V. Ganapati Sthapati Biography 
V. Ganapati Sthapati was a temple architect and builder from Tamil Nadu, who lived during the period, 1927 – 5 September 2011. It’s called Sthapati in Tamil terms. He also served as the head of the College of Architecture and Sculpture in the Vastu Shastra tradition. Government of India honoured him with Padma Bhushan for his overall contributions towards the field of renovating temple architecture. He was the architect of many temples of Tamil Nadu, and has been associated with renovations of many temples too. He has authored a number of books on the science and technology of Vastu Shastra. He also conducted many seminars related to the subject, and taught many students. He was a recipient of Tulsi Samman and many more honours.
Vaidyanatha Ganapati Sthapati or simply Ganapati Sthapati was born to Vaidyanatha Sthapati and Velammal in Pillayarpatti in the year 1927. His village Pillayarpatti belongs to Karaikudi district of Tamil Nadu at present. His father was also a Sthapati and architect who served as the principal of the School of Architecture and Sculpture at Mamallapuram. Vaidyanatha Ganapati Sthapati graduated in mathematics from Dr. Alagappa Chettiar College, Karaikudi. Later he became a Sthapati at Palani Murugan Temple, Palani. Following the death of his father, Ganapati succeeded his father as principal of the School of Architecture and Sculpture at Mamallapuram.
From 1980s onwards he campaigned for restoring the traditional Hindu architecture, predominantly associated with Tamil Nadu temples built in the ancient period. To restore and elevate the status of traditional Hindu architecture in modern Indian society, he decided to train students for this purpose. Till then there was little exposure to teaching temple architecture by qualified courses, and only a few artists and architects survived in this field. The degree courses were affiliated to the University of Madras. He established the Vaastu Vedic Trust and the Vaastu Vedic Research Foundation after retirement.
He has designed and built more than 600 temples in India and abroad. Malai Mandir situated on a hillock at Ramakrishnapuram, New Delhi and Kannagi Kottam, built in stone at Poompuhar, near Thanjavur were constructed by him. Sthapati also sculpted the superb images of Kannagi and Madhavi, in the art gallery at Poompuhar. He built the Valluvar Kottam, the huge temple car in stone and sculpted the statue of Tiruvalluvar here.
Published: October 16, 2018
Updated: October 16, 2018
