INDIAN ART PRACTICES AND ŚILPA ŚĀSTRAS: A WAY TO SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL CULTURE

Indian temples are embodiments of the Indian psyche. These masterpieces were put together by guilds of skilled craftsmen. The art of their creation was sustained for over a thousand years by oral traditions passed on from one generation to another, documented and canonised by the Śilpa Śāstras. This paper attempts to understand Śilpa Śāstras in a new light, recontextualizing the material culture and artists guilds to understand how they have identified and inherited the idea of sustainability.