Symbolism in Hindu Architecture (AS REVEALED IN THE SHRI MINAKSHI SUNDARESWAR)

About the Book:

The theme of this work is the symbolic significance of the magnificent architecture of a unique South Indian temple in Madura. Due to its largely isolated state from external disturbances throughout history, South India developed its own style of Dravidian Architecture. In its latter periods the Nayaks of Madura were builders of great temples throughout the region. The temple at Madura is one of these characteristic temple, which began around 1550 and finished around 1640.

The temple, in the Shaivaite tradition, is dedicated to Shiva and to his consort, Parvati. Minakshi, the fish-eyed goddess is an aspect of Paravati, and Sundareswar is an aspect of Shiva. It was under this form that he married a local maiden and this occasion is perpetuated in the Great Temple at Madura. Shri Minakshi Sundareswar temple is thus in its very name and in its architectural arrangement the symbol of the union of divine 'masculinity' and 'femininity', of Purusha (Essence) and Prakriti (substance), Metaphysical principles unmanifested in themselves, but from which union and from which union alone universal manifestation proceeds.

The passage through the temple is described and illustrated with a single goal in mind: gaining insight into the meaning of the symbols of space and the architectural configurations, tracing the way from the exterior to the interior, from the peripheral to the central, from the contingent to the essential, from the finite to the infinite.

The text, the photographs and diagrams fathom the unbreakable bond between the spatial arrangements of South Indian sacred architecture and the metaphysical principles from where the formal arrangements derive. The approach of interpretation seeks to stay faithful to traditional orthodox Hindu doctrine, based on the Vedas in the first place, on the Puranas, and on the Shilpa Shastras - which deal with the arts in general - and the Vastu Shastras - which deal with the science of architecture. It is hoped that by illustrating not just the Temple but also the metaphysical and symbolic meanings that underlie, the reader will be helped to understand the deepest essence of the civilization and be given opportunities to better comprehend man and his aspirations.

About the Author:

DR. L. Peter Kollar, an architect, was born in 1926 and educated in Hungary. After the Second World War he emigrated to Australia, where he completed his architectural education. It was there that he came in touch with eastern thought and was attracted to the sacred texts of the Hindu tradition. A journey to India followed, and the present work is the fruit of the profound impressions gained on that journey and of further theoretical studies in the Hindu doctrine.

in 1957, Dr. Kollar joined the academic staff of the University of New South Wales in Sydney. He has taught there ever since, and is now Visiting Professor. His major interests developed in the theory of architecture, theory of form and sacred architecture, published in a number of articles and monographs. His major work on symbolism in Christian architecture illuminates certain hidden, but essential parallels in the symbolism of number and of spatial configurations, common to most sacred tradition throughout the world.

Contents

List of Illustrations
Introduction

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PART I: THE GATE AND ITS GUARDIANS

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1. Ganesha, Goad of Beginning
2. Gopurams: The Gates
3. The Face of Glory

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PART II: BETWEEN BOUNDARY AND CENTRE

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1. Circumambulation
2. Patterns of the Vedic Altar
3. Subtle Forms of the Interspace
4. The Primordial Duad
5. Symbols of Universal Possibility

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PART III: THE DIVINE MEASURE OF THE CORE

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1. Vimana of Lord Sundareswar
2. The Primordial Sacrifice
3. The Vastupurusha Mandala
4. From Unity to Quadrature
5. Pegging and Inseminating the Ground

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PART IV: THE SYMBOL OF TRANSCENDENCE

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1. The Womb of Spiritual Rebirth
2. The Axis of the Universe
3. The Three-dimensional Cross

Glossary
Sources and Bibliography
1. Traditional Texts
2. Recent Works on doctrine, Symbolism and Art
3. Descriptive and Pictorial Works

Index