The Hindu Temple v1.c8.s7.14

v1.c8.s7.14

Another ancient form of the temple is represented in Barhut, about 100 B.C. and in Mathurā in the second century A.D. (Coomaraswamy, 'HIIA', Figs. 42 and 70). In these reliefs a small, domed shrine is encased in another structure which is roofed by a series of superposed 'slabs' of increasing width, the topmost forming a flat and crenellated roof. This method of superposition and encasement though it is neither represented by any of the later temples nor mentioned in Vāstu-śāstra, corresponds to the vision of the Throne of Supreme Blessedness on the Brahmānanda mountain (Shri Svami Hariharanand Sarasvati, 'Viṣṇu, The All-Pervading Principle', JISOA, XII. p. 154).