The Hindu Temple v2.c13.s1.50

v2.c13.s1.50

⁷ A temple, called Guhā, belonged to the fourth group (verse 59); the temple Gṛha however is the first of the seventh group. The alternative names Guharāja (Br.S.) and Gṛharāja in the other early lists of the 20 Temples seem to go back to older classifications of which the 'Viṣṇudharmottara' has preserved some traces. Guhā, moreover, occurs more than once in the name and constitution of the temples in the V. Dh., Suguha (verse 121); and another temple possibly called, and being Triguha (verse 122). In the description of the temple Sarvatobhadra (LXXXVII. 10), the small corner shrines of the central Prāsāda are described as Garbhaguhas and Prāsādas. Similarly, the chapels of the rampart are the Garbhaguhas of the enclosure (Prākāra). Guhā thus in the V. Dh. is an equivalent of Gṛha and denotes the Garbhagṛha. Its meaning as Cave is implied in this identity. It might, besides, in the V. Dh. have connoted an oblong shape. Kuhara, which means a cavity, may denote an interior opening or also its demarcation on the outside of the temple. The inner hollow of the Śukanāsā, the round niche in which an image is carved, is a Kuhara.