garbhagriha

…plan, consists of a square garbhagriha preceded by one or more adjoining pillared mandapas (porches or halls), which are connected to the sanctum by an open or closed vestibule (antarala). The entrance doorway of the sanctum is usually richly decorated with figures of river goddesses and bands of floral, figural,…

…called the “womb room” (garbhagriha), by meditating on the God’s presence, symbolized or actualized in his consecrated image. The cella is in the center of the temple above the navel—i.e., the foundation stone—and it may contain a jar filled with the creative power (shakti) that is identified with the…

…a shrine room, called a garbhagrha (“womb house,” or sanctum sanctorum), which contained an image of the deity and opened onto a porch. Over the centuries, additional structures were added until the temple complexes covered many acres. In the peninsula the early rock-cut temples imitated Buddhist models. Although the Calukyas…