Amalaka

Amalaka at the top of the Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar

Banners at the top of the amalaka of the Jagannath Temple in Puri

An Amalaka, is a stone disk, usually with ridges on the rim, that sits atop a temple's main tower (Shikhara). According to one interpretation, the amalaka represents a lotus, and thus the symbolic seat for the deity below. Another interpretation is that it symbolizes the sun, and is thus the gateway to the heavenly world.^[1]

According other sources,^[2] the shape of the amalaka has been inspired by the fruit of the myrobolan fig tree Phyllanthus emblica (ou Mirobalanus embilica).

The amalaka itself is crowned with a kalasam (finial), from which a temple banner is often hung.

See also

• Shikhara

Notes

1. "Khajuraho Architecture". Personal.carthage.edu. 2006-01-12. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
2. "Voyages en Inde, architecture des temples en Orissa". Ganapati.free.fr. Retrieved 2012-08-09.

External links

• Khajuraho Architecture
• The Hindu Temple - Stella Kramrisch - Google Livres