Moolavar

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The Punnainallur Mariamman temple Moolavar, the main deity, Mariamman

Moolavar or Mulavar is a Sanskrit word referring to the main deity in a Hindu Temple. Moola means "main", which in turn refers to the primary deity in the temple.[1]

Importance

The sanctuary inside the Hindu temple is called Garba griha (dwelling of the embryo). The sanctum is located at the centre of the temple, and its only opening mostly faces east. The most ancient Hindu sanctuaries are flat stone dolmens, vertical and horizontal slabs forming a square room at the centre of a stone wall boundary. The more important gods, Moolavar, are closed to the center of the temples than the images that surround them and are precisely located at the points corresponding to the energies they represent on the temple plan's magical diagram.[2]

See also

References

  1. Baldev Raj, C. Rajagopalan, C. V. Sundaram. Where gods come alive: a monograponze icons of South India.
  2. Danielou, Alain (2001). The Hindu Temple Deification of Eroticism. pp. 75.