This book narrates the fascinating story of the foundation and development of the architectural styles of north and south India, stretching from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from coast to coast, highlighting their principal stages and substages. While both the regions share a common origin in thatched huts and modest timber forms, as reflected in early bas-relief depictions and their actual rock-cut representations, further evolution of the structural shrine in each region charters an independent course.
The book identifies and studies distinctive features of the principal architectural styles of the north and south against a background of their cultural and political development, the latter not inconsiderably conditioned by dynastic patronage.