The Hindu Temple v1.c9.s2.10

v1.c9.s2.10

The other shape of the Śikhara has its perfect appearance in temples such as those in Khajūraho (Pls. I, IV; Fig. i). It surges towards the apex; other smaller Śikharas cling to it in a massed competition of ascent. Although each of them has its edges marked by Bhūmis of many strata and by Āmalakas, these horizontal elements, like the nodules of the stem of a plant, do not break its rising lines. Their curves belong to forms of vegetation, the ribs of the large leaves of Banana plants, of palm trees or bamboo rods fixed in the corners of a square drawn on the ground and bent towards a central point; with their curves the stone built Śikharas of the Khajūraho temples arise and reiterate in their complex organisation the perennial meaning of the Tabernacle of the forest. It served and still serves the performance of worship (pūjā) and vows (vrata). When these Pūjās and Vratas are completed, the leaves and branches which had formed the Tabernacle, having served their purpose, are thrown away, whereas the form of these temporary and humble structures was clothed in brick and stone and raised above the Garbhagṛha, in the innumerable Śikharas known to exist from the Gupta age and which to this day compete towards the Highest Point.