Mandapa

Open mandapa at Amritapura

Mandapa (also spelled mantapa or mandapam) in Indian architecture is a pillared outdoor hall or pavilion for public rituals.[1]

Temple architecture

Mandapa porch, Shimoga
Mandapa in Odisha with a shape like a bell Ghanta

In the Hindu temple the mandapa is a porch-like structure through the (gopuram) (ornate gateway) and leading to the temple. It is used for religious dancing and music and is part of the basic temple compound.[2] The prayer hall was generally built in front of the temple's sanctum sanctorum (garbhagriha). A large temple would have many mandapas.[3]

If a temple has more than one mandapa, each one is allocated for a different function and given a name to reflect its use. For example, a mandapa dedicated to divine marriage is referred to as a kalyana mandapa.[4] Often the hall was pillared and the pillars adorned with intricate carvings.[5] In contemporary terms, it also represents a structure within which a Hindu wedding is performed. The Bride & Groom encircle a holy fire lit by the officiating priest in the center of the Mandapa.

Name variations

Kambadahalli Ganga mandapa

When a temple has more than one mandapa, they are given different names.[3][6]

  • Artha Mandapam or Ardh Mandapam – intermediary space between the temple exterior and the garba griha (sanctum sanctorum) or the other mandapas of the temple
  • Asthana Mandapam – assembly hall
  • Kalyana Mandapam – dedicated to ritual marriage celebration of the Lord with Goddess
  • Maha Mandapam – (Maha=big) When there are several mandapas in the temple, it is the biggest and the tallest. It is used for conducting religious discourses. Some times, the maha mandapa is also built along a transversal axis with a transept (bumped-out portions along this transversal axis). At the exterior, the transept ends by a large window which brings light and freshness into the temple.
  • Nandi Mandapam (or Nandi mandir) – In the Shiva temples, pavilion with a statue of the sacred bull Nandi, looking at the statue or the lingam of Shiva.
  • Ranga Mandapa
  • Meghanath Mandapa
  • Namaskara Mandapa
  • Open Mandapa

Other languages

A Thai Buddhist Mandapa or Mondop, here at Wat Arun, Bangkok
Royal pendopo in Java, Indonesia, commonly found in sultans' palaces.

In Indonesia, the mandap is known as a pendopo. Unusually, Indonesian pendopos are built mostly for Muslim communities. Many mosques follow the pendopo design, with a layered roof to resemble Mount Meru.

In Tamil, this platform is the Aayiram Kaal Mandapam – a distinctly thousand pillared hall close to the vimana of the Koil which forms a distinct part of the site plan of classical Dravidian architecture.

The Burmese term mandat (မဏ္ဍပ်), which has etymological origins in Pali maṇḍapa, is an open platform or pavilion from which people spray water to passers-by during the Buddhist festival Thingyan.

A mandapa in Thai is a mondop (มณฑป). It features often in Thai temple art and architecture, either in the form of a Hor Trai (a temple library) or as an altar shrine such as the one in Wat Chiang Man in Chiang Mai.

Notes

  1. ↑ Thapar, Binda (2004). Introduction to Indian Architecture. Singapore: Periplus Editions. p. 143. ISBN 0-7946-0011-5.
  2. ↑ Ching, Francis D.K. (1995). A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. New York: John Wiley and Sons. p. 253. ISBN 0-471-28451-3.
  3. 1 2 "Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent - Glossary". Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  4. ↑ Thapar, Binda (2004). Introduction to Indian Architecture. Singapore: Periplus Editions. p. 43. ISBN 0-7946-0011-5.
  5. ↑ "Glossary of Indian Art". art-and-archaeology.com. Archived from the original on 2007-04-05. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  6. ↑ http://personal.carthage.edu/jlochtefeld/picturepages/Khajuraho/architecture.html

See also

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