Prāsāda-Lakshaṇa: Temple Architecture in the Purāṇas

Prāsāda-Lakshaṇa · prāsāda-lakshaṇa, “the marks of a temple”

In Sanātana Dharma a temple is not just a house for the deity. It is seen as the deity’s own body on the scale of the universe. Prāsāda means a temple, and prāsāda-lakshaṇa means the marks or rules of a temple. Two major Purāṇas teach this sacred architecture in an ordered way.

The Bhavishya Purāṇa also teaches it: in the Brahma Parva Nārada Maharshi teaches Sāmba how a temple of Bhagavān Sūrya is sited, measured, tested and laid out, and in the Madhyama Parva Sūta gives the measures of a prāsāda, the testing of the land and the rules of building. The Agni Purāṇa gives a full Āgamic system (following the Āgamas, the texts on temple worship). It covers the choice of site, the system of proportions, 45 types of prāsāda, the measuring of sacred images and the rites of installation. The Matsya Purāṇa, in Chapters 268 and 269, gives a parallel but separate list of 20 types of prāsāda in the Nāgara (northern) style, and 27 types of maṇḍapa (pillared hall) arranged by their number of pillars. It also gives two ways of measuring, based on the size of the liṅga or the size of the garbhālaya (the inner shrine), and teaches that the temple is the body of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

In the Agni Purāṇa the teaching runs from the first wish to build to the raising of the flag on the finished temple. Agni Deva first tells the phala of building a temple and Yama‘s command to his dūtas to spare temple builders (Chapter 38). Then Bhagavān Hayagrīva teaches Brahmā: where temples stand and how the ground is taken (Chapter 39), the vāstu-purusha and the offerings to the deities of the sixty-four squares (Chapter 40), the laying of the foundation stones with the nine kalaśas and the garbhādhāna (Chapter 41), the proportions of the temple, its doorway and the avatāra-mūrtis around a Vishṇu temple (Chapter 42), the deities of the shrines and the stone for the image (Chapter 43), the measures of the image and its pedestal (Chapters 44–45), the pratishṭhā maṇḍapa (Chapter 56), the installing of the image, the door, the temple kalaśa and the Garuḍa-dhvaja (Chapters 60–61) and the halls for the devatās (Chapter 65). Last, Parameśvara, Bhagavān Śiva, teaches Skanda the installing of the liṅga (Chapter 97), the giving of life to the temple through a kalaśa (Chapter 101), the śūla and dhvaja on the śikhara (Chapter 102), the restoring of ruined temples (Chapter 103), the forty-five prāsādas that spring from the five prāsādas on the peak of Meru (Chapter 104), the vāstu of temple grounds and cities (Chapters 105–106), and the glory of temples (Chapter 327). In Chapter 61 Hayagrīva declares that the prāsāda is the very form of Vāsudeva: the door is its mouth, the śukanāsā its nose, the kalaśa its hair-knot and the image its jīvātmā, and Mahāvishṇu himself stands in the form of the temple.

The Agni Purāṇa’s Teaching

The Agni Purāṇa treats prāsāda-vidyā, the science of temple building, over several chapters (38–45 and 56). It explains the merit of building a temple, choosing the site, the system of proportions, the types of temples, the rules for measuring images, and the installation of the lesser deities. The whole science is told by Hayagrīva, the horse-headed form of Bhagavān Vishṇu, to Brahmā.

Agni Deva opens the teaching in Chapter 38, speaking to a muni, and closes it by saying that Hayagrīva described to Brahmā in full the rite of temples and their pratishṭhā. From Chapter 39 to Chapter 65 Hayagrīva speaks. In Chapters 97 to 106 and in Chapter 327 the teacher is Parameśvara, Bhagavān Śiva, and the listener is Skanda, whom he calls Mayūradhvaja, “he of the peacock banner”, and Kārtikeya. In the list of its own subjects (Chapter 383), the Agni Purāṇa names pratimā-lakshaṇa and prāsāda-lakshaṇa among the things it teaches, with the Vaishṇava āgama, pūjā, dīkshā and pratishṭhā. Its word-list (Chapter 363) gives the meaning of prāsāda as the dwelling of the devatās and of kings.

The Merit of Building a Temple (Chapter 38)

Chapter 38 opens with a step-by-step list of the spiritual merit gained by building a temple for Vāsudeva and the other devas.

Even a mere wish (saṅkalpa) to build a temple destroys the pāpa (wrongdoing and its effects) of thousands of births. One who pictures building a temple in the mind also has the pāpa of many lifetimes removed. One who simply approves of someone else building a temple is freed of all pāpa and reaches Vishṇuloka, the realm of Vishṇu.

One who builds a temple for Vishṇu purifies a thousand generations of ancestors before him and a thousand generations after him. For one who builds a temple for Kṛshṇa, the ancestors are freed at once from naraka and placed in divine bliss in Vishṇuloka. Building a temple removes even brahmahatyā (the killing of a brāhmaṇa). It gives the fruit of bathing at every tīrtha (holy place) and of every yajña (sacrificial worship).

The merit rises with the number of shrine-rooms:

The three grades of Vishṇu temples, kanishṭha (small), madhyama (middle) and śreshṭha (best), give svargaloka, Vishṇuloka and moksha in that order. Even a poor man who builds a modest temple with very little receives greater puṇya (merit), in keeping with his devotion and sacrifice.

Agni Deva gives the merit in full. The auspicious resolve “I shall build temples and tanks” destroys the pāpa of thousands of births. Temple building gives even the fruits that a yajña does not give. The builder receives the fruit of a hero who gives up his life on the battlefield to protect the devatās and brāhmaṇas. Even one who, out of miserliness, has a temple built of earth attains svarga or a divine loka. The fruit a rich man gains by a Vishṇu temple of the best grade, a poor man gains by one of the lowest grade, and a bhakta who spends even a small part of what he has earned on a temple gains great puṇya and the grace of Bhagavān Vishṇu. One who builds a Vishṇu temple spending a lakh, a thousand, a hundred or even half of that in coins reaches the loka of Śrī Mahāvishṇu, and children who build a Vishṇu temple of earth in play also reach Vishṇuloka. A Vishṇu temple built at a tīrtha, a holy place, a siddha-kshetra or an āśrama gives three times the fruit. Those who whitewash a Vishṇu temple, or paint bandhūka flowers on it, reach Vishṇuloka.

One who restores (jīrṇoddhāra) a temple that has fallen, is falling or is half fallen gains twice the fruit of one who builds a new one; one who rebuilds and protects a fallen Vishṇu temple is the very form of Bhagavān Vishṇu. As long as the bricks of the temple remain, so long its builder stays in Vishṇuloka with his kula (family); he alone is worthy of honour in this world and the next.

On wealth, Agni Deva teaches that one who builds temples for Vishṇu, Śiva, Sūrya, the Devī and the others gains fame in this world, and asks what use wealth is to one who only guards it and does not spend it on a temple for Śrī Kṛshṇa. Wealth not spent for the pitṛs, the brāhmaṇas and the devatās, nor on relatives, dāna, bhoga, dharma or fame, is wasted; so wealth gained by the fruit of past births, by one’s own effort or by any other means should be given to worthy brāhmaṇas and used for lasting fame. Temple building is higher even than dāna and fame. When a man of bhakti builds a temple and installs a devatā in it, he has built a dwelling for the three worlds with all that moves and does not move. The whole universe, from Brahmā down to a blade of grass, is born from Mahāvishṇu alone, and one who builds a temple for that all-pervading Devādhideva is not born again in saṃsāra. Those who build temples for Śiva, Brahmā, Sūrya, Gaṇeśa, Durgā, Lakshmī and the other devatās gain the same fruit as those who build a Vishṇu temple.

Those who have a pratimā (mūrti) of a devatā made gain more fruit than those who build a temple, and the fruit of installing a pratimā is endless. A pratimā of earth is good, of wood better, of brick better still, of stone better again, and one of gold and other metals is the best. Merely beginning a temple destroys the pāpa of seven births: the builder does not go to naraka, and sends a hundred generations of his vaṃśa (lineage) to Vishṇuloka.

Yama’s Command to His Dūtas (Chapter 38)

Agni Deva ends the chapter with the command that Yamadharmarāja gave his dūtas (messengers) about temple builders:

• “Do not bring to naraka those who have made a pratimā of a devatā or have worshipped it. Bring only those who have not built temples and the like.”
• “Leave alone those who have taken refuge in Ananta, the father of the world. There is no dwelling for them in my loka.”
• “Leave alone the great bhaktas who have fixed their minds on Bhagavān Vishṇu and taken refuge in him, and those who always worship Vishṇu. Do not go near those who remember the name of Śrī Kṛshṇa at all times, when sleeping or walking.”
• “Do not even raise your eyes towards those who worship Janārdana through their daily and occasional duties; they reach Bhagavān Vishṇu himself. Do not go near the tracks of those who worship Bhagavān Vishṇu with flowers, dhūpa (incense), cloth and adornments; they have reached Śrī Kṛshṇa.”
• “Leave alone the sons and descendants of those who smear the temple floor and draw rangoli.”
• “For a hundred generations in the vaṃśa of one who built a Vishṇu temple, none of you may look on anyone with ill intent.”
• “One who has built a temple for Vishṇu of wood, of earth or of stone is freed of all pāpa, and gets the very fruit of one who performs yajñas daily. He sends the hundred of his vaṃśa before him and the hundred to come to Vishṇuloka. Mahāvishṇu is made of the seven lokas; one who builds a temple for him carries his vaṃśa across and attains the imperishable lokas.”
• “For as many years as the brickwork of the temple lasts, for so many thousands of years the builder stays in Svargaloka.”
• “One who makes a pratimā of Bhagavān Vishṇu reaches Vishṇuloka. One who installs it merges into Bhagavān Vishṇu. One who builds a temple and installs a pratimā in it dwells for ever in Vishṇuloka.”

By this command of Yamadharmarāja, says Agni Deva, the Yamadūtas do not take to Yamaloka those who have done such puṇya acts as installing Vishṇu.

Choosing the Site: Bhūparīkshā (Chapter 39)

Before building begins, the Agni Purāṇa calls for a test of the soil (bhūparīkshā). The colour of the soil is matched to the varṇa (social class) of the main worshippers:

• White soil: best for pūjā by brāhmaṇas
• Red soil: for kshatriyas
• Yellow or greenish soil: for vaiśyas
• Black soil: for śūdras

In the digging test (khāta-parīkshā), a pit is dug and then filled back with the same soil. If the refilled earth is level with the rim or heaped above it, the site is excellent. If the earth does not fill the pit and it stays sunken, the site is inauspicious. Land that slopes towards the east or north is preferred. Land that slopes south or west must be purified or avoided. Faults in the land, such as bones, charcoal, ant-hills and similar impurities, are put right through set śodhana (cleansing) rites before building may begin.

Hayagrīva opens Chapter 39 by telling Brahmā of the pratishṭhā of Vishṇu and the other devatās. The ṛshis spread in the human world the Pañcarātra teachings that Hayagrīva himself had given. They are the twenty-five tantras, of which the text names: Ādi-Hayaśīrsha, Trailokyamohana, Vaibhava, Paushkara, Prahlāda, Gārgya, Gālava, Nāradīya, Śrīpraśna, Śāṇḍilya, Īśvara, Satya, Śaunaka, the Jñānasāgara spoken by Vasishṭha, Svāyambhuva, Kāpila, Tārkshya (Gāruḍa), Nārāyaṇīya, Ātreya, Nārasiṃha, Ānanda, Baudhāyana, Ashṭāṅga and Viśva. By these tantras, a dvija born in Madhyadeśa and similar lands should perform the pratishṭhā of mūrtis, and not one born in Kaccha, on the banks of the Kāverī, in Koṅkaṇa, Kāmarūpa, Kaliṅga, Kāñcī or Kāśmīra. The five mahābhūtas, ākāśa, vāyu, tejas, jala and pṛthivī, are themselves the pañcarātras. The deśika, the teacher who performs the rite, is one who holds the bhāvanā “I am the Parabrahman freed from pāpa, I am Vishṇu”; even without any outward mark or dress, he is an ācārya who knows the tantra.

Where temples stand. The mūrti is installed facing the town, never with its back to the town. Temples should be built at tīrthas such as Kurukshetra and Gayā, or near a river. In a town the best places are:

A wise man must never make an existing temple smaller, nor build in its place one that is smaller, equal or deformed. When building a temple near another, he leaves a space twice the combined height of the two and builds beyond it, so that neither temple is harmed.

Taking the ground (bhū-parigraha). After the ground is purified it is taken in possession. Bhūta-bali (offering to the bhūtas) is given up to the boundary of the prākāra with māsha (black gram), turmeric, lājā (puffed grain), curd and saktu (barley flour). Reciting the ashṭākshara mantra, one scatters saktu in the eight directions, saying: “May the rākshasas, piśācas and others who live in this place go away from here. I am about to build a temple of Mahāvishṇu here.” Then the ground is ploughed and cows are made to walk over it.

The table of measures. Eight paramāṇus make a ratharēṇu; eight ratharēṇus a trasareṇu; eight trasareṇus a vālāgra (hair-tip); eight vālāgras a likshā; eight likshās the next unit; eight of these a yavamadhya; eight yavas an aṅgula; twenty-four aṅgulas a kara (hand); and twenty-eight aṅgulas a padmahasta.

The Vāstu-Purusha and the Rite Before Building (Chapter 40)

In the past there was a great being, terrifying to all creatures, whom the devatās buried in the earth. He is the vāstu-purusha. On the field of sixty-four padas (squares) the deities of the padas are satisfied with offerings, each in its place:

Outside them, Carakī receives meat and ghee; Kumārasvāmī pulaga and blood; Vidārī red lotuses; Kandarpa a fruit and cooked rice; Pūtanā fruit and bile; Jambhaka meat and blood; Pāparākshasa bile, blood and bones; Pilipitsa garlands and blood; and the dikpālas beginning with Īśāna blood and meat. Where any of these cannot be had, akshata is offered. Bali is also given to rākshasas, mātṛkās, gaṇas, piśācas, pitṛs, kshetrapālas and others.

No prāsāda may be built without first satisfying these deities with vāstu-homa and bali. At the Brahma-sthāna, the central place, Śrīhari, Lakshmī and the gaṇa-devatās are worshipped; then the Bhūmi, the vāstu-purusha and the kalaśas with their vardhanī, with Brahmā and the dikpālas worshipped in the middle of the kalaśa. Svastivācana is recited and the pūrṇāhuti is offered. The master of the house, holding a water vessel with holes in it, turns the stream along the line of the cord in clockwise circles; along the same path seven seeds are sown and the digging is begun. In the middle a pit one hasta wide and four aṅgulas deep is dug and smeared. Meditating on four-armed Śrī Mahāvishṇu, one offers arghya with a kalaśa, fills the pit with water and white flowers, and then with seeds and earth. The ācārya receives a cow and cloth; the jyotishka (astrologer) and the sthapati (master builder) are honoured, and Vishṇu-bhaktas and Sūrya are worshipped.

The ground is then dug until water appears. Śalyas (bones) below the depth of a man bring no fault; within that depth, the walls will crack and the master of the house will have no happiness. Whatever animal’s name is heard while digging, the bone of that animal is to be known as lying there.

Laying the Foundation (Chapter 41)

Hayagrīva calls the laying of the stones the pāda-pratishṭhā, the consecration of the foundation. A maṇḍapa is built with four kuṇḍas (pits), the seats for placing the jars, the bricks, the door and the pillars. Each kuṇḍa is three-quarters filled with gravel and levelled, and the vāstu-devatās are worshipped on it. The bricks must be well fired, twelve aṅgulas long and four thick; for a stone temple, stones one hasta long are laid instead. Nine kalaśas of copper or clay are filled with water, all herbs, sandal water, gold and grains. The stones and bricks are wetted with their water while reciting the three ṛks beginning Āpo hi shṭhā, Śaṃ no devīr abhishṭaye, Taratsamandaḥ, the Pāvamānī ṛks, Ud uttamaṃ varuṇa, Kayā naḥ, Varuṇasyottambhanam asi, Haṃsaḥ śucishat and the Śrīsūkta.

Inside the maṇḍapa, on a śayyā (bed) in the eastern maṇḍala, Śrī Mahāvishṇu is worshipped. In fire made by churning the araṇi, samidhs are offered with the twelve-syllable mantra, the āghāra and ājyabhāga oblations with the praṇava, eight āhutis with the ashṭākshara mantra, and oblations with the three vyāhṛtis to Agni, to Soma and to Śrī Mahāvishṇu; then the prāyaścitta-homa and the pūrṇāhuti of māsha, ghee and sesame.

The ācārya, facing east, installs the devatās on the kalaśas of the eight directions: Padma, Mahāpadma, Makara, Kacchapa, Kumuda, Ānanda, Padma and Śaṅkha, and Padminī on the central kalaśa with a śilā (stone). These kalaśas must not be moved. Beside them, from the east round to the north-east, a brick is laid at each, and on the bricks the śaktis beginning with Vimalā are installed, with Anugrahā in the middle. Then he prays: “O Ishṭakā Devī, daughter of Aṅgiras, the best of munis! Not one of your limbs is broken or deformed. Now I install you.”

In the middle he performs the garbhādhāna, the placing of the sacred deposit. On a kalaśa Śrī Mahāvishṇu and Śrī Mahālakshmī are installed, with earth, flowers, minerals and gems beside them, and agra-pūjā is done in the garbha-pātra, a vessel twelve aṅgulas across and four high. Pṛthivī is worshipped in a lotus-shaped copper vessel with this prayer: “O Bhūdevī, ruler of all beings, shining on a seat of mountains, girdled by the oceans, take the garbha. O Nandā, daughter of Vasishṭha, make me joyful. O Jayā, daughter of Bhārgava, give me victory. O Pūrṇā, daughter of Aṅgiras, fulfil my wishes. O Bhadrā, daughter of Kaśyapa Maharshi, give me an auspicious mind.” The prayer asks Nandā, Bhadrā and Bhārgavī Devī to delight in the house and to increase the riches of the lord of the land, the town and the house, and of all beings. The vāstu-kuṇḍa is wetted with gomūtra, the garbha is placed in it, a cow and cloth are given to the ācārya and food to others, and the kuṇḍa is filled.

Then a pīṭha (pedestal) is built for the chief devatā according to the height of the temple: the best is as high as half the width of the temple, the middle one-fourth less, and the lowest half the best; and vāstu-pūjā is done again.

Even one who performs only the pāda-pratishṭhā is freed of all pāpa and enjoys bliss in Devaloka. All the bodily pāpa of one who resolves “I will build a temple” perishes that very day. Even the fruit of one who builds a temple of eight bricks cannot be described; from this one may imagine the fruit of a large temple built by the śāstra.

The direction of the door. A temple in the middle of a village or to its east faces west. One in an intermediate direction faces the village. One to the south, north or west of the village has its door to the east.

Types of Temple (Chapter 42)

Chapter 42 describes the standard (sārvasādhāraṇa) temple. The ground is a square divided into sixteen parts. The central sanctum (garbha) takes four parts, and the walls take the other twelve. The height of the wall equals the width of the wall zone. The śikhara (spire) is twice the height of the wall. The parikrama (the path for walking around the shrine) is one-fourth the height of the śikhara. The mukhamaṇḍapa (front porch hall) matches the size of the garbha. A Vāstu-maṇḍala (sacred ground plan) of 81 squares is laid out for the whole temple.

Three main styles lie behind the system of types:

• Nāgara (the northern style): a curved śikhara with an āmalaka (crowning disc) and a kalaśa (pot-shaped finial) at the top, and the śukanāsa (a nose-like projection) coming out from the face of the śikhara. This is the style set out in the proportions of Chapter 42.
• Drāviḍa (the southern style): a pyramid-shaped vimāna (tower over the shrine) with storeys (talas) growing smaller as they rise, and the gopura (gateway tower) as its main feature.
• Vesara (the in-between style): combining features of both.

In the Nāgara system, the śikhara is built using four guide-lines (sūtrapātas) running outward from the śukanāsa. A lion figure is placed halfway up the śikhara. The āmalasāra (āmalaka) with its kaṇṭha (neck) tops the śikhara, and the golden kalaśa crowns the whole. Doorways are twice as tall as they are wide. Above the lintel, auspicious forms are carved, including udumbara branches (brackets of sacred fig wood). At the fourth section of the door, four dvārapālas (door-guardians) are set up. For Vishṇu temples these are Caṇḍa, Pracaṇḍa, Vishvaksena and Vatsadaṇḍa.

Hayagrīva gives the measures of the common temple in more detail. The garbha of four parts is fixed together with its āya, and the walls are as high as four of the twelve outer parts. The passages on both sides are of equal size. The open space in front of the temple is as wide as the śikhara, or twice as wide for beauty. The sabhā-maṇḍapa in front is twice the garbha-sūtra (the measuring line of the sanctum) in width. The base pillars are as long as the wall, with beautiful central pillars between them. On the vāstu-maṇḍapa of eighty-one padas the devatās are worshipped first near the placing of the door, then near the laying of the prākāra, and last the thirty-three devatās of the padas.

He also teaches temples built to the measure of the pratimā. The piṇḍī (pedestal) is as large as the pratimā; the garbha is half the piṇḍī; the walls follow the garbha and are as high as they are wide; the śikhara is twice the wall; the parikrama is made at one-fourth of the śikhara’s height, and the mukha-maṇḍapa is built to the same height. Rathakas, small chariot-shaped projections, come out from the walls by a passage one-eighth of the garbha, or by one-third of the circuit, and three “vāmas” are always placed on the three rathakas.

On the śikhara, the cord is fixed on the śukanāsā and carried crosswise to the middle joint on both sides. Over the śukanāsā a kalaśa with a neck, called the āmalasāra, is made; it must not be deformed, and it is made only up to the measure of the vedī. Above the doors are two udumbara śākhās (door-jambs) carved with auspicious objects, and at half their height a beautiful mūrti of Lakshmī, a lotus in her hand, bathed by the diggajas (the elephants of the directions) with kalaśas.

The prākāra is one-fourth of the temple’s height, and the gopura is one-fourth less than the temple’s height. If the mūrti is five hastas tall, its pīṭhikā is one hasta. In front of a Vishṇu temple a Garuḍa-maṇḍapa and shrines beginning with “Bhauma” are built. Around the mūrti of Mahāvishṇu, in the eight directions, avatāra-mūrtis twice the size of the Vishṇu pratimā are made: Varāha in the east, Nṛsiṃha in the south, Śrīdhara in the west, Hayagrīva in the north, Paraśurāma in the south-east, Śrī Rāma in the south-west, Vāmana in the north-west and Vāsudeva in the north-east. The temple is built with an even number of pillars, such as eight or twelve, and the chapter closes with a rule on vedha-dosha, the fault of obstruction, at the door.

The Temple as the Deity’s Body

The Agni Purāṇa matches the parts of the temple with parts of the divine body. Because of this, building a temple is a sacred act, and entering it is a way of drawing near to the deity himself:

The outer prākāra is one-fourth the height of the main temple. The gopura (gateway) is one-fourth less than the height of the main temple (Chapter 42). A second, inner prākāra is also called for. Smaller shrines for the Āḻvārs (in Vaishṇava temples), the dikpālas (guardians of the directions) and other deities are arranged inside the prākāra.

In Chapter 61 Hayagrīva tells Brahmā this correspondence in full. The patākā (flag) is prakṛti, the daṇḍa (staff) is the purusha, and the prāsāda is the very form of Vāsudeva; the whole prāsāda is to be contemplated as the Purusha, and its kalaśa as the Virāṭ-rūpa, the cosmic form. Because the temple bears Bhagavān Vishṇu, it holds the earth principle; the empty space within it is ākāśa, the light within it is agni, and the touch of air within it is vāyu. The water within the stones is earthy water, holding gandha, the quality of earth. Its śabda (sound) is the echo; its sparśa (touch) the hardness of the stone; its rūpa (form) the white and other colours; its rasa (taste) that which gives delight; and its gandha the smell of dhūpa. The sound of the bherīs (drums) is its speech. The parts of the temple are the parts of the body:

Thus Mahāvishṇu himself stands in the form of the temple. Śiva is its feet and Brahmā is on its shoulder, and Vishṇu himself is present in its upper part for the installing of the door and the raising of the dhvaja. In Chapter 56 the same teaching is given for the image and its pedestal: if the pratimā is Purusha, the piṇḍikā is Prakṛti; or the pratimā is the form of Nārāyaṇa and the piṇḍikā the form of Lakshmī, and the union of the two is called pratishṭhā. So those who desire a particular fruit install the devatā who gives it.

In Chapter 102, for a Śiva temple, Parameśvara teaches Skanda to meditate on the all-pervading form of Śiva, made of all the tattvas, in the parts of the temple. At Śiva’s lotus feet are Ananta and Kālarudra. On the pīṭha are Kūshmāṇḍa, Hāṭaka, the Pātālas and the narakas. The whole brahmāṇḍa, with its bhuvanas, lokapālas and Śatarudras, is placed on the jaṅghā-vedi, together with the five groups of eight in the form of earth, water, fire, air and space, the coverings, the eight born of buddhi, the three guṇas and the witness purusha. On the mañjarī-vedikā are the four vidyā-tattvas; on the kaṇṭha (neck) the Rudras; on the āmalasāra the vidyās; on the kalaśa Īśvara, bindu and the vidyeśvaras; on the half-moon triśūla Śiva’s jaṭājūṭa (matted locks) and the three śaktis; and on the dhvaja the kuṇḍalinī-śakti. The prāsāda is contemplated as joined with the jagatī (platform), as the liṅga is joined with the piṇḍikā.

Measuring the Images (Chapters 44–45)

Chapters 44 and 45 give a tālamāna, a system of proportions, for the images set up in temples. Using a central string, the image is divided into nine parts from crown to foot. The ninth part is divided again into twelve aṅgulas, and one aṅgula equals the width of the sculptor’s own finger. The crown (mukuṭa) takes one span, the face one span, the throat one span, the chest one span, and so on downward. Exact measures are given for each part of the face (forehead, nose, eyes, ears and cheeks) and down to the depth of the navel and the width of the thighs.

The pādapīṭha (the pedestal of the image) is built in these layers, from bottom to top:

1. upāna (plinth)
2. jagatī (platform)
3. kumuda (rounded moulding)
4. kaṇṭha (narrow band)
5. kapota (cornice)

For images of Vishṇu the pedestal is shaped as a lotus (padmāsana). The prabhāmaṇḍala (the halo behind the image) is decorated with figures of mālādharas (garland-bearers) and vidyādharas (beings of svarga). The base under the deity’s feet is lotus-shaped.

In Chapter 44 the stone is set in the temple facing east or north and worshipped before the śilpī lays the central cord on it. Two aṅgulas make a golaka, also called kālanetra. One of the nine parts is divided into three for the ankles, and one part each is kept for the knee and the throat. A span is given to each of the crown, the face, the neck and the chest, one span lies between the navel and the generative organ, and the thighs and the shanks take two spans each. Cords are laid in pairs on the feet, shanks, knees, thighs, waist, navel, heart, throat, forehead and head, and one on the crown. The text then gives every measure in aṅgulas: the forehead, nose and face four each; the nose shaped like a karavīra (oleander) flower; four aṅgulas between the eyes; one-third of the eye the dark pupil; the head of the Keśava and other mūrtis twenty-six or thirty-two aṅgulas round; the arms fourteen aṅgulas to the elbow and the forearms sixteen; the middle finger five aṅgulas; the chest sixty-four aṅgulas round, the waist fifty-four and the belly forty-two; the feet one span long. The image is adorned with all ornaments, and the other marks seen in the world are also kept in view.

The signs of Vāsudeva Śrī Kṛshṇa belong only to his image: the cakra in the upper right hand, the padma (lotus) in the lower right, the śaṅkha in the upper left and the gadā in the lower left. Beside him stand Lakshmī holding a lotus and Pushṭi Devī holding the vīṇā, their images as high as the thighs of Bhagavān Vāsudeva’s image. In the prabhā-maṇḍala are Vidyādharas bearing garlands, and the prabhā is adorned with elephants and the like.

Chapter 45 gives the piṇḍikā: as long as the image and half its height, marked with sixty-four squares, cut away in set rows, with a mekhalā (band) above and a nālī (water-spout) with a channel for the water to flow forward. A piṇḍikā of this varied form is called Bhadrā. The image of Lakshmī Devī, and of the other devīs, is eight spans tall; her eyes are large, her fingers long and not pressed together; she holds a lotus in her right hand and a bilva fruit in her left. Women bearing cāmaras (fly-whisks) stand at her sides, and Garutmān with his large nose stands in front of her.

Installing the Lesser Deities: Dvārapālas and Bhūtaśānti (Chapter 43)

Chapter 43 sets out the installation of the lesser deities in and around the temple.

Dvārapālas (door-guardians): in Vishṇu temples the main dvārapālas are Jaya and Vijaya. In Śiva temples, Nandī and Mahākāla stand at the entrance. The images of the dvārapālas must be as tall as the main image is up to its thighs.

The Ashṭa-dikpālas: the eight devas of the directions are set in the matching niches or places on the outer walls of the temple:

Bhūtaśānti: before the pratishṭhā (consecration) ceremonies, a bhūtaśānti rite is done. It calms all the spirits, bhūtas (beings) and vighnas (obstacles) that may dwell on the site, so that the space is fully cleared and made holy for the divine presence.

The deities of the shrines. In Chapter 43 Hayagrīva tells Brahmā which devatās are installed in a temple of many shrines:

• Pañcāyatana, first arrangement: Vāsudeva in the central main shrine; Vāmana in the south-east, Narasiṃha in the south-west, Hayagrīva in the north-west and Varāha-mūrti in the north-east.
• Pañcāyatana, second arrangement: Nārāyaṇa in the middle; Durgā Devī in the south-east, Sūrya in the south-west, Brahmā in the north-west, and Śiva as the liṅga, or a Rudra-mūrti, in the north-east.
• Nine shrines: Vāsudeva in the middle, and in the directions from the east the nine chief avatāras beginning with Paraśurāma and the lokapālas beginning with Indra.
• Five chief shrines in nine places: Purushottama in the middle; Lakshmī and Kubera in the east; the Mātṛkā-gaṇa, Kumārasvāmī, Gaṇapati and Śiva in the south; the nine grahas beginning with Sūrya in the west; the ten avatāras beginning with Matsya in the north; Caṇḍī Devī in the south-east; Ambikā in the south-west; Sarasvatī in the north-west; Lakshmī in the north-east; and Vāsudeva or Nārāyaṇa in the middle.
• Thirteen chambers: Mahāvishṇu in the form of Viśvarūpa in the middle.
• Twelve forms: the twelve images beginning with Keśava in the directions from the east, and Śrī Hari himself in the remaining chamber.

The material and the stone. The image of Bhagavān Vishṇu is of seven kinds: of clay, wood, metal, gems, stone, sandalwood or flowers. An image of flowers, clay or sandal must be worshipped at once and not kept long; worshipped so, it quickly fulfils all desires. Stone from a mountain is best; where there are no mountains, stone found in the earth may be used. For the varṇas beginning with the brāhmaṇa, stones of white, red, yellow and black are best in order; if the proper colour is not found, a homa with the Narasiṃha mantra makes up the lack. A white line on the stone is very good; a black line is made good by the Narasiṃha homa. A stone that rings like bell-metal and gives sparks when struck is male; one with fewer of these signs is female; one with neither is neuter; and a stone with a mark like a circle is “with an embryo” and is rejected.

The vana-yāga. To make the image, the ācārya goes into the forest and performs the vana-yāga. A kuṇḍa is dug, Vishṇu is worshipped on a maṇḍapa, bali is given, and the tools, the chisel and the rest, are worshipped. After homa the stone is sprinkled with rice-water with the astra-mantra, protected with the Narasiṃha mantra and worshipped with the mūla-mantra, oṃ namo nārāyaṇāya. After the pūrṇāhuti the ācārya gives bali to the bhūtas and honours all the unseen beings who live there, creatures, rākshasas, yakshas and siddhas: “By the command of Keśava we have come for images. The work of Śrī Mahāvishṇu is your work too. Satisfied by this bali, leave this place and go in well-being to another.” Pleased, they leave the place. The ācārya and the śilpīs (sculptors) eat the yajña-caru together.

At night he prays to Śrī Hari, the dwelling place of all beings, the all-pervading creator whose form is the universe, the lord of dreams, to make known to him in sleep all about the work he has resolved, and sleeps reciting the svapna-mantra. A good dream brings good; after a bad dream, good follows a homa with the Narasiṃha mantra. In the morning he offers arghya to the stone with the astra-mantra and worships the tools. The śilpī, with senses controlled, squares the stone with the chisel and shapes the block. The stone is wrapped in cloth, carried on a chariot to the workshop, worshipped again, and then the image is made.

Consecrating the Temple in the Agni Purāṇa

The Pratishṭhā Maṇḍapa (Chapter 56)

For the pratishṭhā the ācārya builds a maṇḍapa in front of the temple, eight, sixteen or twenty hastas in size: the lowest, the middle and the best. Half of it is kept for bathing the devatā, setting up the kalaśas and keeping the materials; in the other half, or a third, a beautiful vedi (altar) is made, adorned with large and small kalaśas and canopies. The maṇḍapa is purified with pañcagavya. The ācārya, adorned with cloth and garlands, meditates on Vishṇu and worships him, honours the learned mūrtipālakas (guardians of the mūrti) with rings and ornaments and seats them at the kuṇḍas, which may be square, half-moon, round or lotus-shaped.

The toraṇas (arched gateways) of the four directions are of aśvattha, udumbara, vaṭa and plaksha wood. The east gate is Suśobhana, the south Subhadra, the west Sukarma and the north Suhotra. Every toraṇa pillar is five hastas high, worshipped with Syonā pṛthivi, with auspicious kalaśas holding mango shoots and barley sprouts at its foot and the Sudarśana cakra on its top. A dhvaja sixteen aṅgulas wide is set up on a staff seven hastas high. The banners of the directions are dawn-red, the colour of fire, black, white, yellow, red and white, and on them are worshipped Kumuda, Kumudā, Puṇḍarīka, Vāmana, Śaṅkukarṇa, Sarvanetra, Sumukha and Supratishṭhita, who have crores of good qualities. One hundred and twenty-eight kalaśas, fired red, are filled with water and set outside the toraṇas and around the vedi, and the ten dikpālas are invoked on them: Indra on Airāvata with the vajra in the east, Agni on the ram with the śakti in the south-east, Yama on the buffalo with the daṇḍa in the south, Nirṛti with the sword in the south-west, Varuṇa on the makara with the pāśa in the west, Vāyu with the dhvaja in the north-west, Soma with the gadā, together with Kubera, in the north, Īśāna on the bull with the śūla in the north-east, Brahmā on the haṃsa with the sruk and sruva above, and Ananta on the tortoise with the cakra below.

Installing the Image (Chapter 60)

To set up the piṇḍikā, the garbhagṛha is divided into seven parts. The image belongs in the Brahma-bhāga, never in the parts of the devas, of humans or of piśācas; the piṇḍikā is set on ground made of part of the Brahma-bhāga with parts of the Deva and Manushya bhāgas. Gems are placed on a “neuter” stone with homa of the Nṛsiṃha mantra; grains, gems, metals and sandal go into pits in the directions and the middle, which are covered with guggulu. The image is rubbed with kuśa and the herb Sahadevā, purified with pañcagavya and sprinkled with kuśa water, river water and tīrtha water.

On a square vedi of sand, a hasta and a half wide, with kalaśas of eight colours in the eight directions, fire is installed. Samidhs are offered with tvam agne dyubhiḥ and the Gāyatrī, and 108 āhutis of ghee with the ashṭākshara mantra, then the pūrṇāhuti. The śānti-water, empowered by a hundred japas of the mūla-mantra, is sprinkled with mango sprouts on the head of the image while śrīś ca lakshmīś ca is recited. With uttishṭha brahmaṇaspate the image is lifted onto the brahma-ratha and taken towards the temple with tad vishṇoḥ, and carried in a palanquin through the city with songs, instruments and Veda mantras back to the temple door. There the guru, with suvāsinīs and brāhmaṇas, bathes Śrī Hari with eight maṅgala-kalaśas, worships him and offers cloth and arghya with ato devāḥ. At a fixed lagna, with devasya tvā, he installs the image, praying: “Saccidānanda-svarūpa! Trivikrama, who covered the three worlds with three steps! Namaskāra to you.” He makes it firm on the piṇḍikā with dhruvā dyauḥ and viśvataś cakshuḥ.

Meditating that ākāśa is the body of Śrī Mahāvishṇu and the earth his seat, he invokes into the image the jīva that pervades the twenty-five tattvas, of the nature of consciousness and supreme bliss, beyond waking, dream and deep sleep, dwelling in the heart of all: “Parameśvara! You are that jīva-caitanya. Enter from the heart into the image, stay firm and make it living.” He awakens Bhagavān Vishṇu with the praṇava, touches the heart of the image and recites the Purusha Sūkta; this is the sānnidhya-karaṇa, the act of making the deity present. Then with the secret mantra he prays to Mahāvishṇu, the lord of all devas, beyond the three guṇas, the indweller and imperishable Purāṇa-purusha, to be present in this image. Brahmā and the attendant devatās are installed before him with their weapons and mudrās; Caṇḍa and Pracaṇḍa are worshipped at the door; Garutmān is installed in the maṇḍapa; the dikpālas, the śaṅkha, the cakra and the other weapons are worshipped; and bali is given to the pārshadas and bhūtas. One knows that Śrī Hari is present there from the pilgrims who come for his darśana and the varas they receive.

The yajamāna gives the ācārya a village, cloth and gold, and the ṛtviks half of that; brāhmaṇas are given dakshiṇā and fed, and none who comes is turned away. The puṇyātmā who installs the image of Bhagavān Vishṇu takes all his lineage with him to the presence of Śrī Mahāvishṇu. This is the method for all devatās; only the mūla-mantra of each differs.

The Door, the Temple Kalaśa and the Garuḍa-Dhvaja (Chapter 61)

After the closing bath of the image, with kalaśas set in a vāstu-maṇḍapa of eighty-one padas, the door is installed. Gold is placed beneath it and two udumbara śākhās are set up, with homa of samidh, ājya and sesame in the kuṇḍas with Vedic mantras. Ādhāra-śakti is installed below, Caṇḍa and Pracaṇḍa below the two jambs, and on the upper part Lakshmī, worshipped by the devas, with the Śrī Sūkta. The ācārya receives a coconut and other dakshiṇā and installs Śrī Hari on the door.

The temple itself is installed with the mantra hṛt-pratishṭhā. Where the śukanāsā ends, at the head of the garbhagṛha, in front of the vedi, a gold or silver kalaśa holding eight kinds of gems, herbs, minerals, seeds and gold is set up, wrapped at the neck, filled with water and consecrated overnight. Homa is done with the Nṛsiṃha mantra and prāṇa-nyāsa with the Nārāyaṇa-tattva. Above the kalaśa’s neck a garland is wound, the flower-garland called “vimalāmalasāra” is tied on the four sides of the temple, and above it the Sudarśana cakra is made. Eight Vighneśvaras are installed on the four sides of the vedi, or four in the four directions. The builder of a temple dwells in Vishṇuloka for as many thousands of years as there are atoms in the materials of the temple and its image.

Then Hayagrīva teaches the raising of the Garuḍa-dhvaja, which destroys bhūtas and the like. The devas once set up a dhvaja bearing the emblems of weapons and conquered the daityas. A kalaśa is placed on the aṇḍa of the śikhara and the dhvaja above it. The dhvaja is half the measure of the bimba. A cakra of eight or twelve spokes, with Nṛsiṃha or Garuḍa in its middle, is made one-third of the length of the staff. The staff must not be broken or holed; it is as long as the temple is wide, or half or a third of the śikhara, or twice the height of the door, and it is set up on the temple in the north-east or the north-west. The cloth is of silk or the like, of many colours or one; with a bell, cāmaras and small bells it destroys all pāpa. A cloth hanging from the top of the staff to the ground is the mahādhvaja and fulfils all wishes; one a fourth smaller, if worshipped, also fulfils all wishes; one half the measure of the dhvaja is the patākā, which needs no fixed measure. The dhvaja is twenty aṅgulas wide.

The cakra, staff and dhvaja are consecrated like images, without the opening of the eyes. On the cakra the Purusha Sūkta, the Sudarśana mantra and the manas-tattva are placed, the twelve forms beginning with Keśava on its twelve spokes, and Nṛsiṃha or Viśvarūpa at its centre. On the staff Sūtrātmā is placed with the jīva; on the dhvaja the partless Paramātmā is installed and his all-pervading śakti is meditated on as the dhvaja. The golden cakra is installed with the astra-mantra, dipped into mercury and covered with a fine cloth. Hari is worshipped with oṃ kraiṃ nṛsiṃhāya namaḥ. The yajamāna with his relatives dips the tip of the dhvaja in a vessel of curd, worships it with oṃ phaṭ, carries the vessel on his head round the temple remembering Nārāyaṇa, installs the staff with the ashṭākshara mantra, and hoists the dhvaja reciting muñcāmi tvā. The ācārya is given the vessel, the dhvaja and elephants. For each devatā a dhvaja with that devatā’s own emblem is installed with its own mantra. When the wind wraps the dhvaja-cloth round the kalaśa, the vedi and the neck of the temple, the builder gains a fruit ten million times greater than the raising itself; and one who gives a dhvaja goes to svarga and in this world becomes a mighty king.

Halls for the Devatās (Chapter 65)

After examining the ground and the vāstu, a deva-sabhā (hall for the devatās) may be built, with devatās installed as one wishes, at a crossing of four roads in a city or in villages, never in a place empty of people. Its builder is freed of pāpa, uplifts his whole lineage and enjoys svarga. For Śrī Hari a temple of seven storeys is built in the manner of a royal palace, and so for the other devatās; temples have from one to seven storeys. A temple must have no fault such as obstruction of the door and no old materials, and it is established with the rites of pratishṭhā. In this chapter Hayagrīva also gives the reckoning of āya and vyaya (income and expense) by the kararāśi, the length in hastas multiplied by the width, and the eight āyas, dhvaja, dhūma, siṃha, śvāna, vṛshabha, khara, gaja and dhvāṅksha, that arise in the east and the other directions.

The Śiva-Liṅga in the Sanctum (Chapters 95 and 97)

For the pratishṭhā of Śiva, the lagnas Kumbha, Siṃha, Vṛścika, Kanyā and Vṛshabha are the best, and of the fixed lagnas Siṃha, Vṛshabha and Kumbha give siddhi. Eight flags are hoisted round the maṇḍapa from the east, rainbow-coloured, red, black, grey, white, green, golden and crystal-coloured, with a red flag for Brahmā and a blue flag for Ananta; the flags are five hastas long and half as wide, on staffs five hastas high (Chapter 95). The liṅga is never set at the exact centre of its base stone, for fear of vedha-dosha; it is moved one yava or half a yava towards the north-east. For an image, the sanctum is divided into six parts and the devatā installed in the fifth, or into eight parts and installed in the seventh, which brings well-being. In a west-facing temple the piṇḍikā is placed on the west side with the brahmaśilā upon it (Chapters 96–97).

Prāṇa-Pratishṭhā: Giving Life (Chapter 101)

Chapter 101 describes prāṇa-pratishṭhā, the crowning act that turns a built temple into a living divine presence. Here Śiva explains the procedure to Skanda.

At the place in the temple where the śukanāsa (the nose-like projection of the śikhara) is finished, the ācārya (officiating teacher) prepares the consecrated ground at the centre of the eastern vedī (altar). A lotus is laid out (kamala-nyāsa) with the praṇava mantra (Oṃ), and a kalaśa (pot) of gold or another sacred metal is placed there. The kalaśa is filled with pañcagavya (the five products of the cow), honey, milk, and five kinds of gems and sacred substances. It is then anointed with sandal paste, wrapped in cloth and scented with fragrant flowers. Its mouth is closed with the sprouts of the five auspicious trees (pañcavṛksha), chiefly the āmra (mango). The ācārya recites the hṛdaya mantra, meditates on the heart-lotus of Parameśvara (the Supreme Īśvara) and sets the kalaśa in place.

The guru then does the three stages of prāṇāyāma (breath control):

1. Pūraka, drawing the breath in. Through it the sakalīkaraṇa-kriyā is done, the joining of all the limbs of the mantra-body.
2. Kumbhaka, holding the breath. With the deity’s own mantra, the prāṇa-vāyu (life-breath) is held within. With Parameśvara’s consent, the jīva-caitanya, the living consciousness that is not different from the universal ātman, is awakened.
3. Recaka, releasing the breath. The living spark of consciousness is drawn from the dvādaśānta (the point twelve finger-widths above the head) and placed within the kalaśa.

All thirteen indriyas (faculties) and their presiding devas are set upon the kalaśa by name. The tattvas (principles), from kāla (time) down to pṛthvī (earth), the whole range of creation reaching up to Parameśvara, are meditated on as present in the kalaśa. So the kalaśa itself becomes a living form of the deity, even before the image in the sanctum is brought to life by touching it with the kalaśa’s consecrated water.

As another way, the ācārya may make a human figure of gold or another sacred metal. He purifies it with pañcagavya and herbal decoctions, lays it on a bed (śayyā), and meditates on Rudra as Umāpati (the husband of Umā). With the Śiva mantra he places the all-pervading presence of Śiva (nyāsa) in every part of that figure. Then homa (fire offering), prokshaṇa (sprinkling), sparśa (touch) and japa (repeated chanting) are done to call Śiva near. All the rites are done in three portions (bhāgatraya-vibhāga): beginning (ādi), middle (madhya) and end (anta). When the nyāsa through all the tattvas down to prakṛti (nature) is complete, the consecrated figure is placed in the kalaśa.

Parameśvara opens the chapter by saying that in this rite he shows the link of the temple with caitanya, its life. Within the kalaśa the guru also performs the nyāsa of the ātivāhika-śarīra, the subtle body that carries the jīva, and he worships the thirteen indriyas and their lords with name-mantras beginning with the praṇava. The vidyeśas, who impel the indriyas and control the bond of māyā, and the all-pervading Śiva are placed by nyāsa with their own mantras, and the whole may be sealed with the avarodhinī mudrā. When the golden figure is used, the acts of making present and sealing are all done in the three portions.

Dhvajāropaṇa: Raising the Flag (Chapter 102)

Chapter 102 describes the setting up of the dhvaja (temple flag) and the dhvaja-daṇḍa (flagpole). The śūla (trident finial) is set into the śikhara to half its length; put another way, half the height of the śikhara receives the śūla. For a brick temple the śūla is of wood. For a stone temple it must be of stone. For Vishṇu temples the kalaśa is combined with the cakra (discus). If the kalaśa has a triśūla (trident) at its top, it is called āgracūla. If a Śiva-liṅga crowns it, the position is called Īśasthala.

The dhvaja comes in three grades:

The flagpole may be of sāla wood, and it fulfils all wishes. If the dhvaja breaks during a festival, it foretells harm to the king or the sponsor, and a śānti (peace) rite must be done with the Bahurūpa mantra.

For the installation ceremony, the dvārapāla-pūjā is done first, followed by purification with mantras. The dhvaja is bathed with the astra mantra, anointed with sandal paste, wrapped in cloth and laid on a śayyā (bed). The nyāsa is then done exactly as for a Śiva-liṅga, with one exception: the nyāsas of jñānaśakti and kriyāśakti (the powers of knowing and acting) are not done on the dhvaja. The Vidyā-tattva and the five faces of Śiva (Sadyojāta and the others) are placed on the pole, and the Śiva-tattva on the flag itself. Then come the kalaśa-pratishṭhā and the full consecration, with the eight offerings of water, sandal paste, flowers, incense, lamp, food, cāmara (fly-whisk) and chatra (umbrella). After this the dhvaja is declared living and is raised.

Parameśvara adds these details. The kalaśa of a Vishṇu temple should be in proportion to the measure of the deity’s mūrti; a finial with a bījapūraka (citron) at its top also bears the name Īśasthala. The dhvaja may be as high as the jaṅghā-vedi or half of it, and one that encircles the pīṭha is the mahā-dhvaja. A flagstaff of bamboo or of śāla wood fulfils all desires. The breaking of the dhvaja is an omen when it happens at the adhivāsa, the overnight consecration. After the dvārapāla-pūjā and tarpaṇa, the dhvaja and its staff are bathed with the astra-mantra, and the temple too is bathed with soil-water and kashāya water. In the nyāsa, the dative form of the mantras and the making of kuṇḍas are not needed. On the dhvaja the nishkala (partless) Śiva is placed after the Śiva-tattva, the limbs are worshipped beginning with the heart, and homa is done on each part with the Bahurūpa mantra to make Śiva present; every other saṃskāra follows the astra-yāga.

Then, with auspicious music and the sound of the Vedas, the guru and the mūrtidharas lift the staff, whose base is the form of Śiva, and set it on the ground where the śakti-lotus and the five gems were placed. If the yajamāna with his relatives and friends then walks in pradakshiṇa round the temple, he gains the fruit of all he desires. The guru meditates long on Pāśupata with his astras and prays to the armed lords to protect the temple; after homa, dāna and dig-bali to remove any fault, the yajamāna gives the guru dakshiṇā. The one who has built a temple and performed its pratishṭhā enjoys excellent bhogas in the divine loka for as many thousands of yugas as there are atoms in the pratimā, the liṅga and the vedis.

Jīrṇoddhāra: Restoring Old Temples (Chapter 103)

Chapter 103 deals with restoring temples that have fallen into ruin (jīrṇa-prāsāda). Parameśvara teaches that after restoration the whole consecration must be done again, just as for a new temple. First the deities are moved out (calana-vidhi) by drawing their prāṇa-śakti (life-power) back into the kalaśa (utsarga). The temple is then taken down or repaired as needed. When the work is finished, the full prāṇa-pratishṭhā is done again.

The fruits of restoring a ruined temple are said to equal or exceed those of building a new one. In particular, the merit frees the patron’s ancestors and grants Vishṇuloka. The Agni Purāṇa also sets out a yearly renewal rite (vārshika-pratishṭhā) by which the consecration is refreshed each new year. It says that if the sacred space is accidentally made impure (aśauca, through death, impurity or wrong contact), a purification ceremony must be finished before pūjā can begin again.

Chapter 103 begins with the worn liṅga. A liṅga, piṇḍikā or vṛshabha whose marks are worn away, which is cracked, thickened with dirt, struck by a thunderbolt, broken or has a broken limb is to be given up at once. One that is moved, moves by itself, sinks too far, stands unevenly, faces the wrong way, falls or slips is installed again if it is unwounded, and a liṅga carried off by a river may also be installed again. A liṅga that stands firm, or one whose daily pūjā goes on though it is worn, must not be moved; and a liṅga installed by asuras, munis, devas or knowers of tattva must never be moved, even if worn or broken. If an unsteady liṅga is moved, a thousand homas are done for śānti and a hundred for the new installation.

For the rite a maṇḍapa is built in the south or north-east with its door on the west. After the door-pūjā, Śiva-pūjā on the vedi and vāstu-pūjā, the guru gives bhūta-bali, feeds brāhmaṇas and prays: “Śambhu! This liṅga has become faulty. You yourself have said that if it is uplifted, śānti will come. Śiva! Dwelling in me, bring this work to fulfilment.” He offers 108 homas of pāyasa with honey, ghee and dūrvā with the mūla-mantra, bathes and worships the liṅga with vyāpakeśvarāya śivāya namaḥ, and with the astra-mantra bids any bhūta that has taken shelter in it to leave by Śiva’s command, for Bhagavān Śiva will dwell there with the vidyās and the vidyeśvaras. He offers a thousand homas for each part with the Pāśupata mantra. Offering arghya in reverse order, he draws out the tattvas, their lords and the eight mūrtīśvaras from the liṅga and the piṇḍikā; the old liṅga is carried on a bull with a rope, with a crowd singing Śiva’s names, and cast into the water. After homas for nourishment, for the dikpālas and for the cleansing of the vāstu, he protects the temple with the Mahāpāśupata mantra and installs another liṅga by rule.

The same rite is used for a ruined temple. The mantra-gaṇas are placed by nyāsa in a khaḍga (sword), and another temple is built. If the new temple is smaller than the first, the builder dies; if larger, wealth is lost. So, with the old materials or other good ones, a temple of exactly the same size is built in that place. In Chapter 38 Agni Deva says that the one who restores a fallen temple gains twice the fruit of building a new one.

The Forty-Five Types of Prāsāda (Chapter 104)

Chapter 104 gives the standard list of prāsāda types according to their systems of measurement (māna). For each type it sets out the size, the height of the walls, the height of the śikhara and the ground plan. Forty-five named types of prāsāda are given, each suited to certain deities and patrons. The sizes and proportions depend on the number of storeys (bhūmikā) and the floor area of the garbhagṛha.

The prāsādas are grouped by their plan and their side profile. Key measures include:

• the relation between the width of the garbhagṛha and the height of the śikhara (usually 1:3 for the standard Nāgara śikhara)
• the relation of wall height to width (twice the width, or two and a quarter, two and a half or three times)
• the share of the jagatī (platform) and adhishṭhāna (plinth) in the total height

Each type is named after a being or place of svarga, for example Meru, Mandara, Kailāsa, Padma and Nandana. The name shows the divine model that the temple’s form is meant to embody. Śaiva temples tend to be taller and narrower; Vaishṇava temples favour broader proportions. The text also says that the kalaśa at the top must be one-tenth the height of the śikhara, and the āmalaka (crowning disc) one-eighth.

The ground plan. Parameśvara tells Skanda, whom he calls Mayūradhvaja, the general marks of a prāsāda. A square field is divided into four parts: one part is the width of the walls, the middle is the garbha (sanctum), and on one part the piṇḍikā stands. In another measure the field has five parts, with the piṇḍikā inside, one part left open and one part for the walls. The middle and largest garbha have two parts each; by another method the smallest garbha has three parts with the eighth part as walls; and in a six-part field the garbha is one part wide and the piṇḍikā two. In some places a jagatī (raised platform) surrounds the prāsāda, half or three-quarters of the wall area, with a nemi (rim) of a quarter of the extent and a circuit of a third in the middle; there a chariot-shaped shrine is built, with Cāmuṇḍā-Bhairava and Naṭeśa installed on it. Eight or four shrines for the devatās may be built outside on the four sides, within half the prāsāda’s extent; this is optional. The Ādityas are installed in the east, Skanda and Agni in the north-west, and Yama and the others each in his own direction.

The śikhara. The śikhara is divided into four parts; the lower two are the śukanāsikā. On the third part is the vedī, and the part in front of it is the kaṇṭha (neck), known as the amalasāra. The cūla (crest) is half the measure of the kaṇṭha, and its thickness a third of the kaṇṭha’s. The vedī is made in parts: five for the skandha (shoulder), three for the kaṇṭha and four for the aṇḍa (dome).

The forty-five prāsādas. On the peak of Meru there are only five prāsādas, and each has nine kinds, forty-five in all:

Cities and the lāṭas bear the same names as these prāsādas.

Doors. Doors are placed only in the cardinal directions, never in the intermediate ones. In some temples the door is twice a quarter or twice a fifth of the garbha in height. By another measure, doors of 160, 150, 140 and 130 aṅgulas are the best, of 120, 110 and 100 the middle, and of 90, 80 and 70 the least. The door is half as wide as it is high, and a door three, four, eight or ten aṅgulas taller than the measure is also auspicious; its thickness is a quarter of its height. The jambs are a quarter of the door’s width, and a door of three, five, seven or nine śākhās (jambs) gives the desired fruits. The dvārapālas are installed on the lowest quarter of the śākhā, and the other śākhās are adorned with mithunas (couples).

Vedha-dosha. An obstruction facing the door brings harm:

There is no vedha-dosha if the obstruction is cut down or uprooted, if a prākāra is built between, or if it stands at twice the distance from the boundary.

The Vāstu of Temple Grounds and Cities (Chapters 105–106)

In cities, villages and forts a vāstu-maṇḍala of eighty-one padas is drawn for the growth of houses and prāsādas, and the vāstu-devatās are worshipped on it, in groups of eight on the four sides, with Brahmā on the nine middle padas and the bāla-grahas Carakī, Skanda, Vidārī, Vikaṭa, Pūtanā, Jambhā, Pāpā and Pilipiccha in the outer corners. There is also a maṇḍala of a hundred padas, with Brahmā on the sixteen central padas. For yajñas, a maṇḍapa thirty hastas long and twenty-eight wide is the abode of Śiva; one of nineteen by seventeen is called Śiva; and one twenty-two hastas long is called Sāvitra. In the prāsāda called Bhadra the door-passage equals the other passages; in Śrījaya it has no rear part. The passage is as wide as the garbha, or half or a quarter of it, and the side passages half of that. Each building may have eight doors on each side, and each door has its own fruit: on the east, fear, a woman, fickleness, victory, growth, loss, dharma, quarrel and want of wealth; on the south, burning, sorrow, loss of friends, loss of wealth, death, wealth, knowledge of crafts and a son; on the west, long life, saṃnyāsa, crops, wealth, peace, loss of wealth, wasting, enjoyment and children; and on the north, disease, pride, affliction, the chief place, wealth, long life, leanness and honour (Chapter 105).

In a city (Chapter 106), Lakshmī and Kubera are installed at the east gate, and those who see the two gain the wealth of Lakshmī. A temple built in the west of the city faces east, one in the east faces west, and one in the south faces north. For the protection of the city, temples of Indra, Vishṇu and the other devatās are built; cities, villages, forts and houses without devatās are enjoyed by piśācas and afflicted by many diseases. In the house, the north-east is the room for the devatās.

The Glory of Temples in the Agni Purāṇa (Chapter 327)

Chapter 327 of the Agni Purāṇa expands on the māhātmya (glory) of temples and the observances linked with them. Here Parameśvara teaches Skanda. First he explains the proper pūjā of various presiding deities and the use of different kinds of japa-mālā (prayer beads) for different purposes:

The chapter then turns to the supreme merit of building and serving temples.

Parameśvara also teaches that a mālā may be used with or without a meru (head bead), and the meru must never be crossed in japa; in mental japa the beads are moved with the ring finger and thumb, and in whispered japa with the index finger and thumb; if the mālā slips and falls through carelessness, japa is done two hundred times. The ghaṇṭā (bell) is made of all musical instruments, and ringing it in the house and in the temple serves every purpose. The Śiva-liṅga is purified with cow-dung, cow’s urine, anthill earth, bhasma (ash) and water.

The Greatness of the Śiva-Liṅga

The chapter declares that the mantra “Namaḥ Śivāya” fulfils all wishes. In the Veda it is known as the pañcākshara (five syllables), and in common use as the shaḍakshara (six syllables). Just as the great vaṭa (banyan) tree lies hidden in a single vaṭa seed, so Śiva dwells gathered within the Oṃkāra. The full mantra “Oṃ Namaḥ Śivāya, Īśānaḥ sarva-vidyānām…” stands as the whole of all the sciences (sarva-vidyā-samudāya).

The Agni Purāṇa declares that one who does not worship the Śiva-liṅga is cut off from dharma. Liṅga-pūjā gives both bhukti (enjoyment) and mukti (liberation). So the liṅga must be worshipped all through one’s life. One must not take food without first worshipping the Śiva-liṅga, even if life itself were at stake.

The Merit of Pūjā to Each Deity

The chapter gives the fruit (phala) of pūjā to each deity:

• Pūjā of Rudra gives Rudra-sārūpya (a form like Rudra’s)
• Pūjā of Vishṇu gives Vishṇu-sārūpya
• Pūjā of Sūrya gives Sūrya-sārūpya
• Pūjā of Śakti gives Śakti-sārūpya

All the fruits of complete yajña, tapas (discipline) and dāna (giving) are gained through pūjā. One who installs a Śiva-liṅga gets a crore (ten million) times the merit. One who makes a pārthiva-liṅga (a liṅga of earth) every day, worships it with bilva leaves, and does this three times a day (tri-kāla), purifies one hundred and eleven generations of his family and raises them to svarga.

More on the Merit of Building a Temple

Chapter 327 adds several important points to the teaching of Chapter 38. Temples should be built according to one’s means (yathā-śakti) and with devotion (bhakti-pūrvakam). A poor man (daridra) who spends little but acts with devotion receives the same fruit as a rich man (dhanika) who spends far more. The merit is measured by how much of one’s own means is given, not by the amount. The practical rule is to divide one’s income into four parts: two parts for dharma-karma (religious duties) and two parts kept for one’s living, since life is not permanent (jīvanam anityam).

The merit is stated in terms of family and moksha. One who builds a temple frees twenty-one generations of ancestors and fulfils all wishes. The building material increases the merit in rising order: mud, wood, brick and stone, each giving a crore times more merit than the one before. Even eight bricks set in the outline of a shrine earn svargaloka. Even a child who builds a play-temple from dust gains the fulfilment of all the heart’s wishes (abhīshṭa-manoratha-siddhi).

Explaining the shaḍakshara, Parameśvara says that “Oṃ Namaḥ Śivāya” is itself the highest state, and that Bhagavān Śiva, who grants dharma, artha, kāma and moksha, abides in the liṅga for the grace of the worlds; therefore the liṅga is worshipped with this mantra.

Temples in the Teaching on Dāna and Rājadharma

The Agni Purāṇa returns to the temple in other chapters. Founding step-wells, wells, tanks, temples and houses of free food, and making gardens, is called pūrta, and pūrta gives mukti; dāna given unasked at tīrthas such as Gaṅgā, Yamunā and Prayāga, and in a temple, is the best (Chapter 209). Those who build temples and make images of the devatās gain all they desire; one who sweeps and washes in temples becomes free of pāpa; and offering gandha, flowers, dhūpa, lamps, naivedya, pradakshiṇa, a bell, a banner and cloth, with darśana, dance and song before the devatā, gives bhukti and mukti (Chapter 211). The king, devoted to the devas, builds temples, installs the devatās and protects the temples. A mūrti may be of clay; more sacred in rising order are wood, brick, stone, gold and gems. One who builds a temple with bhakti gains bhukti and mukti; the king has paintings made in the temple, arranges song and instruments, and gives beautiful things as dāna; and one who bathes the devatā with oil, ghee, honey and milk attains svarga (Chapter 222). When the kumbha of a temple is lost or damaged, the prāyaścitta is a hundred-fold japa (Chapter 174), and the gift of a dhvaja, a ratha-yātrā and bali made for the Devī grant all desired things (Chapter 185).

The Matsya Purāṇa on Prāsādas (Chapter 268)

The Matsya Purāṇa, in Chapters 268 and 269, gives its own separate list of types of prāsāda and maṇḍapa. It is told by Bhagavān Matsya, the fish avatāra, to Manu. Scholars of temple architecture note that this list is one of the oldest layers of prāsāda teaching, older than the detailed systems of the Mānasāra, the Samarāṅgaṇa-sūtradhāra and the Vishṇudharmottara Purāṇa. Surviving examples of the form it describes can be seen at Ālampur (in Mahbubnagar district) and in a ruined temple at Pedda-Tumbalam near Ādoni.

The Temple as the Body of Bhagavān Vishṇu: The Nāgara Tradition

The Matsya Purāṇa begins its teaching with a deep statement. The living body itself is the temple, and the living consciousness (jīva-caitanya) dwelling in it is the eternal Paramātmā (Supreme Self). Seen from the other side, the temple is the body of Bhagavān Vishṇu, and the consecrated image set in the garbhālaya is the living consciousness within that body: Bhagavān Vishṇu himself is directly present there.

The Matsya‘s list belongs wholly to the Nāgara (northern) tradition, which it clearly sets apart from the Drāviḍa tradition. The Nāgara temple is compared to a human being standing upright, built to a great height. The Matsya says plainly that a temple’s height measured by the liṅga method (liṅgamānataḥ) is much greater than one measured by the garbhālaya method (garbhamānataḥ).

Four Ways of Measuring

The Matsya gives four systems for fixing all the measurements of a temple:

1. Sāmānya (general) method: the size of the temple site is fixed first, and every other part is worked out in proportion to it.
2. Liṅga-māna method: the size of the liṅga (or the arcā-mūrti, the image for worship) is fixed first, and the temple’s size is worked out from it.
3. Garbhālaya-māna method: the garbhālaya is divided into nine equal parts (3 × 3). The central part holds the pīṭhikā (pedestal) with the liṅga. The eight parts around it form the inner walls, five parts high, and the śikhara rises to twice that height.
4. A variant of the garbhālaya method, in which the site square is divided and the rathaka (a chariot-like projection) is built three parts wide on all three sides.

In the third method, the height of the śikhara is divided into four parts. Two parts form the vedī-bandha (the base band). The remaining fourth part holds the śrīkaṇṭha and the āmalasāra. The kapolas (projecting pilasters, called bhadra and pratibhadra) are built two on each of three sides. The whole is decorated with patravallīs (leaf-and-vine patterns) and aṇḍakas (small egg-shaped turrets).

The Twenty Types of Prāsāda

The Matsya names twenty types of prāsāda. The first seven suit a jyeshṭha (large) liṅga or image. The next eight suit a madhyama (middle-sized) liṅga. The last five suit a kanishṭha (small) liṅga. All may be built of brick, stone or wood, and they come with toraṇas (grand gateways).

Garuḍa also appears as an extra type in the detailed descriptions after the main list. It is described as having 7 bhūmikās with 3 candraśālās and lion forms on both sides, and variant forms with 6 and 10 bhūmikās are also mentioned.

For yakshas, rākshasas and nāgas, prāsādas are built to a measure of seven hastas (saptahasta).

The Valabhī-Style Prāsāda for Gaurī

The Matsya gives a special instruction for the Valabhī-chanda prāsāda, a temple in the valabhī style (possibly a barrel-vaulted or trapezoid form). Here Gaurī is worshipped in one of two forms:

• Tapovana form (as an ascetic in the forest): with a jaṭā-mukuṭa (crown of matted hair), and in her four hands the varada and abhaya mudrās (gestures of giving and of fearlessness), an akshamālā (rosary) and a kamaṇḍalu (water-pot).
• Gṛhastha form (as a householder): with a red crown (rakta-mukuṭa), and in her four hands an utpala (water-lily), an aṅkuśa (goad) and the varada and abhaya mudrās, with her consort Śiva and with Vināyaka (Gaṇeśa).

The Matsya Purāṇa on Maṇḍapas (Chapter 269)

The Twenty-Seven Types of Maṇḍapa

The Matsya lists 27 types of maṇḍapa (pillared hall), grouped as jyeshṭha (large), madhyama (middle) and kanishṭha (small). They are arranged by number of pillars, from 64 down to 12, with two fewer pillars at each step:

Five Ground Plans and Their Fruits

The shape of the plan (saṃsthāna) of a maṇḍapa decides the benefit it brings:

A maṇḍapa built in any of these five shapes is auspicious. One built in any other shape brings fear.

The Layout of the Maṇḍapa

The maṇḍapa site is divided into a grid of 64 squares (8 × 8). The dvāra (gateway) is placed at the middle, at the 4th and 5th squares. The gateway is twice as tall as it is wide. The door-bolt (kaṭi) is one-third the width of the door. The inner chamber (maṇḍapa-garbha) takes up half the full width of the maṇḍapa; on the 64-square grid it falls within the 3-4-5-7 square from each side. Its door is three times as tall as it is wide; or the width of the inner door may be half the width of the chamber. All doors are made of udumbara (sacred fig) wood.

Door heights follow a graded scheme, measured in aṅgulas (finger-widths):

All these set heights are acceptable. Any other height causes distress of mind.

The Layout of the Sacred Grounds

The Matsya sets out the full plan of the temple grounds around the maṇḍapa:

• East: fruit-bearing trees, and trees with milky sap (such as the sacred fig)
• South and west: a pool decorated with lotuses and lilies
• North: tall palms and similar trees, and a flower garden
• All directions: still or flowing water wherever there is room

Within the grounds:

• South: a residence for tapasvīs (those given to japa, tapas or yoga)
• North: the Saptamātṛkā-gṛha (shrine of the Seven Mothers), a yajñaśālā (hall for fire offerings) and a place for bathing
• Āgneya (south-east): the kitchen
• Nairṛtya (south-west): the Vināyaka-gṛha (shrine of Gaṇeśa)
• West: the shrine of Vishṇu and the place for bali offerings
• North-west: lodging for pilgrims
• Front (east): the Vṛshabha-sthāna (Nandī‘s place)
• West, at the Soma position (or north): the Manmatha-sthāna (place of Kāma)
• North-east, by the water: the form of Vishṇu lying on the waters (Śeshaśāyī-sthāna)

The Matsya declares: whoever builds a temple with bells, festival decorations, many toraṇas, regular utsavas (festivals) and joyful crowds of worshippers, Lakshmī never leaves that person in this life. In the next life they enjoy svarga and are honoured by the devas.

Per Bhavishya Purāṇa

Nārada teaches Sāmba (Brahma Parva, Chapter 130)

Śatānīka asks by whose word Sāmba had the prāsāda built for Bhagavān Sūrya, and Sumantu Muni tells him. As soon as the Sūrya pratimā was found in the Candrabhāgā, Sāmba thought of Nārada in his mind, and at once Nārada Maharshi appeared. Sāmba honoured him and asked what fruit comes to one who builds a prāsāda for Bhagavān Sūrya. Nārada said: “One who has a Sūrya temple built in a beautiful place goes to Sūryaloka, without doubt.” Sāmba asked how it should be built, on what ground, and what kind of temple is best.

Where the devas are present

A temple is built for the growth of fame and dharma in places with abundant water, where it shows full in wells and the like and where it lies unseen in the ground. By performing yajñas and by making tanks, gardens and the like one gains the highest lokas. Temples of the devas are built where water, gardens and flower groves are seen, for in temples at such a place, and in their surroundings, the devas stay present.

The devas sport by lakes covered with lotuses so that they refuse the rays of the sun, with pure waters strewn by haṃsas with rows of fragrant water lilies, sounding with the cries of haṃsas, krauñcas and cakravākas, with travellers resting in the cool shade around them. They sport by rivers that the text describes as a woman: her speech the cries of krauñcas in rows like a girdle, with the soft sweet sounds of kalahaṃsas, her upper cloth the streams of water, her girdle the rows of fish, her dwelling the ground beneath clumps of budding trees, her hips the meeting points of rivers, her raised breasts the sandbanks, her laughter the water itself, going to low ground and deep within. Their other grounds are places near gardens, regions with rivers and hills made fit for people to stroll, and towns with groves full of fruit and flowers. The sites laid down by vāstu-śāstra for the houses of brāhmaṇas and the other varṇas are the very sites praised for building temples.

The measures

The devāyatana is built with an area of 64 square feet, with the door at the exact middle so that the two sides are equal. The height is twice the width. The kaṭi (middle portion) equals one third of the height. Half of the width is the garbhāgāra (inner chamber). A fourth part is the Sūrya pratimā, and the width of the other two pratimās, of Saṃjñā and Chāyā, is less than it by a quarter. The door’s width is best in measures of three, five, seven or nine divisions. Upon the doors are carved bilva, śamī, aśvattha, Sūrya, Candra, a bird, and kalaśas with svastikas. Relief work stands out by an eighth part.

The twenty kinds of prāsāda

Nārada says there are twenty kinds, and names: Meru, Kailāsa, Vimānacchadana, Samudra, Padma, Garuḍa, Nandivardhana, Kuñjara, Gṛharāja, Vṛsha, Haṃsa, Sarvatobhadraka, Ghaṭa, Siṃha, Vṛsha, Catushkoṇa, Shoḍaśāśraya and Ashṭāśraya. He gives these marks:

Viśvakarmā spoke of three thousand prāsādas. A prāsāda with a kapota-pācika (a pigeon’s nest) gains distinction.

Site and testing of the ground

Sāmba asked which kind is for Bhagavān Sūrya, which site is best, and which way the mandira should face. Nārada said: build the Sūrya mandira in the middle of the town, or near the east gate on its eastern side. First test the ground, and only then build.

• The soil should have a good fragrance and a good taste, and the site should be low-lying.
• It should be free of stone chips, chaff, hair, bones, salt, ash, dhattūra, charcoal and the like.
• It should have the sound of thunder and of the dundubhi, and be fertile so that any seed will sprout.
• White ground is best for brāhmaṇas, red for kshatriyas, yellow-green for vaiśyas, black for śūdras.
• The pit test: in the middle of the tested ground smear a square of four mūras, lower it by one mūra, dig a pit ten aṅgulas deep at the centre, and fill it with the earth dug out. If it fills level, the ground is of even quality. If earth falls short, it is poor. If earth is left over, the site brings prosperity.

The Sūrya mandira should always face east. When it cannot be avoided it may face west, but it is best to make an east-facing place.

The shrines and attendants

• South of the building: the snāna-gṛha of Bhagavān Sūrya.
• North of the main mandira: the agnihotra house.
• The mandiras of Bhagavān Śiva and of the Mātṛkās: facing north.
• The ālaya of Brahmā: to the west. The ālaya of Bhagavān Vishṇu: towards the north.
• On the right a neem tree, and on the left the mandira of Rājñī.
• To the right of Bhagavān Sūrya, Piṅgala; to the left, Daṇḍanāyaka.
• In front of him, the place of Śrī and Mahāśvetā.
• Outside the deva-gṛha, in the east: the Aśvinī Kumāras.
• In the second enclosure: Rājña and Sausha. In the third: Kalmāsha and Pakshin.
• Towards the south: Daṇḍa and Māṭhara.
• In the north: Kubera, honoured by the lokas. North of him: Vināyaka, together with Revata.

Wherever there is room, the mandiras of those devas are built in the directions laid down.

The maṇḍalas and arghya

Two maṇḍalas are made for giving arghya, on the left and on the right. In the morning arghya is offered at the southern maṇḍala, and at sunset at the northern maṇḍala. The Sūrya pratimā is set by rule on a cakra-shaped pīṭha and in the snāna-gṛha given abhisheka with the waters of four auspicious kalaśas, to the sound of auspicious instruments and śaṅkhas. Pūjā of Bhagavān Sūrya is done in the third maṇḍala, made between the front of the temple and the pratimā: square, with four śṛṅgas, measured with cord by the sūtras of pratimā-śāstra. Before it, facing Bhagavān Sūrya, Diṇḍi is set. At midday arghya is offered here to the Vyoma, full of all the devas. Or a third maṇḍala is made in the shape of a cakra, with Bhagavān Sūrya set upon it. For the reading of the Purāṇas and Itihāsas an assembly hall is built wherever convenient.

Nārada closed: “Of the prāsādas, the two kinds Gṛharāja and Sarvatobhadra are dear to Sūrya Deva.”

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 130

Building as pūrta karma (Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 1, Chapter 9)

Sūta tells the brāhmaṇas that the installation and pūjā of a devatā is bahirvedi or pūrta karma, and that of the many kinds of pūrta three are chief: installing a devatā, building a prāsāda, and building a tank and the like.

• Grades of pratishṭhā. In every pratishṭhā, pūjā, havana and dāna are chief. The uttama is completed in three days, with pūjā of twenty-eight devatās and sixteen brāhmaṇas as reciters of japa; it has the fruit of an aśvamedha. In the madhyama, four learned brāhmaṇas perform the rite with twenty-three devatās in a single day. The kanishṭha has arcanā only of Gaṇapati, the grahas, the dikpālas, Varuṇa and Bhagavān Śiva.
• Measures. A prāsāda of sixty-one hastas is uttama, one of half that is madhyama, one of half of that is kanishṭha. One who desires aiśvarya builds the prāsāda in proportion to the pratimā.
• Phala. One who builds a temple reaches Vishṇuloka and attains mukti in due order. One who protects a temple that has fallen or is falling gains the fruit of all puṇyas. One who has temples built of Vishṇu, Śiva, Sūrya, Brahmā, Durgā, Lakshmī-Nārāyaṇa and others uplifts his kula, dwells in svargaloka for a koṭi kalpas, and then is born a king or a most honoured wealthy man. One who installs many devatās in the temple of Bhagavatī Tripurasundarī is ever honoured in svargaloka.
• Rules. Temples and tanks are built near populous villages and consecrated by the śāstra’s vidhi; one who does not perform the pratishṭhā incurs fear of misfortune and a share of pāpa. No house for living in should be built above water or above a prāsāda. A Śivaliṅga, consecrated or not, must never be uprooted. Other pratimās and devavṛkshas that have received pūjā must not be moved; one who moves them goes to the Raurava naraka. But if a town has been laid waste, or one’s place must be left, or there is upheaval, the pratishṭhā should be done again without hesitation. Without an auspicious muhūrta a devamandira must not be established. A pushkariṇī should be built in front of a devatā’s temple.

Testing the land (Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 1, Chapters 10–11)

Ploughing and sowing. The land taken by measure is purified and ploughed by bullocks to ten hastas or five. Land for a devamandira is ploughed with white bullocks, and land for a well or garden with black bullocks. Land for a graha-yāga need only be cleaned. The place is ploughed for three days and five grains are sown; seven for the deva side and for a garden. The five are mūṅga, uḍada, dhāna, tila and sāṃcā; with masūra and maṭara or caṇā they are seven. Land where the seed sprouts in three nights is uttama, in five nights madhyama, in seven nights kanishṭha, and kanishṭha land is given up altogether. White, red, yellow and black land is praised for the brāhmaṇa and the other three varṇas in that order.

The four wicks. A stake of bilva wood, one aratni long, is driven into a pit of twelve aṅgulas. On the part above the ground four sticks are fixed on the four sides, wrapped with wool, soaked in oil, and lit as four wicks. If the wicks on the east and west stay alight, it is auspicious. If those on the south and north stay alight, it is inauspicious. If all four go out or burn low, it brings calamity.

The vāstu pūjā. The tested land is surrounded with thread and fixed with pegs, and pūjā of Vāstu is done. Then the vāstu-bali is given, and pūjā of the digging tool. In the middle of the vāstu, on a measure of one hasta, the ground is smeared with ghee, honey, water mixed with gold and water mixed with gems, facing north-east. While digging one recites the mantra ‘आ ब्रह्मन्०’. Of one who builds a prāsāda, tank and the like without pūjā of the Vāstu devatā, Yamarāja destroys half the puṇya. Where a pillar is needed, yūpas of sāla, khaira, palāsa, kesara, bela and bakula are praised in Kaliyuga.

Other rules. A pure day must be taken for all pratishṭhā rites. A tank should be built at a devasthāna. At the pratishṭhā of a Śivaliṅga, other devas should not be installed; one acts according to the bounds of place and time.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 1, Chapters 9–11

Sources

• Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 38–45, 56, 60–61, 65, 95–97, 101–106, 174, 185, 209, 211, 222, 327, 363, 383
• Matsya Purāṇa, Chapters 268–269
• Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 130; Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 1, Chapters 9–11