GLOSSARY OF INDIC ARCHITECTURAL TERMS

ADHISTHANA. (Indian). The base of a Hindu temple.

AMALAKA. (Indian). Meaning a fruit; a flattened, fluted round form used as a crowning member of the superstructure of northern-style Hindu temples, as a repeating decorative motif on such superstructures, and as the form of a capital.

ANANTA. (Indian). Meaning " the serpent upon which Visnu reclines or sits. Also called Sesa or endless.

ANDA. (Indian). Meaning an egg. The approximately hemispherical dome of a stupa, especially an early Bhuddist stupa in India. It represents the sky enclosing the world mountain, as well as the fertile container, or egg, for the seed contained within it, usually represented by a relic.

ANTARALA. (Indian). An intermediate space in a temple; an antechamber or vestibule between the main shrine and the ardhamandapa.

ARDHAMANDAPA. (Indian). A closed hall or mandapa, which may be joined to the main shrine of a temple by an antarala, or may abut it directly.

ASANA. (Indian). Seat or throne; the leg positions or sitting postures assumed by deities and religious practitioners.

ASTADIKPALAS. (Indian). The eight protective, directional deities; the regents of the regions of the sky.

ASTAPARIVARADEVATA. (Indian). The eight parivara, or retinue, deities attending the main god of a shrine. Usually placed in surrounding circuits, corridors, or shrines of a temple. The number varies according to some systems.

BADA. (Indian). Term for a wall in Orissan architecture.

BHANDAR. (Indian). The library of a Jain religious establishment.

BHOGAMANDAPA. (Indian). The hall of offerings, signifying enjoyment, wealth and possessions, in an Orissan temple.

BHUMI. (Indian). Used to denote the earth; the floor; the foundation; a level; stage; or story. In architecture, it denotes the levels or stories of a building or superstructure. In Buddhist thought, the stages, or spiritual spheres, through which a bodhisattva (or practitioner) moves in quest of enlightenment.

BIJA. (Indian). Seed; semen; sound essence. A mystic syllable that constitutes an essential portion of a mantra. Can also refer to the relic in a stupa.

BRHAD. (Indian). Meaning great, large or gigantic.

CAITYA. (Indian). A sacred spot, sometimes associated with a relic, funeral pyre, or burial. It may be marked by a tree or mound, and surrounded by a sacred railing or vedika. A stupa is a type of caitya.

CAITYA HALL. (Indian). A hall that contains a caitya.

CAKRA. (Indian). Wheel; discus; sometimes a solar symbol. In Buddhism, the Cakra refers to the wheel of the law (dharmacakra) and, sometimes, to Sakyamuni Buddha's first sermon, by which he "turned the wheel of the law" into motion. In Hinduism, the cakra is a symbol, and weapon, of Visnu.

CANDRASALA. (Indian). A Moon-chamber; the rounded opening at the end of a barrel-vaulted hall. Its shape is used as a repeating decorative motif in South Asian religious architecture.
CHATTRA. (Indian). An umbrella or parasol, A symbol of royalty, protection or honour.

CHAYA STAMBHA. (Indian). "Shade-pillar"; a type of hero stone (viragal).

DAGABA. (Indian). A Singhalese form of stupa, or relic chamber.

DEUL. (Indian). The residence of the deity; the main shrine of a Hindu temple and its superstructure; the vimana. Sometimes used to refer to the temple as a whole, including its mandapas. Used especially in Orissan architectural terminology. Similar terms include devakula, devagara, devagrha, and devalaya).

DEVAKOSTHA. (Indian). A niche on the exterior of the wall of a southern-style Hindu temple containing an image of a deity or, sometimes, other figures.

DEVA-KULIKA. (Indian). A variant of devakula (see deul). Often used to refer to the small cells containing sacred images in the cloister surrounding a temple.

DHVAJA. (Indian). A standard, banner, flag, or pole. A form and symbol used universally in Indic religions.

DHVAJA STAMBHA. (Indian). A pillar, standard or flagstaff.

DRAVIDA. (Indian). One of the three major styles of Hindu architecture, also known as the Southern style.

DURGA. (Indian). A fort; obstacle difficult to access or impassable.

DVARATORANA. (Indian). An arch (torana) surrounding a doorway (dvara).

DVITALA. (Indian). A two-tiered superstructure on a southern-style Hindu temple.

GANDHAKUTI. (Indian). Fragrant hall.

GANDI. (Indian). An architectural term meaning a trunk.

GARBHAGRHA. (Indian). Womb chamber. The inner, principal compartment of a temple in which the major image or linga is placed and, as such, the container of the seed of manifestation.

GHANTA. (Indian). A bell; its transient sound is symbolic of the impermanence of existence. May be held in the hand of a deity. As an attribute of Siva, it may symbolize creation. Its sound can warn away demons and attract the attention of worshipers or the gods. In Buddhism, it can represent praja (wisdom).

GOPURAM. (Indian). The large gate-tower of a south Indian temple enclosure.

GRIVA. (Indian). Neck; an architectural term. In southern Indian style temples, the wall portion beneath the sikhara and stupi of the superstructure over the shrine. It may be square, circular, or octagonal in shape.

GUDHA MANDAPA. (Indian). The assembly hall of a temple; a term used especially in western Indian or Gujarati nomenclature.

HARMIKA. (Indian). The balcony railing of an early Buddhist stupa in India, which encloses the yasti, and signifies the palace of heaven atop the world mountain. Its use is derived from the ancient Vedic practice of enclosing a sacred tree with a fence.

JAGAMOHAN. (Indian). Orissan architectural term for a mandapa; an assembly hall; or an enclosed porch.

JAGATI. (Indian). In architecture, a terrace, a plinth, or a platform; the basement of a temple.

KALASA. (Indian). A pitcher; water pot; or ewer. Sometimes held as an attribute by a deity. In architecture, it may be the crowning emblem of a Hindu temple.

KALPALATA. (Indian). "Vine of the world period"; a wish-fulfilling vine or creeper.

KALYANA MANDAPA. (Indian). Marriage hall. In late south Indian architecture, a building or pavilion in the temple complex for the celebration of divine wedding festivals.

KIRTTIMUKHA. (Indian). A demon mask placed above doorways and niches of temples or at the top of the halo or back-slab of sculpted images. It is intended to drive away evil and protect the devout.

KOSAMBAKUTI. (Indian). Treasure hall.

KUMBHA PANJARA. (Indian). A niche decorated with a vase motif.

KUNDA. (Indian). A pitcher; a bowl-shaped vessel; a reservoir.

KUTTAMBALAM. (Indian). A theatrical pavilion in a Kerala temple.

LAT. Also LATH. (Indian). A type of monumental pillar, usually surmounted by a sculptural representation, such as lions, and associated with the Asokan period. The form is apparently derived from the columns of Achaemenid palaces.

LINGA. (Indian). Literally, a sign, sometimes interpreted as the sign or indicator of gender or sex, especially the male sex organ or phallus. In Hinduism, the linga is associated almost exclusively with Siva. Temples dedicated to Siva generally have a stone or metal linga enshrined as the main object of veneration. A linga may be set into a yoni, a symbol of the female generative organ, that serves as its pedestal, but more importantly, together, the linga and yoni symbolize the unity within duality that is central to much of Hindu thought. Sculpted lingas may be adorned with heads or faces and, occasionally, full figures.

MADANAKAI. (Indian). Kannada word for a type of bracket figure found on temples of Karnataka.

MAHADVARA. (Indian). Great door; a monumental entrance.

MAHAMANDAPA. (Indian). A large mandapa, usually with many pillars, preceding the central shrine area.

MAHASTUPA. (Indian). A great or large stupa.

MAHAVIHARA. (Indian). Great vihara, a large Buddhist monastic establishment, usually having a number of smaller monastic units.

MANDALA. (Indian). A circular diagram; a type of yantra. A Mandala can serve as the basis for the ground plan of a building, as an aid to visualization during meditation, as a magical or symbolic offering, and in other capacities. Used in all Indic religions.

MANDAPA. (Indian). The hall or porch-like area, usually pillared, in a religious structure. A mandapa may be attached to the shrine area directly, or may precede a transitional space, such as an antechamber, before the shrine, or may be completely detached from the portion of the temple that contains the shrine. It may also be entirely enclosed, partially enclosed, or open without walls.

MANDIR. (Indian). A type of temple.

MASTAKA. (Indian). The head or crowning elements of a Hindu temple tower.

MATHA. (Indian). An Indian monastery or cloister.

MEDHI. (Indian). The berm of a stupa.

MUKHA MANDAPA. (Indian). The front hall or porch of a temple.

NAGARA. (Indian). Can mean either a town, or "pertaining to the city." It is a style of temple architecture associated with northern India.

NALAMBALAM. (Indian). In Kerala, the cloister surrounding a Hindu temple complex.

NAMASKARA MANDAPA. (Indian). In Kerala, a detached mandapa preceding the main temple.

NATAMANDIR. (Indian). Hall of dance; one of the mandapas of an Orissan temple; or a nrttasabha.

NAVA-CHOKI. (Indian). A nine-compartment hall; a type of mandapa, the ceiling of which is divided into nine coffers, arranged in three rows of three.

NISA. (Indian). A niche or cavity; a niche temple.

NRTTA SABHA. (Indian). A dance-pavilion; a mandapa for dance performances and ceremonies; or a natamandir, a hall of dance.

PACAYATANA. (Indian). The five-temples (shrine, support, above, resting place). In architecture, a temple that has a central shrine surrounded by four others.

PALLIPPADAI. (Indian). In south India, a temple that serves partially as a commemorative funerary monument for a deceased royal personage but is, at the same time, also dedicated to a deity.

PACA MAKARA. (Indian). Also known as the five "m's". In Hindu Tantric practices, the enjoyment of the company of women (mudra), the drinking of wine (mada), the eating of flesh (mamsa), the eating of fish (matsya), and sexual intercourse  (maithuna). They are so called because in Sanskrit all the names of these things begin with the letter m. Some lists substitute human sacrifice, the use of the human skull as a drinking vessel, and the singing of lusty songs for some of the practices. Although the five m's are not specifically mentioned as a group in Buddhist texts, the same practices occur in Tantric Buddhism.

PANCARATHA. (Indian). "Five-ratha"; the side of a pedestal or a building that is offset so that its length is divided into five sections.

PANCAYATANA. (Indian). “Five temple shrine, support, abode or resting place”. In architecture it is a temple that has a central shrine surrounded by four others.

PARIKRAMA. (Indian). Meaning “circumambulation” or “roaming about”. The walking about in a circle about a deity or a religious structure, performed as part of religious practice. When circumambulation is performed with the object of veneration to the right of the devotee, that is to say with the devotee moving in a clockwise direction, the circumambulation is called pradaksina; when the object is to the left and the worshipper moves in a counterclockwise direction, it is called prasavya. Clockwise movement is considered to be auspicious; counterclockwise movement is inauspicious, and generally associated with death.

PARIVARALAYA. (Indian). A shrine for a parivara deity.

PARNAGHATA. (Indian). Vase-of-plenty.

PARSVA DEVATA. (Indian). A side-deity; secondary deities of an iconographic program, usually placed in subsidiary niches in a temple.

PHAMSANA. (Indian). A peaked, pyramidal roof rising from a square base.

PIDHA. (Indian). Horizontal, platform-like, divisions or courses of the superstructure over the jagamohan (mandapa) of an Orissan temple.

PISTA. (Indian). In Orissan architecture, the platform or base comprising the lower portion of a temple.

PITHA. (Indian). Seat or throne. The pedestal of an image or linga.

PRADAKSINAPATHA. (Indian). A passageway or walkway for circumambulation surrounding an image, shrine, or building. In Western literature, the term is used generically to refer to all circum-ambulatory passageways. However, since the term pradaksina implies only clockwise movement, the name may be inappropriate for some forms of circumambulation which are performed in a counterclockwise (prasavya) direction.

PRAKARA. (Indian). An enclosure wall, or the enclosure wall and the compound created by the wall in a south Indian temple: or a covered walkway that serves as an enclosure boundary in a south Indian temple.

PRASTARA. (Indian). A flat surface; a flat top; a level. In architecture, the entablature above the wall of a structure.

RANGA MANDAPA. (Indian). An assembly hall in a temple; a type of mandapa; a sabha mandapa.

RATHA. (Indian). A cart or chariot. Sometimes used to refer to the temple that serves as the "chariot" of a deity, even though this is immovable. The term also refers to the pedestal of an image or the base of a building that houses an image. In form, the pedestal or base may be off-set, in which case, the ratha is defined by the number of its sections.

REKHA. (Indian). A streak or outline. In Orissan architecture, the name for the sikhara-type temple; the curvilinear portion of a sikhara

REKHA DEUL. (Indian). A rekha-type temple.

SABHA MANDAPA. (Indian). An assembly hall in a temple; a mandapa; a ranga mandapa.
SALA. (Indian). A type of shrine or a miniature version of a shrine that is rectangular in plan and has a barrel-vaulted, or perhaps, more properly, a “barrel-shaped” roof. It may serve as the crowning element of a tower or as a decorative motif repeated on the stories of the superstructure of a south Indian-style temple, as well as in other architectural and decorative contexts. Also an enclosure or cloister.

SAMGHARAMA. (Indian). A monastery.

SANDHARA. (Indian). A type of temple characterized by an enclosed passageway for circumambulation.

SAPTARATHA. (Indian). "Seven-ratha"; the side of a pedestal or building that is offset so that its length is divided into seven sections.

SHIKHARA. (Indian).

1. In north Indian architecture, the spire or tower over the shrine of a temple.

2. In south Indian architecture, the term does not refer to the entire superstructure but only to the globular or domed roof of the uppermost element in the superstructure. It is topped by a finial known as a stupi and is supported by the griva, or neck.

SILPIN. (Indian). An architect or a crafter.

SIMHASANA. (Indian). Lion seat or throne; a throne supported by lions. Also, the sitting posture of the lion, an asana.

SIVA. (Indian). "Auspicious." One of the principal Hindu gods; god of destruction. He may appear in many forms, both peaceful and angry. His characteristic vahana is the bull Nandi; he has many attributes, but one of the most important is the trident. In temples dedicated to him, a linga is usually placed as the central votive object in the shrine rather than an anthropomorphic image of him.

SRIKOVIL. (Indian). The main shrine of a Hindu temple in Kerala.

STAMBHA. (Indian). A pillar; frequently a free-standing pillar. Also known as a lath.

STUPA. (Indian). A crest or summit. In Jainism and Buddhism, an architectural term denoting a dome-shaped or rounded structure that contains the relic of a Buddha, a great teacher, or some other honored individual, and is thus, generally considered to be a type of sepulchral monument. It may be made in a miniature or votive form, but even its smaller versions often contain relics. A stupa is a type of caitya.

STUPI. (Indian). Also known as a stupika, a pinnacle. The usually vase-shaped finial atop the superstructure of a south Indian Hindu temple.

SVASTIKA. (Indian). Of good fortune; an auspicious emblem shaped like an equal-armed cross having bent legs. It is found in the Indic regions as early as the Indus civilization.

TALA. (Indian). "Place." In architecture, a tier, especially, one of the tiers of the superstructure over the shrine in a south Indian style temple.

TIRTHA. (Indian). A holy site; a place of pilgrimage.

TORANA. (Indian). An arch; a portal; or a gateway. The heaven of thirty-three Vedic gods, situated above Mount Meru; it is presided over by Indra/Sakra. The early wooden forms, with sculpted uprights and slightly curved open scroll-type cross-pieces decorated with reliefs, influenced the forms of later stone toranas.

TRIKUTA. (Indian). "Three-hall"; a triple-shrined structure.

TRIRATHA. (Indian). "Three-ratha"; the side of a pedestal or building that is offset so that its length is divided into three sections.

VAJRASANA. (Indian). "Vajra-seat." The seat of enlightenment under the bodhi tree. Also, the seat, or altar, presently beneath the bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya is known as vajrasana. The term also refers to a throne or seat that has a vajra upon it or to padmasana, the sitting posture. Some authorities, however, contend that there are differences between the vajrasana, vajraparyankasana, and padmasana postures.

VAV. (Indian). Also wav. A step-well.

VEDI. (Indian). An altar; an altar-stand or pedestal.

VEDIKA. (Indian). A railing enclosing a sacred caitya, or a spot or object of veneration.

VESARA. (Indian). A mule or a hybrid. The name of a style of architecture believed to be associated with the Deccan region.

VIHARA. (Indian). A monastery; may be either free-standing or rock-cut.

VIMANA. (Indian). The shrine portion of a temple and its superstructure.

YASTI. (Indian). A mast rising from the crown of a stupa’s dome (anda), signifying the world-axis, extending from earth to heaven. The mast is a support for chattras, or symbolic parasols, which are usually found in groups of three in early Buddhist stupas, signifying Buddha, Dharma (the law), and Sangha (the community of monks).

YONI. (Indian). The female generative organ; the vulva. The symbol of the female principle. May serve as the pedestal or receiver of the linga enshrined in a Saivite temple. Together, the linga and yoni represent the unity within duality that is central to much Hindu thought.

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