Hindu temple

Illustration of Hindu temples

A Hindu temple (Sanskrit is what there holy book is written intraditions.^[1] A temple incorporates all elements of Hindu cosmos - presenting the good, the evil and the human, as well as the elements of Hindu sense of cyclic time and the essence of life - symbolically presenting dharma, kama, artha, moksa and karma.^[2][3]

The spiritual principles symbolically represented in Hindu temples are given in the ancient Sanskrit texts of India (for example, Vedas and Upanishads), while their structural rules are described in various ancient Sanskrit treatises on architecture (Brhat Samhita, Vastu Sastras).^[4][5] The layout, the motifs, the plan and the building process recite ancient rituals, geometric symbolisms, and reflect beliefs and values innate within various schools of Hinduism.^[1] A Hindu temple is a spiritual destination for many Hindus, as well as landmarks around which ancient arts, community celebrations and economy have flourished.^[6][7]

Hindu temples come in many styles, are situated in diverse locations, deploy different construction methods and are adapted to different deities and regional beliefs,^[8] yet almost all of them share certain core ideas, symbolism and themes. They are found in South Asia particularly India and Nepal, in southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and islands of Indonesia and Malaysia^[9][10] and countries such as Fiji, Mauritius, Guyana, Suriname, South Africa, Europe and North America with a significant Hindu community.^[11] The current state and outer appearance of Hindu temples reflect arts, materials and designs as they evolved over several millennia; they also reflect the effect of conflicts between Hinduism and Islam since the 12th century.^[12]

The significance and meaning of a Hindu Temple

Hindu temple reflects a synthesis of arts, the ideals of dharma, beliefs, values and the way of life cherished under Hinduism. It is a link between man, deities, and the Universal Purusa in a sacred space.^[13]

The 9x9 (81) grid ‘’Parama Sayika’’ layout plan (above) found in large ceremonial Hindu Temples. It is one of many grids used to build Hindu temples. In this structure of symmetry, each concentric layer has significance. The outermost layer, Paisachika padas, signify aspects of Asuras and evil; while inner Devika padas signify aspects of Devas and good. In between the good and evil is the concentric layer of Manusha padas signifying human life; All these layers surround Brahma padas, which signifies creative energy and the site for temple’s primary idol for darsana. Finally at the very center of Brahma padas is Grabhgriya (Purusa Space), signifying Universal Principle present in everything and everyone.^[1]

In ancient Indian texts, a temple is a place for Tirtha - pilgrimage.^[1] It is a sacred site whose ambience and design attempts to symbolically condense the ideal tenets of Hindu way of life.^[13] All the cosmic elements that create and sustain life are present in a Hindu temple - from fire to water, from images of nature to deities, from the feminine to the masculine, from the fleeting sounds and incense smells to the eternal nothingness yet universality at the core of the temple.^[1]

Susan Lewandowski states^[4] that the underlying principle in a Hindu temple is built around the belief that all things are one, everything is connected. The pilgrim is welcomed through 64-grid or 81-grid mathematically structured spaces, a network of art, pillars with carvings and statues that display and celebrate the four important and necessary principles of human life - the pursuit of artha (prosperity, wealth), the pursuit of kama (pleasure, sex), the pursuit of dharma (virtues, ethical life) and the pursuit of moksha (release, self-knowledge).^[14][15] At the center of the temple, typically below and sometimes above or next to the deity, is mere hollow space with no decoration, symbolically representing Purusa, the Supreme Principle, the sacred Universal, one without form, which is present everywhere, connects everything, and is the essence of everyone. A Hindu temple is meant to encourage reflection, facilitate purification of one’s mind, and trigger the process of inner realization within the devotee.^[1] The specific process is left to the devotee’s school of belief. The primary deity of different Hindu temples varies to reflect this spiritual spectrum.^[16][17]

In Hindu tradition, there is no dividing line between the secular and the sacred.^[4] In the same spirit, Hindu temples are not just sacred spaces, they are also secular spaces. Their meaning and purpose have extended beyond spiritual life to social rituals and daily life, offering thus a social meaning. Some temples have served as a venue to mark festivals, to celebrate arts through dance and music, to get married or commemorate marriages,^[18] commemorate the birth of a child, other significant life events, or mark the death of a loved one. In political and economic life, Hindu temples have served as a venue for the succession within dynasties and landmarks around which economic activity thrived.^[19]

The forms and designs of Hindu Temples

Almost all Hindu temples take two forms: a house or a palace. A house-themed temple is a simple shelter which serves as a deity’s home. The temple is a place where the devotee visits, just like he or she would visit a friend or relative. In Bhakti school of Hinduism, temples are venues for puja, which is a hospitality ritual, where the deity is the honored, and where devotee calls upon, attends to and connects with the deity. In other schools of Hinduism, the person may simply perform jap, or meditation, or yoga, or introspection in his or her temple.

A palace-themed temples are more elaborate, often monumental architecture.

The site

The appropriate site for a temple, suggest ancient Sanskrit texts, is near water and gardens, where lotus and flowers bloom, where swans, ducks and other birds are heard, where animals rest without fear of injury or harm.^[1] These harmonious places were recommended in these texts with the explanation that such are the places where gods play, and thus the best site for Hindu temples.^[1][4]

Hindu temple sites cover a wide range. The most common sites are those near water bodies, embedded in nature, such as the above at Badami, Karnataka.

The gods always play where lakes are,
where the sun’s rays are warded off by umbrellas of lotus leaf clusters,
and where clear waterpaths are made by swans
whose breasts toss the white lotus hither and thither,
where swans, ducks, curleys and paddy birds are heard,
and animals rest nearby in the shade of Nicula trees on the river banks.

The gods always play where rivers have for their braclets
the sound of curleys and the voice of swans for their speech,
water as their garment, carps for their zone,
the flowering trees on their banks as earrings,
the confluence of rivers as their hips,
raised sand banks as breasts and plumage of swans their mantle.

The gods always play where groves are near, rivers, mountains and springs, and in towns with pleasure gardens.

— Brhat Samhita 1.60.4-8, 6th Century CE^[20]

While major Hindu temples are recommended at sangams (confluence of rivers), river banks, lakes and seashore, Brhat Samhita and Puranas suggest temples may also be built where a natural source of water is not present. Here too, they recommend that a pond be built preferably in front or to the left of the temple with water gardens. If water is neither present naturally nor by design, water is symbolically present at the consecration of temple or the deity. Temples may also be built, suggests Visnudharmottara in Part III of Chapter 93,^[21] inside caves and carved stones, on hill tops affording peaceful views, mountain slopes overlooking beautiful valleys, inside forests and hermitages, next to gardens, or at the head of a town street.

The manuals

Ancient builders of Hindu temples created manuals of architecture, called Vastu-Sastra (literally, science of dwelling, Vas-tu is a composite Sanskrit word Vas means reside, tu means you); these contain Vastu-Vidya (literally, knowledge of dwelling).^[22] There exist many Vastu-Sastras on the art of building temples, such as one by Thakkura Pheru, describing where and how temples should be built.^[23][24] By the 6th century AD, Sanskrit manuals for constructing palatial temples were in circulation in India.^[25] Vastu-Sastra manuals included chapters on home construction, town planning,^[22] and how efficient villages, towns and kingdoms integrated temples, water bodies and gardens within them to achieve harmony with nature.^[26][27] While it is unclear, states Barnett,^[28] as to whether these temple and town planning texts were theoretical studies and if or when they were properly implemented in practice, the manuals suggest that town planning and Hindu temples were conceived as ideals of art and integral part of Hindu social and spiritual life.^[22]

Ancient India produced many Sanskrit manuals for Hindu temple design and construction, covering arrangement of spaces (above) to every aspect of its completion. Yet, the Silpins were given wide latitude to experiment and express their creativity.^[29]

The Silpa Prakasa of Odisha, authored by Ramacandra Bhattaraka Kaulacara sometime in ninth or tenth century CE, is another Sanskrit treatise on Temple Architecture.^[30] Silpa Prakasa describes the geometric principles in every aspect of the temple and symbolism such as 16 emotions of human beings carved as 16 types of female figures. These styles were perfected in Hindu temples prevalent in eastern states of India. Other ancient texts found expand these architectural principles, suggesting that different parts of India developed, invented and added their own interpretations. For example, in Saurastra tradition of temple building found in western states of India, the feminine form, expressions and emotions are depicted in 32 types of Nataka-stri compared to 16 types described in Silpa Prakasa.^[30] Silpa Prakasa provides brief introduction to 12 types of Hindu temples. Other texts, such as Pancaratra Prasada Prasadhana compiled by Daniel Smith^[31] and Silpa Ratnakara compiled by Narmada Sankara^[32] provide a more extensive list of Hindu temple types.

Ancient Sanskrit manuals for temple construction discovered in Rajasthan, in northwestern region of India, include Sutradhara Mandana’s Prasadamandana (literally, manual for planning and building a temple).^[33] Manasara, a text of South Indian origin, estimated to be in circulation by the 7th century AD, is a guidebook on South Indian temple design and construction.^[4][34] Isanasivagurudeva paddhati is another Sanskrit text from the 9th century describing the art of temple building in India in south and central India.^[35][36] In north India, Brihat-samhita by Varāhamihira is the widely cited ancient Sanskrit manual from 6th century describing the design and construction of Nagara style of Hindu temples.^[29][37][38]

Elements of a Hindu temple in Kalinga style. There are many Hindu temple styles, but they almost universally share common geometric principles, symbolism of ideas, and expression of core beliefs.^[1]

The plan

A Hindu temple design follows a geometrical design called vastu-purusha-mandala. The name is a composite Sanskrit word with three of the most important components of the plan. Mandala means circle, Purusha is universal essence at the core of Hindu tradition, while Vastu means the dwelling structure.^[39] Vastupurushamandala is a yantra.^[23] The design lays out a Hindu temple in a symmetrical, self-repeating structure derived from central beliefs, myths, cardinality and mathematical principles.

The four cardinal directions help create the axis of a Hindu temple, around which is formed a perfect square in the space available. The circle of mandala circumscribes the square. The square is considered divine for its perfection and as a symbolic product of knowledge and human thought, while circle is considered earthly, human and observed in everyday life (moon, sun, horizon, water drop, rainbow). Each supports the other.^[1] The square is divided into perfect 64 (or in some cases 81) sub-squares called padas.^[29][40] Each pada is conceptually assigned to a symbolic element, sometimes in the form of a deity. The central square(s) of the 64 or 81 grid is dedicated to the Brahman (not to be confused with Brahmin), and are called Brahma padas.

The 8x8 (64) grid Manduka Hindu Temple Floor Plan, according to Vastupurusamandala. The 64 grid is the most sacred and common Hindu temple template. The bright saffron center, where diagonals intersect above, represents the Purusha of Hindu philosophy.^[1][29]

The 49 grid design is called Sthandila and of great importance in creative expressions of Hindu temples in South India, particularly in ‘‘Prakaras’’.^[41] The symmetric Vastu-purusa-mandala grids are sometimes combined to form a temple superstructure with two or more attached squares.^[42] The temples face sunrise, and the entrance for the devotee is typically this east side. The mandala pada facing sunrise is dedicated to Surya deity (Sun). The Surya pada is flanked by the padas of Satya (Truth) deity on one side and Indra (king of gods) deity on other. The east and north faces of most temples feature a mix of gods and demi-gods; while west and south feature demons and demi-gods related to the underworld.^[43] This vastu purusha mandala plan and symbolism is systematically seen in ancient Hindu temples on Indian subcontinent as well as those in southeast Asia, with regional creativity and variations.^[44][45]

Beneath the mandala’s central square(s) is the space for the formless shapeless all pervasive all connecting Universal Spirit, the highest reality, the purusha.^[46] This space is sometimes referred to as garbha-griya (literally womb house) - a small, perfect square, windowless, enclosed space without ornamentation that represents universal essence.^[39] In or near this space is typically a murti (idol). This is the main deity idol, and this varies with each temple. Often it is this idol that gives the temple a local name, such as Visnu temple, Krishna temple, Rama temple, Narayana temple, Siva temple, Lakshmi temple, Ganesha temple, Durga temple, Hanuman temple, Surya temple, and others.^[13] It is this garbha-griya which devotees seek for ‘‘darsana’’ (literally, a sight of knowledge,^[47] or vision^[39]).

Above the vastu-purusha-mandala is a superstructure with a dome called Shikhara in north India, and Vimana in south India, that stretches towards the sky.^[39] Sometimes, in makeshift temples, the dome may be replaced with symbolic bamboo with few leaves at the top. The vertical dimension's cupola or dome is designed as a pyramid, conical or other mountain-like shape, once again using principle of concentric circles and squares (see below).^[1] Scholars suggest that this shape is inspired by cosmic mountain of Meru or Himalayan Kailasa, the abode of gods according to Vedic mythology.^[39]

A Hindu temple has a Shikhara (Vimana or Spire) that rises symmetrically above the central core of the temple. These spires come in many designs and shapes, but they all have mathematical precision and geometric symbolism. One of the common principles found in Hindu temple spires is circles and turning-squares theme (left), and a concentric layering design (right) that flows from one to the other as it rises towards the sky.^[1][48]

In larger temples, the central space typically is surrounded by an ambulatory for the devotee to walk around and ritually circumambulate the Purusa, the universal essence.^[1] Often this space is visually decorated with carvings, paintings or images meant to inspire the devotee. In some temples, these images may be stories from Hindu Epics, in others they may be Vedic tales about right and wrong or virtues and vice, in some they may be idols of minor or regional deities. The pillars, walls and ceilings typically also have highly ornate carvings or images of the four just and necessary pursuits of life - kama, artha, dharma and moksa. This walk around is called pradakshina.^[39]

Large temples also have pillared halls called mandapa. One on the east side, serves as the waiting room for pilgrims and devotees. The mandapa may be a separate structure in older temples, but in newer temples this space is integrated into the temple superstructure. Mega temple sites have a main temple surrounded by smaller temples and shrines, but these are still arranged by principles of symmetry, grids and mathematical precision. An important principle found in the layout of Hindu temples is mirroring and repeating fractal-like design structure,^[49] each unique yet also repeating the central common principle, one which Susan Lewandowski refers to as “an organism of repeating cells”.^[19]

An illustration of Hindu temple Spires (Shikhara, Vimana) built using concentric circle and rotating-squares principle. The left is from Vijayanagar in Karnataka, the right is from Pushkar in Rajasthan.

The ancient texts on Hindu temple design, the Vastupurusamandala and Vastu Sastras, do not limit themselves to the design of a Hindu temple.^[50] They describe the temple as a holistic part of its community, and lay out various principles and a diversity of alternate designs for home, village and city layout along with the temple, gardens, water bodies and nature.^[1][26]

Exceptions to the square grid principle

Predominant number of Hindu temples exhibit the perfect square grid principle.^[51] However, there are some exceptions. For example, the Teli-ka-mandir in Gwalior, built in the 8th century CE is not a square but is a rectangle in 2:3 proportion. Further, the temple explores a number of structures and shrines in 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 2:5, 3:5 and 4:5 ratios. These ratios are exact, suggesting the architect intended to use these harmonic ratios, and the rectangle pattern was not a mistake, nor an arbitrary approximation. Other examples of non-square harmonic ratios are found at Naresar temple site of Madhya Pradesh and Nakti-Mata temple near Jaipur, Rajasthan. Michael Meister suggests that these exceptions mean the ancient Sanskrit manuals for temple building were guidelines, and Hinduism permitted its artisans flexibility in expression and aesthetic independence.^[29]

The symbolism

A Hindu temple is a symbolic reconstruction of the universe and universal principles that make everything in it function.^[52][53] The temples reflect Hindu philosophy and its diverse views on cosmos and Truths.^[49][54]

Hinduism has no traditional ecclesiastical order, no centralized religious authorities, no governing body, no prophet(s) nor any binding holy book; Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monistic, or atheistic.^[55] Within this diffuse and open structure, spirituality in Hindu philosophy is an individual experience, and referred to as kṣaitrajña (Sanskrit: क्षैत्रज्ञ^[56]). It defines spiritual practice as one’s journey towards moksha, awareness of self, the discovery of higher truths, true nature of reality, and a consciousness that is liberated and content.^[57][58] A Hindu temple reflects these core beliefs. The central core of almost all Hindu temples is not a large communal space; the temple is designed for the individual, a couple or a family - a small, private space where he or she experiences darsana.

Darsana is itself a symbolic word. In ancient Hindu scripts, darsana is the name of six methods or alternate viewpoints of understanding Truth.^[59] These are Nyaya, Vaisesika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta - each of which flowered into their own schools of Hinduism, each of which are considered valid, alternate paths to understanding Truth and realizing Self in the Hindu way of life.

Kāma is celebrated in some Hindu temples, such as Khajuraho and the Konark Temple (above).^[60]

From names to forms, from images to stories carved into the walls of a temple, symbolism is everywhere in a Hindu temple. Life principles such as the pursuit of joy, sex, connection and emotional pleasure (kama) are fused into mystical, erotic and architectural forms in Hindu temples. These motifs and principles of human life are part of the sacred texts of Hindu, such as its Upanishads; the temples express these same principles in a different form, through art and spaces. For example, Brihadaranyaka Upanisad at 4.3.21, recites:

In the embrace of his beloved a man forgets the whole world,
everything both within and without;
in the same way, he who embraces the Self,
knows neither within nor without.

— Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 7th Century BC^[61]

The architecture of Hindu temples is also symbolic. The whole structure fuses the daily life and it surroundings with the divine concepts, through a structure that is open yet raised on a terrace, transitioning from the secular towards the sacred,^[62] inviting the visitor inwards towards the Brahma pada and temple’s central core, as well as lifting him upwards into a symbolic space marked by its spire (shikhara, vimana). The ancient temples had grand intricately carved entrances but no doors, and lacked a boundary wall. In most cultures, suggests Edmund Leach,^[62] a boundary and gateway separates the secular and the sacred, and this gateway door is grand. In Hindu tradition, this is discarded in favor of an open and diffusive architecture, where the secular world was not separated from the sacred, but transitioned and flowed into the sacred.^[63] The Hindu temple has structural walls, which were patterned usually within the 64 grid, or other geometric layouts. Yet the layout was open on all sides, except for the core space which had just one opening for darsana. The temple space is laid out in a series of courts (mandappas). The outermost regions may incorporate the negative and suffering side of life with symbolism of evil, asuras and rakshashas (demons); but in small temples this layer is dispensed with. When present, this outer region diffuse into the next inner layer that bridges as human space, followed by another inner Devika padas space and symbolic arts incorporating the positive and joyful side of life about the good and the gods. This divine space then concentrically diffuses inwards and lifts the guest to the core of the temple, where resides the main idol as well as the space for the Purusa and ideas held to be most sacred principles in Hindu tradition. The symbolism in the arts and temples of Hinduism, suggests Edmund Leach, is similar to those in Christianity and other major religions of the world.^[64]

The teams that built Hindu temples

Inside Hindu temples

Shrine inside temple complex Ramayana scene along padas Outer hall, Rameswaram Center, Hoysaleswara

Ancient Indian texts call the craftsmen and builders of temples as ‘‘Silpin’’ (Sanskrit: शिल्पिन्^[65]), derived from ‘‘Silpa’’.^[66] One of earliest mentions of Sanskrit word Silpa is in Atharvaveda, from about 1000 BC, which scholars have translated as any work of art.^[67] Other scholars suggest that the word Silpa has no direct one word translation in English, nor does the word ‘‘Silpin’’. Silpa, explains Stella Kramrisch,^[35] is a multicolored word and incorporates art, skill, craft, ingenuity, imagination, form, expression and inventiveness of any art or craft. Similarly a Shilpin, notes Kramrisch, is a complex Sanskrit word, describing any person who embodies art, science, culture, skill, rhythm and employs creative principles to produce any divine form of expression. Silpins who built Hindu temples, as well as the art works and sculpture within them, were considered by the ancient Sanskrit texts to deploy arts whose number are unlimited, Kala (techniques) that were 64 in number,^[68] and Vidya (science) that were of 32 types.^[35]

The Hindu manuals of temple construction describe the education, characteristics of good artists and architects. The general education of a Hindu Shilpin in ancient India included Lekha or Lipi (alphabet, reading and writing), Rupa (drawing and geometry), Ganana (arithmetic). These were imparted from age 5 to 12. The advanced students would continue in higher stages of Shilpa Sastra studies till the age of 25.^[69][70] Apart from specialist technical competence, the manuals suggest that best Silpins for building a Hindu temple are those who know the essence of Vedas and Agamas, consider themselves as students, keep well verse with principles of traditional sciences and mathematics, painting and geography.^[23] Further they are kind, free from jealousy, righteous, have their sense under control, of happy disposition, and ardent in everything they do.^[35]

According to Silparatna, a Hindu temple project would start with a Yajamana (patron), and include a Sthapaka (guru, spiritual guide and architect-priest), a Sthapati (architect) who would design the building, a Sutragrahin (surveyor), and many Vardhakins (workers, masons, painters, plasterers, overseers) and Taksakas (sculptors).^[23][37] While the temple is under construction, all those working on the temple were revered and considered sacerdotal by the patron as well as others witnessing the construction.^[66] Further, it was a tradition that all tools and materials used in temple building and all creative work had the sanction of a sacrament.^[23] For example, if a carpenter or sculptor needed to fell a tree or cut a rock from a hill, he would propitiate the tree or rock with prayers, seeking forgiveness for cutting it from its surroundings, and explaining his intent and purpose. The axe used to cut the tree would be anointed with butter to minimize the hurt to the tree.^[35] Even in modern times, in some parts of India such as Odisha, Visvakarma Puja is a ritual festival every year where the craftsmen and artists worship their arts, tools and materials.^[71]

The social functions of Hindu Temple

Hindu temples served as nucleus of important social, economic, artistic and intellectual functions in ancient and medieval India.^[72][73] Burton Stein states that South Indian temples managed regional development function, such as irrigation projects, land reclamation, post-disaster relief and recovery. These activities were paid for by the donations (melvarum) they collected from devotees.^[6] Temples also managed lands endowed to it by its devotees upon their death. They would provide employment to the poorest.^[74] Some temples had large treasury, with gold and silver coins, and these temples served as banks.^[75]

In contemporary times, the process of building a Hindu temple by emigrants and diasporas from South Asia has also served as a process of building a community, a social venue to network, reduce prejudice and seek civil rights together.^[76]

Library of manuscripts

Styles of Hindu temples

Cave temple Forest temple Mountain temple Seashore temple

John Guy and Jorrit Britschgi state Hindu temples served as centers where ancient manuscripts were routinely used for learning and where the texts were copied when they wore out.^[77] In South India, temples and associated mutts served custodial functions, and a large number of manuscripts on Hindu philosophy, poetry, grammar and other subjects were written, multiplied and preserved inside the temples.^[78] Archaeological and epigraphical evidence indicates existence of libraries called Sarasvati-bhandara, dated possibly to early 12th-century and employing librarians, attached to Hindu temples.^[79]

Palm-leaf manuscripts called lontar in dedicated stone libraries have been discovered by archaeologists at Hindu temples in Bali Indonesia and in 10th century Cambodian temples such as Angkor Wat and Banteay Srei.^[80]

Temple schools

Inscriptions from 4th century CE suggest the existence of schools around Hindu temples, called Ghatikas or Mathas, where the Vedas were studied.^[81] In south India, 9th century Vedic schools attached to Hindu temples were called Calai or Salai, and these provided free boarding and lodging to students and scholars.^[82] The temples linked to Bhakti movement in the early 2nd millennium, were dominated by non-Brahmins.^[83] These assumed many educational functions, including the exposition, recitation and public discourses of Sanskrit and Vedic texts.^[83] Some temple schools offered wide range of studies, ranging from Hindu scriptures to Buddhist texts, grammar, philosophy, martial arts, music and painting.^[72][84] By the 8th century, Hindu temples also served as the social venue for tests, debates, team competition and Vedic recitals called Anyonyam.^[72][84]

Styles

Hindu temples are found in diverse locations each incorporating different methods of construction and styles:

• Mountain^[85] temples such as Masrur
• Cave^[86] temples such as Chandrabhaga, Chalukya^[87] and Ellora
• Step well temple compounds such as the Mata Bhavani, Ankol Mata and Huccimallugudi.^[88]
• Forest^[86] temples such as Kasaun and Kusama^[89]
• River bank and sea shore temples such as Somnath.

Hindu deities, stepwell style.

Step well temples

In arid western parts of India, such as Rajasthan and Gujarat, Hindu communities built large walk in wells that served as the only source of water in dry months but also served as social meeting places and carried religious significance. These monuments went down into earth towards subterranean water, up to seven storey, and were part of a temple complex.^[90] These vav (literally, stepwells) had intricate art reliefs on the walls, with numerous idols and images of Hindu deities, water spirits and erotic symbolism. The step wells were named after Hindu deities; for example, Mata Bhavani's Stepwell, Ankol Mata Vav, Sikotari Vav and others.^[90] The temple ranged from being small single pada (cell) structure to large nearby complexes. These stepwells and their temple compounds have been variously dated from late 1st millennium BC through 11th century AD. Of these, Rani ki vav, with hundreds of art reliefs including many of Vishnu deity avatars, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.^[91]

Cave Temples

The Indian rock-cut architecture evolved in Maharashtran temple style in the 1st millennium AD. The temples are carved from a single piece of rock as a complete temple or carved in a cave to look like the interior of a temple. Ellora Temple is an example of the former, while The Elephanta Caves are representative of the latter style. The Elephanta Caves consist of two groups of caves—the first is a large group of five Hindu caves and the second is a smaller group of two Buddhist caves. The Hindu caves contain rock-cut stone sculptures, representing the Shaiva Hindu sect, dedicated to the god Shiva.

Arts inside Hindu temples

Illustration of Chitrardha style of art work in a Hindu temple.

A typical, ancient Hindu temple has a profusion of arts - from paintings to sculpture, from symbolic icons to engravings, from thoughtful layout of space to fusion of mathematical principles with Hindu sense of time and cardinality.

Ancient Sanskrit texts classify idols and images in number of ways. For example, one method of classification is the dimensionality of completion:^[92]

• chitra - images that are 3-dimensional and completely formed,
• chitrardha - images that are engraved in half relief,
• chitrabhasa - images that are 2-dimensional such as paintings on walls and cloths.

Images and idols inside Hindu temples vary widely in their expression. Raudra or ugra images express destruction, fear and violence, such as Kali image on left. Shanta or saumya images express joy, knowledge and harmony, such as Saraswati image on right. Saumya images are most common in Hindu temples.

Another way of classification is by the expressive state of the image:

• raudra or ugra - are images that were meant to terrify, induce fear. These typically have wide, circular eyes, carry weapons, have skulls and bones as adornment. These idols were worshipped by soldiers before going to war, or by people in times of distress or errors. Raudra deity temples were not set up inside villages or towns, but invariably outside and in remote areas of a kingdom.^[92]
• shanta and saumya - are images that were pacific, peaceful and expressive of love, compassion, kindness and other virtues in Hindu pantheon. These images would carry symbolic icons of peace, knowledge, music, wealth, flowers, sensuality among other things. In ancient India, these temples were predominant inside villages and towns.^[92]

A Hindu temple may or may not include an idol or images, but larger temples usually do. Personal Hindu temples at home or a hermitage may have a pada for yoga or meditation, but be devoid of anthropomorphic representations of god. Nature or others arts may surround him or her. To a Hindu yogin, states Gopinath Rao,^[92] one who has realised Self and the Universal Principle within himself, there is no need for any temple or divine image for worship. However, for those who have yet to reach this height of realization, various symbolic manifestations through images, idols and icons as well as mental modes of worship are offered as one of the spiritual paths in the Hindu way of life. This belief is repeated in ancient Hindu scriptures. For example, the Jabaladarshana Upanishad states:^[92]

शिवमात्मनि पश्यन्ति प्रतिमासु न योगिनः |
अज्ञानं भावनार्थाय प्रतिमाः परिकल्पिताः || ५९ ||
- जाबालदर्शनोपनिषत्

A yogin perceives god (Siva) within himself,
images are for those who have not reached this knowledge. (Verse 59)

— Jabaladarsana Upanishad, ^[93]

Historical development and destruction

Ancient Hindu temples outside South Asia

Ateshgah temple, Azerbaijan Angkor Wat, Cambodia Prambanan temple, Indonesia Po Nagar temple, Vietnam

A number of ancient Indian texts suggest the prevalence of idols, temples and shrines in Indian subcontinent for thousands of years. For example, the 4th century BC text, Astadhyayi mentions male deity arcas (images/idols) of Agni, Indra, Varuna, Rudra, Mrda, Pusa, Surya, Soma being worshipped, as well as the worship of arcas of female goddesses such as Indrani, Varunani, Usa, Bhavani, Prthivi and Vrsakapayi.^[94] The 2nd Century BC ‘‘Mahabhasya’’ of Patanjali extensively describes temples of Dhanapati (deity of wealth and finance, Kubera), as well as temples of Rama and Kesava, wherein the worship included dance, music and extensive rituals. The Mahabhasya also describes the rituals for Krsna, Visnu and Siva. An image recovered from Mathura in north India has been dated to the 2nd century BC.^[94] Kautilya’s Arthasastra from 3rd Century BC describes a city of temples, each enshrining various Vedic and Puranic deities. All three of these sources have common names, describe common rituals, symbolism and significance possibly suggesting that the idea of idols, temples and shrines passed from one generation to next, in ancient India, at least from the 4th century BC.^[94] The oldest temples, suggest scholars, were built of brick and wood. Stone became the preferred material of construction later.^[95][96]

Early Jainism and Buddhism literature, along with Kautilya’s Arthasastra, describe structures, embellishments and designs of these temples - all with motifs and deities currently prevalent in Hinduism. Bas-reliefs and idols have been found from 2nd to 3rd Century, but none of the temple structures have survived. Scholars^[94] theorize that those ancient temples of India, later referred to as Hindu temples, were modeled after domestic structure - a house or a palace. Beyond shrines, nature was revered, in forms such as trees, rivers, stupas before the time of Buddha and Vardhamana Mahavira. As Jainism and Buddhism branched off from the religious tradition later to be called Hinduism, the ideas, designs and plans of ancient Vedic and Upanishad era shrines were adopted and evolved, likely from the competitive development of temples and arts in Jainism and Buddhism. Ancient reliefs found so far, states Michael Meister,^[94] suggest five basic shrine designs and combinations thereof in 1st millennium BC:

1. A raised platform with or without a symbol
2. A raised platform under an umbrella
3. A raised platform under a tree
4. A raised platform enclosed with a railing
5. A raised platform inside a pillared pavilion

Many of these ancient shrines were roofless, some had toranas and roof.

Ladkhan Shiva Temple in Karnataka from the 5th century.

From the 1st century BC through 3rd Century AD, the evidence and details about ancient temples increases. The ancient literature refers to these temples as Pasada (or Prasada), stana, mahasthana, devalaya, devagrha, devakula, devakulika, ayatana and harmya.^[94] The entrance of the temple is referred to as dvarakosthaka in these ancient texts notes Meister,^[94] the temple hall is described as sabha or ayagasabha, pillars were called kumbhaka, while vedika referred to the structures at the boundary of a temple.

A 7th century Chalukyan style temple ceiling in Karnataka

With the start of Gupta dynasty in the 4th century, Hindu temples flourished in innovation, design, scope, form, use of stone and new materials as well as symbolic synthesis of culture and dharmic principles with artistic expression.^[97][98] It is this period that is credited with the ideas of garbhagrha for Purusa, mandapa for sheltering the devotees and rituals in progress, as well as symbolic motifs relating to dharma, karma, kama, artha and moksha. Temple superstructures were built from stone, brick and wide range of materials. Entrance ways, walls and pillars were intricately carved, while parts of temple were decorated with gold, silver and jewels. Visnu, Siva and other deities were placed in Hindu temples, while Buddhists and Jains built their own temples, often side by side with Hindus.^[99]

The 4th through 6th century marked the flowering of Vidharbha style, whose accomplishments survive in central India as Ajanta caves, Pavnar, Mandhal and Mahesvar. In South India, this period is credited with some of the earliest stone temples of the region, with Chalukya temples dated to be from the 5th century by some scholars,^[100] and the 6th by some others.^[101] Over 6th and 7th century, temple designs were further refined during Maurya dynasty, evidence of which survives today at Ellora and Elephanta.

Many Hindu temples were destroyed and the remains used to rebuild Islamic mosques between 12th and 18th century AD. Above drawing by James Prinsep (1832) shows an overlay of a mosque built over the ancient Hindu Vishveshvur temple.

It is the 5th through 7th century AD when outer design and appearances of Hindu temples in north India and south India began to widely diverge.^[102] Nevertheless, the forms, theme, symbolism and central ideas in the grid design remained same, before and after, pan-India as innovations were adopted to give distinctly different visual expressions.

During the 5th to 11th century, Hindu temples flourished outside Indian subcontinent, such as in Cambodia, Viet Nam, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Destruction and conversion

With the arrival of Islam in South Asia, Hindu temples along with the temples of Buddhists and Jains, became targets of Islamic armies. Idols were broken up and damaged. Spires and pillars were torn down by the invading armies from Persia, Central Asia and resident Sultans. Temples were looted of their treasury and parts reused to build or to convert the temples into mosques.^[103] During some periods, Muslim emperors such as Akbar encouraged arts, helped repair and protect Hindu temples. In other periods, the Sultans and emperors led a campaign of temple destruction as well as forbade repairs to damaged temples.^[104] Richard Eaton has listed 80 campaigns of Hindu temple site destruction stretching over centuries, particularly from the 12th through the 18th century.^[105] The religious conflict and desecrations continued during the British colonial era.^[106]

The destruction of Hindu temple sites was comparatively less in the southern parts of India, such as in Tamil Nadu. Cave style Hindu temples that were carved inside a rock, hidden and rediscovered centuries later, such as the Kailasha Temple, have also survived. These are now UNESCO world heritage sites.^[107]

Customs and etiquette

The customs and etiquette varies across India. Devotees in major temples may bring in symbolic offerings for the puja. This includes fruits, flowers, sweets and other symbols of the bounty of the natural world. Temples in India are usually surrounded with small shops selling these offerings.

Jagannath Puri Temple Puri, one of Char Dham four Main spiritual center of Hindu

When inside the temple, devotees keep both hands folded (namaste mudra). The inner sanctuary, where the murtis reside, is known as the garbhagriha. It symbolizes the birthplace of the universe, the meeting place of the gods and mankind, and the threshold between the transcendental and the phenomenal worlds.^[108] It is in this inner shrine that devotees seek a darsana of, where they offer prayers. Devotees may or may not be able to personally present their offerings at the feet of the deity. In most large Indian temples, only the pujaris (priest) are allowed to enter into the main sanctum.^[109]

Temple management staff typically announce the hours of operation, including timings for special pujas. These timings and nature of special puja vary from temple to temple. Additionally, there may be specially allotted times for devotees to perform circumambulations (or pradakshina) around the temple.^[109]

Visitors and worshipers to large Hindu temples may be required to deposit their shoes and other footwear before entering. Where this is expected, the temples provide an area and help staff to store footwear. Dress codes vary. It is customary in temples in Kerala, for men to remove shirts and to cover pants and shorts with a traditional cloth known as a Vasthiram.^[110] In Java and Bali (Indonesia), before one enters the most sacred parts of a Hindu temple, shirts are required as well as Sarong around one's waist.^[111] At many other locations, this formality is unnecessary.

Regional variations in Hindu temples

North Indian temples

Kedarnath Temple, Uttarakhand

Shiv Temple, Assam

North Indian temples are referred to as Nagara style of temple architecture.^[112] They have sanctum sanctorum where the deity is present, open on one side from where the devotee obtains darśana. There may or may not be many more surrounding corridors, halls, etc. However, there will be space for devotees to go around the temple in clockwise fashion circumambulation. In North Indian temples, the tallest towers are built over the sanctum sanctorum in which the deity is installed.^[113]

The north India Nagara style of temple designs often deploy fractal-theme, where smaller parts of the temple are themselves images or geometric re-arrangement of the large temple, a concept found in French and Russian architecture such as the matryoshka principle. One difference is the scope and cardinality, where Hindu temple structures deploy this principle in every dimension with garbhgriya as the primary locus, and each pada as well as zones serving as additional centers of loci. This makes a Nagara Hindu temple architecture symbolically a perennial expression of movement and time, of centrifugal growth fused with the idea of unity in everything.^[112]

Temples in West Bengal

Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Kolkata

In West Bengal, the Bengali terra cotta temple architecture is found. Due to lack of suitable stone in the alluvial soil locally available, the temple makers had to resort to other materials instead of stone. This gave rise to using terracotta as a medium for temple construction. Terracotta exteriors with rich carvings are a unique feature of Bengali temples. The town of Vishnupur in West Bengal is renowned for this type of architecture. There is also a popular style of building known as Navaratna (nine-towered) or Pancharatna (five-towered). An example of Navaratna style is the Dakshineswar Kali Temple.^[114]

Temples in Odisha

Rajarani Temple, Bhubaneswar

Odisha temple architecture is known as Kalinga architecture, classifies the spire into three parts, the Bāḍa (lower limb), the Ganḍi (body) and the Cuḷa/Mastaka (head). Each part is decorated in a different manner. Kalinga architecture is a style which flourished in Kalinga, the name for kingdom that included ancient Odisha. It includes three styles: Rekha Deula, Pidha Deula and Khakhara Deula.^[115] The former two are associated with Vishnu, Surya and Shiva temples while the third is mainly associated with Chamunda and Durga temples. The Rekha Deula and Khakhara Deula houses the sanctum sanctorum while the Pidha Deula style includes space for outer dancing and offering halls.

Temples of Goa and other Konkani temples

Saptakoteshwar Temple in Goa

The temple architecture of Goa is quite unique. As Portuguese colonial hegemony increased, Goan Hindu temples became the rallying point to local resistance.^[116] Many these temples are not more than 500 years old, and are a unique blend of original Goan temple architecture, Dravidian, Nagar and Hemadpanthi temple styles with some British and Portuguese architectural influences. Goan temples were built using sedimentary rocks, wood, limestone and clay tiles, and copper sheets were used for the roofs. These temples were decorated with mural art called as Kavi kala or ocher art. The interiors have murals and wood carvings depicting scenes from the Hindu mythology.

South Indian temples

The gopuram (tower) of Natarajar Temple, a typical South Indian temple complex in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu.

Koneswaram Temple, a 6th Century BCE Tamil Saivate temple in Tirukonamalai, Sri Lanka.

South Indian temples have a large gopuram, a monumental tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of the temple. This forms a prominent feature of Koils, Hindu temples of the Dravidian style.^[117] They are topped by the kalasam, a bulbous stone finial. They function as gateways through the walls that surround the temple complex.^[118] The gopuram's origins can be traced back to early structures of the Tamil kings Pallavas; and by the twelfth century, under the Pandya rulers, these gateways became a dominant feature of a temple's outer appearance, eventually overshadowing the inner sanctuary which became obscured from view by the gopuram's colossal size.^[119] It also dominated the inner sanctum in amount of ornamentation. Often a shrine has more than one gopuram.^[120] They also appear in architecture outside India, especially Khmer architecture, as at Angkor Wat. A koil may have multiple gopurams, typically constructed into multiple walls in tiers around the main shrine. The temple's walls are typically square with the outer most wall having gopuras. The sanctum sanctorium and its towering roof (the central deity's shrine) are also called the vimanam.^[121] The inner sanctum has restricted access with only priests allowed beyond a certain point.

Temples in Kerala

Temples in Kerala have a different architectorial style,( keeping the same essence of vaastu ) especially due to climatic differences Kerala have with other parts of India with larger rainfall. The temple roof is mostly tiled and is sloped and the walls are often square, the inner most shrine being entirely enclosed in another four walls to which only the pujari(priest) enters.

The walls are decorated with either mural paintings or rock sculptures which many a times are emphasised on Dwarapalakas.

Temples in Tamil Nadu

The Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai .

Temple construction reached its peak during rule of Pallavas. They build various temples around Kancheepuram and Narasimhavarman II built the Shore Temple in Mamallapuram which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Pandyas rule created temples such as the Meenakshi Amman Temple at Madurai and Nellaiappar Temple at Tirunelveli.^[122] The Cholas were prolific temple builders right from the times of the first medieval king Vijayalaya Chola. The Chola temples include Nataraja temple at Chidambaram, the Sri Ranganathaswami Temple at Srirangam, the Brihadeshvara Temple of Thanjavur, Brihadeshvara Temple of Gangaikonda Cholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple of Darasuram which are among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Nayaks of Madurai reconstructed some of the well-known temples in Tamil Nadu such as the Meenakshi Temple.^[4][123]

Temples in Cambodia

Art relief at the Hindu temple Banteay Srei in Cambodia

Angkor Wat was built as a Hindu temple by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yasodharapura (Khmer, present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Breaking from the Shaiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. The Spire in Khmer Hindu temple is called Giri (mountain) and symbolizes the residence of gods just like Meru does in Bali Hindu mythology and Ku (Guha) does in Burmese Hindu mythology.^[124]

Angkor Wat is just one of numerous Hindu temples in Cambodia, most of them in ruins. Hundreds of Hindu temples are scattered from Siem Reap to Sambor Prei Kuk in central Cambodian region.^[125]

Temples in Vietnam

There are a number of Hindu temple clusters along the coast of Vietnam, with some on UNESCO world heritage site list.^[126] Examples include Mỹ Sơn - a cluster of 70 temples with earliest dated to be from the 4th century AD and dedicated to Siva, while others are dedicated to Hindu deities Krishna, Vishnu and others. These temples, internally and with respect to each other, are also built on the Hindu perfect square grid concept. Other sites in Vietnam with Hindu temples include Phan Rang with the Cham temple Po Klong Garai.^[127]

Temples in Indonesia

Prambanan in Java

Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, Bali

Ancient temples in Indonesia are called candi. Hindu temples of ancient Java, Indonesia, bear resemblances with temples of South Indian style. The largest of these is the 9th century Javanese Hindu temple, Prambanan in Yogyakarta, now a UNESCO world heritage site. It was designed as three concentric squares and has 224 temples. The inner square contains 16 temples dedicated to major Hindu deities, of which Siva temple is the largest. The temple has extensive wall reliefs and carvings illustrating the stories from the Hindu Epic Ramayana.^[128]

In Bali, Pura (Balinese temple) is designed as an open-air worship place in a walled compound. The compound walls have a series of intricately decorated gates without doors for the devotee to enter. The design, plan and layout of the holy pura follows a square layout.^[129][130]

Temples outside Asia

A Hindu temple in Hamm Germany, and Atlanta United States.

Many members of the South Asian diaspora have established Hindu mandirs outside India as a means of preserving and celebrating cultural and spiritual heritage abroad. Describing the hundreds of mandirs that can be found throughout the United States, scholar Gail M. Harley observes, “The temples serve as central locations where Hindus can come together to worship during holy festivals and socialize with other Hindus. Temples in America reflect the colorful kaleidoscopic aspects contained in Hinduism while unifying people who are disbursed throughout the American landscape.”^[131] Numerous mandirs in North America and Europe have gained particular prominence and acclaim.

Temple Management

The Archaeological Survey of India has control of most ancient temples of archaeological importance in India. In India, day-to-day activities of a temple is managed by a temple board committee that administers its finances, management and events. Since independence, the autonomy of individual Hindu religious denominations to manage their own affairs with respect to temples of their own denomination have been severely eroded and the state governments have taken control of major Hindu temples.

Etymology and nomenclature

Somnath

Rameshwaram

Varanasi

Badrinath

Puri

Amarnath

Major Hindu temple sites for Tirtha and general tourism in India. Orange markers are UNESCO world heritage sites.

In Sanskrit, the liturgical language of Hinduism, the word mandir means "house". Ancient Sanskrit texts use many words for temple, such as matha, vayuna, kirti, kesapaksha, devavasatha, vihara, suravasa, surakula, devatayatana, amaragara, devakula, devagrha, devabhavana, devakulika and niketana.^[132]

The following are the other names by which a Hindu temple is referred to in India:

• Devasthana (ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ) in Kannada
• Deul/Doul/Dewaaloy in Assamese and in Bengali
• Deval/Raul/Mandir(मंदिर) in Marathi
• Devro/Mindar in Rajasthani
• Deula (ଦେଉଳ)/Mandira(ମଦିର) in Odia and Gudi in Kosali Odia
• Gudi (గుడి), Devalayam (దేవాలయం), Devasthanam (దేవస్థానము), Kovela (కోవెల), Kshetralayam (క్షేత్రాలయం), Punyakshetram (పుణ్యక్షేత్రం), or Punyakshetralayam (పుణ్యక్షేత్రాలయం) in Telugu
• Kovil or kō-vill (கோவில்) and occasionally Aalayam (ஆலயம்) in Tamil; the Tamil word Kovil means "residence of God"^[133] and is used for a distinct style of Hindu temple with Dravidian architecture
• Kshetram (ക്ഷേത്രം), Ambalam (അമ്പലം), or Kovil (കോവിൽ) in Malayalam
• Mandir (मंदिर) in Nepali, Marathi, Punjabi (ਮੰਦਰ), Gujarati (મંદિર), and Urdu (مندر)^[134]
• Mandiram (మందిరం)in Telugu ^[135]
• Mondir (মন্দির) in Bengali

In Southeast Asia temples known as:

• Candi in Indonesia, especially in Javanese, Malay and Indonesian, used both for Hindu or Buddhist temples.
• Pura in Hindu majority island of Bali, Indonesia.
• Wat in Cambodia and Thailand, also applied to both Hindu and Buddhist temples.

Temple sites

Some lands, including Varanasi, Puri, Kanchipuram, Dwarka, Amarnath, Kedarnath, Somnath, Mathura and Rameswara, are considered holy in Hinduism. They are called kṣétra (Sanskrit: क्षेत्र^[136]). A kṣétra has many temples, including one or more major ones. These temples and its location attracts pilgrimage called tirtha (or tirthayatra).^[137]

Konark Sun Temple panoramic view

See also

Media related to Hindu temples at Wikimedia Commons

• Hindu temple architecture
• List of Hindu temples
• List of largest Hindu Temples
• List of Hindu deities

References

1. Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-0222-3
2. Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, Vol 2, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-0222-3, pp. 346-357 and 423-424
3. Klaus Klostermaier, The Divine Presence in Space and Time - Murti, Tirtha, Kala; in A Survey of Hinduism, ISBN 978-0-7914-7082-4, State University of New York Press, pp. 268-277.
4. Susan Lewandowski, The Hindu Temple in South India, in Buildings and Society: Essays on the Social Development of the Built Environment, Anthony D. King (Editor), ISBN 978-0710202345, Routledge, Chapter 4
5. MR Bhat (1996), Brhat Samhita of Varahamihira, ISBN 978-8120810600, Motilal Banarsidass
6. Burton Stein, "The Economic Function of a Medieval South Indian Temple", The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 19 (February 1960), pp. 163-76.
7. George Michell (1988), The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0226532301, pp. 58-65.
8. Alice Boner (1990), Principles of Composition in Hindu Sculpture: Cave Temple Period, ISBN 978-8120807051, see Introduction and pp. 36-37.
9. Francis Ching et al., A Global History of Architecture, Wiley, ISBN 978-0470402573, pp. 227-302.
10. Brad Olsen (2004), Sacred Places Around the World: 108 Destinations, ISBN 978-1888729108, pp. 117-119.
11. Paul Younger, New Homelands: Hindu Communities, ISBN 978-0195391640, Oxford University Press
12. For the effect on Hindu temples of Islam’s arrival in South Asia and Southeast Asia, see:
    • Marc Gaborieau (1985), From Al-Beruni to Jinnah: idiom, ritual and ideology of the Hindu-Muslim confrontation in South Asia, Anthropology Today, 1(3), pp. 7-14;
    • Richard Eaton (2000), "Temple Desecration and Indo-Muslim States", Journal of Islamic Studies, 11(3), pp. 283-319.
    • Annemarie Schimmel, Islam in the Indian Subcontinent, ISBN 978-9004061170, Brill Academic, Chapter 1
    • Robert W. Hefner, Civil Islam: Muslims and Democratization in Indonesia, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0691050461, pp. 28-29.
13. George Michell (1988), The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0226532301, Chapter 1
14. Alain Daniélou (2001), The Hindu Temple: Deification of Eroticism, Translated from French to English by Ken Hurry, ISBN 0-89281-854-9, pp. 101-127.
15. Samuel Parker (2010), Ritual as a Mode of Production: Ethnoarchaeology and Creative Practice in Hindu Temple Arts, South Asian Studies, 26(1), pp. 31-57; Michael Rabe, Secret Yantras and Erotic Display for Hindu Temples, (Editor: David White), ISBN 978-8120817784, Princeton University Readings in Religion (Motilal Banarsidass Publishers), Chapter 25, pp. 435-446.
16. Antonio Rigopoulos (1998). Dattatreya: The Immortal Guru, Yogin, and Avatara: A Study of the Transformative and Inclusive Character of a Multi-faceted Hindu Deity. State University of New York Press. pp. 223–224, 243. ISBN 978-0-7914-3696-7.
17. Alain Daniélou (2001). The Hindu Temple: Deification of Eroticism. Inner Traditions. pp. 69–71. ISBN 978-0-89281-854-9.
18. Pyong Gap Min, Religion and Maintenance of Ethnicity among Immigrants - A Comparison of Indian Hindus and Korean Protestants, Editor: Karen Leonard (Immigrant Faiths), ISBN 978-0759108165, Chapter 6, pp. 102-103.
19. Susan Lewandowski, The Hindu Temple in South India, in Buildings and Society: Essays on the Social Development of the Built Environment, Anthony D. King (Editor), ISBN 978-0710202345, Routledge, pp. 71-73.
20. Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-0222-3, page 4
21. Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-0222-3, page 5-6
22. BB Dutt (1925), Town planning in Ancient India at Google Books, ISBN 978-81-8205-487-5; See critical review by LD Barnett, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 4, Issue 2, June 1926, pp. 391.
23. Stella Kramrisch (1976), The Hindu Temple Volume 1 & 2, ISBN 81-208-0223-3
24. Jack Hebner (2010), Architecture of the Vastu Sastra - According to Sacred Science, in Science of the Sacred (Editor: David Osborn), ISBN 978-0557277247, pp. 85-92; N Lahiri (1996), Archaeological landscapes and textual images: a study of the sacred geography of late medieval Ballabgarh, World Archaeology, 28(2), pp. 244-264
25. Susan Lewandowski (1984), Buildings and Society: Essays on the Social Development of the Built Environment, edited by Anthony D. King, Routledge, ISBN 978-0710202345, Chapter 4
26. Sherri Silverman (2007), Vastu: Transcendental Home Design in Harmony with Nature, Gibbs Smith, Utah, ISBN 978-1423601326
27. G. D. Vasudev (2001), Vastu, Motilal Banarsidas, ISBN 81-208-1605-6, pp. 74-92.
28. LD Barnett, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol 4, Issue 2, June 1926, pp. 391.
29. Michael Meister (1983), Geometry and Measure in Indian Temple Plans: Rectangular Temples, Artibus Asiae, Vol. 44, No. 4, pp. 266-296,
30. Alice Boner and Sadāśiva Rath Śarmā (1966), Silpa Prakasa Medieval Orissan Sanskrit Text on Temple Architecture at Google Books, E.J. Brill (Netherlands)
31. H. Daniel Smith (1963), Ed. Pāncarātra prasāda prasādhapam, A Pancaratra Text on Temple-Building, Syracuse: University of Rochester, OCLC 68138877
32. Mahanti and Mahanty (1995 Reprint), Śilpa Ratnākara, Orissa Akademi, OCLC 42718271
33. Amita Sinha (1998), "Design of Settlements in the Vaastu Shastras", Journal of Cultural Geography, 17(2), pp. 27-41, doi:10.1080/08873639809478319
34. Tillotson, G. H. R. (1997). "Svastika Mansion: A Silpa-Sastra in the 1930s". South Asian Studies, 13(1), pp. 87-97
35. Stella Kramrisch (1958), Traditions of the Indian Craftsman, The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 71, No. 281, (Jul. - Sep., 1958), pp. 224-230
36. Ganapati Sastri (1920), Īśānaśivagurudeva paddhati, Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, OCLC 71801033
37. Heather Elgood (2000), Hinduism and the religious arts, ISBN 978-0304707393, Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 121-125.
38. H, Kern (1865), The Brhat Sanhita of Varaha-mihara, The Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta
39. Susan Lewandowski, The Hindu Temple in South India, in Buildings and Society: Essays on the Social Development of the Built Environment, Anthony D. King (ed.), ISBN 978-0710202345, Routledge, pp. 68-69.
40. The square is symbolic and has Vedic origins from fire altar, Agni. The alignment along cardinal direction, similarly is an extension of Vedic rituals of three fires. This symbolism is also found among Greek and other ancient civilizations, through the gnomon. In Hindu temple manuals, design plans are described with 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81 up to 1024 squares; 1 pada is considered the simplest plan, as a seat for a hermit or devotee to sit and meditate on, or make offerings with Vedic fire in front. The second design of 4 padas lacks the central core, and is also a meditative constructive. The 9 pada design has a sacred surrounded center, and is the template for the smallest temple. Older Hindu temple vastumandalas may use the 9 through 49 pada series, but 64 is considered the most sacred geometric grid in Hindu temples. It is also called Manduka, Bhekapada or Ajira in various ancient Sanskrit texts.
41. In addition to square (4) sided layout, Brhat Samhita also describes Vastu and mandala design principles based on a perfect triangle (3), hexagon (6), octagon (8) and hexadecagon (16) sided layouts, according to Stella Kramrisch.
42. Rian et al. (2007), "Fractal geometry as the synthesis of Hindu cosmology in Kandariya Mahadev temple, Khajuraho", Building and Environment, Vol 42, Issue 12, pp. 4093-4107, doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2007.01.028
43. Stella Kramrisch (1976), The Hindu Temple Volume 1, ISBN 81-208-0223-3
44. Datta and Beynon (2011), "Early Connections: Reflections on the canonical lineage of Southeast Asian temples", in EAAC 2011 : South of East Asia : Re-addressing East Asian Architecture and Urbanism : Proceedings of the East Asian Architectural Culture International Conference, Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore, Singapore, pp. 1-17
45. V.S. Pramar, Some Evidence on the Wooden Origins of the Vāstupuruṣamaṇḍala,Artibus Asiae, Vol. 46, No. 4 (1985), pp. 305-311.
46. This concept has equivalence to the concept of Acintya, or Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, in Balinese Hindu temples; elsewhere it has been referred to as satcitananda
47. Stella Kramrisch (1976), The Hindu Temple, Vol. 1, ISBN 81-208-0223-3, p. 8.
48. Michael W. Meister, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 65, No. 1 (March 2006), pp. 26-49.
49. Trivedi, K. (1989). Hindu temples: models of a fractal universe. The Visual Computer, 5(4), 243-258
50. S Bafna, On the Idea of the Mandala as a Governing Device in Indian Architectural Tradition, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 59, No. 1 (Mar., 2000), pp. 26-49
51. Michael W. Meister, "Maṇḍala and Practice in Nāgara Architecture in North India", Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 99, No. 2 (April - June 1979), pp. 204- 219.
52. Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-0222-3, pp. 10-11.
53. George Michell (1988), The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0226532301, pp. 21-22.
54. Edmund Leach, "The Gatekeepers of Heaven: Anthropological Aspects of Grandiose Architecture", Journal of Anthropological Research, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Autumn 1983), pp. 243-264.
55. See:
    • Julius J. Lipner, Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, 2nd Edition, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-45677-7, page 8; Quote: “(...) one need not be religious in the minimal sense described to be accepted as a Hindu by Hindus, or describe oneself perfectly validly as Hindu. One may be polytheistic or monotheistic, monistic or pantheistic, even an agnostic, humanist or atheist, and still be considered a Hindu.”;
    • Lester Kurtz (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict, ISBN 978-0123695031, Academic Press, 2008;
    • MK Gandhi, The Essence of Hinduism, Editor: VB Kher, Navajivan Publishing, see p. 3; According to Gandhi, "a man may not believe in God and still call himself a Hindu."
56. Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, क्षैत्रज्ञ Jim Funderburk and Peter Scharf (2012); Quote:
    • क्षैत्रज्ञ [ kṣaitrajña ] [ kṣaitrajña ] n. ( fr. [ kṣetra-jñá ] g. [ yuvādi ], spirituality, nature of the soul Lit. W.; the knowledge of the soul Lit. W.
57. See the following two in Ewert Cousins series on World Spirituality:
    • Bhavasar and Kiem, "Spirituality and Health", in Hindu Spirituality, Editor: Ewert Cousins (1989), ISBN 0-8245-0755-X, Crossroads Publishing New York, pp. 319-337;
    • John Arapura, "Spirit and Spiritual Knowledge in the Upanishads", in Hindu Spirituality, Editor: Ewert Cousins (1989), ISBN 0-8245-0755-X, Crossroads Publishing New York, pp. 64-85.
58. Gavin Flood, Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Editor: Knut Jacobsen (2010), Volume II, Brill, ISBN 978-90-04-17893-9, see Article on Wisdom and Knowledge, pp. 881-884.
59. Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-0222-3, pp. 8-9.
60. Thomas Donaldson (2005), Konark, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195675917
61. Michael Rabe (1996), "Sexual Imagery on the 'Phantasmagorical Castles' at Khajuraho - The Artha of Temple Kama", International Journal of Tantric Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2.
62. E Leach, "The Gatekeepers of Heaven: Anthropological Aspects of Grandiose Architecture", Journal of Anthropological Research, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Autumn, 1983), pp. 249-250.
63. Mary Beth Heston, "Iconographic Themes of the Gopura of the Kailāsanātha Temple at Ellora", Artibus Asiae, Vol. 43, No. 3 (1981 - 1982), pp. 219-235.
64. E Leach, "The Gatekeepers of Heaven: Anthropological Aspects of Grandiose Architecture", Journal of Anthropological Research, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Autumn, 1983), pp. 262.
65. zilpin University of Cologne, Germany
66. Samuel Parker (1987), "Artistic practice and education in India: A historical overview", Journal of Aesthetic Education, pp. 123-141.
67. Ananda Coomaraswamy, "Indian Architectural Terms", Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 48 (1928), pp. 269.
68. Vatsyayana, Kamasutra I.3, Jayamangala
69. Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-0222-3, pp. 11.
70. Misra, R. N. (2011), "Silpis in Ancient India: Beyond their Ascribed Locus in Ancient Society", Social Scientist, Vol. 39, No. 7/8, pp. 43-54.
71. Joshi (2013), "Boon of astronomy: Rituals and religious festivals in Odisha for a peaceful society", International Journal of Physical and Social Sciences, 3(5), pp. 162-176.
72. George Michell (1988), The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0226532301, pages 58-60
73. Hartmut Scharfe (2002), From Temple schools to Universities, in Education in Ancient India: Handbook of Oriental Studies, Brill Academic, ISBN 978-9004125568, pages 166-193
74. T Mahalingam (1951), Economic life in the Vijayanagar Empire, University of Madras, pp. 490-498.
75. Burton Stein (February 4, 1961), The state, the temple and agriculture development, The Economic Weekly Annual, pp. 179-187.
76. See:
    • Diana L. Eck (2000), “Negotiating Hindu Identities in the US”, in Harold Coward, John R. Hinnells, and Raymond Brady Williams (Editors) - The South Asian Religious Diaspora in Britain, Canada, and the United States, SUNY Press, ISBN 978-0-7914-4509-9, 219–237
    • Marion O'Callaghan (1998), "Hinduism in the Indian Diaspora in Trinidad", Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies, Vol. 11, Article 5, doi 10.7825/2164-6279.1178
    • Chandra Jayawardena, "Religious Belief and Social Change: Aspects of the Development of Hinduism in British Guiana", Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 8, No. 2 (January 1966), pp. 211-240.
77. John Guy and Jorrit Britschgi (2011), Wonder of the Age: Master Painters of India, 1100-1900, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ISBN 978-1588394309, page 19
78. Saraju Rath (2012), Aspects of Manuscript Culture in South India, Brill Academic, ISBN 978-9004219007, pages ix, 158-168, 252-259
79. Hartmut Scharfe (2002), From Temple schools to Universities, in Handbook of Oriental Studies, Brill Academic, ISBN 978-9004125568, pages 183-186
80. Wayne A. Wiegand and Donald Davis (1994), Encyclopedia of Library History, Routledge, ISBN 978-0824057879, page 350
81. Hartmut Scharfe (2002), From Temple schools to Universities, in Education in Ancient India: Handbook of Oriental Studies, Brill Academic, ISBN 978-9004125568, pages 169-171
82. Hartmut Scharfe (2002), From Temple schools to Universities, in Education in Ancient India: Handbook of Oriental Studies, Brill Academic, ISBN 978-9004125568, page 175
83. Hartmut Scharfe (2002), From Temple schools to Universities, in Education in Ancient India: Handbook of Oriental Studies, Brill Academic, ISBN 978-9004125568, pages 173-174
84. Hartmut Scharfe (2002), From Temple schools to Universities, in Education in Ancient India: Handbook of Oriental Studies, Brill Academic, ISBN 978-9004125568, page 176-182
85. Meister, "Mountain Temples and Temple-Mountains: Masrur", Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 65, No. 1 (March 2006), pp. 26- 49.
86. Michael W. Meister, "Forest and Cave: Temples at Candrabhāgā and Kansuān", Archives of Asian Art, Vol. 34 (1981), pp. 56-73.
87. Gary Tarr, Chronology and Development of the Chāḷukya Cave Temples, Ars Orientalis, Vol. 8 (1970), pp. 155-184.
88. Jutta Neubauer (1981), The Stepwells of Gujarat: in art-historical perspective, ISBN 978-0391022843, see Introduction, Chapters 1 and 2.
89. Meister, A Field Report on Temples at Kusuma, Archives of Asian Art, Vol. 29 (1975/1976), pp. 23-46.
90. Jutta Neubauer, "The stepwells of Gujarat", India International Centre Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Summer 1999), pp. 75-80.
91. Rani-ki-vav at Patan, Gujarat, UNESCO World Heritage Site.
92. Gopinath Rao (1914), Elements of Hindu Iconography Madras, Cornell University Archives, pp. 17-39.
93. Jabaladarsana Upanishad 1.59
94. Michael Meister (1988), Encyclopedia of Indian Temple Architecture, Oxford University Press, 0-691-04053-2, Chapter 1
95. Subhash Kak, Early Indian Architecture and Art, Migration & Diffusion, Vol.6/Nr.23, pages 6-27, 2005.
96. Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple. University of Calcutta, Calcutta, 1946.
97. Banerji, New Light on the Gupta Temples at Deogarh, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol V (1963), pp. 37-49.
98. Saraswati, Temple Architecture in the Gupta Age, Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art, Vol VIII (1940), pp. 146-158.
99. Joanna Williams, The Art of Gupta India, Empire and Province, Princeton, 1982
100. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, History of Indian and Indonesian Art (New York, 1965 reprint), pp. 78-80.
101. Gary Tartakov, "The Beginning of Dravidian Temple Architecture in Stone", Artibus Asiae, Vol. 42, No. 1 (1980), pp. 39-99.
102. Michael Meister (Editor), Encyclopedia of Indian Temple Architecture - South India 200 BC to 1324 AD, University of Pennsylvania Press (1983), ISBN 0-8122-7840-2
103. See:
     • Elizabeth Merklinger, The Mosques of Raichur: A preliminary classification, Kunst des Orients, Vol. 12, H. 1/2 (1978/1979), pp. 79-94.
     • Mark Jarzombek et al. (2010), A Global History of Architecture, Wiley, ISBN 978-0470402573, Chapters and Sections: “1200 CE - Delhi through Qutb Minar”
     • Ali Javid, World Heritage Monuments and Related Edifices in India, Volume 1, ISBN 978-0875864839, pp. 263. Quote - “The stones to construct the mosque were obtained by demolishing twenty seven Hindu and Jain temples.”
104. See:
     • Peter Jackson (2003), The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521543293, pp. 168
     • A.L. Srivastava (1966), Delhi Sultanate, 5th Edition, Agra College
     • Vincent Smith (1920), The Oxford History of India: From the Earliest Times to the End of 1911, Oxford University Press, pp. 268-269, 306-307, 437-438
105. Richard Eaton (January 5, 2001), "Temple desecration and Indo-Muslim states", Frontline, pp. 70-77 (Archived by Columbia University)
106. Marc Gaborieau (1985), From Al-Beruni to Jinnah: idiom, ritual and ideology of the Hindu-Muslim confrontation in South Asia, Anthropology Today, 1(3), pp. 7-14.
107. Ellora Caves Cave 16 - Kailasha Hindu Temple, 8th Century CE, UNESCO
108. Werner, Karel (1994). A Popular Dictionary of Hinduism. Curzon Press. ISBN 0-7007-1049-3.
109. Narayanan, Vasudha. "The Hindu Tradition". In A Concise Introduction to World Religions, ed. Willard G. Oxtoby and Alan F. Segal. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
110. Bain, Keith, Pippa Bryun, and David Allardice. Frommer’s India. 1st. New Jersey: Wiley Publishing, 2010, p. 75.
111. Indonesia Handbook, 3rd edition, ISBN 978-1900949514, pp. 38.
112. Adam Hardy (2007), The Temple Architecture of India, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 978-0470028278
113. Williams, Raymond (2001). Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. pp. 123–136. ISBN 978-0-521-65422-7.
114. Pika Ghosh (2005), Temple to Love: Architecture and Devotion in Seventeenth-century Bengal, ISBN 978-0253344878, Indiana University Press
115. Dibishada Brajasundar Garnayak, Evolution of Temple Architecture in Orissa, Orissa Review, November 2007
116. Padmaja Vijay Kamat, "Temple Economy in Goa: A Case Study", The Macrotheme Review 2(5), Fall 2013, pp. 97-111.
117. Ching, Francis D.K.; et al. (2007). A Global History of Architecture. New York: John Wiley and Sons. p. 762. ISBN 0-471-26892-5.
118. Ching, Francis D.K. (1995). A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. New York: John Wiley and Sons. p. 253. ISBN 0-471-28451-3.
119. Michell, George (1988). The Hindu Temple. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 151–153. ISBN 0-226-53230-5.
120. "gopura". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
121. Ram Raz, Henry Harkness (1834), Essay on the Architecture of the Hindus at Google Books
122. Sastri 1970, pp. 18–182.
123. Stein (1978), South Indian Temples: An Analytical Study, New Delhi, ISBN 978-0706905816
124. Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-0222-3, pp. 170-172.
125. Kubo Sumiko, Geomorphology, Archaeo-stratigraphy, and 14C Ages of Sambor Prei Kuk Pre-Angkorean Site, Central Cambodia, BULLETIN of the Graduate School of Education of Waseda University (Japan), No.22, March 2012
126. My Son Sancuary Vietnam, UNESCO World Heritage Site
127. Ngô Vǎn Doanh (2006), Champa: Ancient Towers. Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers, Chapter 16.
128. Prambanan Temple Compounds UNESCO world heritage site
129. Brigitta Hauser-Schaublin (1993), Keraton and Temples in Bali, in Urban Symbolism (Editor: P. Nas), Brill Academic, ISBN 978-9004098558
130. Hildred Geertz, The Life of a Balinese Temple, ISBN 978-0824825331, University of Hawaii Press
131. Harley, Gail M. (2003). Hindu and Sikh Faiths in America. Facts on File, Inc. ISBN 0-8160-4987-4.
132. Sanskrit words for Temple Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Koeln University, Germany
133. The word ko in Tamil language also means king, and kovil can also mean king's house.
134. Shackle, C. (1 January 1990). Hindi and Urdu Since 1800: A Common Reader. Heritage Publishers. ISBN 9788170261629. Specifically Hindu cultural contexts such as the pūjā 'worship' in the mandir 'temple' will clearly generate a predominance of Sanskrit vocabulary in Urdu as well as Hindi usage.
135. http://www.mustseeindia.com/Tirupati-Sri-Venkateswara-Dhyana-Vignan-Mandiram/attraction/11357
136. Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, क्षेत्र “sacred spot, place of pilgrimage”.
137. Knut A. Jacobsen (2012), Pilgrimage in the Hindu Tradition: Salvific Space, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415590389

Bibliography

• Stella Kramrisch, Hindu Temple, ISBN 978-8120802223
• Michael W. Meister, Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture, ISBN 978-0195615371
• George Michell, The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms, ISBN 978-0226532301
• Ram Rāz, Henry Harkness (1834), Essay on the Architecture of the Hindus at Google Books - on Hindu Temple Vimana, Pillars and Śilpa Śastras

External links

• Info on Hindu Temples in India