Built Formdraftschool: pan-indian· Bṛhat Saṁhitā

Temple (prasada)

prāsāda

frm-prasada

Definition

The Hindu temple as a proportioned edifice: built on a 64-pada site (56.10), with height twice its width, a stepped plinth (kati) one-third of the height, a sanctum (garbha) half the width, a door one-quarter of the sanctum wide and twice as high, multi-frame doorways, dvarapala and auspicious carvings, and an idol-plus-pedestal sized to the door less an eighth (idol 2 parts : pedestal 1).

Classical

Prāṇa relevance

The garbha = 'womb' and the body-proportioned scheme make the prasada a cosmic-body homologue, parallel to the dwelling's Vastu-Purusha. BS 56 states proportion, not soma; the homology is a Phase 3 reasoning target, not asserted here.

Connections (4)

derived-from · 1

→Garga (architectural teaching)Classical
BS 56.30: the author states he has incorporated all that Garga expounded, with authority drawn from Manu and others.

embodies · 1

→64-pada plot scheme (Brihat Samhita)Classical
BS 56.10 fixes the temple site at 64 squares (the same grid the dwelling chapter offered as the alternative to 81). Bhat cross-refers LIII.65; the deity-bearing grid underlies the temple as it does the house, with the garbha over the center.

measured-by · 1

→Hasta (cubit)Classical
BS 56.11–28 dimensions the whole edifice and its type-series on the hasta/angula system established in ch. 53.

prerequisite-of · 1

←Secure water and gardens before building a templeClassical
BS 56.1 makes water-and-garden provision the first step ('after securing... one should build').

Sources

txt-brihat-samhita56.10–16Classical✓ verifiedsite, full proportion scheme
txt-utpala-vivrtion 56.13 (via Bhat)Classical✓ verifiedthe multi-frame door is built by summing as many frame-widths as needed

Other attributes

Form Class: prasada
Proportions: {"height":"2 × width (56.11)","kati_plinth":"1/3 of height (56.11)","garbha":"1/2 width (56.12)","door_width":"1/4 of garbha (56.12)","door_height":"2 × door width (56.12)","door_sideframe_breadth":"1/4 of door height (56.13)","threshold_and_lintel":"same as side-frame (56.13)","frame_thickness":"1/4 of frame breadth (56.13)","frame_count":"3, 5, 7, or 9 frames commended (56.14)","dvarapala_zone":"lower 1/4 of doorpost holds two door-keepers; rest carved (56.14–15)","idol_plus_pedestal":"door height − 1/8; idol : pedestal = 2 : 1 (56.16)"}
Site: 64-pada grid; main gate in any cardinal direction (56.10)
Prerequisites: abundant water (tanks/lakes) and gardens secured first (56.1–8)

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