Kapila Vatsyayan in this book explores traditional Indian arts and attempts to extract information that is very relevant to this project, and a detailed discussion of the thoughts and ideas presented in it is paramount. Square and Circle are very important motifs of Ancient India, and also refer to space and cyclic time respectively. The word ‘Art’ had a different meaning in Ancient India than it does today, with its umbrella being a lot larger and its disciplines being different colours of the same spectrum [40]. Since there was no discrimination between arts and crafts, the knowledge we gathered from Indian Arts can be applied to a variety of modern design fields like graphic design, architecture, game design, stage design, principles like abstraction and so on.
Figure 4: Traditional Sources of Knowledge of Indian Art
The book discusses knowledge and principles gathered from the four Shastras: Natya sastra (performing arts), Vastu sastra (architecture), Silpa sastra (crafts and sculpture) and, briefly, Sangita sastra (music). It attempts to find core principles and conceptual basis that guide the fairly detailed content of the four shastras and tries to form connections between them. Since ancient India doesn’t differentiate between arts and crafts, these art forms are closely intermingled, with techniques and rules from one passing over to the other. Presented here is a summary of the content, which would be helpful to understand ancient Indian Knowledge Systems better. Some of the concepts described here may seem to purely emerge out of metaphysical philosophies and keeping an open mind is necessary to be able to extract the content of modern relevance.
While this project doesn’t aim to focus on metaphysical origins, it is certainly important to discuss them here and be aware of them as a content designer. The vision is not to dwell on the entirety of the metaphysical background but to examine those aspects of speculative thought which determine artistic vision and expression [40]. Traditional Indian literature is often termed as otherworldly, mystical and world denying, due to its supposed fictional dependence. This examination attempts to bring forward the fact that what has so far been considered a mere metaphor is indeed an indicator of the awareness of the relationship between the microcosm of Man (Purusa) to the macrocosm of existence as a whole (Purusa) [40].
Connection of the sastras to the concept of Yajna The discussion begins with the Purusa, the Supreme Being, the Primordial Man, a human body figure whose different body parts became different parts of the universe, like earth, fire, water and so on. The centre of the body, the navel became the centre of the universe, and an important part of Indian arts and architecture as well. Different places in space are mapped to different locations of the body, and it is important to take them metaphorically rather than literally. These comparisons just provide a grammar, with the metaphors just importing similitude for explaining the cosmic phenomenon. Indian literature places great emphasis on realising and controlling human senses.
While discussing different metaphors in the Upanishad, like the chariot and the wheel, the sun and its rays and the body and its senses, it is realised that all these metaphors are based on the same basic principles: the concepts of internalisation and externalisation (the macrocosm entering the microcosm), the concepts of space and time, relationships of parts to a whole, concept of formless and the multiple forms, and so on. The shape of a spiral is discussed to explain the significance of the centre (Bindu) in Indian arts, corresponding again to the navel. The Bindu is a state of rest, with the region around it being in a constant state of flux, or movement, leading us to the important principle of motion around the stillness of the unchanging centre; a concept clearly perceptible in many Indian compositions like sculptures (see Figure 57). Similarly, life abstracted into the design can give a variety of meanings to simple symbols like circles, triangles, lines and dots. Simple layering of abstraction brings multiple layers of depth.
The yajna, a Hindu ritual done around a fire, is discussed in detail, to extract methodologies that may provide us with the basis for the artistic principles in the Indian tradition. The first is the depersonalization of an individual, where an individual is but a unit in a collective effort. The site of the Yajna is a finite symbol of the macrocosm (the cosmic space), and the 360-degree revolutions done around it are related to the concept of cyclic time. The central pillar, or the Stambha, unites heaven and the earth, signifying a symbolic relationship between earth and sky. During the yajna, a figure of the man is created through different implements, so as to make out his different body parts, and the structure is built using a combination of 3 basic geometric forms- the square, circle and triangle. The whole motive of the ritual is to create a microcosm on the earth suggestive of the macrocosm, using motifs and symbols to represent larger elements like earth and fire. These motifs went on to guide Indian art for centuries. The plan of the Yajna is the conceptual basis of all sacred Indian architecture.
Figure 5: The spiral shape with an unchanging centre
Natyasastra (performing arts)
Performing arts might not strictly be a part of modern design education, but in ancient Indian arts, it uses the same concepts as the other arts and architecture, thus being of interest to us. Most importantly, since all art and craft forms of Ancient India have such strong connections and interdependence, excluding any one would make the aesthetic theories and traditions seem complex and meaningless. The Indian artist is described as both the experiencer and a detached seer, who sees, hears, feels, but above all, reflects. He seeks to invoke the formless using the form he creates. The work is symbolic and connected to a larger truth, seeking to invoke a similar psychic experience in the spectator. The content is an impersonalised emotion and not actuality, and this is how the artist achieves abstract design. This impersonalisation of the subjective, along with different examples from the past, can be an excellent tool to explain the difficult topic of abstraction to the students.
Theater, like the yajna, is another symbolic representation of the cosmos. Its two seemingly opposite words the Sastracara and Lokacara - can be viewed as complimentary but different segments of the same circle, giving rise visually to the shapes of a square (lines of two opposites coming together) and circle (showing the continuum of time). This provides an elaborate grammar of form. The architectural plan of the theater, inspired from the yajna, has a center and a vertical. It follows rectangle, square and triangle shapes. Each of these can be divided into small, medium or large, giving rise to 9 possibilities. The directions are laid out along the symbolic colours, where white is the colour of the East, blue is West, yellow is South and red is North. The space is then divided into units, where each unit is a square of area 8X8 (see Figure 6). An understanding of this ground plan helps us understand the structural form of the dramas or the Natya.
Meticulous measurements were used for the design of stages to establish emotive and psychic correspondence. The central pillar called the Jarjara, marked the centre of the stage. An image of 5 concentric circles is used to represent major and minor episodes of a drama. They are conceived sequentially, and are mapped to the five Avasthas (mental states referring to how one advances through the plot). The five Avasthas give rise to the nucleus of the plot which is indicative of a continuous expansion from the centre of the plot to the circumference and back again (see Figure 56). The imagery of a growing seed is used, which develops and expands. The imagery might not be the easiest to understand, but it shows a relation between the inner with the outer, and cyclic movement, like that in the Yajna. Changes in locale did not take place in the drama through division of the script into scenes and acts but through movement from one demarcated area to another.
Figure 6: Plan of a Natyagraha
Figure 7: Concentric circles representing a drama
The classification and breaking up of the man-body into its several constituents, as done by the Natyasastra, can be compared to the several descriptions of man and his multiple organs as found in the Upanisads, thus indicating a strong conceptual connection. Each element, like in the Yajna, has a unique value, but acquires significance only when placed in a special relationship with some other part. Natyasastra divides the human body on the basis of organs and their ability to function as tools of expression of emotive psychic states [40]. It then explores the possibility of the physical body manifesting and evoking psychic states (emotions in the viewer). The Primordial Man from the Natyasastra can be an important tool in learning anthropometry. Here, the man body, or the Purusa, is placed in space, and there’s an attempt at establishing relationships between the sky and the earth using this man body. It’s an erect man with extended arms. Primary and secondary movements commence from this basic posture, called the Sama. All dynamic actions return to this still state, the psychical centre, and it is described as a moment of perfect control and discipline. The concept of the Sama is pivotal in Indian arts. The figure is imagined as a spoked wheel, or a chakra, and the centre of the figure corresponds to the navel. The vertical median, the spinal cord, demonstrates the diameter of the circle. Various positions evolve from the Sama, like standing (Sthana), sitting (asana) and the reclining positions (Syana). The centre, the vertical corresponding to the joints, pelvis, knees and ankles are seen as the cage of the body, and this cage guides the movement patterns within the circumscribed space of the circle. The body is basically depersonalised to the point of geometrical shapes (see Figure 8). This imagery can be a wonderful tool for explaining body movements and dimensions, even for modern anthropometry and anatomy.
Figure 8: The figure of the standing man, along with its abstraction
Natyasastra teaches us the art of storytelling using abstraction, and literature is bustling with examples of such stories that use multiple layers of imagery and abstraction. An example of a similar Sanskrit play called Abhijnana Sakuntala demonstrates how almost everything can be depicted using actions (abstraction) instead of props (realism), an example being a masked dancer representing a deer just by his movements and expressions. Different figures using the anthropometric Primordial man are discussed. Movements and actions of these figures abstractly show enactment of various situations, like being annoyed by a bee. Abstraction of scenes can also be depicted by zonal divisions and stylised walking on stage, giving art a lyrical beauty not possible with realism. Similar examples from traditional Indian stories can be wonderful to teach abstraction and symbolism, topics that aren’t that easily understood, especially by a novice audience.
Vastupurusa (architecture)
Like the Natyasastra, the consistent language of art translated from the imagery of Upanisads is also executed in the design of buildings and structures, again following the fundamentals of the Yajna. Other arts like performing arts were following an identical system of establishing correspondences and correlations with the figure of Man as a reference, as is also followed in architecture, called the Vastupurusa.
The basic principles of ancient Indian art were abstraction and concretization (giving a form to the formless), organic interconnectedness of all living things (acknowledging the ecosystem) and reducing life into impersonalised states of being. Indian architecture concretised these abstract thoughts and principles.
The temple architecture was mapped to a human body, where the door is the mouth of the Purusa (body), platform terminating the trunk of the superstructure the shoulders, the projection or Bhadra the arms and the lowermost moulding the feet. The Purusa is the horizontal ground plan as well as the vertical plan, with the head as the sky, navel as the Garbhagriha (temple centre) and the lowermost moulding, once again, the feet (see Figure 69). Although not to be taken literally, this imagery is important because it gives a frame of reference and a measure of construction. The symbolism helps relate the aspects of the structural organism (man-body) to the macrocosm (the universe). In terms of abstraction, the motifs of squares, circles and triangles, and the axis are fundamental. Aspects central to the design and functions of the temple are- firstly it is a proportionately reduced image of the cosmos, secondly the material world is perceived as a figure of man.
Figure 9: Mapping of Man’s body to Temple Architecture
During construction of the temple, firstly the soil is tested for sound, smell, taste consistency and colour. Seeds are planted and their germination is watched for several nights. Then, on the clean flat earth, the diagram of the Vastupurusa mandala is drawn. It is, just like the theater, a square divided into multiples. Physical orientation of the temple depends on the motion of the planets, and the four sides of the temple correspond to the four cardinal directions. Units of measurement are all multiples of a primary unit, equal to the breadth of one finger. Another useful measurement is that of the Artani (the tip of the middle finger to the elbow).
The significance of the square and the circle in Indian art is discussed. Where Western civilization has considered time to be freely flowing unidirectionally, akin to a river, time in the Indian context is cyclic, recurring just like the seasons. Both squares and circles also govern architectural plans, with some less popular shapes being rectangles and ellipses. Like in theater, the square stage represents the space, and the movement in this space, which has a time relationship, happens in the dynamic rhythm of a circle, in temple architecture everything spatially rises from a square, which symbolises order.
In the general square plan of a temple, a centre (navel of the man) is established, and different proportions of each area, the triangles, the diagonals and the intersections of lines, are worked out (see Figure 10). The Garbhagriha is the centre of this man's body, and is surrounded by a circumambulatory path called Pradakshinapatha. It is then surrounded by thick walls on which rests the high superstructure, corresponding to the thighs. The buttress and other projections of this wall are the perimeters of the temple, metaphorically the feet. The imagery here is the man's body almost sitting on earth, contained in a square. In the elevation, the same analogy can be used, where the vimana (the structure above the Garbhagriha) rises from the centre upwards, each layer also broken into a system of squares corresponding to other limbs of Man. From the centre of the central square (Garbhagriha) rises the central axis upwards, reaching the highest point. It corresponds to the head of the Purusa. The Garbhagriha is always the central navel, regardless of the directionhorizontal or vertical, in which the temple is seen. There are two simultaneous images- one of a sitting man beginning with the navel which is the Garbhagriha, and the other of the horizontal man where the outermost portions become the feet and lead to the navel.
Numerous sculptures on the walls are arranged in accordance with the different strata of life; plant, bird, animal, human and celestial. From this multiplicity of forms, there is a movement to the from formless, concrete to abstract. As one enters the temple, there is an awareness of the gradually diminishing forms and entering a near empty space (transition from forms outside to the formless inside). As one ascends higher in the temple, the number of images diminishes to none. In physical terms, the transition is that of light outside to dark and still inside. In psychical terms, the transition is from outer darkness to inner light. This imagery is helpful in explaining emotional transitions using transitory forms and spaces.
Figure 10: Grids of a Temple Plan
Specific examples can help concretise this understanding. One such example is that of a stupa in Nagarjunakonda, which has a circular central column with 8 radial walls meeting at a peripheral circular wall. This symbolises a cartwheel (echoes of the Upanisadic images of the wheel we discussed above). This is a clear representation of transference of speculative thought into architectural design. An examination of temple plans shows that the principle of multiplying a spatial unit horizontally and vertically was uniformly followed. Thus, the superstructure may be different but the approach is similar. The visual language had uniformity in terms of fundamental principles across temples, and diversity in many formal elements, giving rise to regional architectural styles. The fundamentals are the concept of the figure of man and the adoption of certain geometrical motifs.
The motifs on the temples are symbols. They are intrinsically symbolic, although seemingly only decorative and aesthetically pleasing. They, while being decorative and tools of storytelling (mythology), also contain the same principles of concentric circles and the bird-animal-man and nature relationship mentioned above. An analysis of these motifs reveals multiple layers. First is the literal, what is visible to us, like a wheel and its spokes (see Figure 11). Second is the meaning of each element, what the abstraction says. Third is the deeper interconnected meaning of the whole motif, while being a part of the larger temple as a whole. These premises can be explored using examples in modern systems like Communication Design and Logo Design, while also being wonderful tools for teaching layers of abstraction in modern design and arts.
Figure 11: Motif of a spoked wheel
Silpasastra (sculpture)
Like Vastupurusamandala is the guiding motif or architecture, the human body itself is the vehicle of expression in sculpture. The Silpasastra reduces the body of man into horizontal and vertical lines, beginning with the image of the standing man. The motifs that thus evolved were the square and the circle. The man with his arms outstretched recalls the Vedic description of height and width being same, thus fitting in a square. The different parts and limbs were equated with different lines and intersections on one plane and the different elements of the universe on the other (planes referring to layers of abstraction). The centre is the navel and the vertical axis is the Brahmasutra, uniting earth and sky. A system of vertical and horizontal lines helps one understand anatomy better (see Figure 12). The physical body has been reduced to an impersonalised design, which provides possibilities for various permutations and combinations, while being useful for teaching anthropometry, body movements and ergonomics in the modern age. The human body is divided into primary units and their groups based on the major and minor movements, and the relationship with surrounding space is explored using different positions of the body. Fundamental motifs here, like earlier, are the square, the circle with its spokes and the spiral as an unending line of eternity (often shown by a snake biting its own tail). It is established that the images, or the sculptures, are just representations of the Absolute, the Primordial, which is without likeness and can’t be determined by form. The human body is viewed as two halves, divided by an imaginary absolute vertical median, which represents the earth sky principle, and all movement is visualised with respect to it. The other four axes are drawn from different parts of the body. Different lines/axes passing through different parts are discussed. The measurements of all these axes are taken with the length of the face or the stretched hand as the unit. It is further subdivided like the smallest is the breadth of the finger. Using this imagery and the different axes, the body positions can be determined. When the weight of the body is distributed equally on either side of the median, a sense of calm and poise is evoked. When the weight is unequally distributed, a sense of disturbance or imbalance is evoked. The sense of how the weight is distributed gives rise to different emotions the sculpture expresses. Thus, the sculptor doesn’t need to rely on surface treatment or muscular tension to depict states of mood.
Figure 12: Anatomy of the body using circle and lines
Most Indian sculptures can be seen within the space of a circle circumscribed within a square. The circle is sectioned off by 4, 6, 8 or 12 diameters, with the most important being the vertical median. Second is the principal horizontal diameter, passing through the navel. The detailed framework for the radii passing through the circle, passing through various body parts is discussed. Another way of dividing is by making chords from the ends of diameters, to get a rhombus (see Figure 13). Here, the diameters and radii become the spokes, and the centre is the hub of the spoked wheel. It is basically a circle divided by a system of lines corresponding to the dominant points of articulation of the human body.
Figure 13: Anatomy of the body using chords
The division of the circle into horizontal and vertical is referred to as space division, while the oblique division is the time division. This is because the framework of vertical and horizontal is static and refers to the structure armature of all positions. The oblique diameters and chords determine movement through time. The interaction of these space and time units provides a distinctive and specific rhythm. This imagery is a useful tool for distinguishing between positions and movement. Reducing this imagery further into simple shapes and lines gives us a tool for exploring human positions and movements. The different positions of one leg can be seen as a radius moving within a circle, and each different position corresponds to an oblique diameter or chord. Thus, the relative positions of closing in of energies and expansion of energies (via different poses) are all explored through a centre, principal diameters, oblique diameters and chords within a circle.
Figure 14: Mahalakshmi Figure along with its abstraction
An example of a Mahalakshmi figure from Elura Cave XIV is discussed (see Figure 94). Here, the goddess is sitting on a lotus throne, flanked by 4 devas. The symbolism is the connection of the bottom water world, the central earth mandala and the top celestial world. Sprinkling of water symbolises fertility. The text reduces this image into grids. The composition is set in a circle, with the devi’s navel as the centre. The principle and the horizontal verticals can be deciphered as passing through elements of interest. The composition is that of a 16 spoked wheel with the navel as the hub. Another layer of oblique chords gives us triangles in the circle, which corresponds to the movement of the devas. A balancing of dynamism and static stillness is done, and a sense of rhythm and tension is produced through this balancing of forces. This is a great example to demonstrate basic design principles like composition, balance, grids and symbolism.
Figure 15: Nataraja Figure showing dynamism
The external layers of Silpasastra sculptures are the particular myth, the iconographical form and the holding of implements, and they all reinforce the inner core, that is the circle and its system of lines. An example of a Nataraja figure shows the symbolism used, where uplifted legs and crossing arms provide intersecting lines, suggesting dynamism (see Figure 99). The Damru suggests cyclic continuous time, being made of two triangles meeting at the apex, suggesting past and the future, and the striker can reach either past or future from the moment of the present, the centre (see Figure 60).
Sangitasastra (music)
Although music is not of much relevance to modern design, it certainly was a continuum of the same philosophies followed by other art forms in ancient India. Here again, the figure of man is the guiding principle, where each Swara refers to each different body part. Music is represented as circles, and the centre, the diameter and the circumference are of vital importance. The Tala can be visualised as a circle with spokes, and the different segments of the circle are the sections of the tala.
Figure 16: Damru representing cyclic time
