The Hindu Temple v1.c8.s4.40

v1.c8.s4.40

⁶⁶ N. V. Mallayya, op. cit., JAU., vol. X. p. 181, stresses the meaning ‘head’ which Śikhara has, derived from Śikhā, the tuft of hair worn by an orthodox Hindu on the crown of the head. Synonyms are Śiras and Śirṣa, both denoting head. This microcosmic reference to the head is no less valid than the macrocosmic one to the Mountain, to Meru, the pole of the world. The full meaning of the Hindu temple is given form by the Prāsāda with its high superstructure; in this sense Śikhara is to be understood and not as a roof which also may be flat (as assumed by Mallayya, JISOA, vol. IX. p. 83, in an article on ‘Nāgara, Drāviḍa and Vesara’) ; see Part VII where the different connotation of Śikhara in the Northern and Southern tradition (śāstra) is explained.