Mandala
Religious structures within the Indian culture were considered sacred places of worship based on the mandala. A mandala is defined as a series of layered geometric patterns. These patterns are used for religious purposes in both the Hindu and Buddhist religions. Throughout the ninth century and on, Buddhist and Hindu’s used mandalas for the basic forms and construction of their places of worship. As Indian culture spread, it inspired even more grander construction throughout southeast Asia. The Indian culture moved toward the coasts of Indochina and to the islands of Bomeo, carrying the mandala architecture with them. During the ninth century, one of the largest temples was created. This temple was a shrine to Borobudur. These temples signified urban centralization within the Indian culture.¹
Within the Indian culture, mandalas were the basis of Indian temples and were associated with the term vastu which meant inhabited or built site. These temples were traditionally designed on a square grid and every orthogonal space was designed with the mandala dimensions in mind. The mandala represents movement of consciousness, sacred geometry, psychology, and healing for the Indian culture. This is the reason for their use in the designs of Hindu and Buddhist temples. ² Throughout the Hindu culture, mandalas were based on comic and natural dimensions. Mandalas represent the cosmos symbolically and are used to imitate the cosmos in architectural design. Ancient texts such as the Vastu Sastras show the various types of temples and their geometric patterns. These temples were built with extreme precision in geometry. The text takes the reader through the many fractions and mathematical considerations that were taken into account when constructing Hindu and Buddhist temples. Each fractional dimension and mathematical proportion have a specifically procedural and symbolic meaning within the Hindu and Buddhist faith. These temples held the Hindu and Buddhist gods called murtis and prayers to these deities were called mantras. ³ Original plan and section drafted by Grace Strickland
HINDU ARCHITECTURE | The Essence of Hindu Architecture in India. Accessed October 15, 2018. http://www.kamit.jp/01_introdctn/3_hindu/hind_eng.htm. Image showing the overall layout of the city
"3-dimensional Mandala." Tibetan Buddhist Mandalas - All Information, Symbolism & Classes. Accessed October 15, 2018. http://www.mandala-painting.com/3-dimensional- mandala/. ¹INGERSOLL, RICHARD. WORLD ARCHITECTURE: A Cross-cultural History. S.l.: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 170-
175,2018 ²Bafna, Sonit. Directory of Members. Chicago, IL: Society, 5-15, 1999. ³Trivedi, Kirti. Hindu Temples:Models of a Fractal Universe, 3-10. |
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