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Ancient Myths or

Futuristic ideas for modern inventions ?

Epic Mahabharata contains more than 50 myths turned into realities.

• Television- Sanjay narrates war to Dhrutarashtra

• Tissue Culture /Test tube babies – Birth of 100 Kauravas

• Nuclear Weapons - Bramhastra

• Architectural Illusions - Mayasabha- by Maya

• Hovercraft – Chariot of Yudhistira

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Myths related to Rocks

1. Ahilya turned into rock due to curse of her husband sage Gautam, but centuries after she was transformed into original form, when lord Rama touched the stone slab with his feet

2. In the court of king Akbar, singer Baiju Bawara defeated Tansen by turning a marble piece into liquid with his music

3. Ancient Indian sculptors knew few secret herbal liquids to soften and re-harden rocks for ease of carving.

4. Herbal pigments were used to detect micro-cracks of stone selected for idol making.

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A.S. NeneProfessor of Civil Engineering (Retd)

VNIT Nagpur

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Uses of Stones

Making sculptures

Building blocks for construction.

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Sources of building stones

From hills From underground mines From Riverbanks and forests

Unsuitable stones • obtained from barren land, graveyards, • embedded in ground, • obtained from sites unsuitable for habitation.

Ref. Kashyapashilpa

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Classification of stones

Classification by Color

White

Milk, Jaya flower, Buffalo’s eye, Conch, Moon, Pearl Crystal et

Red

Indragop (insect), Rabbit’s blood or Pomegranate Flower etc.

Yellow Flowers like, Mallika or Korandi

Black

Kajal (eye ointment), Blue lotus, Wasp, Vest part of peacock, black gram etc

Ref. Kashyapashilpa

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Stones of first or third category are unsuitable

Classification by Age

Child Sound produced as un-

burnt bricks, long or flat in

shape as a leaf

Young Long ringing sound like

bell, soft in touch, with

good smell, without pores

Old Non-ringing sound, highly

porous, highly weathered

Ref. Mayamat

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Classification by Gender

Male Big, rounded, stone which

produces sparks when hit with

chisel , Suitable for columns

Female Medium size, soft in touch,

broad at base, Suitable for

beams

Neutral Small, broad at top, not

sounding , Suitable as

aggregatesRef. Vishnudharmottar Purana

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Defects in building stones

Lines • curvilinear (as thread),

• straight (as sun ray)

• parallel (as rains)

Spots size. lemon fruit (25-30 mm),

grape size (5-10 mm),

less than 5 mm.

Ref. Mayamat

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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.

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1.Mix & grind equal parts of Ativish 1

Hirakas 2 and Geru 3 in milk, apply this

paint to stone and allow to dry overnight. Shilparatna Chp. 14

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2. Mix and grind equal parts of Hirakas 1 and

Chor 2 in cow milk and apply this paint to

stone and dry for three days.

Shilparatna Chp. 14

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3. Mix and grind equal parts of Jatamasi1

Kusht2, Gaya3 and Ratree4 in decoction

of Trifala, apply this paint to stone and

allow it to dry for three days.

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4. Mix and grind equal parts of Jatamasi 1,

Rog 2 and Ashwamar 3 in rainwater mixed

with milk.

Shilpadeepak

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Stone softening

The Incas employed certain methods to make

their stones fit perfectly. They knew a plant

whose juices rendered the surface of a block so

soft that the intricate fittings were

accomplished.

Stone with 14 angles

Stone wall at Cuzco (Peru)

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Chanca Piedra – Stone Breaker

Sanskrit name – Bhoomya Amalakee

Latin name - Phyllanthus niruri L.

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Adamantine glues

A bonding agent was very essential for

fixing idols, as a mortar, when cement and

other modern materials were unknown.

Even now, these glues, known as

Astabandha, are prepared in temple

premises for fixing or re-fixing images of

gods.

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Astabandha – Eight ingredients mortar( Kerala formula)

Ingredients Image

1. Highly powdered conch (Shankha

2. Gall nut (haritaki- Hirda)

3. Sealing wax

4. Gooseberry (Amala)

5. Resin of a tree (Pinus damar)

6. Medium & fine gravels (from Kerala river Bharatapuzla-Neela)

8. Cotton fibers

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Preparation of Ashtabandham

It is 41 days process of pounding by

5 persons the ingredients with

wooden hammers (of Tamarind tree)

weighing 10 kg. each.

The mixture is sieved through fine

cloth.

The sieved material is rolled into

balls.

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Breaking of stone blocks Heating: The stone block is heated by making

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.•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 Chp 53

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Tempering or hardening of tools

1. Heating the tool in fire until it becomes red hot. 2. Application of paste of certain materials and /

or dipping the red-hot tool in a specific solution. 3. Sharpening the tools.

The Paste / solution used in step 2 2a-Paste made of • excreta of pigeon and rat, • powder of horns of a buffalo • milk extract of a plant (Mandar)

2b - Solution of buttermilk and ash of banana plant

Ref. Brihat Samhita

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Suranga –A water tunnel

Suranga

Suranga is a tunnel bored horizontally on the slopes of hills to get clean drinking quality water. Found in many districts of Dakshina Kannada-Karnataka and Kasaragod- Kerala. (A Skill developed by Women).‘Quanat’ is a similar structure found in Iran and Iraq.

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Building Stones

The Indus valley civilization shows the use of

• Tertiary limestone,

• Sandstones

• Mesozoic steatite.

Marble cutting achieved a remarkable level of

sophistication, with the intricate undercutting in

the 11th and 12th century temples at Mount

Abu

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ConclusionsDifferent types of stones were used

in different time spans

Selection of the stones was by texture ,strength and absence of micro cracks.

More information on defects of rock was provided in ancient texts.

Ancient knowledge is applicable even in modern times.

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References

1.Vishnu Purana (Vedic Period)

2.Kashyapashilpa (Kashyapa 6th Cent.

BC)

3.Brihat Samhita (Varahmihir -6th

Cent.AD)

4.Mayamat (Mayasura 11th Cent.AD)

5.Shilparatnakar (15th Cent. AD)

6.Shilpratna (Srikumara in 16th century

AD)

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China, Japan and Korea are world leaders in the field of Computers, But children in these countries use ABACUS. In India Vedic Maths is subject of past!

Epilogue

If we are unable to decipher our ancient wisdom,

let us at least preserve and pass it on to the next generation

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