The Hindu Temple v1.c9.s2.11

v1.c9.s2.11

The Tabernacle of leaves, bamboo or branches is the prototype of the curvilinear Śikhara. The arch of vegetation, the arch of Nature surmounts and encloses the seat of God. In temple chariots with a framework of bamboo, as much as in the temples themselves, it is this ‘Form of Nature’, which remains one of the primeval and sempiternal forms of sacred architecture in India. It is the most sacred of all the forms of the superstructure, destined for the Prāsāda only. It is never placed as superstructure on any Maṇḍapa or any accessory building of the temple proper. There the pyramidal types are accommodated, and at times assimilated to its curves, without however attaining to their unbroken ascent (Pl. I).