Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v1.c56.261

v1.c56.261

Man has never lived without some faith in the man 'Supernal'. Material and spiritual advancements of mankind have been going on since the very birth of human civilisation. In India, this faith in the man 'Supernal' has culminated in the towering personality of the Hindu Temple, the Prāsāda. Each and every detail, right from its layout to the finial speaks of the significance. Popularly the Prāsāda is the seat and dwelling of God. But meta-physically it is the concrete manifestation of the Supreme Reality. It is microcosmic representation of the macrocosmic Brahman. Agni Purāṇa (LXI-25) says. "The body (Ākṛti) of the temple is Prakṛti". The architectural motif of Āmalaka, the crown of the Nāgara temple, the most representative shape of Hindu Temple, as well as the finial (Stūpikā cf. Drāviḍa Temple) above Kalaśa are all aglow with the divine significance and full of metaphysical, the spiritual meaning. Samarāṅgaṇa Sūtradhāra designates this term with Āmalasāra (chapter LVI. 49, 154 etc., where Āmalasāraka is used as synonymous with Āmalaka). It means Pure essence. The Hindu Trinity—Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśa, is symbolised by the Amalaka. The The Skanda purāṇa (V. K. XII. 9-23) says, 'Viṣṇu is seated at its bottom, Brahmā above and Śiva still higher. The sun is in its branches, the gods are in their ramifications and on its leaves, flowers and fruits. It is thus the support of all gods. "The Āmalaka, tree of manifested deity, redeeming, supernal tree, has contributed to the temple the image of its fruit" (H. T. 356). This is the significance of the Hindu Temple, the Prāsāda as indicated by one motif; others (cf. the manifold designations with similar implication, viz. Veṇukoṣa, Aṇḍa etc. etc.) also tell the same story. The significance of the Prāsāda will be clearer when we take the topic of the Vāstu-maṇḍala and Vāstu-puruṣa. We have already hinted at this significance as inferred from the main parts of the temple—the Pillar, the Garbhagṛha and the Jagatī (vide Origin and Development of the Prāsāda-vāstu).