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PREFACE.
Samaranganasútraithira is a work on architecture. It mcans, literally, an architect of huinan dwellings and deals with the planning of towns and villages, buikling of houses, halls and palaces as well its machines of varions kinds. The edition is based on the following three inanuscripts:(1) The manuscript tbarked , belonging to the
Central Library, Baroda, which runs up to a certain portion in the 2nd adbyaya but is wanting in 19 folios, and which was copied, as
mentioned in the colopliun, in Samxat 1594. (2 Thu manuscript markeu tam, belonging to the same
library, which runs up to a portion in the 55th
adhyayu. (3) The manuscript marked 17, obtained on loan
from the Bhandar at Pattan, which runs up to a portion of the 19th adlaya ya bit is wanting in 10 folius and which appears to be of the same
ilge as the first. These manuscripts are full of errors and not very legible. To examine them for the press was a very difficult task. The first 54 adhyayay are now issued as the first volume while the remaining adhyayas are in the press and will be published before long as the second volume.
An exhaustive table of contents is prefixed to this volume a perusal of which will give an idea of all the subjects imbedded in it.
The work treats of the construction of cities, palaces and mapsicns with greater clearness of expression and wealth of details than any other available work of Silpa Sastra. The 31st chapter contains crescriptions of various kinds of machines that are not found in other Silpa works, such as the elephant machine (714a), woolen bir l-in:chine travelling in the sky( ara. 29977), woolen vitan: machine fișing in the air (m m 6HqQhay), door-keeper machine (art917477), soldier machine (11949) etc.
"Aho Shrut Gyanam"
