wooden

logs becomes bright red or orange.

Cooling: The fire is moved to adjacent area of
rock surface. The preheated surface is cooled

down

quickly by pouring certain types of liquids

listed below.
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Solution of quick lime in cold water

Solution prepared by mixing buttermilk

with rice paste, ripe berries.
Solution prepared by boiling Neem leaves
and some tree barks.
Ref. Brihat Samhita
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31

3-Water Purification:
Powder of Nirmali seeds is used to remove the turbidity of

water,
roots of Khus plant to give pleasant smell to drinking water
certain seeds to kill the bacteria present in the water. Ref.BS
Ch.54
Use of Basil or Bilva leaf was known for increasing shelf life
water.
Core of Jamun tree wood acts as algaecide, it destroys the

algae in 24 hours.
Seeds of drumstick tree also act as coagulant for turbidity
removal. Ref.Pade

ISC-2015 Mumbai

32

ISC-2015 Mumbai

33

Period
Editor

Aim

Ingredients
Process

Use
Experimental
Results
(VNIT )

Abhilashartha ChintamaNi
1124-1127 A.D.
King Somadev

Raw water purification

Khus,
Chandan,
pippali,
Nagarmotha
,
cardamom, and Multani Mitti for cover
Mix all ingredients and encapsulate in Multani
Miiti dove. Prepare peanut size pallets.
Calcinate at 600 deg.
One palette per 5 litres of water
DO increase: 5 to 11, COD increase:51 to
220 , MPN decrease :2400 to 14
Process
patented
by
Dr.Deopujari
&
Dr.Mandavgane, 2011.

ISC-2015 Mumbai

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ISC-2015 Mumbai

35

4-Rainfall prediction
Ancient text Kadambini mentions certain
precursors of rainfall. It mentions flowering of
certain trees can be linked to onset of rainy
season.

Rainy season starts 45 days after Amaltash

flowers bloom
ISC-2015 Mumbai
36

5-Gold / Silver plating of copper

Vanaushadhi GunAdarsh mentions that if juice of

Palash flowers 1, treated with sulfur, is rubbed on
copper

surface,

the

surface

shines

as

gold.

Similarly, decoction of mixture of flowers juice and

Hartal 2(Orpiment) is used to make silver like lead
metal. Ref. Pade,Abhilisharth ChintamaNi

ISC-2015 Mumbai

37

Air balloons
The juice of coreless trees contains water retarding
substances (lac) and hence the juice was used in
preparing silk cloth gas holders in ancient India.

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38

Waterproof cloth for hot air balloons

Apply three coats of decoction of barks of trees
(Umber, Kadamb, Mango , Hirda and Behda) to
the cloth. Then apply three coats of black gram

paste Soak the cloth in solution of sugar and

powders sea shells. Allow the cloth to dry to
make it water tight. Ref.Agasthya Samhita

Wood Varnish

Extract

of

barks

of

milky

(Vat,Pipal,Umber, Beal and cedar trees)

trees
is

mixed in water. Mixture is boiled. sealing wax,

Jatuling, oil and Hingul is added. Such varnish is

applied to wood for polishing and preservation.

Ref. Shilparatna 1.14

Preservation of Ropes
Soak the freshly woven rope in
coconut oil mixed with ripe bananas
and hide glue. Ref. Shilparatna 2.18.12

6-Detection Of Defects In Rocks

Microscopic defects in stones , which were

invisible to eyes, were detected by applying

some herbal paints so that the defects were

clearly visible. Ref. Shilparatna 1.14.33-36

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Herbal paints for stone softening

Mix powder atis root 1, Hiracus 2 and
red ochre 3 in milk. Apply this paint to
the stone and keep it overnight. OR
Grind Jatamasi 4,Koshta, Gayaratri
Hirkus and chor in milk add coconut
water. Apply the solution to the stone.
OR
Grind and mix Jatamasi,Rog and
Aswamari 5 in rain water. Apply the
solution to the stone.

atis root

red ochre

Hiracus

Ashwamari

Jatamasi
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ISC-2015 Mumbai

45

In ancient India

different materials for

mortar and plaster were used. Texts such as

Vishnudharmottar

Puran,

Sutradhar, Aparajitpruccha,

Samarangan
Abhilisharth

Chintamani and Brihat Samhita mention such

materials.

Desired
Properties
a)Hardness

Ingredients

Kaitha, Belgiri, Linseed, Urad

dal,Mahuva flowers, powder of
cattle horns , Cow dung, Neem
seeds etc
b) bond and
Belgiri, tree resins (Deodar, Pine
adhesion
or Sal), Lac etc
c)
Cotton
fibers,
Silk
cotton,
reinforcement Coconut husk, barks of trees
etc.

1-Vishnudharmottar Puran
Period: 4th to 5th Century A.D.

Editor: Khemraj Shrikrushanadas

Support: Stone masonry
Plaster: Brick powder and Mud
Ingredients Surkhi, Guggul, Bee wax, Mahua
:
flowers,Jaggery, saaf flower oil,

lime ,belgiri, Bark of Pakar, Neem

2-Samarangan Sutradhar
Period:
Editor:
Support:
Plaster:
Ingredients:

10th Century A.D.

King Bhoja
Stone masonry
Mud plaster
Sand, Clay, Juice of
cactus,
Petha,
Kharmarjiri, Sugar cane,
Milk, Fruits of Shisam,
Arjun, Belgiri pulp

3-Aparajitpruccha
PeriodL 11th Centuary A.D.
Editor: Shri Bhuvan Dev
Support: Stone masonry
Plaster: Mud plaster
Ingredients: Chalk, Geru, Yellow
ochre, Linsed, Barlry,
Wheat flour, Barks of
milky trees, Milk, flowers
of Mohuva

4-Abhilisharth Chintamani
Period: 12th Century A.D.
Editor: King Somadev

Support: Stone masonry

Plaster: Lime plaster
Ingredients: Chalk, powder of
shells, Gud, Glue

Period :
Editor :
Support :
Plaster :
Ingredien
ts:

5-Brihatsamhita
5th Centuary A.D.
Varahmihir
Stone masonry
Decoction (of Unripe fruits of
Tinduka and Kapittaka, Flowers of
silk cotton , Seeds of Sallaki) and
barks of Dhanavana and Vacha and
Shrivasaka,
Raktabola
(myrrh),
Guggulu , Bhallataka , Kunduruka
Atasi resin , Bilva tree fruit
ISC-2015 Mumbai
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6-Shilparatnakar
Year: 1939 A.D.
Editor : Sompura N.M
Support : Stone masonary
Plaster Unripe fruits of Tinduka and
Ingredients : Kapittaka , flowers of silk
cotton, seeds of Sallaki ,barks
of Dhanavana and Vaca .

7- Mayamatam
Period : 7 th Centuary
Editor : Sage Maya
Support : Stone masonary
Plaster Lac , Kunduru, soot (lamp black),
Ingredients: Guggulu, wood-apple, Manjiostha
resin, Bilva fruit kernel, fruits of
Naga, neem,Tinduka , Madana ,

Madhuka, myrrh and Ambalaka.

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54

Preparing

the

mixture

is

41-day

long

procedure and the eight ingredients are

1-Finely powdered conch,2-gall-nut
(Myphal)

3-sealing wax ,4-Fruits of gooseberry

5-Resin of pinus damar,6-Cotton fibers
7-Medium sizes gravels #
8-Small sizes gravels #
# From the Bharatapuzha a river in Kerala, India
ISC-2015 Mumbai

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Mixture

is hammered by four or five men

alternatively. During this process one turns it

with an iron spatula. For hammering, only
wooden hammers made of tamarind wood are
used. The weight of the hammer would be 8
to 10 kilos.
ISC-2015 Mumbai

56

The lump is very soft and malleable. It

becomes hot during the hammering and

becomes

hard

like

stone

when

the

hammering is stopped. An estimated 0.1

million hits of hammering are needed for a
kilogram of adhesive.
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Hide Glue
Hide glue (Sirus or Shirus) is prepared from fresh
skin of a buffalo cooked in water till it becomes soft

as butter. Water is allowed to evaporate. The material

is cut into small pieces are dried in sunlight. When
needed the dried piece is boiled in water. This is a
substitute for resins of tree. This glue is called

Vajralep .

ISC-2015 Mumbai

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Shilparatna (Part 1 and 2) mentions

different

techniques

mortars.Many

natural

for

lime

polymers

are

mentioned in this text.

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Natural Polymers

Ingredient for Lime mortar & plasters

1 Ash

9 Cow dung

17 Mahuwa flowers

2 Bark of Neem

10 Egg white

18 Milk, curd or ghee

3 Bark of Pakar tree 11 Flowers Silk cotton tree 19 Mustard cake

4 Bee wax

12 Green gram (Moog)

5 Belgiri (aegle'pulp) 13 Guggul

20 oil
21 Powder of Cattle
horn

6 Black gram(Udad ) 14 Hemp fiber

22 Resin of Sal tree

7 Brick powder

15 Jaggery

23 Rice husk

8 Clay

16 Juice of Cactus

24 Saaf flower oil

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a-Lime Mortar
Grind ripe bananas, fibers of cotton

and pulp of cactus and mix in slaked

lime to make a good quality lime

mortar. Alternatively add decoction of

barks of trees (Pipal.Amla,Kadamb)

and paste of black gram to the slaked

lime. Ref.Shilparatna 1.14.60

b-Sudha - Molding Lime for sculpturing

Lime prepared by burning conches (Shankha) or
oysters (Shipi) is called Sudha. Fine sand, decoction
of moog, jiggery water and Banana powder is added
to lime.

The recommended proportions are, Lime - 4 parts,

Fine sand- 2 parts, Banana powder 1 part and

jiggery -1 part. All ingredients are mixed by rolling

again and again. Ref.Shilparatna 1.14.68-69
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c-Sunla
Curd, milk, black gram paste, gud,

ghee, ripe bananas, coconut and

mango pulp are added to slake

lime.

Plaster

materials

is

made

of

these

non-shrinking

Ref.Shilparatna 1.14.70

8d-Waterproof lime mortar

Mix Ghee, coconut water, black gram

paste , extract of barks(Pipal), milk,

curd,

Pichhit,

decoction

in

of

Trifala,

proportion

and

of

3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and 11 parts to 100

parts of slaked lime. Ref.Shilparatna
1.14.70

8e-Base coat for Cave Paintings

Caves
Ajanta caves

Constituents of plaster
Clay, cow dung, stone powder, rice
husk and lime.
Sirgirea caves
Tempered kaolin clay, rice husk,
Coconut shell fibers and lime.
Bagh caves
Red clay, green gram, lime and
jute.
Mansoullas recommends use of powder of conchs,
katha, pulses, molasses, and boiled bananas.

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8f- Leveling coat of lime plaster

Mix 3 parts of slaked lime and 1
part of powder of dry raw banana.
Add

water

to

make

butter

like

mixture. Such leveling coat gives

marble finish to the wall surface.

Colors and Paints

The main purpose of colors and paints
To enhance the aesthetics of any structure.
To improve the durability .

Related ancient Indian texts

Vishnudharmottara Purana
Chitrasutra

Manosollas

Basic Colors
White, yellow, red, black and blue
are five basic (pure) colors. All other
composite

colors

are

made

from

these colors. Ref. Vishnudharmottar

PuraN, Ch.27

White color - White color is prepared from lime

made of shells or mother of pearls or from white clay
(pottery clay-Kaolin). White color is prepared by
mixing resins of Neem or wood apple tree with white
soil or lime. The mixture is pulverized and dissolved
in hot water.

Yellow color - Yellow color is prepared from

pounding

yellow

wood

trees

(Haridru)

and

yellow soil (from hills or river banks) together.

The mixture is poured in clear water for two
hours. The top yellow solution is stored in

earth pot till it dries. The dry powder is used

for preparing yellow color.

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Red color - Red color is prepared from Sindur

(Vermilion), Gaierik (Red ochre), Hingul (Cinnabar) or

Laksharus (Shellac) to get light, medium, dark and very

dark

shades

respectively.

Red

ochre

is

finely

pulverized and sieved through a muslin cloth. The

powder is cleaned by mixing with water. Vermillion is
mixed in water and stirred for 12 hours. All these

colors are mixed with resin of Neem.

Black color -Oil lamp is ignited in a mud pot. Inner surface

of another mud pot is smeared with powder of dry cow
dung. This pot is place on the first pot such that lamp black
is coated inside the top pot. The lamp black is cleaned with

water before application.

Blue color - Blue color is prepared by drying a mixture of

blue minerals or indigo and resin of wood apple.

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Golden color - Golden color is prepared from

gold foil pulverized with fine sand. The mixture

is poured in water and top suspension is

separated and mixed with adamantine glue. The
painted surface is polished with horn (of an ox
or wild boar).

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Organic Colors for Textile printing

Select wood of suitable colors from

forest.

Crush

into

clean

water.

Filter the mixture. Again crush the

filtered wood particles and repeat
the procedure and store the liquid
color in an earthen pot.

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Dowsing

is

underground

method

water

to

sources.

locate
This

technique includes use of pendulums,

Y shaped tree branch.
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person

person

Water Diviner
born as
Breach

possesses

some

child

magnetic

powers which are useful for water

dowsing.

But dowsing can be done

person

with

mentioned

in

the

help

ancient

Mantrashashtra.

by any
of

Indian

herbs

text

herbal

paste

grinding eleven

is

prepared

by

types of seeds or

roots in cows urine. Such paste is

applied to the feet of a person.
This

paste

helps

in

locating

underground water.
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ISC-2015 Mumbai

80

Tree/Plant/Creeper roots of 9 types

81

Seeds of 2 trees

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The constituents of this herbal paste.

Table - Constituents of this herbal paste
Sanskrit Name

English/ Latin

Sanskrit Name

English/ Latin

1 vi

Marking nut Tree

2 kae:aatkI

Wild ribbed gourd

3 vI SnuhI

Holy Milk Hedge

4 etakR

White_variety

Prosopis cineraria
Euphorbia neriifolia
Linn

5 igirki[Rka

Butterfly pea

7 paQa

Patha creeper

9 kqutuMb

Bitter Pumpkin

Clitoria ternatea
False pareira brava

Luffa operculata
of

Madar plant
Calotropis_gigantea

6 vca

Vacha

8 inRgf
u I

Nirgundi

10 inMb

Lemon

12 gaem
u

Cows Urine

lagenaria

Calamus -root
Vitex negundo
Citrus limon

siceraria
11 kezr nagkezr

Mesua Ferrea

83

CASE STUDIES
A. Gadhi soils white soil

The main constituents are local soil, fine sand, cow

dung, quick lime, extracts of Belphal , fibers of jute
and water for mixing.
The mixture is allowed to mature for a minimum period
of 30 days and kneaded everyday.
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B. Brick temple at Sirpur M.P.

(7th century A.D.)

This temple is among the best examples of brick

temples of ancient India.
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B. Mud flooring.

The floors of Padmanabhapurum palace (1601 A.D)

in

Kerala were made of a material that is unique blend of

burnt coconut shells, quick lime, palm toddy, the whites
of eggs and extracts of certain herbs.
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C-Ajantha paintings
Ancient techniques mentioned in Shilparatna
were
successfully used for restoration of Ajantha paintings
Ref. Singh & Arbad, 2014

a - ingredients for the preparation of mud mortar, b preparation of adhesive extract, c - Preparation of
soil + lime + aggregates mixture, d - final step showing
the preparation of mud mortar)
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Consolidation of paintings
newly prepared mud mortar
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88

Experimental Studies
Research workers in different parts of world
conducted

experimental

studies

on

natural

polymers and found positive results as claimed

in

ancient

Indian

literature.

These

were

summarized . (Ref. Satishchandra 2003, ch.

12, page 537-567).
ISC-2015 Mumbai

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Year
1983

Name
Chandra & Aavik

1985

Gangopaddhyay

1986

Jain

1988
1990

Ernesto et al
Singh et al

1990

Singh et al

1996
1997

Chandra et al
Chandra et al

Product
Cement
mortar
Low density
concrete
water
repellant
Mud plaster
Lime mortar

Purpose
plasticizers
Heat
insulation
water
proofing
Durability
Restoration

plasters and Restoration

mortars
Concrete
Durability
Mortar
& Workability
Concrete
,Strength

ISC-2015 Mumbai

Ingredients
Black
Gram+
linseed oil
CNSL, Cinder
CNSL
Cactus, Banana
Belgiri,
black
gram
Belgiri,
black
gram, Jaggery
Veg. oils
Cactus juice

90

Home Remedies
1-Hot decoction of Trifala is substitute of
Drainex, to clean the chocked drain water
pipes.
2. Double boiled linseed oil prevents rusting
of iron, can substitute under coat for
automobiles.
3. Double boiled linseed oil protects wooden
doors and windows from white ants. Second
coat (oil paint) to be applied after one
year.
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Conclusions
It can be concluded that;
1. Ancient
Indian
engineers
had
adequate
knowledge of Indian botany and knew how to
implement
this
knowledge
for
strength,
durability and aesthetic purposes.
2. With the advent of modern materials, organic
materials were replaced by synthetic materials.
3. However the secret of endurance of Indian
heritage structures lies in building materials and
the construction techniques.
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Ancient References
Aparajitprichha- (12th to 13th Century A.D.), by
Bhuvana Dev Acharya
Brihatitasamhita or Varahsamhita (5th Century A.D.),
by Varahmihir
Manasollas or AbhilisharthchintamaNi (1124 A.D.) by
of King Someshwara
Mayamat (5th Century A.D.), by Sage Maya
Rig Veda (3000 B.C.)

Sakaladhikar, (5th Century A.D.), by Sage Agasta

Shatapath Bramhan (5th Century B.C.)
Shilpratna (5th Century A.D.),by Shrikumar,
Shukla-Yajurveda samhita-(2500 B.C.)
Tantrasamuchhyaya-(1428 A.D.),
Vastuvidya Savyakhya (1500 A.D.)
Vishnu-dharmottara Pooran - (2000 B.C.)

Modern References
Nene,A.S. (2009), Geotechnical engineering of ancient India,
Pub. Pune Vidyarthi Gruha, Pune.
Satish Chandra(2003),Ancient Building Materials in India, Tech
Books International, N.Delhi.
Vaze,K.V. (1924), Prachin Hindi Shilpasar (Essence of ancient
Indian Engineering Philosophy) ,a Marathi Book, Pub. ,Varada
Publications Pune.
Singh, M and, Arbad, B.R.(2014), Ancient Indian painting recipes
and mural art technique at Ajanta, International journal of
conservation science, volume 5, issue 1, January-march 2014:
35-50
Kadambini (1999),Ed. and Pub. by P.S.Oza,Jaipur,

This presentation is based on texts available

in, Ancient Indian Shilpashastra library,
established by Late Shri G.G.Joshi of
Nagpur.

Visit
Late G.G.Joshi Shilpa Sanshodhan Trust
Library, 53 Ramkrishna Nagar, Nagpur.