The Hindu Temple v1.c8.s4.22

v1.c8.s4.22

The circular Prāsāda, as well as the circular Garbhagṛha, have their prototypes in the circular shape of some of the Vedic hearths; the Megalithic origin moreover of the circular type of the temple must also be taken into account. Stone circles or their wooden equivalents are also prototypes of the round shape of certain Hindu temples. Megalithic stone circles like the one in Asota off the Mardan-Swabi Road (D. H. Gordon, ‘Megalithic stones, Asota’, ‘Antiquity’, Dec. 1939) or one of the stone circles in Deosa, Jaipur, Rajputana (Cunningham, ASI. vol. VI, p. 105), appear to be particularly connected with Vedic numbers by the number of their stones. While these are 21 in Deosa, the Megaliths forming the circle in Asota are 32. The former number (3 × 7) (Ś.B. VII. I. I. 13) plays no part in the Hindu temple whereas the 32 surrounding stones of the Gārhapatya hearth correspond in number and function to the 32 Pada devatās of the Vāstumaṇḍala.