Temples in Texts on Architecture (स्थापत्यशास्त्रेषु देवालयाः )
Introduction
Temples are truly the essence of Sanatana Dharma. The focus of Vaidika Sanatana Dharma was the Yajna Samstha but gradually the place of Yajna was taken over by the institutions of temples and allied rituals like puja, japa and vrata. The antiquity of temples as places of worship dates back at least to the Early Historic Period (6th century BCE) which coincides with the Second Urbanization in India. A few scholars assert that the form of Sanatana Dharma as practiced since the beginning of the Common Era revolves around the institution of temples. The archaeological evidences for temples date back to the 3rd century BCE but this does not negate the fact that temples were being constructed in the land of Bharata at least since the 6th century BCE. There are copious references to temples in literary as well as epigraphical sources (inscriptions). In this article we will be discussing some major literary references to temples.
Varahamihira's Brihat Samhita (वराहमिहिरस्य बृहत संहिता )
Varahamihira 's Brihat Samhita is the oldest available text which includes details about the construction of temples in its fifty-sixth adhyaya titled Prasadalakshanadhyayah. and is approximately dated to the 5th-6th centuries CE. Varahamihira states in the opening shloka of this adhyaya that after one constructs water tanks (salila) and lays out gardens (arama) one must undertake the task of building a temple to augment one 's own glory and religious merit. (Brihat Samhita 56.1). A person who aspires to attain the lokas through Ishta and Purta Dharmas must engage himself in the erection of temples so that he may procure the merits of both (Brihat Samhita 56.2). Varahamihira lays down that the site of the proposed temple must be divided into sixty-four squares and its middle door must be located in one of the cardinal quarters (Brihat Samhita 56.10). Succeeding shlokas of the text furnish details about the dimensions of the various constituent parts of the temple and their relative proportions. The text also recommends that temple doors must have three, five, seven and nine frames and these numbers confer auspiciousness. The text further lays down that two door keepers must be carved near the door and their size must be 1/4th of the door post.The remaining space must be adorned with auspicious birds, Bilva trees, Svastikas, pitchers, couples, leaves, creepers and flowers and Bhagavan Shiva 's ganas. Many of these motifs are clearly visible in temples from the Gupta Period onward. These motifs can also be seen in rock-cut cave temples dating to the same period (the Gupta Period falls approximately between the 4th c. CE to the 6th c. CE) (Brihat Samhita 56.11-16). The Brihat Samhita presents an inventory of twenty different kinds of temple structures. These twenty types of temples differ from each other in regard to dimensions, arrangements and plan. Their classification is based on number of storeys and shikharas, divergent dimensions and plan and position of doors etc.The details of the various temples are as follows:
1 Meru
This is the loftiest temple described in the Brihat Samhita. It rises to a height of twelve storeys and is hexagonal in its plan. It had variegated windows and doors in the four cardinal directions. Its width was thirty two cubits (one cubit is equal to eighteen inches).
2. Mandara
The Mandara type of a temple is hexagonal with a width of thirty cubits and with a height of ten storeys and shikharas.
3. Kailasa
The Kailasa kind of a temple shares similarities with the Mandara with a height of eight storeys and its width being twenty eight cubits.
4. The Vimana Chhanda
This temple is equipped with latticed windows and is as broad as twenty one cubits
5. Nandana
The Nandana possesses a height of six storeys with sixteen cupolas and a width of thirty-two cubits.
6. Samudga
Samudga is a temple with a circular plan and measures eight cubits in width. It has a single storey and only one shikhara.
7. Padma
This temple is said to resemble an eight-petalled lotus. The rest of its feature are the same as Samudga.
8. Garuda
The shape of this temple is like that of Garuda or eagle with a tail and wings.
9. Nandivardhana
The Nandivardhana is similar to a Garuda Temple but the wings and tail are absent. They both have a width of twenty-four cubits and rise up to seven storeys. Further they are both embellished with twenty cupolas.
10. Kunjara
The Kunjara is a temple is similar to a Kunjara's or an elephant's back. It has one storey and is equipped with three chandrashalas and measures sixteen cubits. It is apsidal in form with a barrel-vaulted roof. We find many examples of the Kunjara type of temples. Some of the notable ones are the Trivikrama Temple at Ter (Maharashtra), the Nakula Sahadeva Ratha at Mahabalipuram (Pallavas, Tamil Nadu) and the Durg Temple at Aihole (Chalukyas, Karnataka).
11. Guharaja
The Guharaja measures, like the Kunjara sixteen cubits and possesses a single storey and three chandrashalas. It is shaped like a cave.
12. Vrisha
The Vrisha is a circular temple with a single shikhara. This temple measures twelve cubits.
13. Hamsa
The Hamsa was shaped like a swan with a beak, wings and tail and has one storey, one turret and and a width of 16 cubits.
14. Ghata
The Ghata temple is shaped like a Kalasha. with a width of eight cubits and one storey and a single turret.
15. Sarvatobhadra
The Sarvatobhadra temple has four doors and multiple shikharas. It is endowed with numerous chandrashalas with a breadth of twenty six cubits and a height rising up to five storeys or bhumis.
16. Simha
The Simha possesses twelve angles, is embellished with the images of lions and width of eight cubits.
17. Vritta
This temple is shaped like a circle.
18. Chatushkona
This temple is shaped like quadrangle i.e. it possesses four angles.
19. Shodashri
As the name itself indicates, this temple has a total of sixteen angles.
20. Ashtashri
This temple possesses eight angles
Temple types 17-20 have a dark interior and have only one storey and cupola. Only the Chatushkona has five shikharas.
Vishnudharmottara Purana (विष्णुधर्मोत्तर पुराणम् )
The Vishnudharmottara Purana is an Upa-Purana (उप पुराणम् ) affiliated to the Vishnu Purana (विष्णु पुराणम् ). Both these texts are approximately dated to the Gupta Period (5th-6th centuries CE). The Vishnudharmottara Purana is an encyclopedic work covering a broad range of facets of Ancient Indian Culture. It unfolds as a dialogue between King Vajra of Mathura (the great grandson of Bhagavan Sri Krishna) and the Sage Markandeya. One of the most redeeming features of this text is its elaborate descriptions of Hindu Temples and Hindu Iconography. King Vajra requests Sage Markandeya to enumerate the features of temples. The Vishnudharmottara Purana lists various component parts of a temple and also provides their proportionate measurements. The temple must comprise sixty four padas or equal segments. The various types of temples mentioned in this text are Himavan, Malyavan, Shringavan, Agara, Griha, Bhavana, Shikhara, Kunjara, Gandhamadana, Subhadra, Saumya, Arunodaya, Guha, Garuda, Sarvatobhadra, Mekhala, Vriddhida, Triguna, Valabhi, Rajaraja and many more. These are considered to be the names of different kinds of Nagara (North Indian) temples. The same text also prescribes the details of the images of deities which are to be installed in a specific temple. E.g. In the Mekhala type of a temple, images of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshvara or Ekanmasha between Krishna and Balarama or Trilochana between Ganesha and Skanda should be consecrated. Similarly in the same type of a temple an image or Janardana or Tavshta can also be established between the images of the sun and the moon. When the mandapas are equipped with shikharas the structures are known as Vimanas. Further, the text clearly lays down which deities are not be installed in a particular type of a temple as their installation may lead to misfortune and decline. A temple devoid of mandapas is denoted as a Devakula. The term 'Devakula' is a very ancient one and appears frequently in early inscriptions. The text also includes detailed instructions pertaining to the procurement of raw materials like wood and stone as well as the associated rituals. In addition matters like production of bricks and making of the Vajralepa have also been dealt in detail by this text. The Vishnudharmottara Purana vividly also notes the kind of land on which a temple should be built as well as the land where one must not undertake temple building activities. We also come the temple construction process involving many rituals. The text mentions the Shilanyasa ritual which was preceded by the installation of the kumbha in the soil of the site. The Shilanyasa ritual involved the placement of baked bricks in the four directions.
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