Temple Architecture of Nepal & India

 V. Ganapathi Stapathi

The temples in Nepal and India have played a versatile role in the life of its people and have been the dominant and inseparable part of their cultural and spiritual activities from the early times. People, from the crown to the common, from the saint to the scholar have frequented temples and held them as sacred objects of worship and sources of solace and bliss. In fact, the cream of Indian culture is enshrined in the temples. The cultural life of the Indian race is built around the temple. This culture is spreading fast today, all over the world. This system of temple culture has not been replaced by any other system up to this day. It is so strong, effective and efficacious that no alternative became possible. It is based on truth, not on mere faith.
Modern scientific analysis of a temple goes to establish that temple-space is surcharged with enormous positive energy and the visitors, frequenting the premises attain physical welfare and mental well-being. How could a mere structure built of stone or of brick and mortar contain that kind of energy? What makes the temple structure and the premises so powerful? What do the temple components like Garbhagruha, Mukhamandapa, Vimaana, Gopura, Praakaara, Minor shrines, Pillars and various other parts of the temple structure mean? Do they have any scientific basis or are they mere imaginative, artistic edifices to house sacred forms and symbols of religious concepts? Also it is a scientific truth that a temple is not a home of God but it is the form of God. In other words, the temple structure itself is worthy of worship and in that context; the God form installed inside is redundant or superfluous. There is truth in it, hence I am emboldened to say so. Temple building is not a congregational structure but a form of God structurally delineated. This aspect of the temple as a form of God is implied in the Upanishadaic statement of 'Prasadam purusham matva poojayet mantra vittamaha'. The literal meaning is that the priest well versed in mantras shall look upon the temple building (prasada) as Purusha (embodied energy called Vaastu Purusha) and worship him with due respect. The meaning further noticeable in this context is that a temple building is a composite of the Sukshma (subtle) and Sthula (gross) aspects of the Supreme Being. The Sukshma is the subtle space enclosed in the sanctum and Sthula is the material form built around it. Also the temple structure is realized as the body and the inner space enclosed as the spirit. And the circumambulatory space around the temple sanctum called praakaraas is the rhythm bound spatial expansion of the inner space. In other words, the temple layout is the extended form of the 'rhythm' of the inner space (the Daharakasa). Therefore in the Vaastu tradition, the temple complex is designed according to what is called musical layam, where layam means rhythm (or swara vinyasa). Hence architecture is defined as frozen music as well.
In the traditional Vaastu Shastras, the concept of temple structure as the extended material form of the jeeva is vividly described in a technological language to aid designing of temple forms meaningfully. The temple form is designed into Viswaroopa (visible material universe). Is not the human body, an extended form of the inner being, and the subtle into gross? The Vaastu sloka goes on thus:
Upapeetam charanakara, adhistanam janu mandalam,
Pada vargam karakaram prastaram bahu moolakam,
Tatkantam gala mithyuktam shikharam mukha mevache,
Ushneeshantam shikha chaiva mahanasicha nasika,
Netranam kshudra nasyau cha viswarupa mithi smirutam.
There are a certain number of parts, with which the limbs of the temple structure are composed, just like the human form being composed of limbs such as foot, leg, thigh, torso, hand, neck, head and the hair lock. The components of the temple form, as expressed in physical terms, may be noticed in the accompanying diagram. The human scale (taala unit/kaala maatra) is simultaneously shown side by side. The subtle is in 8 units and the gross is in 9 units. The structure is the concept of Mayonic science wherein human laya (order) is brought into application. There is a profound scientific concept underlying the creation of Vaastu structures whether it is a temple building or a house building. At present let us focus our attention on the temple structure. To understand the composition of the structural parts of a temple, one should know the scientific concept in its layout and its significance. It is the scientific layout that determines worthiness of the form. The layout adopted for temple form is synonymous with the layout of the Cosmos! This is the basic concept, which confers pan-Indianness of the temple design and lends national character to the temple-culture.
The plan of the layout of a temple is technically called Mandala or Vaastu Pada with a grid of 8 × 8 = 64 spaces or 9 × 9 = 81 spaces of equal dimensions. In modern architectural terminology this can be addressed as energy-grid. These layouts are squares, two dimensionally and cubes, tridimensionally. Those two layouts are the geometrical formulae for the shilpi to replicate the subtle substance of the universe into visual material form. This is the formula handled by Jagatguru Viswakarma, the creator of the universe, to turn his own thoughts into material forms. This formula is couched in a simplistic saying vastu reva vaastu meaning "it is the subtle that turns into gross". Here Vastu is subtle energy and Vaastu is embodied energy. This was discovered and put into the Vastu texts by Mayan, the author of Mayamata, Vaastu Shastra and of Surya Siddhanta, the most ancient treatise on Astronomy. The application of this principle confers sanctity on the man-made structure of a temple and makes it worship worthy. This is the scientific truth of the highest order underlying temple design and temple culture.
To understand this concept still more clearly, one has to go to the very root of the genesis and evolution of the universe. The root exists in the vast luminous space (akasa) that surrounds the earth and for that matter every object of the universe. The space under reference is not a space of nothingness but a space filled with energy or spiritual light. As a matter of fact, the space is mathematically confirmed to have been packed with countless cubes of energy of Paramanu size. One such cubical space dwells in the cave of our heart and in the hearts of all animate objects of the
universe. This cube with a square base is called Vaastu Purusha Mandala where 'mandala' is square and 'purusha' is energy. 'Vaastu purushah chaturasra samsthaha'-"the all pervasive energy is couched in a square" - so says Vastu Vidya, a treatise on architecture. Vaastu Purusha mandala represents, infact, the micro universe and quality wise and shape wise the micro and the macro are one and the same. That the space is the primary source of all animate beings is justified further in the upanishadaic saying, 'akasat vayuhu vayoragnihi agnerapaha adbhi prithvi prithivee bhyam oshadhayaha'. The meaning is that the air, fire, water and earth have come forth in successive developments from the SPACE. The vegetation further came out of the Earth, which acted as another space (source) called earthly space. The shorter version of this phenomenon is that the Earth came out of the Space or the Space is the source of the Earth. In fact, it is from one single paramanu that the Earth has come into being and hence the energy contained in an 'anu-sized subtle energy' and the energy contained in the Earth itself have come to be called by a common term Vastu Purusha and hence the container and the content have together come to be called Vaastu Purusha Mandala.
The layout of the spherical earth is identified to be Vaastu Purusha Mandala of 9 × 9 = 81 spaces whereas at subtle level, it was of 8 × 8 = 64 spaces of energy grid. Hence the mandala of 8 × 8 and that of 9 × 9 are said to be 'subtle' and 'gross' respectively. Area wise, the square and circle are equal, in spite of its growth from anu to anda (in terms of proportions). This theory is applied in all animate beings from insect to elephant. The square Vaastu Purusha Mandala is the wave patter of primordial energy and infact it is the primal manifest form of the non-manifest, which grows into material form ultimately. All visual and audible forms come under this theory. The resultant mathematical formula is that o = ¡, meaning that the subtle is qualitatively and quantitatively equal to gross. Mayan also says, ‘Prasadadini vastuni vastuvad vastu samsrayat tanyeva vastu reveti kathitam vai vastu vid budhaihi". The meaning in simple words is that buildings, be it a temple or a house, are all embodied energies, signifying the co-existence of energy and matter (Vastu). Is this not the unified theory of energy and matter?
So Vaastu Purusha Mandala, the plan of the primordial cube of energy is utilized as the plan of the temple, as per the directive of Vaastu shastra. How sacred and scientific is the principle governing temple form? Is this not secular and universal? The three dimensional cube is the basic structure of the sanctum into which is placed the idol for worship. Around the cube a variety of bands and motifs are added on to give a pleasing alluring look and to conform it to human form in structural terms. This cube is traditionally denoted by the epithets Chitravain Chitrambalam and Chidambaram which means 'mini hall'. This I have named as 'Micro-abode' and 'Microbode'. So every temple structure, as per Vastu tradition, is a microbode, within which the free space is enclosed. What does this microbode, the mini hall contain? It is a spark of cosmic fire that lies centered. This is called Brahma bindu. This is again OM light, the vibration of which causes the Om sound. The vibration of this Om light is called Time or Kaalam. The vibration of the primal OM light is the dance of Lord Shiva and that of sound is Uma. Hence 'Omkara' Natana. Uma is 'word' (vaak) and Shiva is 'meaning' (artha).
So Mayan says that Kaalam is the creative element of all the objects of the universe and adds that the universe itself is the product of Time. "Time is the creative source of all objects. It is time that changes into form. It is time that blossoms into the universe and Kaalam thus does wonders"-Mayan.
Therefore Kaalam itself is designated as Kaala Brahman. Kaalam, in simple words is the speed or vibration of energy or light. The summum-bonum of these discussions is that vibration causes all phenomena. This concept is extended to poetry, music and dance where Kaalam is redesignated as Taalam, maatra or kaalam, the ruling element of all forms of poetry, music and also dance. What would be unique and astonishing is that the same Taala measure is extended to create visual material forms (time-spaces) of which one is the building whether it is a temple or house. Sculptural
representations are also born of this scientific theory of rhythm (Taala) and therefore they are divine and worship worthy.
The concept of Vaastu, in this context, is that it is the minute cell of energy (microbode) which changes itself into material body (Vaastu) by virtue of the vibrations emanating from the energy. In other words, all living organisms have sprung into material existence out of the seed and speed of divine energy. Hence the sanctum is held to be a living organism capable of 'vibrating from within and spreading into a space of energetic particles'. These vibrations have been quantified just as we have quantified the sound vibrations emanating from a stringed instrument of music. These measures of sound vibrations have been assessed to be equal to material vibrations and thus got extended to
create material spaces called buildings.
Another important concept of Vaastu is that this small cell of energy is called 'foetus of space or garbha by which the structure has come to be called Garbhagriha and Karuvarai . Also called Bindu Griha in Agamas. 'Karu' is the energetic space-atom and the structure enclosing it is 'Arai'. Our Garbhagriha structure is so designed in terms of frequency of vibrations called 'rhythm' that the energy-waves emanating there from, are productive of positive effects on human psyche, in as much as musical vibrations are controlled by numerical adjustments to produce sweet sonic effect in human mind. Because of such structural vitality one feels edified when one steps into the temple ambience
or stands in front of the sanctum. This will happen irrespective of the structure enshrining an idol or not. Such is the spiritual significance of the very structure of Garbhagriha.
The temple architecture is a scientific phenomenon. Let me complete by saying that the music is enjoyable because of the science underlying musical composition and rendering the song. These are musical forms heard and enjoyed at heart. Similarly, the same science underlying the musical forms are visually seen and experienced at heart in a temple premises. The effect is one and the same.