- Ruskin introduced the concept of stewardship for architectural conservation, saying buildings belong to past and future generations, not just the present. He opposed "restoration" that replaced original materials. - Viollet-le-Duc advocated "stylistic restoration", adding elements to sustain structures, though altering the historical record. - The Indian concept of Jiirnnoddharana in ancient texts had aspects of both conservation and restoration, aiming to prolong life and revive usefulness of structures through natural processes of creation, existence, and rebirth. It emphasized respecting life and materials over strict material authenticity.

1. Concept of
Jeernnodharana
Dr. Binumol Tom
Professor and Head,
Department of Architecture,
Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology,
Kottayam

2. • Philosophies of Conservation - care, stewardship and
that of truth.
• Theory of conservation - respect for the value and
authenticity of the remains of the past.
• Concern for authenticity – 18th century romantic and
historicist philosophies of the west - as a reaction to
the conservation movements germinated from the
works of enlightened individuals like John Ruskin,
William Morris, George Gilbert Scott and Viollet-
le-Duc and other people and altruistic groups.
PHILOSOPHIES OF CONSERVATION

3. John Ruskin
• The Lamp of Memory where Ruskin introduces the idea of
stewardship:
“...it is again no question of expediency or feeling whether
we shall preserve the buildings of past times or not. We
have no right whatever to touch them. They are not
ours. They belong partly to those who built them, and
partly to all the generations of mankind who are to
follow us…….”
John Ruskin, Seven Lamps of Architecture, 1849
19th century art critic and social
critic, author, poet and artist.
Ruskin's essays on art and
architecture were extremely
influential in the Victorian and
Edwardian eras.

4. “We admit that it is wrong to waste time. If it is wrong to waste
the time of the living, then it is still more wrong to waste the
time of the dead. For the living can redeem their time, but the
dead cannot. But we waste the time of the dead when we
destroy the works that they have left for us, for to those
works, they gave us the best of their time, intending for them
immortality”.
John Ruskin, Seven Lamps of Architecture,1849
• A reaction to the then popular trend to ‘restore’ old buildings
that William Morris founded the Society for the Protection of
Ancient Buildings (SPAB) in England in 1877.

5. • A crisp distinction between 'restoration' and
'repair'.
Ruskin felt that 'restoration' means:
“the most total destruction which a building can
suffer: a destruction out of which no remnants
can be gathered: a destruction accompanied
with false description of the thing destroyed”.
He goes on to say;
“1t is impossible, as impossible as to raise the
dead, to restore anything that has ever been
great or beautiful in architecture”.
Ruskin could not digest the idea, of new stones equaling in
value to the work of the old craftsmen.

6. Viollet-le-Duc – stylistic restoration
• French architect and
theorist, famous for his
restorations of medieval
buildings – central
figure in Gothic revival
in France.
• Viollet-le-Duc in France,
considered surviving
remains as sufficient
indication of the intent
of the original builder to
guide contemporary
restoration.
• added elements to a
structure in order to
sustain its existence

7. Viollet-le-Duc – stylistic restoration
“Knowing that restoration inevitably
unsettles old buildings, one must
compensate for this curtailment of
strength by giving power to the new
parts, by perfecting the structure, by
clamping walls, and by introducing
greater resistances, for prolonging the
life of the building is the true task of
restoration”.
His intention was to extend the
life of the monument by
providing materials and
construction methods, which were
superior to those used in the
past.

8. • By replacing construction
methods and materials with
new methods and materials,
the historical record of the
building were remarkably
altered.
• He advocated his philosophy
of stylistic restoration through
stating that,
“what is picturesque today
might well be only a memory
tomorrow and further argued
that what could be skillfully
substituted today, would in
turn weather and become
picturesque to later
generations”.

9. Historic development of
conservation in Europe
• Romantic Restoration (1819-1900) represented by
John Ruskin
• Stylistic Restoration (1830-1870) represented by
Violet le Duc
• Historical Restoration (1880-90) represented
by Lucca Beltrami
• Scientific Restoration (1932) represented by
Giovanoni
Whatever be the type – Authenticity is of main
concern…..

10. Authenticity????
• Authentic – of undisputed
origin, genuine, reliable or
trustworthy – Greek-
authentikos
• What is authentic for our
architectural heritage?
Two approaches –
1) Principles and practices of
agencies - aligns with the
‘universal practices’
advocated by UNESCO
2) Centuries old tradition of
the craftsmen

11. Jiirnnoddharana
• In India, both the points of view of the French as well
as the British, had existed long ago, in essence, in
parts of the Ancient treatises of Vastusastra, in the
form of Jiirnnoddharana.
• Jiirna, means 'old, decayed,' and also 'the process of
getting old, of decaying.' Uddhaarana means 'lifting,
raising up' and also 'delivering'.

12. • The compound Jiirnnoddharana can be glossed in
two ways:
jiirnaat + uddhaarana (ablative tatpurusa), deliverance
from decay
jiirnasya + uddhaarana (genitive tatpurusa), 'raising
up of [what is] old or decayed'.
The first has a preventive sense and can be
understood as preservation or conservation (from
servere, 'to- keep, protect,' etc., but still not in the
modern sense), while the latter has a restorative sense
(bringing back to youth/life what is already old and
decayed).
Jiirnnoddharana

13. The essence of Jiirnnoddharana
• The basic cause of every
creation (Sargaprakriya)
is the coalescence of
Prakriti and Purusa.
• Life to Prasadavastu
• Similar to growth even
to decay is the law of
nature and is inevitable
and every object natural
or manmade has to
undergo change.
• So even the
prasadapurusa too has
to undergo change and
decay.

14. • No creature is immortal in this universe - the process of Srsti
(creation), Sthiti (existence) and Samhara (destruction) are
going on continuously.
 So every
prasadapurusa should
also undergo the five
stages of life viz Balyam
(childhood), Koumaram
(adolescence), Youvanam
(climacteric), and
Vardakyam (old age) one
by one and finally
Maranam (death).

15. • After the final stage ‘the death’, fortunately some of
the prasadapurusas too may have reincarnations or
greenings or bringing back to life of usefulness -
relevance of Jiirnnoddharana.
Literature on Jiirnnoddharana
• Tantrasamuccayam the 15th century foundation text
by Chenasu Narayanan Namboothiripad, Agamas,
Samhitas, Tantras….
• Naradeeyasamhita, Vishwaksenasamhita,
Prathishttamayookham, Bhargavatantram,
Vishwamitrasamhita, Suprabhedagamam,
Padmasamhita, Kamikamagam, Rauravagamam,
Karanagamam, Sookshagamam, Ajithagamam,
Chindyagamam, Veeragamam, Markhandeyasamhita,
Aparajitha Prachha

16. Jiirnnoddharana – relevance??
• Whether it is
Jiirnnoddharana or modern
conservation science – “the
respect for life and materials
is given prime
consideration”.
• In traditional
jiirnoddharana concept
authenticity was believed to
be more in spirit than in
material.
• Historic ways of building to
be conserved.
• The Nara Conference on
Authenticity, held in Nara,
Japan (1995)

17. Thank you