The Hindu Temple v2.c11.s8.54

v2.c11.s8.54

Above the Āmalaka is the Stūpikā, the finial, frequently made of gold, or gilded. Its most conspicuous part is the round body of the jar, the Kalaśa. "The golden Kalaśa, a 'high seat', on the summit of the god's dwelling, looks as if it were the sun's orb that had arisen on the lordly mountain of sunrise.¹⁹² The Kalaśa is likened to the sun and the temple is "the Mountain where the Sun rests at midday.¹⁹³ Meru, the support of the Sun,¹⁹⁴ and "the one Sun that never leaves the Meru" ('Aitareya Brāhmaṇa', XIV. 6.44, Comm.)¹⁹⁵ are symbols of the ultimate state of illumination of the Sādhaka for whom the sun neither rises nor sets. "For one who thus knows the secret doctrine of Brahman, it does not set nor does it rise; for him it is day, once for all" ('Chāndogya Upaniṣad', III. 11.3).