The Hindu Temple v1.c8.s6.1

v1.c8.s6.1

Meru, Mandara and Kailāsa are the first three names amongst the twenty types of temples described in the early texts, the ‘Bṛhat Saṃhitā’ and the ‘Matsya Purāṇa’; all three are the names of the Mountain, which is the axis of the world; that is Meru, the pole of this earth; Mandara as churning rod, planted on Viṣṇu, the tortoise, during the Satya Yuga, the first world age after the great commotion; and Kailāsa, as seat of Śiva, in the Himālaya. In these names rises the temple, the image, aim and destination of this world edifice.⁷⁸