vastu-purusha-mandala
वास्तुपुरुषमण्डल vastu-purusha-mandalaThe gridded 'cosmic man' diagram that underlies the ground plan of a Hindu temple.
Explained in depth in The Vastu-Purusha-Mandala: The Plan Behind the TempleWhere this term appears
- What is a Hindu Temple? Temples
Beneath the floor plan lies a diagram, the vastu-purusha-mandala , the gridded "cosmic man." A figure is imagined laid out across a square grid, and the squares are assigned to deities, with Brahma, the creator…
- Nagara, Dravida and Vesara: The Styles of the Hindu Temple Temples
If the symbolic logic of the ground plan interests you, the companion piece on the Vastu-Purusha-Mandala explains the diagram beneath the stone.
- Why do so many temples face east? Temples
Where east sits on the temple's plan Every classical temple is set out on a gridded diagram of the cosmos, the Vastu-Purusha-Mandala, and that diagram is where the orientation is settled.