HINDU TEMPLES
Angkor Wat Hindu temples are structures designed to bring humans and gods together. They are a houses of gods — infused with symbolism to express the ideas and beliefs of Hinduism. Temples represent all elements of Hindu cosmology. The highest spire or dome represents Mount Meru, the abode of Brahma and the center of the spiritual universe. The carvings and iconography symbolically present dharma, kama, artha, moksha, and karma. Hindu temples reflect the beliefs and values of various schools of Hinduism through ancient rituals and geometric symbolisms. The layout, motifs, plan, and building process follow these traditions. They serve as spiritual destinations, landmarks for arts, annual festivals, rite of passage rituals, and community celebrations for many Hindus (not all).[Source: Wikipedia]
Most Hindus worship over alters in their homes and at temples. Family altars are used for daily prayers. Temples are sought out for important matters or big events and occasions. Unlike Christian churches which are places to worship, Hindu temples are "artificial mountains" built as objects of worship built to enshrine the image of a chosen deity. The Upanishads described them as a place “at the heart of this phenomenal world, within all its changing forms, dwells the unchanging Lord.”
Also unlike Christian churches, temples are generally not places where worshipers come to listen to sermons. Instead they are places where people come to engage in individual worship with deities and socialize with other people that they meet there. In the old days only kings, Brahmin priests and important nobles were allowed inside temples. Even today non-Hindus are generally not allowed to enter Hindu temples.
The earliest existing examples of Indian architecture are stone Buddhist and Jain structures, some of them cut from rock caves. Temples before that were made of wood. The great period of Hindu temple building began in the A.D. 6th century. Much of the great architecture of India is Muslim rather than Hindu in origin. The Muslim Rajput maharajahs in Rajasthan and the Muslim Moguls produced great palaces and forts. Muslim influences began appearing in the 11th century. The period under the Moguls is regarded by many as the golden age of Indian architecture. The Taj Mahal is the most famous example of Mogul architecture.
Websites and Resources on Hinduism: Hinduism Today hinduismtoday.com ; India Divine indiadivine.org ; Wikipedia article Wikipedia ; Oxford center of Hindu Studies ochs.org.uk ; Hindu Website hinduwebsite.com/hinduindex ; Hindu Gallery hindugallery.com ; Encyclopædia Britannica Online article britannica.com ; International Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu/hindu ; The Hindu Religion, Swami Vivekananda (1894), .wikisource.org ; Journal of Hindu Studies, Oxford University Press academic.oup.com/jhs
Worship at a Hindu Temple
Puja Shiva, offering In regard to temple worship, at a Hindu temple, different parts of the building have a different spiritual or symbolic meaning. 1) The central shrine is the heart of the worshipper. 2) The tower represents the flight of the spirit to heaven. 3) A priest may read, or more usually recite, the Vedas to the assembled worshippers, but any "twice-born" Hindu can perform the reading of prayers and mantras. [Source: BBC]
Public temples consist of a central shrine containing images of the gods, with a surrounding courtyard and an enclosing wall entered through ornately carved towers. During worship, the images become the gods after special rituals are performed. Worshipers then offer them presents of food, clothing, and flowers as they would honored guests. The gifts are sanctified through contact with the gods, and worshipers may eat the sacred food or smear themselves with sacred ash in order to absorb the god's grace. In public temples, only consecrated priests are allowed into the sanctum housing the god's image, and worshipers hand offerings to the priests for presentation to the god. Most of the time, worship of the gods involves offerings by individuals or small family groups at home or through temple priests. During major festivals, however, hundreds or thousands of people may come together in noisy, packed crowds to worship at temples or to witness processions of the gods through public streets. [Source: Russell R. Ross and Andrea Matles Savada, Library of Congress, 1988]
Worship at the temple is generally not congregational. Instead, individuals or small groups of devotees approach the sanctum in order to obtain a vision (darshana ) of the god, say prayers, and perform devotional worship. Because the god exists in totality in the shrine, any objects that touch the image or even enter the sanctum are filled with power and, when returned to their givers, confer the grace of the divine on the human world. Only persons of requisite purity who have been specially trained are able to handle the power of the deity, and most temple sanctums are operated by priests who take the offerings from worshipers, present them directly to the image of the deity, and then return most of the gifts to the devotees for use or consumption later at home. [Source: Library of Congress ]
Hindu Architecture
Hindu architecture is the traditional Indian system for designing structures such as temples, monasteries, statues, homes, marketplaces, gardens, and town planning, as described in Hindu texts. The architectural guidelines are preserved in Sanskrit manuscripts and, in some cases, in other regional languages. These texts include the Vastu shastras, Shilpa Shastras, the Brihat Samhita, architectural portions of the Puranas and the Agamas, and regional texts such as the Manasara, among others. [Source: Wikipedia]
Antarvedi Temple in Tamil Nadu Hindu temples are the most important and numerous surviving examples of Hindu architecture. This architectural tradition has left surviving examples in stone, brick, and rock-cut architecture dating back to the Gupta Empire. The influence of Ancient Persian and Hellenistic architecture is evident. Fewer secular Hindu architectures have survived into the modern era, such as palaces, homes, and cities. Ruins and archaeological studies provide a view of early secular architecture in India.
Studies on Indian palaces and civic architectural history have primarily focused on Mughal and Indo-Islamic architecture, particularly in northern and western India due to their relative abundance. However, Hindu architecture continued to thrive in other regions of India, particularly in the South, through the 16th century. This is exemplified by the temples, ruined cities, and secular spaces of the Vijayanagara Empire and the Nayakas. In India, secular architecture was never in opposition to religious architecture. In fact, the sacred architecture found in Hindu temples was inspired by and adapted from secular architecture. According to Harle, miniature versions of secular architecture can be found in the reliefs on temple walls, pillars, toranas, and madapams.
Hindu Temple Architecture
Hindu temple architecture combines harmony and symmetry with a high degree of outer adornment. Elements are designed to have correct proportions and exert a positive influence on their surroundings. What makes the architecture as a whole so beautiful is the way the small details harmonize and mix with the massive architecture.
Hindu temples come in many styles and are adapted to different deities and regional beliefs. They can be found in diverse locations and are constructed using different methods. There are two major styles of Hindu temples: the Gopuram style found in South India and the Nagara style found in North India. Other styles include cave, forest, and mountain temples. Despite their differences, almost all Hindu temples share common architectural principles, core ideas, symbolism, and themes. [Source: Wikipedia]
Khajuraho
The basic form of the temple in India is a square cell, oriented to the four cardinal directions, containing a platform with an image of the deity in the center, a flat roof overhead, and a doorway on the east side. In front of the doorway is a porch or platform, shaded by a roof supported by pillars, where worshipers gather before and after approaching the god. At the founding of the temple, priests establish a sanctified area in the center of the shrine and, while praying and performing rituals, set up the image of the god. The deity is then said to be one with the image, which contains or manifests the power of the god on earth. Every Hindu temple in India, then, exists as the center of the universe, where the god overlooks his or her domain and aids devotees. [Source: Library of Congress ]
Hindu temple plans are based on “yantras”: diagrams of the universe. The simple ones are a circle within a square, within a rectangle, with four gates to represent the four directions of the universe. At the center of the temple is the sanctuary, where an image or symbol of the temple deity is kept. The builders of temples were believed to possess magical powers.
The possibilities for additions and decoration on this basic plan are endless. Many temples sit on top of a cruciform platform, with a tall spire called “sikharas”, or spires, the north over the sanctuary, and broad gate towers, or “gapuras”, leading into the temple grounds, in the south.
Complex temples have hallways and galleries built off the sanctuaries. They are usually set on platforms, with stairways connecting different levels. Large temples sometimes have separate buildings for meditation halls, offices and other purposes, and elaborate porches. An effort is made to make sure all the structures are balanced and in harmony as is the case with the Hindu universe.
Hindu Temple Design
Banteay Srei Temple in Cambodia An ancient architecture treatise called the “arthashashra” requires Hindu temples: 1) to be made of stone; 2) to have a pillared hall followed by tower-topped sanctum, with the hall preferably preceded by a porch; 3) to be adorned on the outside with carvings of Hindu gods and goddesses and scenes from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
At a Hindu temple, different parts of the building have a different spiritual or symbolic meaning. 1) The central shrine is the heart of the worshipper. 2) The tower represents the flight of the spirit to heaven. 3) A priest may read, or more usually recite, the Vedas to the assembled worshippers, but any "twice-born" Hindu can perform the reading of prayers and mantras. [Source: BBC]
Many temples feature one or more idols (murtis). The idol and Grabhgriya in the Brahma-pada (the center of the temple), under the main spire, serves as a focal point (darsana, a sight) in a Hindu temple. In larger temples, the central space typically is surrounded by an ambulatory for the devotee to walk around and ritually circumambulate the Purusa (Brahman), the universal essence. [Source: Wikipedia]
Hindu Temple Components
Hindu temples typically consist of a prayer hall called a “mandapa” and a sanctuary, inner sanctum, or central shrine called a “garbhargriha”. The sanctuary contains an icon of the Hindu deity the temple is dedicated to and is off limits to everyone but priests at the temple. Around the sanctuary and prayer hall is a covered space for worshipers to walk in a clockwise fashion. Above the inner sanctum is the main “sikhara”, or central tower. It is usually a dome- or pyramid-shaped tower that represents Mt. Meru. Some temples have elaborately-decorated, often brightly-colored, gateways or gate towers known as “gapuras”.
The focus of a temple is the inner sanctum, which sits on elevated platform below the central tower. It is the most sacred part of the temple and symbolizes a womb. The icon in the sanctuary can either be statue or image of the god or a symbol of the god such as a linga representing Shiva. The icon is believed to produce a force field of sacred energy. The sanctuary shrine structure typically has a roof, a niche with the temple deity, a protective monster mask and images of Brahma and one of the avatars of Vishnu. Just outside the shrine is a vestibule dedicated to the mount of the temple god. Around the central shrine are images of gods associated with the temple god or popular gods.
Within the temple are shrines dedicated to other gods. They are often arranged in a very specific order and worshipers proceed from one shrine to the next in the order that is intended by the temple builder. A shrine for Ganesh is often one of the first ones because Ganesh is the remover of obstacles. Situated around the main temples are smaller secondary shrines dedicated to other gods or avatars or consorts of the god the temple is dedicated to. There may be others inside or outside the temples.
Hindu Temples and Mt. Meru
Meru shumisen Many temples are built as microcosms of Hindu cosmology with a central tower or towers representing Mt. Meru, the five-peaked home of the Hindu gods and the center of the Hindu universe. The halls, arranged around the sanctuary in a square plan, represent the mountains on the edge of the world. The galleries, corridors and halls are aligned with directions of the compass. Temple are usually built facing east towards the rising sun which is regarded as auspicious.
The central tower representing Mt. Meru is regarded as a cosmic axis between the heaven and the earth. Elaborate temples have a central tower surrounded by other towers. These towers represent the peaks of Mount Meru and are organized in a square plan around the central dome like a lotus flower and are often adorned with stucco or carved sandstone decorations. Their conical shape is formed by a series of stepped tiers that come together to form a rounded point at the top.
Great shrines and temples often have features connected with mountains. Some are painted white to symbolize the snowcapped Himalayas. Things like domes, spires, hexagonal or octagonal towers are representations of Mt. Meru, the peaks of Mt. Meru or other mountains. In the old days many temples had moats around them, representing the infinite ocean that surrounds Mt. Meru.
Angkor Wat in Cambodia is a good example of a Hindu temple.
Hindu Architectural Features
Most temples have an outer wall with “gopuras” (gates) that represents the four directions of the universe and are considered thresholds between the universe and the outer world. The gates are usually protected by sculpted warriors and sometimes river goddesses, such as Ganga or Jumna. The main gate is on the auspicious east side. The west was considered inauspicious and associated with death. The north was linked with elephants, which are valued because of their strength. The south was neutral.
Temples in southern India are known for their large gateways and barrel-vaulted roof which surmount the sacred inner chamber and temple hall. The great Khmer temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia is inspired by this style of architecture. Temples in northern India have more gently curved towers.
Large temples usually contain many shrine-rooms and courts. The shrines usually have an altar were “prasad” (offerings) are left. Many temples have a sacred pool and tanks filled with water. Water is regarded as an important elements in making temples attractive to deities. Large temples often have a religious school.
Hindu Temple Decorations
Indian architecture is known for its highly decorative style. Their exteriors are often covered by multitudes of carved imagery, sculpted images of deities, narrative reliefs from mythology and rich decorative carvings. Panels, niches and friezes contain images of plants, of monkeys and elephants, and of men and women in all conceivable postures.
The exteriors are generally more highly decorated than the interiors which are usually relatively plain. As the worshiper moves from the outer part of the temple towards the sanctuary the amount of decorations declines. Around the sanctuary the amount of decoration is minimal so as not to take anything away or divert attention from the icon in the central shrine.
Subjects including nagas (mythical multi-headed cobras that protect sacred places), representations of Hindu gods and scenes from the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. The gods can often be identified by attributes — Vishnu with a conch and Shiva with a trident — or by the their mount — a lion for Durga or a mouse for Ganesh.
Many Hindu temples feature phallic lingams in the sanctuary and images of asparas — dancing, bare-breasted women considered the epitome of female beauty — on the walls. Some have sexually explicit images.
Some towers have rows of lotuses or lotus buds or mythical and heroic figures. The amalak is an architectural form found on the upper part of some towers. It is derived from the gourdlike myrobalan fruit.
Temple Sculptures
erotic sculptures on Khajuraho's Lakshmana Temple Vidya Dehejiam of Columbia University writes: “Architecture and sculpture are inextricably linked in India. Thus, if one speaks of Indian architecture without taking note of the lavish sculptured decoration with which monuments are covered, a partial and distorted picture is presented. In the Hindu temple, large niches in the three exterior walls of the sanctum house sculpted images that portray various aspects of the deity enshrined within. The sanctum image expresses the essence of the deity. [Source: Vidya Dehejiam Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University. Metropolitan Museum of Art]
For instance, the niches of a temple dedicated to a Vishnu may portray his incarnations; those of a temple to Shiva, his various combative feats; and those of a temple to the Great Goddess, her battles with various demons. Regional variations exist, too; in the eastern state of Orissa, for example, the niches of a temple to Shiva customarily contain images of his family-his consort, Parvati, and their sons, Ganesha, the god of overcoming obstacles, and warlike Skanda.
The exterior of the halls and porch are also covered with figural sculpture. A series of niches highlight events from the mythology of the enshrined deity, and frequently a place is set aside for a variety of other gods. In addition, temple walls feature repeated banks of scroll-like foliage, images of women, and loving couples known as mithunas. Signifying growth, abundance, and prosperity, they were considered auspicious motifs.
Hindu Temples as Objects of Worship
Steven M. Kossak and Edith W. Watts from The Metropolitan Museum of Art wrote: “Hindu temples are themselves objects of worship. Their typical form emulates the cosmic mountain that is the abode of the deity honored and housed in the temple. As the devotee circles the temple exterior in the proscribed direction, he or she worships the various gods portrayed on the walls, particularly the deity honored within. These images are arranged to aid the viewer on the path to spiritual release. Worship is usually individual rather than congregational, and only at times of religious festivals do crowds throng the temple compounds. A porch and gathering chamber lead to the inner sanc- tum, which lies beneath the central tower of the temple and contains the image of the main deity, usually made of stone. [Source: Steven M. Kossak and Edith W. Watts, The Art of South, and Southeast Asia, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]
“Hindu worship has several distinctive features. Merit gathered through sight is called darshan. Viewing a temple itself accrues merit to the pilgrim who comes to see the god and makes offerings in the hope of receiving divine blessings. Hindus believe that the image of a god contains the actual living god, and that the god can see the devotee and thus bestow blessings upon him or her. Consequently, the eyes of the image are open. The consecration of a deity image includes a ritual to fill the figure with the breath of life (prana), followed by the “opening of the eyes” ceremony, in which the carving or painting of the eyes is finished and the eyes are opened with a ritual implement. Puja, the offering ritual before the image of a god, involves the other four senses as well. Through the intermediary of a priest, worshippers present flowers, food, and pour libations of water and milk over the image as they ask for its blessings. Mantras are chanted and bells rung.
“In South India, copper statues of deities were worshipped both inside and outside the temple. They were equipped with rings and carrying bases so they could be carried in processions on festival days. Like a living king, they could view and be viewed by their followers. Within the temple, statues of deities were bathed, fed, clothed, and entertained by singing and dancing. Whether in a temple or a home, daily acts of devotion include waking the image in the morning, washing, dressing, and feeding it. The image is honored as a guest would be. In this way, the devo- tee develops a close and loving relationship with his or her god. Seeing the image of a god in a Hindu temple is a very different experience from viewing sculpture in a museum gallery: although sculptural figures of the gods are depicted with luxurious jewels and diaphanous garments that fall in delicate folds, in daily pujas they are covered with real clothing and garlands of flowers, and the carved details of the sculpture would be seen only by the priests.”
On Chakkulathukavu Shree Bhagavathy Amman Temple, an important Kerala temple, and its famous idol, the utsavar deity of Goddess Sree Bhagavathy The Pioneer reported: “The Temple is dedicated to Goddess Durga who is worshipped and fondly referred to as Chakkulathamma or Amma by her devotees. This Temple is well known around the world because of the many miraculous happenings here and the Temple is today a popular pilgrim centre in India. The main attraction of this Temple is the cooking and offering of “Pongala” to the Goddess by devotees who wish to wash away their grief, problems, confusion, etc.” [Source: The Pioneer, September 3, 2010]
Hindu Temple Customs
priest offers flowers to the goddess Saraswati
Non-Hindus are not allowed to enter some temples or some parts (particularly the inner sanctum) of temples. Sometimes there are signs indicating where non-Hindus are not allowed. Sometimes there are not. People should avoid entering a temple with items made from leather since cows are regarded as sacred. Women are not supposed to enter Hindu temples when the are menstruating. Some temples have two doors. One is for menstruating women and people from lower castes. The other is for ordinary Hindus.
Hindu temples that allow non-Hindus generally require visitors to remove their shoes and headwear. Short pants and skirts are often regarded as inappropriate dress. Men wearing shorts are sometimes given a sarong or robe at the entrance. Women should have their knees and arms covered. It is important to step over the threshold not on it when entering a temple. When moving around inside a temple or outside always move in a clockwise circular direction, with your right side facing the venerated object. To walk in a counterclockwise direction is regarded as inauspicious and disrespectful to the temple god.
Visitors to temples are sometimes offered a pieces of coconut or banana. It is considered a great honor to be offered these things. One should take it and eat it. It is considered sacrilegious to refuse. If you are worried about eating it for health reasons give it to someone else. Don't throw it away. If someone puts a thread bracelet around you arm, you are expected to give them a few rupees.
India’s temples feed millions of people every day. They are among the world’s largest food buyers. Many have their own agricultural land. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams temple in Madras spends $70 million a year to provide free meals. Sikh temples also provide lots of free meals.
As is true with mosques, Hindu temples use crackling loud speakers to blare chants and prayers. The Hindu equivalent of a muezzin is mandira, which is a form of chanting blasted out of loudspeakers at 5:00am.
Temple Rituals, See Rituals
Merits of Building a Temple
On The Merits of Building a Temple, the Agni-purana,' XXXVIII, 1-50 reads: “Agni said: I will now describe the fruits of making temples for the residence of Vasudeva and other deities. He who attempts to erect temples for gods is freed from the sins of a thousand births. Those who think of building a temple in their minds are freed from the sins of a hundred births. Those who approve of a man's building a temple for Krishna go to the region of Acyuta [Vishnu] freed from sins. Having desired to build a temple for Hari, a man immediately takes a million of his generations, past and future, to the region of Vishnu. The departed manes of the person who builds a temple for Krishna live in the region of Vishnu, well adorned and freed from the sufferings of hell. [Source: Manmatha Nath Dutt, A Prose English Translation of Agni Puranam, vol. I,(Calcutta, 1903), PP. 142-6; adapted by M. Eliade,Eliade Page website]
“The construction of a temple for a deity dissipates even the sin of Brahmanicide. By building a temple one reaps the fruit which he does not even gain by celebrating a sacrifice. By building a temple one acquires the fruits of bathing at all the sacred shrines. The construction of a temple, which gives heaven, by a religious or an irreligious man, yields the fruit reaped by persons slain in a battle undertaken on behalf of the celestials. By making one temple one goes to heaven; by making three one goes to the region of Brahma; by making five one goes to the region of Shambhu; by making eight one goes to the region of Hari. By making sixteen one attains all objects of enjoyment and emancipation. A poor man, by building the smallest temple, reaps the same benefit which a rich man does by building the biggest temple for Vishnu. Having acquired wealth and built a temple with a small portion of it, a person acquires piety and gains favours from Hari. By making a temple with a lakh of rupees, or a thousand, or a hundred, or fifty, a man goes where the Garuda-emblemed deity resides. He who in his childhood even sportively makes a temple of Vasudeva with sand, goes to his region. He who builds temples of Vishnu at sacred places, shrines, and hermitages, reaps three-fold fruits. Those who decorate the temple of Vishnu with scents, flowers, and sacred mud, go to the city of the Lord. Having erected a temple for Hari, a man, either fallen, about to fall, or half-fallen, reaps twofold fruits. He who brings about the fall of a man is the protector of one fallen. By making a temple for Vishnu one attains to his region. As long as the collection of bricks of Hari's temple exists, the founder of his family lives gloriously in the region of Vishnu. He becomes pious and adorable both in this world and in the next.
“He who builds a temple for Krishna, the son of Vasudeva, is born as a man of good deeds and his family is purified. He who builds temples for Vishnu, Rudra, the sun-god, and other deities, acquires fame. What is the use to him of wealth which is hoarded by ignorant men? Useless is the acquisition of riches to one who does not have a temple built with hard earned money for Krishna, or whose wealth is not enjoyed by the Pitris, Brahmanas, celestials, and friends. As death is certain for men, so is his destruction. The man who does not spend his money for his enjoyment or in charities and keeps it hoarded is stupid and is fettered even when alive. What is the merit of him who, obtaining riches either by an accident or manliness, does not spend it for a glorious work or for religion? [What is the merit of him] who, having given away his wealth to the leading twice-born, makes his gift circulated, or speaks of more than he gives away in charities? Therefore, a wise man should have temples built for Vishnu and other deities. Having entered the region of Hari, he acquires reverential faith in Narottama [Vishnu]. He pervades all the three worlds containing the mobile and the immobile, the past, future, and present, gross, subtle, and all inferior objects. From Brahma to a pillar everything has originated from Vishnu. Having obtained entrance into the region of the Great Soul, Vishnu, the omnipresent god of gods, a man is not born again on earth.
Madurai Temple at Meenakshi Sundareshwarar
“By building temples for other gods, a man reaps the same fruit which he does by building one for Vishnu. By building temples for Shiva, Brahma, the sun, Candi, and Lakshmi-, one acquires religious merit. Greater merit is acquired by installing images. In the sacrifice attendant upon the setting up of an idol there is no end of fruits. One made of wood gives greater merit than one made of clay; one made of bricks yields more than a wooden one. One made of stone yields more than one made of bricks. Images made of gold and other metals yield the greatest religious merit. Sins accumulated in seven births are dissipated even at the very commencement. One building a temple goes to heaven; he never goes to hell. Having saved one hundred of his family, he takes them to the region of Vishnu. Yama said to his emissaries: 'Do not bring to hell persons who have built temples and adored idols. Bring those to my view who have not built temples. Range thus rightly and follow my commands.
“'Persons can never disregard your commands, except those who are under the protection of the endless father of the universe. You should always pass over those persons who have their minds fixed on the Lord. They are not to live here. You should avoid from a distance those who adore Vishnu. Those who sing the glories of Govinda and those who worship Janardana [Vishnu or Krishna] with daily and occasional rites should be shunned by you from a distance. Those who attain to that station should not even be looked at by you. The persons who adore Him with flowers, incense, raiment, and favourite ornaments should not be marked by you. They go to the region of Krishna. Those who smear the body [of Vishnu] with unguents, who sprinkle his body, should be left in the abode of Krishna. Even a son or any other member born in the family of one who has built a temple of Vishnu should not be touched by you. Hundreds of persons who have built temples of Vishnu with wood or stone should not be looked at by you with an evil mind.'
By building a golden temple one is freed from all sins. He who has built a temple for Vishnu reaps the great fruit which one gains by celebrating sacrifices every day. By building a temple for the Lord he takes his family, a hundred generations past and a hundred to come, to the region of Acyuta. Vishnu is identical with the seven worlds. He who builds a temple for him saves the endless worlds and himself attains immortality. As long as the bricks will last, the maker [of the temple] will live for so many thousands of years in heaven. The maker of the idol attains the region of Vishnu and he who consecrates the installation of the same is immersed in Hari. The person who builds a temple and an image, as well as he who consecrates them, come before him.”
Patronage and Politics and Temples
Since the sixth century, after the decline of Buddhism as the main focus of religious patronage, temples have been accumulating generous donations from kings, nobles, and the wealthy. The result is a huge number of shrines throughout the country, many of which, especially in South India, date back hundreds of years. The statuary and embellishment in some of the ancient shrines constitute one of the world's greatest artistic heritages. The layout of major temples has expanded into gigantic architectural complexes. [Source: Library of Congress *]
Angkor Wat
Along with architectural elaboration has come a complex administrative system to manage the many gifts bestowed by wealthy donors in the past and continually replenished by the piety of devotees in the present. The gods are legal landholders and command substantial investment portfolios throughout the country. The management of these fortunes in many states lies in the hands of private religious endowments, although in some states, such as Tamil Nadu, the state government manages most of the temples directly. Struggles over the control of temple administration have clogged the courts for several hundred years, and the news media readily report on the drama of these battles. Several cases have had an impact on religious, or communal, affairs. The most spectacular case involved ownership of a site in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, claimed by Hindus as the site of Ram's birth but taken over by Muslims as the site for a mosque, the Babri Masjid, built in 1528. After much posturing by the conservative Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP — Indian People's Party) and its nationalist parent organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS — National Volunteer Organisation), matters came to a head in December 1992. Some 200,000 militant Hindus, under the direction of RSS marshals, descended on Ayodhya, razing the Babri Masjid to the ground on December 6, 1992. Reprisals and communal violence occurred throughout India and in neighboring Pakistan and Bangladesh. *
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “Encyclopedia of the World’s Religions” edited by R.C. Zaehner (Barnes & Noble Books, 1959); “Encyclopedia of the World Cultures: Volume 3 South Asia “ edited by David Levinson (G.K. Hall & Company, New York, 1994); “The Creators” by Daniel Boorstin; “A Guide to Angkor: an Introduction to the Temples” by Dawn Rooney (Asia Book) for Information on temples and architecture. National Geographic, the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Times of London, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.
Last updated December 2023