A visit to a Hindu temple can be a lesson in history and geography, politics and economics, along with spiritual upliftment. If we allow it, the structure, to speak to us.

Let us begin with history. How many of us ask who built the temple? Temple lore will say every temple was built thousands of years ago, in Satya Yuga or Treta Yuga, that the images existed in the time of Rama and Krishna. But historians will argue that Hindu temples emerged slowly, from orchards full of termite hills where Yakshas and Nagas were worshipped, to rock-cut caves and rock-cut temples emerging after 500 CE, and eventually to free-standing temples by 1000 CE. Many were built by kings to declare royal power. Pattadakkal in Karnataka was built by the Chalukyas. Tamil Nadu’s Brihadeeswara was built by the Chola kings. It revealed their military might.

Now comes the geography. Is the temple located on a mountain or a seaside? For example, the Srirangam temples are on river islands. Puri temple is on the sea coast. Tirupati is on a mountaintop. Kedarnath and Badrinath are far away from human habitation, on trade routes. There is meaning here. It is not random. Ask yourself — why was it built here? We find Jain temples on mountaintops because it represents the Tirthankara achieving omniscience, and so is visualised seated atop a mountain, facing all four directions, speaking to all creatures who gather around him in circles.

Tall ‘gopurams’ and ‘shikharas’
The third aspect is about the economics and politics around the temple. Who is funding it? Who is taking care of it? How is it related to the surrounding neighbourhood — is there a marketplace outside? These are questions you can think about on your way to the temple. It draws attention to the many farmers, herdsmen, artisans who contribute to the upkeep of the temple, not just the priests and patrons.

When you see the temple, you can notice immediately if it has walls. Khajuraho does not have walls. Jagannath Puri has walls. These were built after Islamic invasions from Bengal. Tamil temples often have elaborate gopurams or entry gateways. The Chola period gopurams were small. Over the centuries, they became higher and higher, as if competing with the minarets of mosques, and with the achievements of previous rulers.

Next, observe if the temple is facing east or west. Many Vaishnava temples face the west or Lakshmi because she emerges from the ocean, while others face east, the rising sun. It is not standard. Some temples in the South, especially of goddesses, face the north.

Then, there are the shikharas, the tower above the garbha griha or the sanctum sanctorum. Multiple domes are seen in North Indian Hindu and Jain temples. The North Indian shikharas look like a set of mountains, while the South Indian ones look like a series of huts built one on top of the other, more pyramidal, not curvilinear. At the top of the temple, is there a pot or a flag or a wheel?

Does the temple have a staircase, or multiple storeys, commonly seen in Rajasthan and Gujarat, or a gathering hall? Original temples did not have gathering halls. It was during the Vijayanagara period that gorgeous pillared halls were set up in South Indian temples for devotees, for rituals, as well as for music and dance and storytelling.

The stories they tell
Once you enter the temple, look at the passageways and spaces of congregation. You can look at the internal economy — the kitchen, the living quarters, the performance spaces (did devadasis live and perform here?). Look at the way the temple is organised spatially. Who frames the door? It could be Ganga and Yamuna, creating the sacred Arya-varta doab, or Jaya and Vijaya establishing Vaikuntha. Often, outside temples are pillars established by kings. And images of saints who were not allowed by the “pure” to enter the shrine. The shrine of Chokhamela in Pandharpur, for instance.

Then, there are the carvings, the stories they tell, the non-religious iconography — dancing women, warriors, plants, fantastic beasts. There is sex and violence, and sages in meditation. Buddhist shrines tell stories of Buddha’s life, and his past lives. In Jain temples, the 24 Tirthankaras all look the same, because they have all risen beyond their ego and identity.

Shiva temples tell the story of Shiva’s marriage. Vishnu temples recount tales of Vishnu’s avatars. In Shiva temples, the goddess is with the god inside the shrine; she turns hermit into husband. In Vishnu temples, especially in the South, the Lakshmi temple is separate, though within the precinct; she knows the hermit mind of her husband.

Thus, a tour of temples is far more than a pilgrimage. It is a peep into Indian culture.