Sustainable Materials and Construction Techniques of Ancient India

A.S. Nene *

*Professor of Civil Engineering (Retd), V.N.I.T. Nagpur

Out of 125 heritage structures declared by

UNESCO, 16 heritage structures are located in

India.

The secrets of endurance of these heritage

structures is hidden in their construction

materials and construction techniques.

Ancient Indian texts related to Engineering and

technology comprise of Veda, Purana,Upanishada,

Aranyaka, Sutra, Agama and Shilpa Samhitas.

The period of such texts could be between 5000 B.C.

to 1600 A.D.

Out of more than ten thousand texts only one

thousand texts are now available in digital libraries

worldwide

It is a mis-concepection that these texts mythological, non-scientific or irrelevant in modern age. But these texts especially Shilpasamhitas are directly related to engineering sciences. The aim of this presentation is to introduce three ancient Indian texts, namely Shilparatna,

Brihatsamhita

Vishnudharmpttar Purana.

A- Shilparatna (16th Centaury A.D.)

This text was composed by Shri Kumar , a Sanskrit scholar

from Kerala. The text was subsequently edited and

published in two volumes consisting of 46 and 35 chapters

respectively. Few verses from Chapter 14 of volume 1 and

Chapters 18 & 19 of volume 2 are quoted below.

1.Herbal paints for stone softening: Apply any one of the herbal paints for softening of stone before intricate carving.

•Mix powder atis root, Hiracus and red ochre in

milk. Apply this paint to the stone and keep it

overnight.

•Grind Jatamasi,Koshta, Gayaratri, Hirkus and chor

in milk. Add coconut water. Apply the solution to the

stone.

•Grind and mix Jatamasi,Rog and Aswamari in rain

water. Apply the solution to the stone.

2a Bricks and Roofing tiles: Mix extracts of barks of trees

(Pipal and Agar) in wet clay . Knead the clay daily for 30 days

and the use this clay for bricks or roofing tiles.

2b Earthen pots: Mix flour of Satu, powder of Amaksh ,Tatwasi

and coconut water to clay in a proportion of 8 parts of clay and 1

part of admixtures.

2c. Glazing of ceramic pots: Prepare a mixture of

Swesha,Guggul and Kunda grass (one sixteenth of

clay) and curd (one eleventh of clay). Apply this

mixture to clay pot before baking in a furnace. Or

apply a mixture of Ghee, honey and Herb powder

(Kapittha, Bilwa and Niryas ) to clay pots. This process

imparts glazing to the clay pots.

2d. 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. Alternatively take equal parts of

Sandlewood, Karpur, Gorochan and Agaru . Add clay 6 parts to

the mixture in linseed oil. Apply this oil paint to earthen pots.

The same paint can be used for painting ivory or horns

animals.

3. 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.

4-Lime Plasters:

4a-Sunla: - Curd, milk, black gram paste, gud, ghee, ripe

bananas, coconut and mango pulp are added to slake lime.

Plaster made of these materials is non-shrinking and

waterproof.

4b-Waterproof lime mortar: Mix Ghee, coconut water, black

gram paste , extract of barks(Pipal), milk, curd, decoction of

Trifala, and Pichhit, in proportion of 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and 11

parts respectively to 100 parts of slaked lime.

4c: Leveling coat of lime plaster: Mix 3 parts of

slaked lime and 1 part of powder of dry unripe

banana. Add water to make butter like mixture.

Such leveling coat gives marble finish to the wall

surface.

Ingredient of Lime plasters: A table 1 below shows additives for lime plasters.

Table 1- Herbal Ingredient for Lime plasters

1 Bark of Neem 2

Bark of Pakar tree(Ficus Wihtiana

3 Mahuwa (Bassia Latifalia) flowers

4Green gram (Moog)

5 Flowers and seeds of Silk cotton tree 6 Mustard cake

7Belgiri (aegle'pulp)

8 Black gram (Udad ) 9 Hemp fiber

10 Jaggery 1

1 Rice husk 12 Resin of Sal tree

13

Juice of Cactus

14 Saaf flower oil 15 Half ripe Bananas

B.Brihat Samhita by Varahmihir (509-577 A.D.)

Varahmihir was one of the great astrologer of India and is

famous for his text Brihat Jataka. His another work, Brihat

Samhita comprises of 107 chapters covering various diverse

subjects Rain forecasting based on astrology, precursors of an

earthquake, water divinining ,adamantine glues and binders,

gemology, perfumes, horticulture etc. Few verse from

chapter 54 (Water divining) and chapter 57 (Adamantine

glues-Vajrabandha) are described below.

1.Adamantine Glue: The subject of preparation of

adamantine glue is closely connected with construction of

temples, mansions etc. A bonding agent was very essential

for fixing idols, in wall construction, 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. Four such

glues are described below.

First formula: The ingredients are unripe fruits of

Tinduka (Diospyros paniculata) and Kapittaka

(Feronia elephantum), flowers of silk cotton (Morus

Acedosa) seeds of Sallaki (Boswellia serrata), barks

of Dhanavana and Vaca (Orris root).

All these ingredients are boiled 256 parts of water

till the decoction reduces to an eighth of its original

volume (i.e.32 Parts).

The sediments are mixed with substances, such as. Shrivasaka (a

secretion of tree used as incense, Turpentine), Raktabola (myrrh),

Guggulu (Commiphora roxburghii), Bhallataka (Semecarpus

anacardium), Kunduruka (cunduru) extraction of Deodar tree resin Atasi

(Linum usikatissimum) and Bilva (Aegle marmelos) fruit.

The resulting paste is termed as adamantine glue. This glue is heated

and then used in construction of temple, mansions, windows, walls and

wells as well as fixing Siva’s emblems and idols of gods. It was expected

to last for a million years.

Second formula: It is composed of Lac, Kunduru,

Guggulu, soot (lamp-black collected from house), wood-

apple (Feronia elephanpen), Bilva kernel, fruits of Naga

(Canthium parviflorum), Neem (azadirachta indica),

Tinduka, and Madana (Randia dumetorum), Madhuka

(Cynometra ramiflora), Manjiostha (Rubia Cordifolia)

resin, myrrh and Ambalaka (Emblica officinalis). The

method of preparation is same as mentioned above.

Third formula: This variety of glue known as Vajratala

which is constituted by the horns of cows, buffalo and

goats, hairs of donkey, buffalo hide, cow hide, Neem fruits,

wood-apples and myrrh. This mixture too should be boiled

and reduced as mentioned before. In this glue some

organic substances are also included.

Forth formula: A compound of eight parts lead,

two of Bell metal, and one of iron rust, and is

known as Vajrasanghata (Adamantine

compound)

Table 2- IngredientsSn Sanskrit English/ Latin

1 Tinduka Fruits of Diospyros paniculata2 Kapittaka Feronia elephantum3 Shalmali Flowers of silk cotton 4 Sallaki Seeds of Boswellia serrata5 Dhanavana Barks of walnut tree6 Vacha Barks of Orris root7 Shrivasaka A tree resin used as incense8 Raktabola Myrrh9 Guggulu Commiphora roxburghii10 Bhallataka Semecarpus anacardium11 Kunduruka Deodar tree resin12 Atasi Linum usikatissimum13 Bilvaphal Fruits of Aegle marmelos

2.Tempering or hardening of stone cutting toolsSpecially prepared tools such as chisels, crow bars, pick axe etc are necessary

for breaking the stones. Brihat Samhita (Chapter 54,115-117) describes some

methods of tempering of iron tools. The three steps are as below,•The first part of these methods is to heat the tool in fire till it becomes red hot. •The second part comprises of applications of paste of certain materials and / or dipping the red hot tool in a specific solution. •The third part is sharpening the tools. The materials used in step two were excreta of pigeon and rat, powder of horns of a buffalo and milk extract of a Mandar plant. In another method a solution of butter milk and ash of banana plant was used for cooling the red hot tool. The tool is kept immersed in the mixture overnight and then sharpened. Such tool can cut steel also.

3.Varnish: Extract of barks of milky trees (Vat,

Pipal, Umber, Beal and cedar trees) is mixed in

water. Mixture is boiled and sealing wax, Jatuling

and Hingul is added to the oil. Such varnish is

applied to wood for polishing and preservation.

4.Breaking of stone blocks: Brihatsamhita (Chapter 54,112-

115) contains information on procedure for breaking stone

blocks so that it can be used as building stones. The principle

involved in this process is "Heat and cool ". Rock is a bad

conductor of heat. When a preheated rock mass is cooled

quickly the rock breaks, along its cleavage planes due to

unequal expansion and contraction. Following methods are

mentioned. In these methods the procedure for heating rock

mass is same but the mass is cooled by three types of fluids.

2. Cooling: The fire is moved to adjacent area of rock

surface. The preheated surface is cooled down by pouring

certain types of liquids listed below.•Solution of quick lime in cold water; •Solution prepared by mixing butter milk with rice paste, ripe berries. •Solution prepared by boiling Neem leaves and barks. Addition of fruits of Tinduk and cow's urine to cold solution. •The heating is continued till the color of wooden logs becomes bright red or orange. 1. Heating: The stone block is heated by make a pyre of wooden logs of Palash or Tinduk trees.

C. Vishnudharmottara Purana

The ancient Indian text Vishnudharmottara Purana is a supplement or an

appendix to the Vishnu-purana. It is generally believed to be a later

insertion into Vishnu Purana. The part three of the Vishnudharmottara

gives an account of the theories, methods, practices and ideals of Indian

painting.

The main purpose of colors and paints is to enhance the aesthetics of any

structure. It also improves the durability by protecting from natural

weathering agents and insects etc.

Chitrasutra is that part of the Vishnudharmottara which deals with the

art of painting including preparation of pure and composite colors and

preparation of brushes for painting.

Basic Colors - White, yellow, red, black and blue are five basic

(pure) colors. All other composite colors are made from these

colors. Colors are described with examples i.e. white as snow,

yellow as ripe leaves, red as fire, blue as sky and black as lamp

black etc.

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

(Haridra) 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.

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. Manashil is dry pulverized by pounding in mortar

with pestle. 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. 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 swine)

Brushes :

Brushes (Kunchali) used for painting are of three types,

broad, medium and fine. These three types of brushes are

made from hairs of ears of calf, stomach part of sheep or

tail of squirrel respectively. A set of three brushes are

required for each color.

Composite Colors

Composite colors were made by mixing two or more basic

(pure) colors. Table 3 below shows how composite colors

were made in ancient time.

Table 3 – Composite colorsBasic colors to be mixed Composite colors

White + Red Gour -light PinkWhite + Black +Yellow Shar colorWhite + Black Elephant colorRed+Yellow Bakul flower color2 parts Red+1 part Yellow flame colorDark Red+Yellow Fire color2 parts Yellow +1 part white gray color2 parts Yellow +1 part black aqua blue colorWhite +Yellow skin colorYellow +Blue parrot green colorShellac+Hingul Dark RedShellac+black Purple color

Conclusions:

1. It can be concluded that artisans of ancient India were

well acquainted with the basic principles of engineering

and developed eco-friendly building materials lasting for

centauries.

2. Many of these techniques may be impracticable or

irrelevant due modern products and processes, but one

must appreciate the ancient Indian wisdom.

3. Scientific laboratory investigations are necessary to study

the secret of endurance of ancient building materials.

References: A-Print Books•Brihat Samhita of Varah Mihir (6th Centuary) Ed by Pub. by Motilal Banarasidas. New Delhi.•Shilparatna of Shri Kumar (16th Centaury AD)). Part 1 Ed. by T.Ganapati Shashtri, Pub. by Anantshayangranthavali,No. 92, Chennai.1922.•Shilparatna of Shri Kumar (16th Centaury AD)). Part 2 Ed. by K.Sambshivshashtri, Pub. by Anantshayangranthavali, No. 98, Chennai.1929•Vaze,K.V. (1924),“ Prachin Hindi Shilpasar” (Essence of ancient Indian Engineering Philosophy) ,a Marathi Book, Pub. ,Varada Publications Pune.•Vishnu Dharmottar Purana (2000-5000 B.C.), Published by Khemraj Shrikrishanadas, Mumbai

E-Books

•Nene, A.S. (2009),” Geotechnical engineering of

ancient India”, Pub. Pune Vidyarthi Gruha, Pune

and Web edition , Pub. Book Ganga.com.

•Nene, A.S. (2010),” Building Materials &

Construction Techniques of Ancient India, Pub.

Book Ganga.com.