The Hindu Temples : Ep 1 — Anatomy
The Hindu culture is a host to 33 million Gods and Goddesses, has deities in the from pagan elements like the Panchatatvas; Prithvi (Earth), Agni (Fire) , Jal (Water), Aakash (Space), Vayu(Air) to specialized forms like Laxmi ( Goddess of Prosperity ) , Annapurna ( Goddess of Food), with various forms of Shiva and Shakti, and Vishnu interspersed.
Across the Indian Subcontinent, there shrines dedicated to all these different forms. Creation of such a consecrated space was always a science. For years as tools and technologies evolved and this resulted in development of truly iconic indigenous forms of architecture. ‘Sthapathya Siddhanta’ and ‘Vastu Shashtra’ speak volumes about this. Later on when during the ‘Bhakti’ movement when intense devotion superseded the science, we saw the modern day temples, with the core elements merged with the contemporary society. Unfortunately it lead to decrease in the science quotient, continuous foreign invasions and rule also contributed in the ancient tech being lost.
It would definitely be a wonderful idea to revisit the subtler aspects of a temple, but for that we need to understand the basic architecture, design and nomenclature.
Thanks to www we stumbled upon this amazing research work by Shweta Vardia on Hindu temples and the sciences behind that…
http://www.msc-sahc.org/upload/docs/new.docs/2008_SVardia.pdf
http://spabhopal.academia.edu/ShwetaVardia
Here’s an abridged take on the same, for starters.
Elements of a traditional Hindu temple:
The Hindu temple were constructed and consecrated in alignment with the societal needs and spiritual needs, also the very cosmic existence. Long before Da Vinci’s ‘The Vitruvian Man’ the Hindus knew the impact of symmetry and aesthetics on the very existence of a human.
The Hindu temple were constructed and consecrated in alignment with the societal needs and spiritual needs, also the very cosmic existence. Long before Da Vinci’s ‘The Vitruvian Man’ the Hindus knew the impact of symmetry and aesthetics on the very existence of a human.
The common elements of a Hindu temple which are known in their original Sanskrit words are as follows:
The sanctuary as whole is known as the Vimana that consists of two parts.
The upper part of the Vimana is called as the Sikhara and the lower portion inside the Vimana is called as the Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorium).
1. Shikhara : a Sanskrit word translating literally to “mountain peak”, refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples.
A shikhara over the garbhagriha chamber where the presiding deity is enshrined is the most prominent and visible part of a Hindu temple of North India.
In South India, the equivalent term is vimana; unlike the shikhara, this refers to the whole building, including the sanctum beneath. In the south, shikhara is a term for the top stage of the vimana only, which is usually a dome capped with a finial. The southern vimana is not to be confused with the elaborate gateway-towers of south Indian temples, called gopuram, which are often taller and more prominent features in large temples.
2. ‘Garbhagriha’ meaning the womb chamber. It is nucleus and the innermost chamber of the temple where the image or idol of the deity is placed. The chamber is mostly square in plan and is entered by a doorway on its eastern side. The visitors are not allowed inside the garbhagriha in most of the temples, only the priests perform the rituals and worship.
3. ‘Pradakshina patha’ meaning the ambulatory passageway for circumambulation. It consists of enclosed corridor carried around the outside of garbhagriha. The devotees walk around the deity in clockwise direction as a worship ritual and symbol of respect to the temple god or goddess.
4. ‘Mandapa’, is the pillared hall in front of the garbhagriha, for the assembly of the devotees. It is used by the devotees to sit, pray, chant, meditate and watch the priests performing the rituals. It is also known as ‘Natamandira’ meaning temple hall of dancing, where in olden days ritual of music and dance was performed. In some of the earlier temples the mandapa was an isolated and separate structure from the sanctuary.
5. ‘Antarala’ meaning the vestibule or the intermediate chamber. It unites the main sanctuary and the pillared hall of the temple.
6. ‘Ardhamandapa’ meaning the front porch or the main entrance of the temple leading to the mandapa.
Some other essential elements found in the Hindu temples are
7. ‘Gopurams’ meaning the monumental and ornate tower at the entrance of the temple complex, specially found in south India.
8. ‘Pitha’, the plinth or the platform of the temple.
9. ‘Toranas’, the typical gateway of the temple mostly found in north Indian temple and
10. The Amalaka the fluted disc like stone placed at the apex of the shikhara
The distinctive architectural styles of Hindu temples have so developed due to broad geographical, climatic, cultural, racial, historical and linguistic differences between the northern plains and the southern peninsula of India. Broadly based on geography, Hindu temples have been classified into three different orders; the Nagara or ‘northern’ style, the Dravidian or ‘southern ‘style, and the Vesara or hybrid style which is seen in the Deccan between the other two.
There are also other distinct styles in peripheral areas such as Bengal, Kerala and the Himalayan valleys. This dissertation focuses on The Nagara or ‘the northern style’ and the Dravidian or the southern style of Hindu temple architecture.
The study in design and subtleties of different architectural styles would be a treatise on its own. We shall be limiting this article to understanding the general elements of the same.
The Vaastu Purusha
The Hindu philosophy was among the first to relate the human figure as the basis of a system of proportion, which was years later demonstrated by Leonardo da Vinci and by Le Corbusier in Modular system of measurement. In Hindu philosophy the form of the purasha (human) body was made to suit the abstract idea of the square, as the supreme geometric form (Groover, 1980).
The Vastupurashamandala is derived from three separate words each having a specific meaning
Where Vastu refers to physical environment, purusha refers to energy, power or cosmic being, and
Mandala is the diagram or chart (Rian, et al. 2007).
The basic form of the Vastupurashamandala is the square and square is the important and ideal geometric form in Hindu philosophy, which represents the earth. All the necessary forms like the triangle, hexagon, octagon and circle, etc. can be derived from the square. The four sides of the square represent the four cardinal directions. The square also symbolizes the order, the completeness of endless life and the perfectness of life and death (Michell, 1988)
The mandala is actually a square subdivided into smaller squares in the form of a grid with each square unit clearly marking the areas of respective gods. The most commonly used mandala is the square divided into 64 and 81 squares. 64 for homes (grihastha needs) and 81 for temples. Mostly the square of the mandala on its outer periphery are divided into 32 smaller squares, in accordance to the astrological calculation called nakshatra, representing the constellations or the position of planets through which moon passes in its monthly path. The closed polygon of thirty-two squares is symbolical to the recurrent cycles of time as calculated by the movements of the moon (Gosai 2002–2008). The four directions lie outside the mandala which represents the meeting of the earth and the universe as well as the movement of the sun from east to west and its rotation to the northern and southern hemispheres. The central portion of the mandala is the place for the Brahma, the creator, and the rest squares are the position of other Gods as per their relevance.
The vastupurashamandala are the square grids and are of various types formed from the fundamental shape, the square. The smaller squares in the grid are called as the one pada and they may vary from 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, and so on 1024 and follows a geometric progression series of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,U, 32 with the common factor 2. There can be even numbers of pada and odd numbers of pada in a mandala and are called as yugma mandala and ayugma mandala respectively.
Vastupurushamandala has different names according to the numbers of pada within the grid. The mandala having 1,4,9,16,25 and 36 numbers of pada within the grid are known as sakala mandala, pechaka mandala, pitah mandala, mahapitah mandala, manduka chandita mandala and paramasayika mandala, respectively(Rian,et al. 2007).
The Vastupurashamandala, having all the geometrical, astronomical and human properties was the basis of the ground floor plan for all Hindu temples. The basic shape acquired by the temple plan is the outer most ring of square of the mandala forms the thickness of walls of main shrine. The central 4 squares acquire the place of the main deity and the inner ring of 12 squares form the walls of the garbhagriha and the next 16 to 28 forms the pradkshina patha. These simple divisions of square with many permutations and combinations became the base for the complex structures of the temple; in the form of orthogonal and stellate plans of the temple Therefore the large squares of mandala were divided into thousand squares thus virtually forming a graph paper for the architect to facilitate him to add a unit at one side and setting back on the other.
Vastu Shashtra in action.
The Vastupurashamandala is first sketched on the planning sheets and afterwards outlined on the earth on the place of the actual temple building site. This divine diagram is the symbolic of the universe with its fractal behavior. As mentioned in the previous section each unit of square represents the birth of new universe and the central square is the creation of the each unit. The mandala is a square grid and the repetition of even number of square grid develops into 4 square grids and further to 16 square grids and so on. Similarly the repetition of odd number of square grid develops into 9 square grids and further to 81 and so on.
The mandala is now placed on the foundation plan of the temple to seize all the cosmic energies underneath the temple. The centre of the mandala generates the energies and emits to the physical world. The square shape of mandala significantly implies to maintain the energy equilibrium. Each
Side of the squares applies the force towards the centre and in return the centre applies the force towards the sides, thus maintaining the equilibrium (Rian, et al. 2007).Thus increasing the number of squares in the divine diagram helps to hold more energies and emit it out to the physical world through the centre. Therefore, the centre of the mandala is the place for the main deity in the temple.
The plan of the temples are the replica of the Vastupurashamandala, the grids of the square of 8X8 where the cella is twice the width of the walls of the cella. The Nagara style of temples in the west and the central India followed the orthogonal grids of the mandala. In examples from 7th century at the Vishnu Temple Deogarh in Madhya Pradesh, the square grid was modified by extending one time on each side outwards. Further, during the 10th century at the Surya temple, Modhera the square grid was modified by extending twice on each side outwards. Later on in the 11th century the Hindu temple plan became complex and reached their final form. This time the square grid was modified by extending thrice on each side outwards.
This sums up most of the external concepts of a hindu temple, but
Do these Mandalas and Vastu Shashtra really affect us?
If yes how and why?
We shall explore these in the upcoming episodes
Till then
If you get a chance do check out : -
Fabric of the Universe — The origins, Implications and Application of Vastu Science by Dr.Jessie Mercay
