A temple is not just a brick and stone structure. It functions on various other planes than the formal religious one. When a social institution develops around the sacred precincts of a temple, it becomes a ‘Matha’ or an ‘Ashram’. Most of the big temples in ancient and medieval India were part of this bigger entity called Matha. | A temple is not just a brick and stone structure. It functions on various other planes than the formal religious one. When a social institution develops around the sacred precincts of a temple, it becomes a ‘Matha’ or an ‘Ashram’. Most of the big temples in ancient and medieval India were part of this bigger entity called Matha. |