Informative

Temple: The Ancient Map of the Body

The human body is a temple of the soul. Who hasn’t heard this line lately? This is one of the most frequently overused lines, which lost its significance over time. But do you know that the human body has inspired our temple architecture?

Let’s take an example of Mundeshwari temple, built-in 108 AD, which is the oldest and still functioning temple in India, where, for the last 1912 years, the Puja rituals are being performed. Long before that, Indian temple architecture has been flourishing on the banks of the river Saraswati. In this blog, we will try to understand the interconnection between the human body and the temple.

The site

The ancient architectural scriptures like Nava Shastra, Agni Purana, and Dhruvadi Shodasa describe how to choose the temple site. The site should be near crystal clear water, where lotuses bloom, just like seekers’ minds, where love and kindness bloom, just like the seekers’ hearts. 

Furthermore, texts describe the site as the confluence of two rivers, just like a seeker where mental and physical health meet each other.

The river, or a lake, where a temple is to be constructed, must have crystal clear water, much like a seeker’s mind having clarity in his thoughts and deeds of good Karma reflecting in each of his actions.

The bank of the lake or a river, where swans and other birds are heard, where herbivores and carnivores rest, without fear of death, is considered the most auspicious location for a temple. Ancient texts say that these are the places where Gods come to play, much like a calm mind of a seeker, being free from doubts, fears, and disputes.

The Builders

Manaspuja is considered the highest form of devotion in Hinduism. It involves all the rituals and procedures that you usually carry out in the temples but performing them in your mind. This form of worship requires the highest quality of devotion, concentration, and imagination. Creating an actual temple as per the vision is much harder than that.

Did you know that even though being famous for the erotic sculptures, the builders, sculptures, and architects of the Khajuraho temples were celibate for years? They did this so as to give their total dedication towards their work. Each stroke of a chisel, each stroke of the paintbrush was like a breath seeker takes in, to be accounted for the spiritual journey’s progress.

Tantra never asks to give up on worldly pleasures. At the same time, it is well-known that unless your focus is intense and one-pointed, the chances of progress or the progress itself will naturally be prolonged because you are thinking in many directions simultaneously. The builders of the legendary temples of Ellora, Khajuraho, Konark, Brihadeshwara, or Halebeedu had the same (Bhav) emotions, combined with the mind, willpower, and Karma, while creating these masterpieces on earth.

Chakras and temple

As a soul resides in our body, a deity resides in the temple. Many of us are unaware of the direct relation of the temples’ main aspects and the seven chakras of the body. As you walk through the temple entrance, you find yourself in front of a flag pole (Dhwaja Stambha). This flag pole has a direct relation with the Muladhara Chakra. A flag on the pole denotes the deity’s presence in the temple, same as the awakening of the Muladhara chakra denotes life, underlining the basic survival needs of the seeker.

Balee Peetham, or the sacrificial place, is related to the Sacral or Swadhishthan Chakra. As Sacral chakra activation yields control over sexuality and pleasure, the notion here is, a seeker must command his affinity to seek pleasures, to proceed further in spirituality.

A narrow corridor connecting the rest of the temple to the actual temple correlates with the Manipura or the Navel Chakra. Like an umbilical cord, connecting the fetus to its mother for nourishment and energy, this narrow passage connects the temple’s physical and spiritual structures.

As we cross the narrow corridor, we enter into the most spacious structure of the temple called Mantapa. It is often compared with the Anahata or Heart Chakra, related to the element – Vayu (air). The scriptures state that the lung portion of the Vastu should be airy, and hence, the Mantapa place is often open from all directions, allowing the circulation of air. As the seeker activates and balances his heart chakra, he begins to love everyone unconditionally, making space for more and more people in his heart. The open space called Mantapa carries the same notion.

Again, as you walk further, you come across a narrow space beyond which lies a sanctum sanctorum. You must have often seen preachers sitting there, chanting the mantras in the high pitch, filling the entire temple space with the auspicious vibrations. This place correlates with the Kanth or Throat chakra in the human body. Activation and control over a throat chakra denote the power of self-expression of the feelings and the truth. As you chant the mantra through your throat chakra, it echoes into your subconscious, connecting you with the divine.

There is a fascinating aspect regarding Indian temples. It doesn’t matter how grandeur or how ornate the temple walls are; the temple’s sanctum sanctorum will always be a small space with just an idol of the deity, with bare walls surrounding it. It represents the emptiness of the mind, only focusing on the deity. As the seeker activates his Agya or third eye chakra, he gets the intuition, the sense of purpose, and direction in life, to concentrate on the deity within.

The Sanctorum tower represents the crown chakra, an initiation to higher intuition, self-knowledge, and inspiration. As the tall temple tower touches the sky, the seeker, with his higher consciousness, tries to reach his Ishta, constructing a bridge in between him and his beloved divine.

Sanctum Santorum has a beautiful word in Sanskrit as Garbhagriha. Translated, the word means a Womb Chamber, from where the universe was born. 

If you compare a three-dimensional model of the Shri Yantra, the center point, representing the Divine Mother Lalita Tripurasundari, looks exactly the same as the tower or Shikhara of the temple. Sadhak of Shri Yantra has to cross several dimensions and diagrammatic representations of the divine geometry to reach the center point, representing the universe’s sole creative principle. 

Similarly, a devotee who seeks an audience with the god has to cross entrances, gates, courtyards, and several corridors to submit himself to his Lord. His Lord is waiting for him in the sanctum sanctorum, the heart of the temple, representing a cosmic point from which the entire universe has been created.  

Tantra is not just a textbook of rituals. It’s a lifestyle, engulfing every aspect of life, temple architecture being one of them. We hope this article has helped you understand the intricacy between the Tantric concepts and their representation in Indian temple architecture.

Next time, when you will pay a visit to the temple, don’t just rush yourself into the sanctum sanctorum. Take your time, concentrating and meditation on each temple’s architectural aspect, understanding what it represents. It will be like chanting a mantra but with a precise understanding.

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