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The Hindu Temple v1: Volume 1

The Hindu Temple v1

Language
English

Contents

Volume 1

Front matter

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The first of these, the *Gospel of the Hebrews*, was used by the Jewish Christians of Palestine, and was probably a version of the Gospel of Matthew, though it contained some traditions not found in our canonical books. The *Gospel of the Egyptians* was used by the ascetic sects of Egypt, and was marked by a strong tendency towards mysticism and asceticism. The *Gospel of Peter* was used by the Docetists, and taught that Christ did not really suffer, but only appeared to do so.

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These gospels, and others like them, were not accepted by the Church as a whole, and were gradually lost or suppressed. The Church, however, felt the need for a standard collection of writings that would serve as a guide for faith and practice. This led to the formation of the New Testament canon, a process that took several centuries to complete.

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The first step in this process was the collection of the letters of Paul, which were widely circulated among the churches. Then came the four Gospels, which were accepted as the authoritative accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus. The Acts of the Apostles and the other epistles were gradually added, and finally the Book of Revelation.

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By the end of the second century, the core of the New Testament was generally accepted by the Church. The process of canonization was not a formal act of a council, but rather a gradual recognition by the churches of the writings that were most valuable for their life and worship. It was only in the fourth century that the canon was formally closed by the councils of the Church.

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The formation of the New Testament canon was a crucial event in the history of the Church. It provided a standard of faith and practice that helped to unify the Church and to protect it from the influence of heretical sects. It also ensured that the teachings of Jesus and the apostles would be preserved for future generations.

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THE HINDU TEMPLE

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BY

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STELLA KRAMRISCH *Professor of Indian Art* *University of Calcutta*

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VOL. I

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY RAYMOND BURNIER

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UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA

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Copyright, 1946 by the University of Calcutta Stella Kramrisch Raymond Burnier All rights fully protected and reserved.

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PRINTED IN INDIA Published by the University of Calcutta Printed by P. C. Ray, at the Sri Gouranga Press, 5, Chintamani Das Lane, Calcutta. Plates by the Calcutta Chromotype Ltd., Calcutta.

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स्थापकान् स्थपतींश्चापि पूजयामः स्वशक्तितः ।

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The first of these, the *Gospel of the Hebrews*, was used by the Jewish Christians of Palestine, and was probably a version of the Gospel of Matthew, though it contained some traditions not found in our canonical books. The *Gospel of the Egyptians* was used by the ascetic sects of Egypt, and was marked by a strong tendency towards mysticism and asceticism. The *Gospel of Peter* was used by the Docetists, and taught that Christ did not really suffer, but only appeared to do so.

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These gospels, and others like them, were not accepted by the Church as a whole, and were gradually lost or suppressed. The Church, however, felt the need for a standard collection of writings that would serve as a guide for faith and practice. This led to the formation of the New Testament canon, a process that took several centuries to complete.

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The first step in this process was the collection of the letters of Paul, which were widely circulated among the churches. Then came the four Gospels, which were accepted as the authoritative accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus. The Acts of the Apostles and the other epistles were gradually added, and finally the Book of Revelation.

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By the end of the second century, the core of the New Testament was generally accepted by the Church. The process of canonization was not a formal act of a council, but rather a gradual recognition by the churches of the writings that were most valuable for their life and worship. It was only in the fourth century that the canon was formally closed by the councils of the Church.

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The formation of the New Testament canon was a crucial event in the history of the Church. It provided a standard of faith and practice that helped to unify the Church and to protect it from the influence of heretical sects. It also ensured that the teachings of Jesus and the apostles would be preserved for future generations.

Preface

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An attempt has here been made to set up the Hindu temple conceptually, from the foundation to its finial. Its structure is rooted in Vedic tradition, and primeval modes of building have contributed their shapes. The principles are given in the sacred books of India and the structural rules in the treatises on architecture. They are carried out in the shrines which still stand throughout the country and which were built in many varieties and styles over a millennium and a half from the fifth century A. D.

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The purpose of the Hindu temple is shown by its form. It is the concrete symbol of Reintegration and coheres with the rhythm of the thought imaged in its carvings and laid out in its proportions. Their perfection is a celebration of all the rites enacted during the building of the temple from the ground to its pinnacle. Nothing that is seen on the temple is left unsaid in the verbal tradition nor is any of the detail arbitrary or superfluous. Each has a definite place and is part of the whole.

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The Hindu temple is the sum total of architectural rites performed on the basis of its myth. The myth covers the ground and is the plan on which the structure is raised.

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Diacritical signs are used on Sanskrit words. For typographical reasons they are partly omitted on small headings. Pronunciation: a, at the end of words, is semi-mute. c, like ch in chapel. e, is always long. h, following a consonant, is to be pronounced. ñ, palatal; ṇ, lingual. o, is always long. ṛ, like ṛi. ś (palatal) and ṣ (lingual), like sh.

Contents

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VOLUME I

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PART I. THE SITE . . . . . 1 TIRTHA AND TEMPLE . . . . . 3 SITE AND BUILDER . . . . . 7 THE STABILITY OF THE SITE . . . . . 12 PURIFICATION, INSEMINATION AND LEVELLING OF THE SITE ... 14

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PART II. THE PLAN . . . . . 19 SQUARE AND CIRCLE: VEDIC ORIGINS ... ... ... 22 THE SQUARE MAṆḌALA OF THE EARTH AND OF THE ECLIPTIC ... 29 SYMBOLISM OF THE SQUARE . . . . . 40 THE ENCLOSURE . . . . . 40 THE ORNAMENT OF VIŚVAKARMAN ... ... ... 40 THE REMAINDER . . . . . 44 THE FORM OF MĀRTAṆḌA . . . . . 44 VĀSTU, THE REMAINDER . . . . . 45 THE TWO MAIN TYPES OF THE VĀSTU DIAGRAM ... ... 46 A. THE MAṆḌALA OF 64 SQUARES ... ... ... 46 B. THE MAṆḌALA OF 81 SQUARES AND THE VĀSTUPURUṢA ... 49 THE ORGANISM OF THE PLAN . . . . . 51 THE SERIES OF 32 TYPES OF THE VĀSTUMAṆḌALA ... ... 58 VARIOUS CLOSED POLYGONS AS SHAPES OF THE VĀSTUMAṆḌALA ... 62

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PART III. PLAN AND SUPERNAL MAN . . . . . 65 AGNI-PRAJĀPATI AND VĀSTUPURUṢA ... ... ... 68 THE SUBTLE BODY OF THE PURUṢA AND ITS PICTURES ... 71 THE DESCENT OF THE VĀSTUPURUṢA ... ... ... 73 NATURE AND NAME OF THE VĀSTUPURUṢA ... ... ... 79 THE GODS AS CONSTITUENTS OF THE 'BODY' OF THE VĀSTUPURUṢA ... 85

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PART IV. THE SUBSTANCES OF WHICH THE TEMPLE IS BUILT ... 99 BRICK . . . . . 101 STONE . . . . . 108 WOOD . . . . . 116 PLASTER . . . . . 121 THE 'GERM' OF THE TEMPLE . . . . . 126

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PART V. NAMES AND ORIGINS OF THE TEMPLE ... ... 129 THE NAMES . . . . . 131 VIMĀNA . . . . . 131 PRĀSĀDA . . . . . 134 FURTHER NAMES OF THE TEMPLE . . . . . 137 THE OBJECT IN BUILDING A TEMPLE ... ... ... 139 ARCHITECTURAL ORIGINS . . . . . 145
1. CITI, THE ALTAR . . . . . 145
2. THE DOLMEN . . . . . 150
3. THE SHED OF INITIATION AND THE TABERNACLE ... ... 156

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THE IMAGE OF THE MOUNTAIN AND THE CAVERN ... ... ... 161 A. THE GARBHAGṚHA . . . . . 161 B. THE SUPERPOSITION OF SHAPES ALONG THE VERTICAL AXIS ... 166 C. THE FORM OF THE VERTICAL AXIS . . . . . 175

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PART VI. THE SUPERSTRUCTURE . . . . . 177

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I. THE PYRAMIDAL SUPERSTRUCTURE . . . . . 179 I A. THE PYRAMIDAL SUPERSTRUCTURE FORMED OF SLABS ... 189 I A1. THE STEPPED TRUNK OF THE PYRAMID ... ... ... 189 I A2. THE STRAIGHT TRUNK WITH ROUND EDGED SLABS ... 190 I B. THE PYRAMIDAL SUPERSTRUCTURE COMPOSED OF STOREYS 193 I B1. THE STEPPED TRUNK OF THE PYRAMID FORMED OF SINGLE STOREYS . . . . . 193 I B2. THE "HIGH TEMPLE" . . . . . 194 I B3. THE ENCLOSURE OF CHAPELS . . . . . 197 II. THE CURVILINEAR SUPERSTRUCTURE . . . . . 205 THE MAIN VARIETIES OF THE CURVILINEAR SUPERSTRUCTURE ... 210 II A. THE CLUSTER OF ŚIKHARAS . . . . . 210 II B. THE ŚIKHARA ENMESHED IN GAVĀKṢAS ... ... ... 214 II C. THE COMPOSITE ŚIKHARA . . . . . 218 FUNCTION AND FORM OF THE SUPERSTRUCTURE ... ... ... 220

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PART VII. PROPORTIONATE MEASUREMENT AND VARIETIES OF THE

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TEMPLE . . . . . 225 I. PROPORTIONATE MEASUREMENT OF THE TEMPLE ... ... ... 227 THE RHYTHMIC DISPOSITION OF THE GROUND PLAN AND OF THE VERTICAL SECTION . . . . . 227 POSITION AND ORIENTATION OF THE TEMPLES ... ... ... 233 THE NORMS OF PROPORTIONATE MEASUREMENT ... ... ... 237 FROM THE SIXTH CENTURY TO c. 900 A.D. ... ... ... 237 PROPORTIONATE MEASUREMENT ABOUT 1000 A.D. ... ... 244 PROPORTIONS OF THE MAṆḌAPA . . . . . 254 THE PROPORTIONS OF SOUTH INDIAN TEMPLES ... ... ... 261 II. VARIETIES OF THE TEMPLE AND THEIR GENESIS ... ... ... 271 A. THE TWENTY TEMPLES . . . . . 271 B. THE FIVE VIMĀNAS AND THE 45 TEMPLES ... ... ... 277 C. THE FIVE VIMĀNAS AND THE 64 HALL TEMPLES ... ... 281 NĀGARA, DRĀVIḌA AND VESARA . . . . . 286

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VOLUME II

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PART VIII. THE IMAGES OF THE TEMPLE . . . . . 297

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POSITION AND PROPORTION OF THE IMAGES OF THE GODS ... 299 SYMBOLS OF ENTRY AND EXIT . . . . . 313 THE DOOR AND ITS IMAGES . . . . . 313 THE 'WINDOW': GAVĀKṢA . . . . . 318 THE FACE OF GLORY: KIRTTIMUKHA . . . . . 322 IMAGES OF ŚAKTI . . . . . 332 ŚARDŪLA, LION AND LIONESS . . . . . 332 THE FEMALE POWER . . . . . 338

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SYMBOLS OF REINTEGRATION . . . . . 343 THE IMAGES OF IMMANENT BREATH . . . . . 343 MITHUNA, THE STATE OF BEING A COUPLE ... ... ... 346 AMALAKA . . . . . 348 THE TEMPLE AS PURUṢA . . . . . 357

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EXPLANATION OF PLATES . . . . . 363

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APPENDIX ... THE HUNDRED-AND-ONE TEMPLES OF THE VIṢṆUDHARMOTTARA ... 411 VĀSTUPURUṢAVIDHĀNA OF NĀRADA, CHAPTERS VIII AND X ... 427 HAYAŚĪRṢAPAÑCARĀTRA, CHAPTER XIII ... ... ... 429 KĀMIKĀGAMA, CHAPTER XLIX . . . . . 431

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SOURCES . . . . . 437

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INDEX . . . . . 443

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PLATES I—LXXX . . . . . 467

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The first of these, the *Gospel of the Hebrews*, was used by the Jewish Christians of Palestine, and was probably a version of the Gospel of Matthew, though it contained some traditions not found in our canonical books. The *Gospel of the Egyptians* was used by the ascetic sects of Egypt, and was marked by a strong tendency towards mysticism and asceticism. The *Gospel of Peter* was used by the Docetists, and taught that Christ did not really suffer, but only appeared to do so.

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These gospels, and others like them, were not accepted by the Church as a whole, and were gradually lost or suppressed. The Church, however, felt the need for a standard collection of writings that would serve as a guide for faith and practice. This led to the formation of the New Testament canon, a process that took several centuries to complete.

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The first step in this process was the collection of the letters of Paul, which were widely circulated among the churches. Then came the four Gospels, which were accepted as the authoritative accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus. The Acts of the Apostles and the other epistles were gradually added, and finally the Book of Revelation.

v1.c3.24

By the end of the second century, the core of the New Testament was generally accepted by the Church. The process of canonization was not a formal act of a council, but rather a gradual recognition by the churches of the writings that were most valuable for their life and worship. It was only in the fourth century that the canon was formally closed by the councils of the Church.

v1.c3.25

The formation of the New Testament canon was a crucial event in the history of the Church. It provided a standard of faith and practice that helped to unify the Church and to protect it from the influence of heretical sects. It also ensured that the teachings of Jesus and the apostles would be preserved for future generations.

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I

Part I. The Site

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वनोपान्तनदीशैलनिर्झरोपान्तभूमिषु । रमन्ते देवता नित्यं पुरेष्‌द्यानवत्सु च ॥

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"The gods always play where groves are near, rivers, mountains and springs, and in towns with pleasure gardens." 'Bṛhat Saṃhitā', LV. 8. 'Bhaviṣya Purāṇa', I. CXXX. 15.

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अदाद्यमोऽवसानं पृथिव्या इति । यमो ह वा अस्या अवसानस्येष्टे स एवास्मा अस्यावसानं ददाति ॥

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"Yama (Death) has given (us) the residence on earth. Yama indeed rules over the earth and it is he who grants the sacrificer a residence on this earth." 'Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa', VII. I. 1. 3.

Tirtha and Temple

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Life as a pilgrimage from birth to death has many stations. In India death is but another station and in itself does not bring final release (mokṣa). Final release from all conditions of existence, from all limitations, is gained through Knowledge (Brahmavidyā); and Knowledge, the realisation of Supreme identity, is the means and the end itself: it gives and is release. Some attain it while alive (jivan-mukti), others at death. To the great mass of people, who are without the faculties and training to make them fit for the realisation of the Supreme Principle by Knowledge, other roads lie open which also lead to the Centre. Pilgrimage is one; it brings joy (bhukti) and release (mokṣa) to those who have achieved control of their minds and of the actions of their hands and feet; who have sapience (vidyā), and who have practised austerities and have a good name.¹

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¹ ‘Agnipurāṇa’, ch. CIX. 1b-2a. ² ‘Mahābhārata’, Ādiparva, II. 2; Vanaparva, Tirthayātrāparva. ³ Kṣetra is sacred ground, a field of active power, a place where ‘mokṣa’, final release, can be obtained. The ‘Garuḍa Purāṇa’, I. XVI. 14, enumerates seven cities as givers of ‘mokṣa’. They are: Ayodhyā, Mathurā, Māyā, Kāśī, Kāñcī, Avantikā, Dvāravatī. The sacred geography of India recognises the whole country as a field of more than human activity. It is carried by the rivers, from the celestial region where they have their prototype and origin, down to the earth. Śaiva tradition knows the special potency of certain places (pīṭha) in India resulting from the fall to earth of the dismembered body of the dead Satī, a form which

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The places of pilgrimage are distributed through the entire country and are called Tīrtha and Kṣetra. The number of these sacred sites is large; the ‘Mahābhārata’ speaks of hundreds of places of pilgrimage.²

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Tīrtha is the name of a place of pilgrimage on the bank of a river, the seashore or a lake. The meaning of the word is a ford, a passage. Water, the purifying, fertilizing element being present, its current which is the river of life can be forded in inner realisation and the pilgrim can cross over to the other shore. The place of pilgrimage is the end of the journey to the Centre; but it is not itself the goal and only the means for crossing over to the Centre. For this reason the number of Tīrthas and Kṣetras is indefinitely large.³ For this very reason too no journey need be undertaken at all.

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There is one Tīrtha where one should always bathe and this is the Tīrtha of the mind (mānasatīrtha). It is deep, clear and pure; its water is truth (satya) and metaphysical knowledge (Brahmajñāna). Those who take this bath see the Principles, the true nature of things (tattvadarśin).⁴

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The Tīrthas and Kṣetras on Indian soil are potent sites where a presence is felt to dwell. Its support is in the place itself. Whatever makes the site conspicuous or memorable is reinforced in its effect by the attention of the people directed towards and concentrated on that spot. In such places "the gods are seen at play".

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"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 lotuses 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.

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The gods always play where rivers have for their bracelets the sound of the flight 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 the plumage of swans their mantle.

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The gods always play where groves are near, rivers, mountains and springs, and in towns with pleasure gardens." ('Bṛhat Saṃhitā', LV. 4-8; 'Bhaviṣya Purāṇa', I. CXXX, 11-15). "It is such places that the gods love and always dwell in" ('Bṛhat Saṃhitā', 8, Comm., quoting Kāśyapa).

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Mahāmāyā had assumed. Where its parts came to lie, the energy associated with the special part or limb was added to the earth, strengthening that particular spot and leading to an attainment of the corresponding faculty by man. Distributed in 51 centres the power of Mahāśakti is integrated in the soil of India. (Svāmī Karpātrīji has explained the 'Secret of the Sacred Places' in an article on 'Pīṭha Rahasya', in 'Siddhānt', No. 35, Benares, 1941).

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The realisation of the descent of more than human power to earth makes India a sacred land. Near the water and at other definite sites its presence is more strongly felt. Some of these consequently are laid out in a particular way, such as Kurukṣetra where the 4 corners of the potent field are marked each by one place of pilgrimage and the middle is occupied by the place of central sanctity ('Mahābhārata', Vanaparva, ch. LXXXI. 207; Cunningham, 'Archaeological Survey Report', Vol. II. pp. 214-217), or Pāṭaliputra, in the middle of 4 towns (P. Mus, 'Barabuḍur', 'Bulletin de l'École Française d'Extrême-Orient', Vol. XXXII, p. 669). In view of the 'descent' of the sacred power to the earth, it is ontologically its own projection from the beyond, along the vertical axis. This symbolism belongs not only to the sacred geography but more ostensibly even to the sacred architecture of India (Pt. V).

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⁴ 'Mahābhārata', Anuśāsanaparva, CLXX. 2-3; 12-13.

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While 108 chief places on earth, etc., and in the mind, are spoken of in the 'Matsyapurāṇa' (XIII. 26-54), chapter CII. 3-5, enjoins that three and a half times ten millions of Tīrthas in heaven, earth and the atmosphere should be conceived as in the water where one takes the ritual bath by realising within it, in a square of four cubits, the sacred Ganges, the most holy of all Tīrthas (cf. ch. CVI. 53).

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The 'Mahānirvāṇatantra', X. 105, knows by still closer identification, that the "three and a half times ten millions of Tīrthas and all the gods, Brahmā, etc., reside in the body of the Kaula and all the shrines and holy places which are in this world they all abide in the body of the Kulasannyāsin (the highest class of ascetic)"; ib., XIV. 174.

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Where the gods are seen at play, in all these places, it is but ‘the one God engaged in eternal play’.⁵ Play is the modality in which the Supreme Spirit displays his presence in the world. It is in its effortless movement and in the perfection of corresponding forms. There is no other reason for the appearance of the world than that which is in Brahman itself. It shows itself most convincingly at certain places. They have beauty; for it is there that the celestial intelligence, —the gods, intermediate between the Lord and man,—has its sport and display.⁶

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⁵ “Eko devo nityalīlānurakta”; ‘Rādhā Upaniṣad’, IV. 3.

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⁶ “Na prayojanavattvāt; lokavat tu līlākaivalyam”. ‘Brahma Sūtra’, II. I. 32-33. ‘Brahmā’s creative activity is not undertaken by way of any need on his part, but simply by way of sport, in the common sense of the word”. A. K. Coomaraswamy, in ‘Līlā’, ‘Journal of the American Oriental Society’, 1941, pp. 98-100.

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The gods are installed not only in Tirthas, on the banks of rivers, lakes and on the seashore, at the confluence of rivers and estuaries, but also on hill-tops and mountain-slopes, in forests, groves and gardens, near the abodes of the blest or hermitages, in villages, towns and cities or in any other lovely place (‘Tantra-Samuccaya’, I. I. 28; see Frontispiece).⁷ Ritually, the site of the temple is a Tīrtha wherever it is situated. The ‘Viṣṇudharmottara’ (Part III, chapter XCIII, 25-31), an early compendium, speaks of the installation of consecrated images (arcā): “Installations should be made in forts; in auspicious cities, at the head of shop-lined streets . . . ; in villages or hamlets of cowherds where there are no shops, the installations should be made outside in gardens, . . . Installations should be made at riversides, in forests, gardens, at the sides of ponds, on hill-tops, in beautiful valleys and particularly in caves. At these places, the denizens of heaven are present. In places without tanks, gods are not present. A temple therefore should be built where there is a pond on the left, or in front, not otherwise. If a temple is built on an island, the water on all sides is auspicious.” The presence of water is essential; but if it is neither available by nature nor by artifice it is present symbolically at the

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⁷ More than a millennium of textual continuity and identity of metaphysical foundation accompanies the practice of building temples in all their variety in the different parts of India at the various phases of its history. The elaborated later temples and explicit texts are an exposition of the meaning which is present in the form, from its beginning.

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The authorities quoted are referred to in the present context not in their chronological sequence, but irrespective of it, in the meaning which they have in common. Their historical and geographical relation to the monuments however are considered in a later Part (VII) where the terminology of Indian temple architecture, their types and ‘styles’ are explained.

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The text-books of Vāstu-Śāstra, the science of architecture, are records of oral traditions which go back into an undefined past. The ‘Bṛhat-Saṃhitā’, for instance, compiled by Varāhamihira in the middle of the sixth century A.D. is based on the authority of master architects whose names are Maya, Viśvakarman (ch. LV, 30), Garga and Manu. The ‘Bṛhat Saṃhitā’ is but a brief account of their treatises (ib. śl. 31). It is the earliest datable source on Vāstu-Śāstra. The ‘Viṣṇudharmottara’ is of the seventh century approximately. The ‘Tantrasamuccaya’ of Nārāyaṇan Nambūdiri of Kerala, Malabar, belongs to the fifteenth century.

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The Frontispiece gives a general view of Amara-kaṇṭaka in Rewa State, central India; this is the Oṃkāra Kṣetra. The great sage who practises austerities there becomes a ‘jīvan-mukta’. The ‘Matsyapurāṇa’, CLXXXVI and CLXXXVIII, praises this Tīrtha. Its present temples date from the eleventh century to recent times.

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consecration of temple or image. Thus it is described how during the rite of ‘adhivāsana’ by which the divinity is made to assume its abode in an image about to be installed, the image of Viṣṇu is laid to rest on the world serpent Śeṣa (Ananta), on a ford raised for this purpose in a river, lake or tank. Offerings are made to the Lord (Yogeśa), to the Śabda-Brahman,—the principle of articulate sound, or the Word,—to the oceans, mountains, Sages (ṛṣi), Fathers (pitṛ) and Spirits (bhūta). Varuṇa, the presiding divinity (of the waters) and Siva, the Lord of the sacred Tīrtha are worshipped; should neither river, lake nor tank be near, three jars of water are placed in the Brahmasthāna, the centre of the sacred site.⁸

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⁸ ‘Vaikhānasāgama’, ch. XXXI; summary of the respective passage. ⁹ The South Indian temples are distributed over an area which in extent is one-fifth only of India. ¹⁰ The ‘Bṛhat Saṃhitā’, ch. LV. 10, prescribes the Vāstumaṇḍala of 64 squares for temples. Ch. LII. 42-54, gives the Vāstumaṇḍala of 81 squares, also for other buildings, and for towns, villages, etc. The ‘Agnipurāṇa’, ch. XCIII. 42, lays down 5 cubits (hasta ; 7½ feet) square as standard size of the Vāstu, if not otherwise specified; its ‘best’ measure however is equal to that of the building which contains the sanctuary (gṛha-prāsāda), the temple proper. The latter definition is also given in the ‘Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra’, ch. LIX. 3, where however the plan to the end of the two diagonals of the Prāsāda or Vimāna, the temple proper, is stated to have 81 squares. This is in agreement with ‘Īśānaśivagurudevapaddhati’, Part III. ch. XXVII, 59; (translated by St. Kramrisch in the ‘Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art’, Vol. IX, p. 167). In ch. X, 4; 69; 78-80, of the ‘Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra’, the Vāstu of 64 squares, however, comprises the entire building site of a [fortified] town (pura) or of a city (nagara) and this seems to apply also to villages (grāma) and hamlets (kheṭa). The whole building site, the entire planning of town and temple and of the building of the main sanctuary, the Prāsāda, or Vimāna, conform with the Vāstupuruṣamaṇḍala, so that the gods dwell there in peace.

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Temples are built where Tīrthas are; their towering shapes to the last point of their height teem with forms which have the urge and fullness of Indian nature; step by step, level by level they lead the eye and mind of the devotee from this world to the worlds above. The temples rise from a broad base : differently built according to specific types, they have their variations in time and place and their shapes were elaborated in many schools. As they are to-day in southern India their high superstructures ascend in pyramidal form, while in northern India they fling their curvilinear faces towards a meeting point above the sanctuary.⁹

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Sometimes the temples form cities of God with many buildings of great extent and complex design, or the temple is but a small chapel only. Wherever a Hindu temple stands, whatever age witnessed its growth, and to whatever size, as house, body and substance for God (the Essence) to dwell in, it is built in principle on the same plan, the Vāstupuruṣamaṇḍala.

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Although this ritual diagram is neither the ground-plan of the temple nor necessarily the plan of the site, it regulates them. It may be coterminous with the site of the sacred precinct, or with the extent of the main temple building (prāsāda) only; or it may be drawn on an altar, and of standardised size.¹⁰ It is drawn on the ground prior to the building of the temple and on it the temple stands either in fact or symbolically. In principle it is always square and is the record of an architectural rite. The knowledge of its correct execution forms the first part of the science of architecture ('Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra', ch. XLV. 2). The square is divided into compartments and the diagonals are drawn. The name of the square is Vāstupuruṣamaṇḍala. Puruṣa is the universal Essence, the Principle of all things, the Prime Person whence all originates.¹¹ Vāstu is the site; in it Vāstu, bodily existence, abides and from it Vāstu derives its name. In bodily existence, Puruṣa, the Essence, becomes the Form. The temple building is the substantial, and the 'plan' (maṇḍala) is the ritual, diagrammatic form of the Puruṣa. Puruṣa himself has no substance. He gives it his impress. The substance is of wood, brick or stone in the temple.

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¹¹ 'Harivaṃśa', ch. I; R. Guénon, 'Quelques Remarques sur le Nom d'Adam', 'Études Traditionelles', 1931, pp. 726-31. ¹² "Once heaven and earth were united. Separating, they said: Let what is suitable to the sacrifice be common to both." 'Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa', I. 1. 3. 2-3; 'Tāṇḍya Brāhmaṇa', X. 6. 1-3; etc. Heaven and earth, once joined, subsequently separated. The beings, the 5 classes of them, gods, men, and so on, did not keep peace. The gods brought about a reconciliation of these worlds. Both contracted a marriage according to the rites observed by the gods. ¹³ 'Īśānaśivagurudevapaddhati', Pt. III, ch. XII. 16; JISOA, Vol. X, p. 225.

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The form of the temple, all that it is and signifies, stands upon the diagram of the Vāstupuruṣa. It is a 'forecast' of the temple and is drawn on the levelled ground : it is the fundament from which the building arises. Whatever its actual surroundings, forest glade, seashore, hill or town, the place where the temple is built is occupied by the Vāstupuruṣa in his diagram, the Vāstupuruṣa-maṇḍala. That it is surrounded by the streets of a town, walls of a fort, ravines or fields, becomes of secondary importance, for its particular topography is but the hinge by which a changeable panorama is linked with the structure of the universe. The site is ritually levelled each time a temple is built; the ground from which the temple is to rise is regarded as being throughout on an equal intellectual plane. It is at the same time terrestrial and extra-territorial. It is the place for the meeting and marriage of heaven and earth,¹² where the whole world is present in terms of measure, and is accessible to man.

Site and Builder

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Man here is the patron or Yajamāna (lit. the sacrificer) on whose behalf the temple is built by the architect who is guided by the priest in the principles of his work. In the diagram of the Vāstupuruṣa a communication is established between man (puruṣa) as the patron of the work and the Puruṣa, the Essence, of all things. At the definite time and place where the temple is to be set up, all times and all places congregate in the symbolic diagram of the Vāstupuruṣa. On this ritual drawing rests the super-structure of the temple, which is the manifestation (mūrti) of God.¹³ The ritual diagram of the Vāstupuruṣa is drawn wherever the site is prepared for this purpose. The preparation is in the readiness and discipline of the mind and heart of the patron and of those who are entrusted with the work because they have the competent skill. The priest has the guidance; the architect, who builds the temple, works in conformity with the knowledge of the priest.

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A pilgrimage or visit to a temple is undertaken for the purpose of looking at it (darśana) with the sight of knowledge. Darśana is also the name of the six traditional points of view or methods of cognising Truth.¹⁴ The architect of the temple was not only a master of the 'ocean of the science of architecture'. Balanced himself in body and mind, he had to be versed in the traditional science (śāstra) in its various branches, and as much in the knowledge of rhythms (chandas),¹⁵ mathematics and astronomy as in the conditions of different places, etc. ('Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra', XLIV. 2-4, and 'Vāstuvidyā', I. 12-15). The various arts and sciences had to be known for one and the same purpose, so that he could apply them in his work which was to be an image and reconstitution of the universe.

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¹⁴ They are: Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Mīmāṃsā and Vedānta. While Vedānta cannot be realised without Yoga, Darśana, a direct seeing of the meaning which the temple demonstrates, presupposes Yoga.

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¹⁵ This refers to the rhythmical disposition of the ground-plan, for example (Pt. VII).

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In the 'Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra', a treatise on architecture, the author, King Bhoja of Dhārā, who ruled over Mālava in the first part of the eleventh century, says: "He, who begins to work as an architect (sthapati) without knowing the science of architecture (vāstuśāstra) and proud with false knowledge must be put to death by the king as one who ruins the kingdom (rājahiṃsaka); dead before his time, his ghost will wander on this wide earth. He, who though well versed in the traditional science is not skilled in the work will faint at the time of action like a timid man on the battle-field. He, who is expert only in his workmanship, but unable to understand the meaning of the traditional science, will like a blind man be misled by anyone" (S.S. XLIV. 6-10). Even so, he who knows the traditional science and its meaning and masters the craft, is not as yet the perfect architect. For immediate intuition, a readiness (pratyutpanna) of judgment (prajñā) in contingencies, and the ability to fuse them into the requirements of the whole, are the distinctions of a true Sthapati.¹⁶ It is then, that the builder himself, once his work is completed, is struck with wonder and exclaims: "Oh, how was it that I built it."¹⁷

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¹⁶ ib., verse 14, paraphrased.

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¹⁷ This is expressed in a copper-plate inscription from Baroda of a Rāṣṭrakūṭa king of Gujerāt, and is said to refer to the Kailāsanātha temple at Elura (Elāpura), a Kirtanam which the king "caused to be made in the hills at Elāpura, a wonderful building, on seeing which the best of immortals who move in celestial chariots, struck with wonder think much constantly, saying: This temple of Śiva is self-existent; in a thing made by art such beauty is not seen. The Śilpin (architect) of this temple in consequence of the failure of his energy as regards (the construction of) another such work, was himself suddenly struck with wonder, saying: Oh, how was it that I built it!" ('Epigraphia Indica', Vol. I, p. 159; R. G. Bhandarkar, 'The Rāṣṭrakūṭa King Kṛṣṇarāja I', 'Indian Antiquary', Vol. XII, p. 228 f.).

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The architect, Sthapati,¹⁸ is the foremost of the craftsmen (śilpin), of whom there are four classes, Sthapati, Sūtragrāhin, Takṣaka and Vardhakin, the designing architect, surveyor, sculptor and builder-plasterer-painter. These craftsmen carry out the instructions of the Sthāpaka, the architect-priest, who has the qualification of an Ācārya. The relation of priest and executive craftsman corresponds to the rule laid down for Christian art in the second Council of Nicaea (787 A.D.): "His art alone belongs to the painter, its organisation and arrangement belong to the clergy." It is defined in the 'Śilparatna' (I. 29-42) in which it is said of the Ācārya or Guru, who is the Sthāpaka :

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¹⁸ Sthapati, in 'Āpastamba Śrauta Sūtra', XXII. 7. 6, designates the Yajamāna, the sacrificer who is to be consecrated as priest. As builder of the Hindu temple, the Sthapati, by his special knowledge guided by the Sthāpaka is competent to act for his patron, the Yajamāna. ('Īśānaśivagurudevapaddhati', Pt. III, ch. XXVI; JISOA, Vol. IX, p. 152 f). The patron is also designated as Kāraka, who makes the architect, the Kartṛ, do the work ('Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra', LVI. 303).

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"He who wishes to build villages, etc., or royal palaces, etc., tanks, etc., or temples, should select a Guru and Śilpin for this purpose. Let the Guru be a Brāhmaṇa of high born family, who has performed all the sixteen purificatory rites, who knows the essence of the sacred texts, the Vedas and Āgamas, and who observes the rules of conduct according to his caste (varṇa) and stage of life (āśrama), who has received initiation (dikṣā), is competent, exerts himself in his work (tapasvin) and is a believer (āstika) in the sacred tradition.

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The Sthapati who is called Viśvakarmā, in 'Mayamata', V. 13 f., is described as a disciple (anuśiṣya) of the Sthāpaka, ib. XII. 35 f. This essential relation is ignored by P. K. Acharya, in his 'Dictionary of Hindu Architecture', s. v.

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The Sūtragrāhīs or Sūtradhāras, who hold the cord (sūtra, śulva, rajju, etc.) [originally the bamboo rod (veṇu)] in the construction of the Vedic altar, have been, it appears, described by Democritos (440 B.C.) as Harpedonaptai.

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The descent and fall of the Hindu architect and the craftsmen, from their celestial origin, and from Vedic tradition is told in the 'Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa', I.X. 20-23f.

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Viśvakarman begot nine illegitimate sons on a Śūdra woman: They are named Mālākāra (garland maker), Karmakāra (blacksmith), Śaṅkhakāra (conch shell carver), Kuvindaka (weaver), Kumbhakāra (potter), Kāṃsyakāra (metal worker), Sūtradhāra (architect, carpenter), Citrakāra (painter), Svarṇakāra (goldsmith). All of them are expert in the arts (kalā) but the last three being cursed by a Brāhmaṇa became unholy and were deemed incompetent by the Śāstras to offer sacrifices.

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Viśvakarman cursed by Ghṛtācī (an Apsarā) descended to earth and was born by a Brāhmaṇa woman. Viśvakarman when he came to the world as a Brāhmaṇa was regarded as an unparalleled architect in view of the very grand, extraordinary and royal mansions which he constructed. He also instructed ordinary people on matters relating to architecture in various ways.

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Svarṇakāra became outcasted and unholy on account of the curse pronounced against him by a Brāhmaṇa whose gold he had stolen. Sūtradhāra neglected to carry out the orders of a Brāhmaṇa to collect fuel for sacrificial purposes, and being cursed by him, was likewise degraded. Citrakāra transgressed the orders of a Brāhmaṇa in respect of a picture the composition of which was defective and not according to the rules and underwent the same fate.

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It was then that the original function of art (śilpa) was lost. The destination of works of art is defined in the 'Aitareya Brāhmaṇa' VI, 5. 27: "Śilpāni, works of art of men, are an imitation of divine forms; by employing their rhythms a metrical reconstitution is effected of the limited human personality" (trans. by Coomaraswamy; in 'La Nature du Folklore', E. T., 1937, pp. 206-18).

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The architect, Sthapati,¹⁸ is the foremost of the craftsmen (śilpin), of whom there are four classes, Sthapati, Sūtragrāhin, Takṣaka and Vardhakin, the designing architect, surveyor, sculptor and builder-plasterer-painter. These craftsmen carry out the instructions of the Sthāpaka, the architect-priest, who has the qualification of an Ācārya. The relation of priest and executive craftsman corresponds to the rule laid down for Christian art in the second Council of Nicaea (787 A.D.): "His art alone belongs to the painter, its organisation and arrangement belong to the clergy." It is defined in the 'Śilparatna' (I. 29-42) in which it is said of the Ācārya or Guru, who is the Sthāpaka :

v1.c4.s2.19

¹⁸ Sthapati, in 'Āpastamba Śrauta Sūtra', XXII. 7. 6, designates the Yajamāna, the sacrificer who is to be consecrated as priest. As builder of the Hindu temple, the Sthapati, by his special knowledge guided by the Sthāpaka is competent to act for his patron, the Yajamāna. ('Īśānaśivagurudevapaddhati', Pt. III, ch. XXVI; JISOA, Vol. IX, p. 152 f). The patron is also designated as Kāraka, who makes the architect, the Kartṛ, do the work ('Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra', LVI. 303).

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"He who wishes to build villages, etc., or royal palaces, etc., tanks, etc., or temples, should select a Guru and Śilpin for this purpose. Let the Guru be a Brāhmaṇa of high born family, who has performed all the sixteen purificatory rites, who knows the essence of the sacred texts, the Vedas and Āgamas, and who observes the rules of conduct according to his caste (varṇa) and stage of life (āśrama), who has received initiation (dikṣā), is competent, exerts himself in his work (tapasvin) and is a believer (āstika) in the sacred tradition.

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The Sthapati who is called Viśvakarmā, in 'Mayamata', V. 13 f., is described as a disciple (anuśiṣya) of the Sthāpaka, ib. XII. 35 f. This essential relation is ignored by P. K. Acharya, in his 'Dictionary of Hindu Architecture', s. v.

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The Sūtragrāhīs or Sūtradhāras, who hold the cord (sūtra, śulva, rajju, etc.) [originally the bamboo rod (veṇu)] in the construction of the Vedic altar, have been, it appears, described by Democritos (440 B.C.) as Harpedonaptai.

v1.c4.s2.23

The descent and fall of the Hindu architect and the craftsmen, from their celestial origin, and from Vedic tradition is told in the 'Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa', I.X. 20-23f.

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Viśvakarman begot nine illegitimate sons on a Śūdra woman: They are named Mālākāra (garland maker), Karmakāra (blacksmith), Śaṅkhakāra (conch shell carver), Kuvindaka (weaver), Kumbhakāra (potter), Kāṃsyakāra (metal worker), Sūtradhāra (architect, carpenter), Citrakāra (painter), Svarṇakāra (goldsmith). All of them are expert in the arts (kalā) but the last three being cursed by a Brāhmaṇa became unholy and were deemed incompetent by the Śāstras to offer sacrifices.

v1.c4.s2.25

Viśvakarman cursed by Ghṛtācī (an Apsarā) descended to earth and was born by a Brāhmaṇa woman. Viśvakarman when he came to the world as a Brāhmaṇa was regarded as an unparalleled architect in view of the very grand, extraordinary and royal mansions which he constructed. He also instructed ordinary people on matters relating to architecture in various ways.

v1.c4.s2.26

Svarṇakāra became outcasted and unholy on account of the curse pronounced against him by a Brāhmaṇa whose gold he had stolen. Sūtradhāra neglected to carry out the orders of a Brāhmaṇa to collect fuel for sacrificial purposes, and being cursed by him, was likewise degraded. Citrakāra transgressed the orders of a Brāhmaṇa in respect of a picture the composition of which was defective and not according to the rules and underwent the same fate.

v1.c4.s2.27

It was then that the original function of art (śilpa) was lost. The destination of works of art is defined in the 'Aitareya Brāhmaṇa' VI, 5. 27: "Śilpāni, works of art of men, are an imitation of divine forms; by employing their rhythms a metrical reconstitution is effected of the limited human personality" (trans. by Coomaraswamy; in 'La Nature du Folklore', E. T., 1937, pp. 206-18).

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First a Sthapati is to be selected—one well versed in the Śilpa-śāstras; similarly, a Sthāpaka also, knowing the Śilpa-śāstras and possessing all the qualifications of an Ācārya, being selected by the patron, should perform the architectural rites (vāstu-karma). The temple (vimāna) or any other (construction), begun by these two should be continued by them only and by no other. In case they be not available, the work should be done by either their sons or disciples who are competent in the work.” Then follows the description of the four classes of craftsmen (śilpin).

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“The Sthapati should be fit to direct (sthāpana) the construction and should be well-versed in all Śāstras, the traditional sciences, perfect in body, righteous, kind, free from malice and jealousy, a Tāntrik and well-born; he should know mathematics and the Purāṇas, the ancient compendia of myths, etc., painting, and all the countries; he should be joyous, truth speaking, with senses under control, concentrated in mind, free from greed, carelessness, disease and the seven vices (‘Manu-Saṃhitā’ VII. 47-48), famous, having firm friends and having crossed the ocean of the science of Vāstu.

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The disciple or son of the Sthapati is the Sūtragrāhin. He should always carry out the orders of the Sthapati, should be expert in all sorts of work, and should know the proportionate measurement by the cord (sūtra) and rod (daṇḍa) as applied to the whole building and its parts (see Pt. VII), the horizontal and vertical proportions (māna, unmāna).

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The Takṣaka is so called because he cuts off and carves (takṣ) the large pieces and the subtle detail. He is also expert in working in clay. He should be qualified, able, and capable to perform all sorts of work on his own initiative, in the right way, devoted to the Guru, ever cheerful, and obedient to the Sthapati.

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The Vardhakin is so called because he increases (vṛdh) [by placing together what the Takṣaka has carved and by adding to the finished work, the painting] and he always follows the Sūtragrāhin.

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Without these four nothing can be undertaken. Therefore all these four, the Sthapati and the others, should always be honoured.”

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Vāstu-śāstra, the traditional science of architecture, is subordinated to, and forms an auxiliary part of the Veda, the primordial Knowledge; in it intellectual intuition is laid down as sacred word.

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Vāstu-śāstra belongs to, and is, applied astrology. Varāhamihira, in his ‘Bṛhat-Saṃhitā’ introduces the chapter on architecture (LII) saying: “Vāstu-jñāna (the knowledge of Vāstu), architecture, will be explained by me for the pleasure of the astronomers and astrologers, as it has been transmitted from Brahmā to our days through an unbroken series of sages.” Building is begun under favourable stars. They are consulted when the ground is taken possession of and when the rite of depositing the Germ of the temple is performed. The regents of the planets and the stars have their allocation in the diagram of the temple and their images are carved on its walls. By them are regulated the measurement of the whole building and its parts; the life of the donor (yajamāna), and the age of the temple too. The temple is built in the likeness of the universe and is its reduced image. The architect of this world image, the temple, is looked upon as descended from, and in his sphere alike to, Viśvakarman, who made all that exists in the universe.¹⁹ The architect in charge of the building is therefore generally called Sthapati. The name means "master of what stands or abides". The science of architecture, called as a rule, Vāstu-śāstra, is also named Sthāpatya-śāstra-veda. It is the knowledge of ordered and planned extension (vāstu) and is put into practice by the master who makes existing things (vastu) abide in order. Sthāpatya-śāstra-veda is enumerated as an Upaveda, a lesser, applied knowledge subordinated to the Atharvaveda.²⁰ Vāstu-śāstra in its fullest exposition belongs to Tantra which is the applied knowledge of the Atharva Veda. As a ritual, architecture is moreover doubly linked with the primordial Knowledge, the Veda, and is included in two of the six Vedāṅgas. These are appendices which are auxiliary to the Veda. The fifth Vedāṅga, astronomy-astrology, Jyotiṣa, and the sixth Vedāṅga, Kalpa, in which are laid down the rules of the sacrificial acts, the ritual, are both, in parts, essential constituents of the science of Indian architecture.²¹ The Śulva-sūtras contained in the Kalpa-sūtras, represent the rules and give proportionate measurement for laying out and piling up the Vedic altar.²² On them, basically rests the building of the Hindu temple.

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¹⁹ With regard to the making of the universe, Viśvakarman is the working, Brahmā the thinking aspect of the Supreme Principle.

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²⁰ The other Upavedas are: Āyurveda (medicine), attached to the Ṛg Veda (acc. to Suśruta, I. 3, to the Atharva Veda); Dhanur Veda (military science) attached to the Yajur Veda, and Gāndharva Veda (music) attached to the Sāma Veda; cf. Apte, Dictionary, s. v. Sthāpatya Veda, the science of architecture; Āyurveda, the science of longevity, medicine; Dhanurveda, military science, and Jyotiṣa, the science of the luminaries,—astronomy and astrology,—are enumerated by the side of one another, in the 'Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra', X. 77; also 'Bṛhadśilpaśāstra', I. 10. Tantra, as a rule, is enumerated as Upaveda attached to the Atharva Veda. Tantra includes Vāstu-śāstra. According to the 'Śukranīti-sāra', IV. 3. 27-30, Śilpa-śāstra is included in the 32 Vidyās. Śilpa-śāstra is defined, 58, as the science which treats of palaces, images, parks, houses, etc.

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²¹ The six Vedāṅgas are: Śikṣā, recitation (articulation and pronunciation); Chandas, metrical science or the science of rhythms; Vyākaraṇa, grammar; Kalpa, ritual; Nirukta, hermeneutics, etymology; Jyotiṣa, astronomy-astrology ('Śukranīti-sāra', IV. 3. 28-29).

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²² The main subjects included in the general education of a Hindu were: Lipi or Lekhā (the alphabet, reading and writing), Rūpa (drawing and geometry) and Gaṇanā (arithmetic). These subjects were taught from the age of 5 till the age of 12, and in their higher stages up to the age of twenty-five. The Hathigumpha inscription, 163 B.C. says that King Khāravela spent 9 years, from the age of 16 onwards in the study of Lekhā, Rūpa, Gaṇanā. A knowledge of form (rūpa), number and proportion was an indispensable equipment; mathematics and architecture had their root in the Vedic altar. The indissoluble connection of number and form remained a consciously employed knowledge throughout. In the middle of the ninth century A.D. the mathematician Mahāvīra, in his 'Gaṇitasāra-saṃgraha', I. 9-19, speaks of the use of the science of number (gaṇita) in architecture and in all that constitutes the peculiar value of the arts (B. B. Datta and A. N. Singh, 'History of Hindu Mathematics', Pt. I, p. 5).

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The Vāstupuruṣamaṇḍala, the diagram of the temple, is a Yantra. ('Vāstu-vidhāna' of Nārada, Ms. 1602, Adyar Library; VIII. 26).²³ A Yantra is a geometrical contrivance by which any aspect of the Supreme Principle may be bound (yantr, to bind; from the root 'yam') to any spot for the purpose of worship. It is an artifice in which the ground (bhūmi) is converted into the extent of the manifested universe. The nameless, formless entity which is bound in this case to the spot within the square maṇḍala is known henceforth as Vāstu-puruṣa. The components of the artifice are: the ground on which the maṇḍala is drawn; the form of the maṇḍala; and its name together with the names comprised in its form.

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²³ The MS. is in Grantha script; Chapters VIII and X are published in the Appendix, in Devanāgarī.

The Stability of the Site

v1.c4.s3.1

The temple must be built according to definite rules, and it must be firm (dṛḍha; ‘Īśānaśivagurudevapaddhati’, III. ch. XXVII. 82; ‘Vaikhānasāgama’, ch. VII). The latter injunction seems too obvious to have been made. But it does not primarily refer to a substitution of flimsy materials, such as mud, sand, wattle walls and bamboo posts by those of greater permanence; nor to the avoidance of careless construction in brick or stone nor to the desirability of such additional wall strength which would withstand earthquakes. With particular emphasis the earth itself is evoked as firm (dṛḍha) in the Rgveda (X. 121. 5; X. 173.4) and firmly established (pratiṣṭhā; ‘Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa’, VI. 1.1.15), and Earth, the goddess, is invoked to stand firm for our well-being (‘Vājasaneya-Saṃhitā’ XI. 69; ‘Taittirīya Saṃhitā’, IV. 1.9.2; Ś.B. VI. 6.2.6.). When a house is about to be built, an oblation is poured into the pit to the “steady one”, Vāstospati (‘Āśvalāyana Gṛhya Sūtra’ II. 8.15; ‘Pāraskara Gṛhya Sūtra’ III. 4.3). A fear is allayed by these epithets, oblations and invocations. It is the fear of uncertainty, of the changeable and transitory. By being ‘firm’ the earth becomes secure and a reliable support. For ‘before she was fixed, mother earth’ is spoken of as ‘the ever wandering’ (AV. V. 2.6). The rule of order under which buildings can be set up and in which men and gods are at home, is not from the beginning. There was unrest and instability. Yama, the god of Death, the first of mortals who preceded men on the path to heaven (RV. X. 14.1) assigns a station to everything that is movable. Yama, the Order of things in the cosmos and Righteousness in men, who is the Dharmarāja, ‘King Law’, establishes in this manifested world the immutability of the Supreme Principle. “Yama indeed rules over the earth” (Ś.B. VII. 1.1.3.). As it was in the beginning, so is it repeated with each building; Yama gives the residence when man builds the small world of his own, his house, or a temple in the likeness of the world, which is God’s residence.

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