Shikharbaddha mandir

A shikharbaddha mandir is a traditional Hindu place of worship, typically featuring architecture characterized by pinnacles and domes and often built of carved marble, sandstone, or other stone. While such mandirs are common in many branches of Hinduism, the use of the term shikharbaddha mandir to describe such mandirs is most common in the Swaminarayan branch of Hinduism.

A mandir is a Hindu temple. The term shikharbaddha is composed of the Sanskrit word shikhar, meaning mountain peak, and baddha, meaning bound Thus, a shikharbaddha mandir refers to a type of Hindu temple with a pinnacle atop its sacred shrine that makes it appear bounded by a mountain peak.

Shikharbaddha mandirs house the sacred images of the deity in the central shrines, thus becoming a sacred space and place of worship where Hindus come to pray, worship, meditate, and offer devotion to the Deity. Shikharbaddh mandirs serve not only as traditional places of worship, but also hold important functions in the social and cultural spheres of Hindu life in India. George Michell, a scholar of Indian archaeology and architecture, has observed, “The temple is the most characteristic artistic expression of Hinduism, providing a focus for both the social and spiritual life of the community it serves.” Traditional shikharbaddha mandirs have also been built outside the Indian subcontinent, and function as a means for members of the Hindu diaspora to connect with and celebrate their cultural and spiritual heritage. Swaminarayan, who consecrated six shikharbaddha mandirs in Gujarat, India between 1822 and 1828, described the five-fold significance of these traditional Hindu mandirs. Firstly, mandirs served as a holy place for offering worship, constructed and consecrated according to the Hindu scriptures. Given their divinity, they were also ideal locations to celebrate Hindu festivals and to perform religious rituals. Mandirs additionally functioned as a locus for spiritual gatherings and instruction, and as centers for the study of Sanskrit, the scriptures, and devotional arts. Finally, mandirs served as a base for charitable services, as alms, medicines, and clothes were donated by devotees to the needy.

The Shilpa Shāstras, sacred Hindu texts that prescribe the canons of traditional architecture, narrate how the structure of a shikharbaddha mandir symbolically represents the body of Purusha, or Cosmic Man. The mandir is constructed in the layout of the Vastu Purusha Mandala, which is a metaphysical blueprint depicting personified Vedic cosmology. From the foundations of the mandir to the flags (dvajā) waving atop the pinnacles (shikhar), each major external feature symbolizes parts of the form of the Purusha deity, and the enshrined murtis embody the soul of the structure. This gives rise to certain rules of etiquette for worshippers, such as removing one’s shoes when entering a temple.

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