Books
FROM NĀṬYAŚĀSTRA TO AJANTA: The Evolution of Aesthetic Consciousness
From Nāṭyaśāstra to Ajanta: The Evolution of Aesthetic Consciousness by Sindhu Saraswathy is a profound journey across India’s timeless artistic heritage — from the rhythmic wisdom of Bharata Muni’s Nāṭyaśāstra to the luminous vision of the Ajanta murals.
Drawing from Sanskrit sources such as the Chitrasūtra of the Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa, this book traces how the grammar of movement, expression, and emotion in ancient performance evolved into the visual language of painting. Each chapter reveals how concepts like sthāna (posture), mudrā (gesture), rasa (aesthetic essence), and chetanā (life-energy) form a living bridge between dance, drama, and visual art.
Richly illustrated and written in a meditative tone, this work is both a scholarly study and a practice manual. Artists, dancers, and students of Indian aesthetics will find guided exercises that connect theory with embodied practice—training the hand to express emotion, the eye to perceive rhythm, and the mind to recognize harmony within form.
More than a historical study, this book invites the reader to experience art as a path of awareness — where movement becomes stillness, stillness becomes light, and every gesture reveals the pulse of consciousness that unites India’s classical traditions.
THE THIRD DIMENSION AT AJANTA: Breathing Space into Flatness
For centuries, art historians have described the paintings of Ajanta as “flat.” But the walls tell a different story.
In The Third Dimension in Ajanta, artist and researcher Sindhu Saraswathy unveils the lost science of spatial illusion mastered by the ancient Indian citrakāras—painters who turned stone walls into living space. Drawing from the Chitrasūtras of the Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa, Saraswathy reveals how these artists achieved depth, light, and movement without the aid of geometry or vanishing points—using principles such as Rekhā (the living line), Vartana (shading), Kṣaya–Vṛddhi (foreshortening), and Nimnonnata (relief through position).
Through poetic insight and meticulous visual analysis, the author guides readers to see as the ancient masters saw—where every line breathes, every hue holds distance, and every painted form embodies consciousness itself.
This book is both a tribute and a guide—a journey through art, devotion, and vision that redefines the way we understand space in Indian painting.
Perfect for:
Artists and students of Indian art & aesthetics
Scholars of visual culture, architecture, and design
Anyone seeking to rediscover the spiritual science behind Ajanta’s timeless beauty
“They painted not with geometry, but with seeing.”
Ajanta Unfolded: Flora, Fauna, and Figures: A Citrakara’s Guide to the Sacred Caves
Step into the timeless world of the Ajanta Caves, where stone became scripture and color became devotion. Ajanta Unfolded: Flora, Fauna, and Figures is both a guide and an offering, honoring the anonymous citrakāras (painters) whose meditative hands transformed rock walls into living art nearly 1,500 years ago.
Blending history, symbolism, and hands-on practice, this book invites readers to engage with Ajanta’s sacred motifs—lotus blooms, Bodhi trees, peacocks, elephants, royal figures, dancers, and Jātaka tales—through detailed explanations, step-by-step artistic guidance, and interactive sketch studies.
Whether you are a Fine Arts student, practicing painter, or an art enthusiast seeking to connect with India’s heritage, Ajanta Unfolded provides:
Historical context rooted in shastric traditions and classical aesthetics.
Practical lessons on motifs, techniques, and composition inspired by Ajanta’s masters.
Meditative exercises that make painting and coloring a form of devotion.
A bridge between scholarship and practice, inviting readers to study, trace, and create in the spirit of the ancients.
More than a coloring book, this is a journey into art as meditation—where every line carries history, every motif reveals wisdom, and every stroke connects you to a 1,500-year-old tradition still alive today.
Perfect for students, artists, historians, and seekers of beauty, Ajanta Unfolded is a tribute to the silent, nameless masters whose vision continues to inspire across centuries.