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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 soften and re-harden rocks for ease of carving. to

4. Herbal pigments were used to detect micro-cracks of stone selected for idol making.
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A.S. Nene
Professor of Civil Engineering (Retd) VNIT Nagpur
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Uses of Stones
 Making sculptures  Building blocks for construction.

Sources of building stones

Ref. Kashyapashilpa

 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.
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Classification of stones
Classification by Color White Milk, Jaya flower, Buffalos eye, Conch, Moon, Pearl Crystal et Indragop (insect), Rabbits blood or Pomegranate Flower etc.

Red

Yellow Flowers like, Mallika or Korandi Kajal (eye ointment), Blue lotus, Wasp, Vest part of peacock, black gram etc Ref. Kashyapashilpa

Black

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

Stones of first or third category are unsuitable

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 aggregates
Ref. Vishnudharmottar Purana

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 and Geru 3 in milk, apply this paint to ston 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 13

3. Mix and grind equal parts of Jatamasi1

2, Gaya3 and Ratree4 in decoction of Kusht

Trifala, apply this paint to stone and allow 14 it to dry for three days.

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

Stone with 14 angles

Stone wall at Cuzco (Peru)

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.
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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 18 images of gods.

Astabandha Eight ingredients mortar ( Kerala formula)

Ingredients
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Highly powdered conch (Shankha Gall nut (haritaki- Hirda) Sealing wax Gooseberry (Amala) Resin of a tree (Pinus damar) Medium & fine gravels (from Kerala river Bharatapuzla-Neela) Cotton fibers
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Image

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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. 21
Ref. Brihat Samhita Chp 53

Tempering or hardening of tools

Ref. Brihat Samhita 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
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Suranga A water tunnel

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.
Suranga

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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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Conclusions
 Different 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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Epilogue
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!

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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