Design concepts of the Angkor wat temple

Ancient Brahmin in SEA-The Cultural Influences on Southeast Asian Culture!🧡

This theory claims that the Brahmins, the priests, were mainly responsible for the spread of
Indian culture throughout Southeast Asia.
As said in the previous theory, the Vaishya Theory, a certain amount of power and authority
was required for such a deep pervasion of the Indian culture. The Brahmins were the highest
level in the caste system, deeply knowledgeable on the concepts of the political system and the
religious system and thus able to spread these concepts to the countries and local
communities in Southeast Asia.
Furthermore, as they were the highest caste, it is likely that the local rulers themselves would
have welcomed and respected their presence. The Brahmins interacted with the local rulers,
becoming counsellors in court and legitimising the local rulers by giving them a sort of
genealogical list, supporting them politically.
Additionally, they were knowledgeable in the concepts of the cosmic universe, which would
have intrigued the locals with its mystique, as the majority of the locals then practiced
animism and was greatly curious about the spirits around them.
It is not a far leap to assume that the Brahmins could easily influence the rulers and the
community with the Indian culture.
Reference: INDIANISATION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Brahmin from Cambodia He is shown sitting in a cusped

arched niche of Hampi type. Raise of arch is equal to the

height of supporting columns. In Kamal Mahal of Hampi,

we see similar arches albeit with different proportion.

Arch is decorated with foliage pattern of Angkor type.

Definition. When referring to architecture; a concept is an idea, thought or notion

that forms the backbone and foundation of a design project and one that drives it
forward. It becomes the force and identity behind a projects progress and is
consistently consulted throughout every stage of its development.Every architectural
project is derived from a concept
An architectural concept is the meaning and reason to the end product (the
completed building or structure) and is the very first part of the design process to
be developed and realized much like a seed is to plant. And just like a plant seed it
can come from a vast array of sources, and produce a huge amount of variations
and outcomes. It is also the one of the only consistent element that follows a
project from beginning to end and remains as important at the start as it is at the
finish.

An architectural concept can be described as an: idea, notion, opinion,

abstraction, philosophy, belief, inspiration, thought, in Architectural concepts
should primarily be generated from three key areas;  Intention, theory, image, plan,
or hypothesis.

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 The Site – climate, orientation, views, access, context, history, use … site
analyse
 Design brief – client and building requirements, accommodation, and
construction budget
 Building typology – Building type and use
…But can also be generated in full or in part by building program, culture, society,
technology, emotion, and sense. 

That said, more often than not, an exemplar piece of architecture will always be
well rooted and relate to its site and context, and so site analysis plays a huge role
in architectural concept generation and development.This can then backed and
supported by the design brief and building typology.
How and what do they influence?
Design concepts will and should influence the whole project, and include the:

 Exterior and interior – orientation, massing, form, apertures, height, light

 The landscape – hard and soft surfaces, types of planting, scale of painting,
arrangement of planting
 Finishes – colors, styles, textures, materials
 Fixtures and fittings – genre, style, scale, amount, material
 Structure – light, heavy, traditional, modern, vernacular
 Materials – colors, hard or soft, weathering, types, styles, locally sourced,
vernaculars

Each aspect of a project should be derived from and be driven by a concept; this
could be a singular global conceptual approach for the whole project, or individual
conceptual approaches applied to each aspect. A strong architecture concept gives
the architect / designer a clear direction and framework when making design
decisions; it provides a methodology to the thinking process by offering a type of
rule book. When there is a question to be answered or a decision to be made, the
concept is consulted and used to direct methods of thinking to provide a solution
within its own parameters to maintain the clarity of the design intent. This stops
the architect from branching off into never-ending directions and tangents, that
will only hinder and water down the architectures legitimacy.

In academic and professional terms, the difference between a successful project

and an average one is judged by the strength of its concept and whether its clarity
remained and was kept consistent throughout.

Priests Upheld a Unique and Royal Tradition in Cambodia

Cambodia has Brahmanism in its history. Centuries ago in the chambers of Angkor
Wat and Bayon temple, Brahman priests serving Angkorian kings presided over sacred
ceremonies. Descendants of the Indian priest caste who brought their religion to
Cambodia centuries before Buddhism took root, the Brahmans served as mystics,
clairvoyants, advisers and clergy. When the Indian entrance became effective, it
brought in the Brahmans. Although there was Buddhism, [there] has been Brah-

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manism all along—the state religion and the king’s religion. Brahmanism has always
been part of the Cambodian royalty. Even today the burden of upholding that royal
tradition falls on the gaunt, hunched shoulders of Kang Ken, Cambodia’s head Brah-
man priest and a civil servant in the Ministry of the Royal Palace.

They passed down their faith from one generation of men to the next, in a chain of
tradition that withstood centuries of warring regimes and even the cultural destruction
wreaked by the Khmer Rouge. The Brahmans have homes outside the palace, and
unlike Buddhist monks, they are allowed to marry and have children, thereby keeping
alive the practice through their family lines.And for the Brahmans, that may be the
greatest challenge of all.

Brahman was the teacher for the King—the royal teacher.The previous kings always
got advice from Brahmans—they had Brahmans who could predict the future and
Brahmans who played other roles. The current-day kings: Sometimes they get advice,
sometimes they only get the blessing.
Today, priests are conspicuous for their unusual dress: They wear only white, black
and red, and are forbidden to cut their hair. Their duties include performing elaborate
ceremonies: one for each month, plus the annual plowing ceremony, another ritual
near Khmer New Year, one on Pchum Ben and others. As late as the 1960s, the Brah-
mans were a highly visible element of palace life, said Alain Daniel, who holds a
doctorate in oriental literature and civilization.

Khmer kings looked to the Brahmans to bring good fortune to the nation.
It is said that one year when there was no rain, all of the kings of Cambodia—in-
cluding King Norodom Sihanouk, and his father, King Norodom Suramrit—asked the
Brahman priests to be an intermediary with the Hindu gods, so that the rain would
come.Traditionally, when one Brahmin retired his son( not daughter) would continue
this position.
 Samantha Melamed and Kuch Naren , 2005

Architecture needs to be grounded in depth and meaning and the more coherent
and relevant it is, the more successful and interesting it becomes …the concept
brings richness to the design. Then it is quite possible that the Brahmin played an
important part in conceptualizing and giving Religious shape to the monuments
design masters together with the other actors who built the temples

The Sdok Kak Thom Inscription in Thailand: The inscription (classified K.

235) is a 340-line composition, in both Sanskrit and ancient Khmer, carved on
a gray sandstone stele 1.51 meters high that stood in the northeast corner of
the temple's court. Dating to 8 February 1053, it recounts two and a half
centuries of service that members of the temple's founding family provided to
the Khmer court, mainly as chief chaplains to kings. In laying out this long
role, the text provides a remarkable and often poetically worded look at the
faith, royal lineage, history and social structure of the times.

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Northeastern library. Photo c. 1980 / The Inscription RIGHT PIC

The Sanskrit text opens: "Homage to Śiva whose essence is highly proclaimed
without words by the subtle Śiva, His form, who pervades (everything) from
within and who activates the senses of living beings." The inscription is
perhaps most useful to historians in providing an account of twelve Khmer
kings who ruled over the course of the two and a half centuries. It recounts
monarchs' spiritual and martial virtues and basic events of their reigns. “As a
teacher zealously impels his disciples or a father his children, so did he, for the
sake of his duty, zealously impel his subjects, rightfully securing them
protection and nourishment,” says the inscription of Udayādityavarman II. “In
battle he held a sword which became red with the blood of the shattered enemy
kings and spread on all sides its rising lustre, as if it were a red lotus come out
of its chalice [or, applied to the sword: drawn out of its scabbard], which he
had delightedly seized from the Fortune of war by holding her by the hair(or
better, correcting lakṣmyāḥ in to lakṣmyā: which the Fortune of war, after he
had seized her hair, had delightedly offered him).”
The earliest king mentioned is Jayavarman II, who historians generally
consider, partly on the authority of this inscription, to have founded the Khmer
empire in c. 800. The text includes the oft-cited detail that he came from a
country named Java which meanwhile by most scholars, such as Charles
Higham, was seen as a foreign people living in the east whose name is derived
probably from Sanskrit yavana (wise), perhaps referring to the kingdom
of Champa. The Khmer portion of the text goes on to say: “A Brahman named
Hiraṇyadāman, skilled in magic and science," was invited by the king "to
perform a ceremony that would make it impossible for this country of
the Kambuja to pay any allegiance to Java and that there should be, in this
country, one sole sovereign.” 
The inscription documents nine generations of the temple's priestly
family starting with Śivakaivalya, Jayavarman II's chaplain. The advisors
are praised in the same adulatory tone as is employed for the kings. The text
gives a detailed account of how the family systematically expanded its holdings
of land and other property over the course of its long relationship with the royal
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household. The final chaplain named in the text, Sadasiva, is recorded as
leaving the holy orders and marrying a sister of the primary queen of
Suryavarman. The man was given a new name and placed in charge of
construction projects. His career appears to have closed out the family's role in
the royal inner circle; the family is never heard from again in inscriptions.
Devaraja Cult: Scholars have paid special attention to the inscription's
account of the cult of the devarāja, a key part of the Khmer court's religious
ritual. “Hiraṇyadāma(n), the best of brahmins, with superior intelligence
like Brahmā, came, moved with compassion. To the king Jayavarman II he
carefully revealed a magic which had not been obtained by other people,” the
text reads. The king was instructed in four holy treatises. “After carefully
extracting the quintessence of the treatises by his experience and
understanding of the mysteries, this brahmin contrived the magic rites bearing
the name of Devarāja, for increasing the prosperity of the world.” [7] But the
description is sufficiently enigmatic that scholars cannot agree on the cult's
function. The term means obviously "king of the gods," in the sense that one
god, generally Śiva, was recognized as higher than others in the Hindu
pantheon and through his authority brought order to heaven. Court religious
ritual, as described repeatedly in the inscription, focused on maintaining a
linga, or holy shaft, in which Śiva's essence was believed to reside.
The inscription is also key to understanding important events in Khmer
history, such as the late 9th Century relocation of the capital from the area
around the present-day village of Roluos. “Again, the skillful Vāmaśiva was the
preceptor of Śrī Yaśovardhana, bearing as king the name Śrī Yaśovarman,” the
Sanskrit text states. “Invited by the king, he erected a liṅga Mount Yaśodhara,
which was like the king of mountains (Meru) in beauty.”  French scholars
initially believed that Śrī Yaśodharagiri was the mountain-like Bayon temple.
But it is now established that the Bayon was built almost three centuries later
than the event described in the inscription and that the linga was in fact placed
in the newly constructed Phnom Bakheng temple, which stands about two
kilometers south of the Bayon atop a real hill.
The text also notes the relocation of the capital from Angkor to the site now
known as Koh Ker under Jayavarman IV, and turmoil during the times of
King Sūryavarman I. He is described as having dispatched soldiers against
people who had desecrated shrines in the area of Sdok Kok Thom. Historians
generally believe that Sūryavarman fought his way to power, eventually driving
out of Angkor a king named Jayavīravarman (who significantly is not
mentioned in the inscription).
Elsewhere, the text provides myriad details of everyday existence in the empire.
Khmer inscriptions were created in part to glorify heaven and the earthly elite.
For that reason, their value as factual records is often thrown into question.
Overall, there is general consensus among scholars that the words chiseled out
at Sdok Kok Thom are perhaps the most important written explanation that
the Khmer empire provided of itself.

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The inscription's author or authors are not named. Many scholars conclude
firmly that Sadasiva wrote it, at least his lineage; Sak-Humphry believes the
text was likely drafted in consultation with the Brahman, but was meant to
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represent declarations of his king, Udayādityavarman II.
In “India” (of those days) as well as SE Asis, the devarāja order grew out of
both Sanatana Dharma and separate local traditions depending on the area. It
taught that the king was a divine universal ruler, a manifestation of
Shri Bhagawan (often attributed to Shiva or Vishnu). The concept viewed the
monarch to possess transcendental quality, the king as the living god on earth.
The concept is closely related to the Bharati concept of Chakravartin (universal
monarch). In politics, it is viewed as the divine justification of a king's rule. The
concept was institutionalized and gained its elaborate manifestations in
ancient Java and Cambodia, where monuments such
as Prambanan and Angkor Wat were erected to celebrate the king's divine rule
on earth.
The devaraja concept of divine right of kings was adopted by
the indianised Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms of Southeast Asia through Indian
Hindu Brahmins scholars deployed in the courts. It was first adopted by
Javanese kings and through them by various Malay kingdoms, then by the
Khmer empire, and subsequently by the Thai monarchies.
Purpose
The Devaraja concept has been established through rituals and
institutionalized within the Indianized kingdoms of Southeast Asia. It enables
the monarch to claim the divine authority which could be used on ensuring
political legitimacy, managing social order, economic and religious aspects. In
political aspects, it strengthens the justification of the king and the ruling
dynasty as the rightful ruler of the land. It also used to maintain social order,
exalting the king as living god definitely demands the utmost service and
devotion of his people. Introducing the Indian caste system also defining social
class, occupations, as well as the way of life of their people.
The Devaraja religious order also enabled the king to embark on large scale
public works and grand projects, by mobilizing their people to create and
maintain elaborate hydraulic irrigation system to support large
scale rice agriculture or to construct imposing grand monuments and temples
in the king's honor. The example of this grand projects
are Borobudur, Prambanan, also temples and barays in Angkor.
Ritual
Example of the Devaraja religious order — such as demonstrated
by Jayavarman II — associate the king with the Hindu deity Sri Shiva, whose
divine essence was physically embodied by the linga (or lingam), a phallic idol
housed in a mountain temple.  The king was deified in an elaborate and
mystical ceremony, requiring a high priest, in which the divine essence of

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kingship was conferred on the ruler through the agency of the linga. The
safeguarding of the linga became bound up with the security of the kingdom,
and the great temple architecture of the Khmer period attests to the
importance attached to the belief.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: 

I. the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple. It is designed to
represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu and Buddhist
cosmology.
II. Mount Meru he concept of a holy mountain surrounded by various circles
was incorporated into ancient Hindu temple architecture with
a Shikhara (Śikhara) — a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain
peak." Early examples of this style can be found at the Harshat Mata
Temple and Harshnath Temple from the 8th century CE
in Rajasthan, Western India. This concept also continued outside India,
such as in Bali, where temples feature Meru towers.
.
Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west.

The scale replica of the top tier of Angkor Wat created for the 1931 Colonial Exhibition in Paris. To RIGHT

In an article in Beyond Borders Angkor Wat,Suzanne McNeill

(https://www.artsillustrated.in/art-heritage/beyond-borders-angkor-wat/) says that Angkor is
based on the dravidian model of temples”

The Dravidian temples of South India are open and symmetrical, and display perfect geometric shapes
such as circles and squares. This is the model on which Angkor Wat’s temples are based, and indeed
the architects may have been from Pala India, the powerful Buddhist-supporting dynasty that ruled
Bihar and Bengal from the 8th to 12th century. The style, however, was indigenised by local artists.
Whilst the region’s early Hindu temples were built on the same scale as their Indian models, with
stepped, square terraces and narrative reliefs along the terraces, later buildings such as Java’s
Borobudur temple represented a dramatic change of architectural character. Increasingly vast in scale
and monumental in design, temples became works of power as kings sought to accumulate religious
merit and prestige by constructing ever more magnificent buildings.

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The Indian heritage which she claims is prominent throughout Angkor Wat,
particularly in the representations of Vishnu and his avatars, Krishna and Rama.
Dazzling bas-relief carvings depict Vishnu battling against the Asuras, the enemies
of the gods, or riding on his mount, Garuda, half-vulture, half-man. An enduring
contribution of the Pallavas to Angkor Wat is the cult of the eight-armed
Ashtabhuja Vishnu, which forms one of the temple’s major iconographic
influences. Narratives from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana provide extensive
decoration. Episodes include the Ramayana’s long, fierce Battle of Lanka where
lithesome monkey warriors are the central figures, watched by Rama and his
attendants. The Battle of Kurukshetra from the Mahabharata is illustrated, with
the armies of the Kauravas and the Pandavas marching from opposite ends of the
panel towards the centre where they meet in combat. Other friezes that portray
warfare of the Angkor period mark the shift towards a native identity. There are
many depictions of Apsaras and Devatas, semi-divine nymphs and spirits, which
show remarkable diversity of hair, headdresses, garments, stance, jewellery and
decorative flowers, and are believed to be based on the actual practices of the
Khmers. It must all have been DIRECTED by the Brahmins for no one else had
that deep a knowledge of the Hindu Mythology and traditions.

In fact Encyclopedia Britannica states that a Divākarapaṇḍita a powerful Brahmin

Pandit and Religious advisor to the khemer kings played a singular role in Cambodian
history, for it was at his urging that Suryavarman II began construction of the temple
of Angkor Wat, one of the world’s largest religious edifices and certainly one of the
greatest achievements of ancient Khmer, or Cambodian, civilization. One of the
monuments of Angkor Wat commemorates this powerful Brahman.

Divākarapaṇḍita, original name Divākara, (born 1040, Cambodia—died c. 1120),

Hindu of the Brahman (priestly) caste who rose through religious and administrative
ranks to serve four Cambodian kings—Harshavarman II, Jayavarman VI,
Dharanindravarman I, and the great Suryavarman II—and who was the most trusted
adviser to three of them. The highly opportunistic Divākara was able not only to
survive the successive usurpations of monarchies but also to ingratiate himself with
each new sovereign.

Bantey Srei was built to honour a Brahmin Priest

Consecrated on 22 April 967 A.D., Bantãy Srĕi was the only major temple
at Angkor not built by a monarch; its construction is credited to the courtiers
named Vishnukumara and Yajnavaraha.Yajñavarāha who served as a counsellor
to king Rajendravarman II. The foundational stela says that Yajnavaraha,
grandson of king Harsavarman I, was a scholar and philanthropist who helped
those who suffered from illness, injustice, or poverty.

His pupil was the future king Jayavarman V (r. 968- ca. 1001). Originally, the
temple was surrounded by a town called Īśvarapura.
Banteay Srei is known for the intricacy of its carvings. This carving is of a kala, a
mythical creature representative of time and of the god Siva.
Yajñavarāha's temple was primarily dedicated to the Hindu god Śiva. Originally, it
carried the name Tribhuvanamaheśvara—great lord of the threefold world—in

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 reference to the Shaivite linga that served as its central religious image.
However, the temple buildings appear to be divided along the central east–west
axis between those buildings located south of the axis, which are devoted to
Śiva, and those north of the axis, which are devoted to Viṣṇu.

It has been speculated that the temple's modern name, Bantãy Srĕi, is due to the
many devatas carved into the red sandstone walls.
The temple's modern name, Bantãy Srĕi—citadel of the women, or citadel of
beauty—is probably related to the intricacy of the bas relief carvings found on
the walls and the tiny dimensions of the buildings themselves. [8] Some have
speculated that it relates to the many devatas carved into the walls of the
buildings

.Design and construction

The stylistic elements of the complex are characteristic of Khmer architecture and
include the ogival, lotus bud-shaped towers, half-galleries, axial galleries, connecting
enclosures and cruciform terraces.

Angkor Wat is a religious temple complex in Cambodia. At 402 acres, it is the largest

religious monument in the world, and is considered to be the finest classical example
of Khmer architecture, a building tradition that spanned the 9th and 15th centuries
AD during the reign of the Khmer Empire.
King Suryavarman II began the construction after ascending to the throne in 1113. It
is not known who the architects or designers were. Originally, it was built as a Hindu
temple of the god Vishnu. Reflecting this, the temple faces west in contrast with many
of the other temples at Angkor. However, towards the end of the 12th century it was
transformed into a Buddhist temple.
Over the course of the 20th century, Angkor Wat became more well-known globally as
a symbol of Cambodia, and today it is the country’s main tourist attraction.

Design 
The temple complex is surrounded by a 190m-wide moat forming a 1.5km by 1.3km
rectangle. A sandstone causeway crosses the moat on its western side.
The stylistic elements of the complex are characteristic of Khmer architecture and

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include the ogival, lotus bud-shaped towers, half-galleries, axial galleries,
connecting enclosures and cruciform terraces.

The main pyramid takes the form of three stepped terraces with

covered galleries bordering all sides of each step. The corners of the second and
third steps are punctuated by towers, the highest of which rises to 55m.
At the time of its construction, Khmer architects were proficient in the use
of sandstone as a building material, and the complex was constructed using 5-10
million sandstone blocks, each weighing up to 1.5 tons. These blocks were quarried
from the mountain of Phnom Kulen, more than 50km away, and were floated
on rafts down the Siem Reap River. Inscriptions record that the construction involved
300,000 workers and 6,000 elephants.

The sandstone blocks form the most visible elements of the structure, while a type

of clay local to the area, laterite, was used for the outer wall and concealed structural
elements. The precise binding agent for the blocks is unknown, although it is believed
to be natural resin or slaked lime.

Internally, the smooth stones were laid with very tight joints without mortar, held

together instead by mortise and tenon joints, or by dovetails and gravity. It is believed
the blocks were assembled using a combination of elephants, coir ropes and pulleys,
and bamboo scaffolding.
Angkor Wat is famous for its vast array of symbolic detailing. Nearly 2,000 sq.m of bas
reliefs are intricately carved into the sandstone,as well as extensively
carved lintels, friezes and pediments, and nearly 2,000 depictions of apsaras (celestial
dancers).

Post Construction: After King Suryavarman II’s death, the temple was converted to
Buddhist use by King Jayavarman VII. Western interest in the temple only really
began with the writings of the French naturalist Henri Mouhot in the 1860s.
Conservation work was started by the French in the early-20th century and continued
over the decades in an attempt to preserve the structure from damage caused
by plant growth, fungi, ground movement, war and looting. Conservation efforts were

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halted for around 20 years during the Cambodian civil war and the rise to power of
the Khmer Rouge.

In an article RISE OF THE ANGKOR EMPIRE, YASH DHOTRE

https://doyouevenangkor.weebly.com/rise-to-power.html) states that;

The adoption of Indian Brahmins or scholars

While many experts have contested the possibilities of the Angkor empires rise to power and
have not yet concluded the finals strategies used to assemble this empire, but we know for sure
that that the ancient Khmer kings adopted a successful monarchy system of Indian civilization.

The Khmer kings were able to rule over the empire with divine rule and absolute power. This
enhanced the kings to mobilize large manpower to serve in its military force to defend the
nation as well as to invade the neighbors. In addition, the kings could maintain their extensive
trading system which was the prime factor of its successful economy with their Khmer laborers
and foreign slaves.

Moreover, the kings surrounded themselves with the wise men or the "learned" Brahmins as
their counselors. The Brahmins were known to have acquire vast knowledge which were
inherited from father to sons or taught only within the family. These learned Brahmins help the
kings to run an efficient administration of the country, and that resulted in the growth of the
civilization.

In my paper Design Construction Process of the Hindu temples, I mention that:

The initial team is comprised by an Acharya, a scholar learned in traditional lore; a

Sthapathi, a qualified and an experienced director for the temple construction project;
and Shilpi, the sculptor.

Acharya is the learned preceptor who gives the Yajamana (one who sponsors the
temple project) the necessary advice and guidance in selecting the proper site, the
Sthapati and other Shilpins. The Sthapati, Yajamana and the Acharya form the trinity
of Vastu-sthapana (construction); they are compared to Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra.

As regards the construction per se, The Manasara, one of the principal texts dealing
with all aspects of temple construction, mentions a team of four types of architects –
the Sthapati, Sutragrahin, Vardhaki and Takshaka.

It is quite possible that many Brahmins doubled as Acharyas. The actual

construction process of a temple can be divided into three steps. The first is the
planning of the temple by architect, second is the carving of different parts and the
third is assembling the parts.

In the first stage, the architect prepares a list of all the parts that go into the details
of the temple; like the figures, pillars, beams, and brackets etc. These parts are
usually composed of several elements. For example, a pillar is made of at least five
parts, while the dome is made of several units. This is one of the reasons, it is said,
why the temples do not normally collapse in case of earthquakes or cyclones; as its
parts are not joined rigidly (say by materials like cement) but can vibrate within the
surrounding structured space.

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In the second stage, the teams of assistants of the Shilpi carve the parts and
segments according to the temple Acharya’s, Sthapathi ’s and Shilpi’s drawings,
designs, specifications and guidelines. The parts thus got ready are transported to the
site. And, at times the transportation to the site, itself, becomes a huge task. For
instance, it is said that a four km long ramp was constructed to transport and place in
position the dome of the Brihadishwara temple in Thanjavur.

The stability of the temple structure is attributed to its principles of unity, harmony,
balance and distribution of weight. It is said, if one member of this family breaks, the
unity, peace and stability of the family is sure to crumble. . Hence, no member moves
from its place, and holds the structure together even in the face of destruction all
around. These aspects are ensured during the third stage.

The third stage is the assembling of the readied parts i.e. the actual construction of
temple. The various elements and parts of temples are interlocked to hold in position.
All the parts have mortise and tendon joint for ensuring strength; and a hole or slot is
cut into each piece of readied part, for a projecting part tendon of the adjacent part to
be inserted into the next. These mortise and tendons not only hold the parts their
positions securely but also allow space for the stones to expand in heat or even to
vibrate modestly.

The third stage and the second stage have to be well coordinated in order to take care
of precise alignments and possible corrections. Though this stage, inevitably, means
the slowing down of the construction pace, it is said, the Sthapathi or Sthalapahi, the
one who supervises the actual construction process on site, takes extra care to ensure
precise positioning and alignment of each part and segment; and to meticulously
follow the overall proportion, stability and visual appeal, as specified and envisaged in
the Vastu mandala and the construction plans.

The size and the nature of the structure will determine the various kinds of building
materials to be employed at different stages of its construction. Generally the use of
iron, considered the crudest of metals, is strictly avoided within the temple structure,
as iron tends to get rusty and endangers the stability and the life of the structure. The
stone which has a far longer life and is less corrosive, is the major building material
employed in temple construction. (There are elaborate methods for testing and grading
the stones; and more about that in the final part) The main structure and the dome
are invariably constructed of tested stone.

The Building materials like stone, brick, mortar, wood, etc., are selected for the main
body of the temple, whereas elements like gold and silver are be used for final
ornamentation. Marble is not used in Southern structures. Materials like simulated
marble, plastic and asbestos, strictly, are not acceptable building materials. Only
organic materials are used in temple architecture. The traditional Indian temples of
stone, it is said, are designed to last for 800 years unlike RCC structures which are
guaranteed for 80 years. Incidentally, the Ayadi aspects are worked out to ensure
longevity of the temple.

The primary source is the text of the Shilpa Shastra, the Manasara or Mayamatam,
which deals with construction aspects such as: selection of suitable site for temples,
the variety of pillars, types of Mantapas and patterns of Vimanas etc . The text in
translation is available on the net .Another text , Samarangana Sutradhara, mentions

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details of craftsmen, artists and the divisions of their work , traditional skills etc. The
articles I have posted on temple design and architecture are based mainly in the
ancient texts. These do bring out the principles, practices and norms of temple
architecture. And, they, indeed, are educative and useful in understanding the
theories of temple design and its purpose.

In the Vastu-S'astra the term architecture is taken in its broadest sense and implies
almost everything built or constructed. Thus in the first place it denotes all kinds of
buildings — religious (temple), residential (dwellings), and military (forts), and their
auxiliary members (colunms, walls, floors, ceilings, roofs, doors, and other openings)
and the component mouldings and ornaments; such as plinth, base, pedestal, shaft,
entablature; fillet, listel, annulet, astragal, caretto, scotia or trochilos, torus, cyma,
talon, ovolo or echinus. Secondly it implies the town-planning; laying out gardens,
constructing market places and ports; making roads, bridges, gates; digging wells,
tanks, trenches, sewers, moats; building enclosure walls, embankments, dams,
railways, landing places (ghats), flights of steps for hills and lladders, etc. Thirdly, it
denotes articles of house furniture, such as, bed-steads, couches, tables, chairs,
thrones, wardrobes, baskets, conveyances, cages, nests, mills, etc. It also includes
making dresses, ornaments such as crowns and head-wear, etc.
Architecture also includes sculpture and deals with carving and phalli, idols of deities,
statues of great personages, images of animals and birds. Painting also forms part of
architecture.
As preliminary matters, architecture is also concerned with the selection of sites,
testing soil, planning, designing, finding out cardinal points by means of a gnomon,
dialing and astronomical and astrological calculation.
Besides being an all-round good, clever, and intelligent man, why an architect is
required to possess the general knowledge of all sciences (S'astras) and the special
knowledge of mathematics, history, geography, music aesthetics, law, astronomy and
engineering can be imagined when the list of qualifications is read with reference to
the subject-matters of architecture mentioned here. The point is satisfactorily
elaborated by Vitruvius.
Before proceeding further, it is profitable to note that the leading Roman architect,
Vitruvius, suggested in the first century of the Christian era, in a more methodical and
scientific manner, almost the same syllabus. 'An architect " says Vitruvius (Book 1,
Chapter I), "should be ingenious, and apt in the acquisition of knowledge He should be
a good writer, a skilful draftsman, versed in geometry and optics, expert at figures,
acquainted with history, informed on the principles of natural and moral philosophy,
somewhat of a musician, not ignorant of the sciences of both law and physic, nor of
the motions, laws, and relations to each other, of the heavenly bodies."
It is familiar to everybody that for success in any profession in life one must be clever,
industrious, honest and generous. It is also easily understood that an architect, who
has got to do both manual and brain work must not be deformed and must be free
from all disease and disability. According to Vitruvius he is required to be a good
writer also, because an architect is to commit to writing his observations and
experience, in order to assist his memory. Drawing is employed in representing the
forms of his designs. Geometry which forms a part of mathematics affords much aid to
the architect, to it he owes the use of the right line and circle, the level and the square,

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whereby his delineation of buildings on plane surfaces are greatly facilitated.
Arithmetic estimates the cost, and aids in the measurements of the works; this
assisted by the laws of geometry, determinaton of those abstruse questions wherein
the different proportions of some parts to others are involved. The science of optics
enables him to introduce with judgment the requisite quantity of light according to the
aspect. Unless acquainted with history, he will be unable to account for the use of
many ornaments which he may have occasion to introduce. For history, the
expression 'Purana' is used in the Indian literature and it implies mythology or
mythological stories which are as a rule depicted in the buildings of a nation. There
are, however, other uses of history for an architect.

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