The early Buddhist architectural vocabulary, being the first of its kind, maintained its monopoly for about half a millennium, beginning from the third century BCE. To begin with, it was oral, not written. The Jain, Hindu, and other Indian sectarian builders later developed their vocabulary on this foundation, though not identically.

This book attempts to understand this vocabulary and the artisans who first made use of it.

Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)