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Parts of a Mandir

A Hindu mandir is composed of many parts, each with a distinct description, function and representation detailed in Hindu texts.

The diagrams below show the various parts of a traditional mandir. Click on each of the names to read a brief explanation.

  • Jagati – Base or lower layer of the mandir
  • Mandovar – Exterior wall of the garbh-gruh and maha-mandap, decorated with various sculptures of celestial beings, sages, seers and enlightened devotees as well as depictions of important stories from Hindu scriptures
  • Gavaksh – Decorative closed windows adorning both the shikhar and mandovar
  • Jharukha – Small balconies with enclosed balustrades looking out from upper-floor windows
  • Roopchoki – Porch entrance leading into the vestibule before the maha-mandap
  • Ghummat – Central dome
  • Gummati – Smaller domes, or cupolas accompanying the main dome
  • Urushrung – Small towers attached to the main shikhar
  • Shikhar – Spire, or an intricate set of sculpted towers, rising over the garbh-gruh of each shrine
  • Amalak – Circular stone that caps the shikhar and upon which rests the kalash
  • Kalash – Finial placed atop the shikhar, formed by a series of progressively smaller gilded urns
  • Dhvaj-Sthamb – Flag mast rising above each shikhar, usually topped with bells
  • Dhvaj – Flag
  • Gopuram – Ceremonial gateway leading into the mandir precinct
  • Garbh-Gruh – Sanctum sanctorum; the innermost chamber and a place of inviolable sanctity housing the murtis, or sacred images of the Deities. Literally meaning ‘womb housing the embryo’, i.e. the source of life for the mandir, the garbh-gruh is considered its most sacred part.
  • Maha-Mandap – Pillared sanctum (or nave) from where devotees look into the garbh-gruh for darshan of the murtis
  • Mukh-Mandap – Front-facing decorative pillared section of the maha-mandap parallel to the garbh-gruh
  • Pradakshina-Path – Passage used for circumambulations that circles the garbh-gruh and frequently the maha-mandap
  • Sthambh – Column
  • Toran – Arch
  • Chhat – Ceiling



Mandirs as a Form of the Divine

Ancient Hindu builders saw the mandir not just as a sacred structure, but as an actual form of God. Vedhavastu-Prabhakara, Shilpa-Ratnakara and other treatises extensively describe the mandir as ‘devaswarupa’ – literally, ‘God’s body’.

The diagram and table below show various parts of a mandir and their corresponding representation of the body of God:



Mandir Part
(Sanskrit)

Mandir Part
(English)

Representation of
Devaswarup

Pada-Shila Foundations Feet
Sthambh Columns Knees
Shila Stone Blocks Bones
Yavva Mortar Muscles
Foundation up to Jagati Lower Layer Thighs
Garbha-Gruh Inner Sanctum Stomach
Madhyasthan Central Altar for Murti Navel
Sinhasan Shrine for Murti Heart
Murti Sacred Image Soul
Shikhar Spires Shoulders
Ghant Bell Tongue
Gavaksh Windows Ears
Shukanas Part of the Shikhar
(literally, ‘parrot beak’)		 Nose
A malaka Crown of the Shikhar Neck
Kalash Finial Urns atop the Shikhar Head
Dhvaj Flag Hair


the Mandir

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