Padma Bhushan Dr V Ganapati Sthapati was a master architect who began his career as a mathematics teacher but eventually founded the Vastu Vedic Trust to embark on a remarkable journey as a temple architect. He is rightly hailed as the doyen Shilpacharya of Bharat.

Padma Bhushan Dr V Ganapati Sthapati

Shri Ganapati, son of Shri Vaidyanathan, is a Vishwakarma by birth and he was one of the great visionaries of the twentieth century who reinstated the past glory of vastu shilpa tradition. He hails from Pillayarpatti, a small village located around ten kilometres from Karaikudi. It is located in the Sivagangai District of Tamil Nadu and is home to the famous Sri Karpagavinayagar Kovil. Ganapati Sthapati’s father was commissioned to carve and assemble the stone kalharam of the Rajagopuram. Since Sthapati was born when Vaidyanathan was working on the project, he was named Ganapati after the presiding deity Pillayar.

Shri Vaidyanathan was a renowned shilpacharya of Tamil Nadu who was known as Shri Shilpakalasagaram M Vaidyanatha Sthapati. His mother Srimati V Velammal was a humble and graceful woman who took care of the household. He hailed from a family of temple architects and his ancestors designed and built several temples around Tamil Nadu and even outside Bharat.

Ganapati’s forefather Veera Chola Kunjaramalla Rajaraja Perundachar was the principal designer and builder of the Thanjavur Rajarajeswara Kovil. Till the eighteenth century, the family was under royal patronage and subsequently, they received support from Sivagangai Chieftain Marudhu brothers and later from Chettinad’s Nagarathar community. The design and construction of many magnificent temples are credited to Ganapati Sthapati’s forefathers.

He was raised amid the sound of chisel and hammer thereby being exposed to sculptural works from a very young age albeit unknowingly. The rough stones taking beautiful shapes fascinated him. He saw his father and uncle at work as his family lived and worked together. Later, his periyappa (uncle, father’s elder brother) Shri Chelakannu Sthapati became his second Guru, Ganapati’s father Shri Vaidyanatha Sthapati being his first guru. The art is traditionally handed down from one generation to the next and that is how Ganapati was initiated into the field in his school days.

He wished to study engineering but on account of financial conditions, Ganapati was unable to pursue engineering. Instead, he graduated in BA Mathematics after completing high school. Sri Ramana Maharishi supported him in pursuing higher studies. He became the first student of the newly started Dr Alagappa University in Karaikudi. Mathematics was his main subject and Sanskrit was his elective paper.

He scored first class in Mathematics but second class in Sanskrit. Later, however, Dr. Ganapati acquired a command over the Sanskrit language owing to his profession. He started his profession as a Sthapati in 1957. After his graduation till 1957, he worked as a teacher but the demand of the time was that Dr Ganapati should return to his family profession as a Sthapati.

He joined Pazhani Devasthanam and began working under his periyappa (paternal uncle) who was then the superintendent of Pazhani Devasthanam. He wrote to his father, who was in Tiruvannamalai at that time, saying he had joined Pazhani as a Sthapati. His father was extremely happy at the news and sent a telegram saying “Shilpakala field has been blessed by your entry into its fold”.

Dr. Ganapati valued his father as his mentor and guiding force and took his words as a mahavakya – a guiding force in his profession. He followed in the footsteps of his father to acquire knowledge of Vedas, astronomy, shilpa shastras, Upanishads, and all the required shastras including vastu shastra.

His contributions

During colonial rule, ancient art and architecture were in a state of extinction so post-independence, Srimati Kamaladevi Chhatopadhyaya, the first chairman of the Crafts Council of India was tasked by PM Nehru with resurrecting the art tradition of Bharat which was on the verge of extinction. Kamaladevi travelled across Bharat and identified the persons who would resurrect the lost art and architecture.

When she came to Tamil Nadu, she met Kanchi Matha Mahaswami Param Pujya Chandrashekhara Saraswati and Tamil Nadu CM Rajagopalachari who discussed and appointed Shri Vaidyanatha Sthapati to establish a Pathashala in Gurukul style at Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram). Ultimately, the Government College of Architecture and Sculpture was established in Mamallapuram with the aim of training students to preserve and conserve the extensive architectural and cultural edifices.

As he was weak in English, Vaidyanatha Sthapati sought the help of his son Ganapati in framing the syllabus and communicating with government officials. Therefore, Dr Ganapati supported his father in establishing The Institute of Temple Architecture and Sculpture which is recognized as the Government College of Temple Architecture and Sculpture affiliated to Madras University.

When Ganapati Sthapati was preparing the syllabus with his father, they decided that youngsters should have knowledge of shastras. They followed shastras such as vastu shilpa treatises. Students were given training in sculpture, drawing, and architectural drawing based on Shilpa grammar. After Shri Vaidyanathan’s lifetime, Shri Ganapati Sthapati was interviewed by the Tamil Nadu government along with other candidates. He was appointed as the superintendent of the institution and later promoted to the principal’s post.

The institution has created students who are taking the traditional knowledge outside of Bharat through their projects. Students can acquire specialization in wood/timber architecture, metal architecture, Sudai architecture, fine arts, and stone architecture. This college is a unique one-of-a-kind college in the whole of Asia. We now have institutionally trained Sthapatis and Shilpis in addition to traditional practitioners. It must be highlighted that these institutionally trained Sthapatis and Shilpis were trained by traditionally trained Shilpis.

The institution has produced several notable graduates who are spread all over Bharat and outside Bharat. They are preserving the science and technology behind this traditional architecture and sculpture. Ganapati Sthapati was slowly reinstating the sagging tradition of vastu tradition.

In addition to his activities, he has written several books on various aspects of the Vastu Shilpa tradition. One of the books written by him is Vishwakarma written in 1999. He has explained the Vishwakarma tradition elaborately in this book which was well received by all scholars worldwide. Shri Ganapati explains a lot through his booklets and research regarding the Vastu Shilpa tradition.

Even though the scholarly world looks at these only as building codes, Ganapati Sthapati explains that Shilpa shastras comprise formulae and sutras of Vastu Shilpa shastra. His book on building architecture made a point that the principles when adopted will bring physical welfare and spiritual harmony. He made it a point to make these available to the public.

According to Shri Ganapati, Vastu Purusha Mandala is the energy grid pattern that produces energy. This is a prescribed layout form by Shilpa Rishis in the arrangement of both secular and religious living spaces. Ganapati Sthpati has published numerous books which explain many things hidden in Vastu Shilpa Shastra, particularly the science and technology part. Who Created God is another beautiful book written by Dr. Ganapati Sthapati. Who Created God and Iconometry, Temples of Space Science: The Building Architecture of Sthapatya Veda explain a lot about untold facts of Vastu Shilpa Shastra.

Shri Ganapati Sthapati also established a research organization under the aegis of Vastu Vedic Trust. Through this, he undertook several research works and published numerous books on the same. In his seminars, lectures, and forums he transmitted the unrevealed aspects and formulae of Vastu Shilpa Shastra. Shri Ganapati also travelled extensively across Bharat and abroad to spread this knowledge. Also, when foreigners approached him in search of knowledge he took them as his students. Ganapati Sthapati is also credited with compiling Mayan Padalgal (songs of Mayan).

Dr. Ganapati also conducted two global seminars/conferences to reach out to scholars, one in Chennai and the other one in Trivananthapuram (erstwhile Trivandrum). The aim was to re-establish the fact that Bharat had a science and technology of its own in the past, a science belonging to one of Bharat’s living traditions called Vastu Marabu.

Some of the architectural marvels credited to Shri Ganapati Sthapati are Valluvar Kottam in Chennai, Poompuhar’s Silappathikara Art Gallery, the administrative block and library of Tamil University in Thanjavur, and Shri Thiruvalluvar statue at Kanyakumari among others. He was honoured with numerous awards including the Padma Bhushan.

(Featured Image Source: Hinduism Today)