Bṛhat Saṁhitā

Astronomy, omens and chapters on building and water

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Varāhamihira's sixth-century compendium gathers astronomy, calendar and omen literature — and within it, some of the earliest systematic chapters on building.

The architectural chapters cover site, timber, proportion of rooms, doors and the examination of ground, plus a long treatment of finding water by surface signs. The tone is practical and comparative: Varāhamihira frequently reports what earlier authorities held before giving his own view.

Because the work is encyclopaedic, its building chapters are brief where the śilpa texts are exhaustive — useful for dating a practice, less useful as a manual.

Qué abarca el texto

1. 1Vāstuvidyā — the building chapter
2. 2Dakārgala — finding groundwater
3. 3Timber, doors and proportion
4. 4Site examination and omens

Read alongside: Bhat, Varāhamihira's Bṛhat Saṁhitā (1981)