1979/04/01 by Michael W. Meister · 3 citations
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Indian and Buddhist Studies #Anthropological Studies and Insights #Historical and Architectural Studies #Mandala #Hinduism #Eleventh #Ninth #Architecture #Ancient history #History #Temple #Geography #Central asia #Archaeology #Philosophy #Religious studies
paper · doi:10.2307/602657
openalex publication_date 1979/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
<p>A field study of Hindu monuments in Northern India shows that the 64-square grid of the Vāstupuruṣamaṇḍala prescribed in texts for temple structures was given practical application in developing groundplans for temples in the seventh and eighth centuries. Central and Western India had separate systems for application of this Maṇḍala. Constructional and aesthetic considerations alter the Maṇḍala's utility as the architecture and ornament of the Hindu temple develop in the eighth century. Regional interaction can be traced in the ninth century as Central India adopts and adjusts the Western Indian system. Reference to such a Maṇḍala may be found in the proportions of temples as late as the eleventh century in the moldings of the central Prāsāda. The ritual grid, however, no longer was itself of use for the temple's construction.</p>