Science behind our Temples - Part 1

You’ve visited a temple at least once, right? Why do you feel peaceful? Do you know the logic behind how it was built? Here’s the tea.

The real goal of temples is not to please or have selfish transactions with God but as a center to grow spiritually, which is why they initially housed hospitals for the needy, performing art theatres for musicians & dancers, and auditoriums to learn the vedas from rishis.

There’s a detailed science behind where it should be built, what directions should each room or entrances be in & which materials should be used - captured in our literature called Agama, Vastu & Shilpa Shastras, and detailed in books like Vishkarma Prakasha, with origins in the Atharva Veda.

At the center of this is the Vastu-Purusha Mandala, a diagram (mandala) connecting our body (Purusha) with the structure of the universe. This basic floor plan is useful for all vastus, not just big & small temples but also your home, office & factory.

You have squares called as padas arranged in a grid of 64, 81, etc. And each square has one of 45 deities or energies guarding it, with Brahma at the center, where the inner main room (garbhagriha) exists along with the idol (murthi).

So one of the many reasons you feel peaceful is that everything, including the entrance, the mandapas for seating & praying, the water bodies, and the sewage systems are planned as per this model to be in sync with higher energies, creating a connection between you, the Earth’s magnetic fields & the infinite space around us.