The Hindu Temple v2.c11.s8.47

v2.c11.s8.47

As many as are the uses of the Āmalaka, the cogged ring-stone¹⁸⁸—and especially of the highest of these Svayamātṛṇṇās, denoting the celestial world—so manifold also are the meanings of its name. Etymologically it is derived from the root ‘mal’, “to hold” or “to gather”; this meaning describes it in its function as a ring. Its name moreover is differently written and frequently begins with a short ‘a’; Amala means without impurity, stainless; thus the name Amala-śilā ‘pure stone’ was given to it, especially by the Buddhists.¹⁸⁹ Another of its names of this kind is Amala-sāra, Pure Essence.¹⁹⁰ Both these names are descriptive of the High Region, the celestial world; of which the Āmalaka—as ring-stone and Mukti-dvāra, door of liberation—is the symbol denoting entry and final integration.