The Hindu Temple v2.c11.s2.4

v2.c11.s2.4

The name for the antepagments of the door-jamb is ‘śākhā’, meaning ‘branch’. A number of branches were fixed in the ground, tied and bundled together originally; 3, 5, 7, or 9 contribute their stems to the varied vertical mouldings of the door-jambs (Bṛ. S.LV. 14). The horizontal themes of sill and lintel, add their balance; the augmentation of the lintel by repeating and varying its horizontal themes twice and thrice, similarly the raising of the threshold by one step or more, increase the effectiveness of the door from a place of entry to one of display.³⁴ The door “frames” the image and this frame is wrought with many carvings. It appears as if the many divinities carved on the door frame belonged to the image in the Garbhagṛha, were its ‘parivāra’ or “surrounding” divinities.