Ancient Cities, Sacred Skies: Cosmic Geometries and City Planning in Ancient
India/edited by John McKim Malville.
Ancient Cities, Sacred Skies: Cosmic Geometries and City Planning in Ancient
India/edited by John McKim Malville.
Contents: Preface. Introduction. 1. Urban planning at Dholavira : a Harappan city/R.S. Bisht. 2. Urban planning in Vastusastra/Krishna Deva. 3. Application of geometry in the planning of an ancient settlement: Sisupalgarh, a case study/M.C. Joshi. 4. Chitrakut : a Hindu Tirtha and its cosmic geometry/D.P. Dubey, J.M. Malville and Rana P.B. Singh. 5. Kashi as cosmogram : sacred geometry of Varanasi/Rana P.B. Singh. 6. The sun and its temples at Varanasi : meaning and pattern in the three worlds of Kashi/J.M. Malville and Rana P.B. Singh. 7. The cosmic geometries of Vijayanagara/J.M. Malville. Glossary. References. Index.
"The essays in the volume explore the symbolic geometry which helped organise the integrated life of traditional cities. Geometries that were cosmic in intent interwined the three traditional realms of the universe, the celestial macrocosm, the mesocosm, and human microcosm. In these cities, people were not isolated from the large universe. Their lives acquired a certain cosmic meaning by the geometrical structures of the cities they inhabited.
"The seven technical papers in the volume endeavour to re-create as fully as possible the mind-scape of the people as it effected the structures of their cities. The cities and landscapes described cover a time span of over 4,500 years from the Harappan city of Dholavira to the great empire of Vijayanagara. Kings and architects intentionally designed some of the cosmic geometries of these cities.
"Recent discoveries of astronomical alignments in Vijayanagara, Varanasi, and Chitrakuta are presented. These discoveries result partly from precise measurement by the Global Positioning System (GPS) of satellites. The north-south axis of Vijayanagara is revealed as the most accurate astronomical alignment that has yet been found in the ancient world.
"It is hoped that this interdisciplinary study of the subject will facilitate a deeper comprehension of the relationship of the physico-cultural, economic dimensions, and the planning and organisation of specific territory." (jacket)
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