The Hindu Temple v1.c8.s7.18

v1.c8.s7.18

Symbols such as the vertical axis or pillar along which the varied forms are threaded on different levels or the cave in the mountain, and architectural forms such as the convergence of ascending lines which connect the perimeter of the building with the end of its vertical axis, or the various shapes of the superstructure, these and other images and forms constitute the symbolical and concrete structure of the temple. The temple under the name of mountain resembling it by its peaked form, is always the One Mountain, an image of manifestation in its hierarchy along the central axis of being. This axis passes through all the strata of existence, and shows them linked to the highest point, at different levels⁹¹. From the highest point the line passes in the centre and pierces the ground in the middle of the Garbhagṛha where the Liṅga or image is. From the perimeter of the Prāsāda towards its highest point rises the bulk of the building, a vesture of the central axis; in its folds and throughout its extent, it is an exposition of the total meaning of the temple in the particular application to each single spot.