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Of all the civilizations in the world, one which has taken the sacred architecture to its heights is India. This does not mean that India has not given a thought to civil or military architecture. The civil and the military architecture in India, is an extension or modification of the sacred. The basic idea behind creating any building, any man-made structure, is the same.  

Of all the civilizations in the world, one which has taken the sacred architecture to its heights is India. This does not mean that India has not given a thought to civil or military architecture. The civil and the military architecture in India, is an extension or modification of the sacred. The basic idea behind creating any building, any man-made structure, is the same.  

== देवालयः ॥ Temple ==

== विग्रहाराधना ॥ Image Worship ==

Sanatana Dharma advocates that worship of god is done in two ways:  

 

Sanatana Dharma advocates that worship of god is done in two ways:

* Nirguna (निर्गुणः one without form) upasana (उपासना) where worship is achieved, without any outward symbol, involving a prayer (or chanting of mantra) and offering of oblations into the fire (Yajna), intending them for a deity.  

* Nirguna (निर्गुणः one without form) upasana (उपासना) where worship is achieved, without any outward symbol, involving a prayer (or chanting of mantra) and offering of oblations into the fire (Yajna), intending them for a deity.  

* Saguna (सगुणः one with form) upasana is where worship is achieved with a symbol, by the means of a form or image of the deity, along with the prayer to a particular deity.<ref name=":1">Kane, Pandurang Vaman. (1941) ''History of Dharmasastra (Ancient and Medieval Religious and Civil Law). Volume 2, Part 2.'' Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute</ref>  

* Saguna (सगुणः one with form) upasana is where worship is achieved with a symbol, by the means of a form or image of the deity, along with the prayer to a particular deity.<ref name=":1">Kane, Pandurang Vaman. (1941) ''History of Dharmasastra (Ancient and Medieval Religious and Civil Law). Volume 2, Part 2.'' Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute</ref>  

Somewhere in the remote past the religious outlook, rituals and the sacred Yajnas of the vedic period were gradually supplemented by worship through images. The abstract symbolism of the Yajna, was generally replaced by the Puja of images and the concept is called Vigraharadhana (विग्रहाराधना).<ref name=":0" /> <blockquote>चिन्मयस्याद्वितीयस्य निष्कलस्याशरीरिणः । उपासकानां कार्यार्थे ब्रह्मणो रूपकल्पना ॥ (Devatapratishtatattva of Raghunandana p. 50)<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>Image worshippers also believe that god is pure consciousness (chit), one without a second (adv) who is not in parts, without a physical body and that the various images in which he is thought as in-dwelling are so imagined for the benefit of the worshippers.  

Somewhere in the remote past the religious outlook, rituals and the sacred Yajnas of the vedic period were gradually supplemented by worship through images. The abstract symbolism of the Yajna, was generally replaced by the Puja of images and the concept is called Vigraharadhana (विग्रहाराधना).<ref name=":0" /> <blockquote>चिन्मयस्याद्वितीयस्य निष्कलस्याशरीरिणः । उपासकानां कार्यार्थे ब्रह्मणो रूपकल्पना ॥ (Devatapratishtatattva of Raghunandana p. 50)<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>Image worshippers also believe that god is pure consciousness (chit), one without a second (adv) who is not in parts, without a physical body and that the various images in which he is thought as in-dwelling are so imagined for the benefit of the worshippers.  

The worship of any deity through the medium of images is again two-fold, viz.,

The worship of any deity through the medium of images is again two-fold, viz.,  

* Private worship of idols performed in smaller scale usually at home or in small gatherings. It involves lesser resources and mostly is a private affair.  

* Private worship of idols performed in smaller scale usually at home or in small gatherings. It involves lesser resources and mostly is a private affair.  

* Public worship of idols in temples is large scale activity involving a large number of people, procedures and runs systematically.   

* Public worship of idols in temples is large scale activity involving a large number of people, procedures and runs systematically.   

Private worship of images in one's house is included in the fold of Devapuja also called as devatarcharna (देवतार्चना). Public sites where deities are worshipped are called variously as Devalaya, mandir, temple(according to different languages) where the image of the deity is consecrated through a process called Pratishta (प्रतिष्ठा). Such worship is thought to be the best as it allows the celebration of festivals and the performance of the varied items or modes of worship (उपचाराः । upacharas).<ref name=":1" />   

Private worship of images in one's house is included in the fold of Devapuja also called as devatarcharna (देवतार्चना). Public sites where deities are worshipped are called variously as Devalaya, mandir, temple(according to different languages) where the image of the deity is consecrated through a process called '''Pratishta (प्रतिष्ठा)'''. Such worship is thought to be the best as it allows the celebration of festivals and the performance of the varied items or modes of worship (उपचाराः । upacharas).<ref name=":1" />   

A temple integrates the community and is the binding force that promotes unity in the society. Thus temples, the place where the images of the deities are consecrated are either small structures, simple or elaborate with ornate designs or are architectural masterpieces which withstood the test of time. The establishment of images in temples is again of two kinds and their consecration differs in certain details.   

A temple integrates the community and is the binding force that promotes unity in the society. Thus temples, the place where the images of the deities are consecrated are either small structures, simple or elaborate with ornate designs or are architectural masterpieces which withstood the test of time. The establishment of images in temples is again of two kinds and their consecration differs in certain details.